Old Habits Die Hard

Computerworld - Barbara Kelly wasn't about to let a $250,000 investment in self-service technology at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of South Carolina go to waste.
As vice president of human resources, she had spent four long months overseeing the health insurer's implementation of a Web-based software system that lets employees perform tasks such as making coverage changes to medical plans and updating emergency contact information with the click of a mouse.
The goal was to move the Columbia, S.C.-based firm from paper-predicated mayhem to browser-based efficiency. But Kelly knew that success ultimately hinged on eliminating employee apprehension. While senior-level executives could be counted on to make the transition from pen to mouse, employees ranging from cafeteria workers to claims processors were also expected to embrace the company's self-service tool - a tall order for traditionally technophobic personnel.
Such is reality for countless companies eager to realize a fast return on their self-service initiatives. Human resources management portals, instant messaging, speech recognition systems, corporate intranets, kiosks - they're all applications that can cut down on paperwork, increase customer loyalty, and reduce call volume and labor costs.
Yet many businesses are failing to persuade users to make the switch from human-powered channels, such as the telephone and e-mail, to self-service. The fact is that 17% of companies are experiencing an increase in call center traffic concurrent with their self-service offerings, according to Forrester Research Inc. in Cambridge, Mass. Unable to reset consumer habits, these companies also risk losing revenue, employees and customers.
At Blue Cross, the introduction of the Web-based software system required meeting with the insurer's call center operators to prepare them for an anticipated influx of technology-related questions.
So how are companies persuading consumers and employees alike to break with old habits?
At Blue Cross, a PC loaded with WebServe software from Methuen, Mass.-based Genesys Software Systems Inc. was placed in each of the company's 100-plus human resources offices. While human resources personnel lay claim to their own computers, these communal PCs, scattered throughout the organization, guarantee system access to all 14,000 employees.
Fifteen-page booklets containing screen shots of the software, along with step-by-step instructions, were distributed to mollify the technophobes. And senior-level managers participated in 20-minute training sessions so that they might later assist others. But it was the decision to do away with paper-based open enrollment processes that truly drove the adoption of self-service, Kelly says. The insurer's benefits enrollment process takes place once a year. When it came time to introduce its WebServe program last year, Blue Cross