We know how important it is for employees to understand what cover they have, and how to use that cover should they need to.
By calling new SME groups and talking them through how to access their online account, submit a claim, and check their policy handbook, employees are confident and prepared to use their plan right away.
We spoke to Dominic Spiller, who’s been conducting welcome calls for new SME groups, about the benefits of keeping in touch with business customers and their employees, from day one.
Who gets a welcome call – is it all new SME groups?
DS: Yes, every new SME group is offered a welcome call.
What benefits are there to doing these welcome calls?
DS: The welcome calls are really beneficial for the employee. We explain how they can register for, and navigate around their secure online account – including where they can find their policy handbook, digital membership card, and other general user tips. It also gives employees a chance to ask any claims-related questions before they make their first claim, so they feel confident they know how to use their plan when they need to.
We also take the opportunity to check their contact details are correct and up to date, so we can get in touch and pay their claims quickly and easily.
On the call, we’ll make the employees aware of any exclusions on their plan, as well as a full explanation of underwriting and what to expect when claiming. This means the employee is aware of any possible limitations before they need to make a claim.
What sort of feedback do you get as a result of the welcome calls?
DS: After each welcome call, we’ll share a Stella survey with the SME group – so we can find out what we did well, and identify opportunities to improve the calls for future customers.
In the survey, employees are asked to rate both the individual advisor, as well as AXA’s global healthcare team as a whole, between 1-5 stars. So far, the results have been really positive, with the majority of calls resulting in a five-star rating.
How do you see the welcome calls improving the onboarding process – both now and in the future?
DS: Since starting the welcome calls almost a year ago, the project has already evolved, and we’ve now started offering group calls, rather than calling each employee individually. This is a much more effective way of conducting the welcome calls, as every member of the group gets a call at the same time. And since it’s more time-efficient for our Personal Advisors, we’re able to offer calls even closer to the enrolment day, meaning there’s less chance of a claim being made before the welcome call.
Thank you to Dominic for catching up with us about this programme. If you’d like to know more about our welcome calls for SME groups, please speak to your AXA representative.