Implementing enterprise omni-channel appointment scheduling with ACF

This global bank, an ACF customer since 2017, has always valued its customers and invested heavily in ensuring the delivery of exceptional customer service with a focus on profitable transactions.

With the ambitious goal of transforming its in-branch appointment scheduling process, their transformation journey began in 2014 by focusing on:

Management specialization in required segments
Modernization of integrated tools
Strategies to exploit niche markets
Maintain high customer satisfaction

The bank has also invested significantly in strengthening its online presence to meet customer needs, offering online banking services that enable account management for around 2 million customers each month, approximately 500,000 visits per week.

To further enhance operations, the client turned to ACF to move appointment scheduling online.

By integrating multiple systems and channels across 500+ branches, they achieved significant improvements in both day-to-day operations and the overall customer experience.

The challenge: move to online appointment scheduling

In the last few years, the client has worked to integrate the information from all channels (branches, contact centers, digital media etc.). This enables the business to improve productivity and help cost savings with reviewed improvements based on customer experience and needs. The business requirements are to take advantage of new technological advances and streamline services and processes to heighten customer experience across all operations.

As part of a global strategic initiative to improve customer experiences, the customer experiences team was eager to shift appointment scheduling from email, telephone, and branch walk-ins to a centrally managed omnichannel solution.

To streamline their customer experience and provide customers across the UK with the best possible customer service, they partnered with ACF Technologies to implement Q-Flow, an enterprise appointment scheduling platform.

With stiff competition and a growing customer base across the UK, the client faced several key business challenges that needed addressing, including:

Finding a system capable of handling millions of customer appointment requests across multiple channels
Access to real-time insights to help manage the constant fluctuation in footfall across branches
The need to create a more consistent brand experience across the bank's estate
A future-proof solution capable of scaling and adapting to the ever-evolving nature of the financial services industry
Accurate, real-time reporting for management and business to drive better customer experiences

The solution

The company partnered with ACF Technologies to design and implement an industry-leading enterprise appointment booking solution using a cloud-based version of Q-Flow.

01 Omnichannel Online Booking at scale

Using Q-Flow, the project team combined all appointment scheduling services: online, via phone, in-person or in-app into a single omnichannel experience. Customers can now book an appointment via the online booking system, which works across multiple devices and uses location services to help customers locate the nearest, least busy branch. Automated notifications via SMS and email alert customers to booking confirmations, rescheduling options, cancellations, no-shows, and other communications.

02 Automated calendar optimization

Q-Flow is integrated with Outlook and automatically synchronizes all appointments directly into staff calendars. Multiple system integrations connect Q-Flow to data, including staff work patterns, workforce management, and branch opening hours, to streamline operations across 10,000 employees with calendars that sync through their Outlook mailbox calendars – all fully integrated into the bank's CRM systems to create a seamless user experience. The users are able to book/rebook/cancel appointments and view their diary as well as their colleague’s calendars to manage appointments between roaming branches across multiple Job roles. ACF has also created a custom interface where the users can manage their day-to-day shifts as well as have the ability to reserve slots in their calendar to book holidays.

03 Portable tablets

The client has also portable Tablets integrated with Q-Flow where they can access a Diary view of their calendar when greeting customers in the branch which makes staff members more efficient as well as attending to customers more quickly and meeting their needs to ensure customer satisfaction if they have an appointment. It is a custom solution where the Staff members can also book appointments for customers there and then while in be presently discussing their needs for their banking desires.

04 A full customer journey experience

The customer can select the product they want to talk about, then select the nearest branch to the postcode they search; this also allows them to view a google map to plan their journey and complete with an email notification of the appointment, what branch and who will conduct the appointment.

05 Reports & Insights

Branch and area managers have access to business performance reports, including total appointments booked, customers served, average service times, SLA comparisons, and the percentage of calendar utilization for a given time and across locations. The central administration team can also see organization-wide data for all key metrics required. This data is passed directly across from the Q-Flow database to a central reporting system for the company to create the detailed reporting views needed.

2023 Omnichannel appointment EN4-1