MACKENZIE HARRISON PHOTOGRAPH Y
Verizon prides itself on offerring customer service in multiple languages.
turn, increases revenue. Customer
satisfaction with in-language call
centers is 10 percent higher than
it is with its English-language call
centers and 15 percent higher in
New York City and Los Angeles.
Verizon currently provides bills
in English and Spanish. When
making house calls,
Verizon sends technicians
who are proficient in a
customer’s particular
language. Those services
build brand loyalty, which
is extremely important in
an industry where Verizon
is competing intensely
with other carriers.
“So enhancing the customer’s experience through
in-language service helps
offset losses by driving loyalty, which drives growth”
says Correa. “Getting customers back is more costly
than retaining customers,
but in the markets where we do
business in-language or do service
for the disabled, we see a reduction
in churn.”
HEALTH INSURANCE
Company:
WellPoint
One of DiversityInc’s 25 Noteworthy Companies
Main Competitors: Aetna, CIGNA, United Health Group
Annual Revenue: $57 billion
Strategy: Training focused on cultural differences that block communication between clinicians and patient members
Payoff: Increased member satisfaction and participation
THE STORY: WellPoint, Aetna and
other highly competitive health-insurance providers are responding
to a growing number of studies,
such as the Institute of Medicine
of the National Academies’
“Unequal Treatment” report, that
detail how race and ethnicity
influence the communication
between their member doctors and
patient members.
“The study … found evidence
that stereotyping, biases, and
uncertainty on the part of healthcare providers can all contribute to
unequal treatment. The conditions
on which many clinical encounters take place—characterized
by high-time pressure, cognitive
complexity, and pressures for cost
containment—may enhance the
likelihood that these processes will
result in care poorly matched to
minority patients’ need,” according
to “Unequal Treatment.”
Following this 2002 study,
WellPoint created and is launching
training to educate its clinicians
in cross-cultural care. WellPoint
is rolling out Quality Interaction
Training, a more than two-hour interactive course, to 2,300 clinicians
this year. The training teaches
cultural competence.
Here’s an example of how it
works: A doctor prescribes medication, but a patient’s health is
not improving. The doctor could
assume the patient is not taking
the medication and ask, “Are you
