LA VAUDOISE
Modernises its letter mailing system
Vaudoise Assurances, a Swiss insurance business, intended to modernize and streamline its policyholder contact tool and processes in 2016. The project is part of the company's overall ambition to create new digital solutions and improve the tools that employees use on a daily basis.
Moving from an ageing tool to a user-friendly solution
"Each year, Vaudoise Assurances sends out more than 100,000 letters to its policyholders, and receives no less than 2000 letters per day, which are scanned at the head office in Lausanne." explains Axel Pidoux, Project Manager."To process such a large number of letters, our teams need a simple, user-friendly tool that does not hinder their productivity." he adds.
"The previous solution used by our agents at points of sale, and employees at the company's head office, was clearly showing signs of weakness. It was a system developed "in-house", based on Microsoft Office, which did not integrate, or poorly integrated, the latest developments in this technology." recalls Axel Pidoux.
This "in-house" technology was used by the insurance firm, which is situated in Vaud, Switzerland, to write its letters. There were few opportunities for the system to evolve, and it failed to meet the needs of personnel on a regular basis (archiving, digital signature, etc.)
"We wanted to provide our employees with an easy-to-use system to write their letters." states Axel Pidoux.
When technology and user experience come together
"After consulting a number of service providers, we decided to work with SQLI Switzerland and its digital agency WAX Interactive; a company we have already worked with for several years on other projects. SQLI Switzerland proposed SharePoint technology, combined with the use of Word Web App, a tool which we wish to hold onto because of its ease-of-use," explains Axel Pidoux.
Models for the application-based solution were generated using Axure in collaboration with SQLI's teams. After that, focus groups with end users were held to learn more about their requirements and expectations. "WAX Interactive's UX/Design experts put forward a structured work environment for the writing of letters using Word. We wanted this to be governed by usage and approval processes, while allowing plenty of freedom to make modifications. This requirement was fully met!" recalls Axel Pidoux.
“Writing a letter has never been simpler”
The next problem was to make the tool easy to integrate into other apps after the design was accepted.
"It is now very easy for our employees in the pilot group to write letters. Via our business applications, users simply click on the button "Create a letter", the form appears and they select a template and letter-type. They can then attach a file, if required, and write the text in Word Web App. This generates a letter that can be previewed before being exported and printed.
All data concerning the recipient, sender or sending options are added by application-based services." Axel Pidoux is delighted to note that "Users don't have to fill anything in, except for the content of their letter."
Members of the working group at Vaudoise Assurances are pleased with the new letter-sending system, which is easier and more user-friendly, and so increases employee performance and quality of work.
performance and quality of work.
"The next step will be to create templates containing text to make additional time savings. Users will once again be involved in this project: we will ask them to put forward text templates that they often write, so they can be reproduced almost exactly. They will therefore find themselves in a familiar environment.
The advice provided by SQLI and WAX Interactive's teams, as well as their technological and business expertise, has been very valuable to us."
Signature, printing, and envelope stuffing procedures will all be digitized and automated in the future.
"With entirely digitised incoming and outgoing letter flows, employees are no longer burdened with physical documents and are able to consult and manage their business wherever they go in Switzerland.
Now, sending letters, in an enjoyable work environment, while meeting our customers' expectations, is child's play!" concludes Axel Pidoux.