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Customer Profiles: TELUS

Better Information, Faster Billing, Lower Cost

As the largest telecommunications company in western Canada – and the second largest in the country -- TELUS faces fierce competition and continually looks for ways to improve customer service and increase productivity while controlling costs. TELUS turned to Datria in 2002 for voice-enabled field service applications that would help the company improve operations by improving and accelerating the information flow.

Prior to implementing Datria, TELUS used multiple management processes for field service. As with many large companies, different methods evolved in different service regions. In some areas, field service representatives used laptops to report their work and open and close trouble tickets. In other areas, they called and spoke with a dispatcher. Other areas distributed paper trouble tickets at the beginning of the day and collected them at the end of the day.

Using multiple methods reduced efficiency and increased costs. The cost to support laptops, for instance, was significant. For many field processes, laptops were viewed as overkill — there just wasn’t enough information in the process to require a laptop. Other costs included the clerical personnel needed to distribute, collect, and re-key information from paper trouble tickets. In addition to the direct costs, there were significant indirect costs associated with delays in entering the data and with the errors that often crop up when re-keying handwritten data. One of the most important indirect costs was that billing cycles could be significantly delayed.

Ultimately TELUS wanted a universal solution that field service representatives could use in any service region and any type of office – urban, rural or home offices. TELUS also wanted a system that could enhance the company’s investment in major software systems, such as SAP and the AWAS scheduling system. Part of TELUS’ vision is to use true voice recognition wherever appropriate. TELUS turned to Datria for a modular set of voice self-service applications that could be implemented in a step-by-step process.

TELUS began with a vehicle maintenance application — a slim portion of Datria’s Field Administration suite. The application, rolled out early in 2003, allows field service representatives to quickly report information about their vehicle. The application eliminates a paper form and doesn’t require a press-a-number IVR system. Most importantly, the application helps solve a business problem. In one easy step, TELUS supervisors can now easily identify which vehicles need maintenance, which leases are close to completion, and how to allocate vehicle charges to multiple projects and departments.

The vehicle maintenance application was essentially a trial to determine how voice self-service applications would be accepted by TELUS employees and how they would perform in the vast TELUS service area. Encouraged by the results, TELUS rolled out a more complex application that directly affects the revenue stream: Field Billing. Field Billing allows field service representatives to initiate a new bill as a result of up selling services at a customer’s residence. For instance, a representative might visit a home to install a new phone. While there, he or she has may sell additional services. The representative then calls Datria Field Billing to report the additional work, the parts used, and the amount of labor required. Datria Field Billing calculates the price; if the customer accepts, the system immediately initiates a new billing cycle and sends a bill the next day. TELUS reports that the application shaves an average of five days off the billing cycle and, in some cases, can save as much as 60 days.

Another benefit of Field Billing is that TELUS is assured that all field representatives are using up-to-date tariffs and business rules. The system stores the tariffs and rules on the Datria server. If they change, the company simply updates the server – all the changes are made in one and only one place. After the change is made, any field service representative that calls Datria Field Billing gets the latest information.

After its initial success with the two Datria applications, TELUS recently launched four additional applications, Attendance Reporting, Dispatch, Inspection, and Time Reporting.

Attendance Reporting allows employees to call in when they are unable to report to work due to illness or other unforeseen circumstances. The application then notifies affected departments, allowing them to plan for the absence. The application also notifies managers and, where appropriate, requests their approval.

Dispatch provides a voice recognition interface to the AWAS dispatch system that TELUS uses. Technicians can use a phone – rather than a laptop -- to call the dispatch system to determine their next job. Rather than speaking to a live dispatcher, the technician talks to a Datria virtual dispatcher.

Inspection automates a number of manual processes. For instance, a field service representative can now call in a vehicle inspection. Traditionally, a supervisor needed to inspect the vehicle, fill out a complex form, take the form back to the office, and enter the information into a business system. The Datria application allows the user – not supervisors -- to complete the process by voice while still in the field. Field service representatives can also use Datria Inspection to enter other inspection reports involving work sites, buildings, or compounds.

Time Reporting allows TELUS field service representatives to enter the hours they have worked on a specific job or within a specific day. The application automatically reports this information to the TELUS accounting and payroll systems.

With the launch of each new application, the list of potential applications also seems to get longer. TELUS sees significant benefits from voice self-service, including cost control and improved productivity. TELUS recently deployed a trial of another new application called Service Express. Field service representatives use Service Express to order parts to replenish their inventories or to be delivered to a specific job site. Service Express brings voice self-service to the complicated process of inventory control and parts replenishment.

TELUS is continually evaluating voice applications which provide business value and continues to develop and launch applications which produce significant returns on investment. As Gregory Johnson, the TELUS program manager notes, “This is a viable technology — it’s commercial grade — it’s good stuff! We believe we’re just scratching the surface here. I can tell you there’s … a long list of potential applications showing up at our doorstep and the list of applications could be endless.”

Business Benefits

Voice self-service helps TELUS:

• Reduce billing cycles
• Capture revenues for add-on work at a customer site
• Improve billing accuracy by ensuring that the latest rules and tariffs are used
• Improve inspection and compliance processes
• Replenish parts efficiently and more accurately – ensure that the right parts are on the right truck at the right time
• Allocate costs more accurately
• Respond more effectively to employee absences
• Control costs in a wide range of field service processes