Entur makes it easy for travelers to choose the train

Entur has built a smart platform for their contact center. A platform that makes it easy for the agents to manage all channels using one tool, and to quickly find the right information. Following the Telia ACE roll out, Entur has improved both customer experience and agent efficiency, and reduced the average handling time with 23 percent. With clear numbers that show how customer service creates measurable value, their investment ideas carry a greater weight in the rest of the organization.

The state-owned company Entur was founded when train traffic in Norway was opened for competition. Entur’s mission is to offer travelers one point of contact for everything that concerns their journey, thus contributing to making it simple for people to choose public transportation.

“The goal is to create the greatest possible benefit to society, and to do it as economically as possible”, says Siv Stafsnes-Gregersen who is responsible for Entur’s customer service center.

Entur has 90 customer service staff that work in Lillehammer and in Trondheim, and they meet the customers on the phone, in social media as well as via chat and e-mail. Previously they had several systems for managing different channels and queries, and it was complex and cumbersome. With Telia ACE, Entur has got a comprehensive solution for the digital customer meeting and their information strategy.

“The agents’ workday has become much simpler now that they can manage all customer contacts in one tool”, says Siv.

A smart knowledgebase makes it easy to find the right information

As Entur’s mission is to coordinate the customer service for four different train operators, each with vast amounts of information, it was a challenge for Entur’s staff to quickly find answers to the customers’ questions. Now Entur has gathered all information in the smart knowledgebase, ACE Knowledge, and present it in an intuitive way for different target audiences. They have several portals for internal and external use and a smart FAQ on the website for international travel. Smart search and filtering of the knowledgebase makes it easier for the customers to find answers on their own, regardless if they want to know if you can bring your bike on the train or how much the ticket costs for a dog that weighs 15 kilos.

“Now that all the information is quality assured and simple to find, customer service can quickly answer the customer’s question on the phone or paste in a link to the right article in a text message, chat or in an e-mail.”

Already at launch, Entur had created an internal knowledgebase with an excess of 1000 guides. They have made a great effort on the structure of the articles to make the road to the right answer as seamless as possible for both internal and external users. The customer service personnel have access to a tab that conveys the communication goal of the article.

“When the agent understands the intention in the message, they will be freer to speak in a way that reaches each unique recipient.”

Making the value of customer service initiatives visible

Previously, follow up of quality and efficiency in Entur’s customer service entailed data being transferred manually from the systems to an Excel sheet. With Telia ACE the data transfer is automatic, and the statistics is presented in a clear way in a control panel. Numbers that show the actual outcome of different improvement initiatives provide a greater level of control in the quality work. A clear overview makes it easy to zoom in on specific problems, as well as to see which of the agents’ skills need to be updated.

Entur uses historical data to predict the traffic to customer service, to uncover improvement areas for the system, as well as to prioritize the development work with digital services on the web and in the app.

“Now we easily see if a lot of customers experience a problem with a specific payment option and can quickly get back to the train operator that it concerns. We also see which processes are top candidate for automation or self-service, such as offering the travelers the opportunity to cancel or reschedule their tickets on their own. “

Using statistics from the platform Siv and her colleagues can also show the positive outcomes of their work for other parts of the organization, such as achieving a reduced average handling time by 23 percent.

“It is important for us to have good data to explain which events have caused deviations. We implemented Telia ACE in 2019 and in 2020 we experienced for the first time that our investment proposals were prioritized in the organization”, says Siv.

Endurance and rewarding collaboration

Entur works to achieve long-term goals for an optimal customer experience and strives to achieve harmony between technology, processes and people. They continuously invest time to ensure that they get the most out of the technical platform for the contact center and work closely together with Telia to sharpen processes, develop new digital solutions and raise the agents’ skill level.

“It’s not just about choosing a platform. If you want it to work in an optimal way, it is necessary to work together with the supplier and to invest time in learning and innovation. We feel that we have a friendly and productive working relationship with Telia. “

Photo: Sune Eriksen, Tinagent

About Entur

Entur manages ticket sales and traffic information for the Norwegian train operators SJ.no, Goahead, Vy and Vy Vest. They create digital services that elevate the service experience and that makes it easier for travelers to choose the train. Why not check out entur.no.