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American National:
Closing call center employee competence gap by over 90%

Discover how American National improved customer satisfaction and employee skills with Attensi Process. Claire Mead, VP of Service Center Operations, discusses their journey and future prospects in game-based training.

90%of the identified competence gap closed
5xrepetitions per module on average per user
26.7the average number of playthroughs per user
94%of employees 'like this way of training'

"I think this [Attensi] is something that sets us apart."

Claire Mead in a striped blazer standing in an office corridor beside a plant-topped cabinet
Claire MeadVice President | Service Center Operations | American National

Closing call center employee knowledge gap by over 90%

For insurer American National, delivering a consistent customer experience is vital to increasing call center customer satisfaction for over five million policyholders.

Indeed, the insurance giant is already hitting the mark in the customer satisfaction stakes. After all, Forbes magazine recently recognized American National as one of America’s Best Insurance Companies for 20221.

Now the insurance giant wants to further elevate its stellar customer experience by upskilling its Service Center Operations (SCO) employees.

That’s why the organization, headquartered in Galveston, Texas, turned to game-based training.

"We are thrilled to partner with Attensi to provide game-based training that empowers – and upskills – our employees.
Our investment in this innovative training solution provides employees with greater confidence in their role to enhance the employee and client experience.
We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved together and look forward to continued success."

Claire Mead
Vice President | Service Center Operations

How it all started

Having initially been introduced to Attensi through the Plug and Play Insurtech program,American National decided to start embedding game-based training across their Service Center, including both Property & Casualty(P&C) and Life & Annuity. The initial training covered three core areas:

  • Caller verification
  • Call center portal fraud
  • Payment methods

How game-based simulations help keep organizations ahead of the game

Training is a waste of time, effort and money if the knowledge and behaviors aren’t retained and applied.

The key to impactful training is making it fun, immersive and active, so that people enjoy doing it and build confidence in their new capabilities. The training also needs to replicate employees’ real-world context to close the gap between theory and practice.

This is where simulated training comes in. Replicating workplace situations, the learner can practice and repeat training until they’re confident and competent in their role.

Thanks to competitive elements from the gaming industry, including point-scoring, friendly competition and personalized achievements, game-based training encourages employees to match their performance against their top scoring colleagues. It makes the experience fun, compelling – and something they want to repeat.

That repetition is what makes knowledge and skills stick and raises performance levels.

Our objectives

To improve customer experience and drive business performance, we highlighted five objectives:

Enhance customer experience through more consistent application of best practices
Reduce time to competency on new skills, software, and process
Reduce fraud risk by training employees on how to identify and address potential fraudulent calls
Test game-based simulations as a training concept for wider application across the business
Engage employees and enhance confidence to improve the American National employee value proposition

The impact

90%of the identified competence gap closed
5xrepetitions per module on average per user
26.7the average number of playthroughs per user
94%of employees 'like this way of training'

Crucially, the knowledge gap was closed by over 90% for both tenured and new employees. This analysis highlights the effectiveness across all levels of tenure, showing the increase in knowledge retained through these simulations.

Post-training employee survey scores

  • 95% agreed "this training is directly relevant to my role"
  • 94% of employees ‘liked this way of training’
  • 94% said training had increased their confidence in verifying calls
  • 87% said training had increased their confidence in identifying fraudulent activity

And what employees said

  • "It activated all styles of learning by having us read, listen and apply what we’re taught."
  • "It was interactive and allowed us to actually practice with the systems without being on a live call."
  • I like to win. I like the points!"
  • "It’s a lot more fun to learn this way instead of just reading pages of information."
Brandon Freeman in a blue polo shirt standing in front of an American National wall sign

What’s next for American National and Attensi?

We believe this is just the first step in a journey of continuing professional development for American National’s employees.

Game-based learning has the capacity and the potential to raise performance and knowledge across every area of business activity.

Attensi has extensive experience across functions within insurance, including underwriting, marketing and distribution, and claims as well as onboarding and broader leadership development.

Although American National and Attensi have already achieved a lot together, we believe that the best may yet still be ahead of us.

Are you ready to level up your training?

Sources

  1. FORBES RECOGNIZES AMERICAN NATIONAL AS ONE OF ‘AMERICA’S BEST INSURANCE COMPANIES’, americannational.com/wps/portal/an/home/info/forbes%20press%20release/