Transforming Insurance Through Empathy and Innovation: Aflac's Journey in Enhancing Customer and Employee Experiences

Aflac Customer Story
Overview

Aflac, founded in 1955, is a leading Fortune 500 insurance company with over 12,000 employees and millions of policyholders. As the number one provider of supplemental health insurance in the U.S.*, Aflac offers plans that help address costs not covered by traditional health insurance. Under the leadership of Mary Daniel, VP of Customer Solutions Center, Aflac has transformed its operations through technology and processes that prioritize customer and employee experiences, leading to significant improvements in customer loyalty, employee retention, and overall business performance.

employees

revenue

year of foundation

Challenge

  • Reduce stress for customers and employees, focus on the recovery journey
  • Provide customers the best value in supplemental insurance products 
  • Make the customer and employee experiences as easy as possible
  • Ensure employees have the right tools to support customers’ needs 
  • Attract and retain the best staff  to provide career development and advancement 

Value Created

  • An 11-percentage point increase in Customer Ease within 2 years, and a 15% reduction in average handling time.
  • Boosted tenure of their agent specialists by 10 percentage points, resulting in a more experienced and capable workforce.
  • Enhanced customer satisfaction, leading to higher loyalty and increased referrals.

Challenges

Aflac manages customer interactions during highly stressful life events, such as cancer diagnoses, where empathy and support are crucial. “This can be a very traumatic and emotional time. You really don’t know how to navigate everything, you are scared, and processes can be complicated. We recognize a special need for those customers,” Daniel explained. Ensuring that employees are well-equipped, trained and motivated to handle such sensitive interactions is essential. Aflac’s challenge was to prioritize ease of interaction, help reduce stress for both customers and employees, streamline processes, and maintain high levels of customer satisfaction.

Actions


Aflac adopted a holistic approach to the human experience, integrating customer and employee experiences to achieve tangible business results. Key initiatives included:

  • Establishing a specialized team to handle first-time cancer claims, providing personalized support during traumatic times.
  • Shifting metrics from inward-focused to customer-centric, with "Customer Ease" becoming the primary metric.
  • Implementing continuous training programs, including micro-learning and engagement initiatives.
  • Forming an employee advisory council to involve frontline staff in decision-making, fostering a sense of ownership and engagement.
  • Adopting technology for a non-disruptive integration of new capabilities, such as call journey automation, workforce optimization, natural language speech routing.
  • Continuous evaluation of new technologies, such as current developments with Avaya AI agent assist – referred to by Aflac as their ‘Bionic Eye’ - to enhance both customer and employee experiences.

Outcomes

The strategic focus on Customer Experience (CX) and Employee Experience (EX) has led to remarkable achievements for Aflac:

  • An 11-percentage point increase in Customer Ease within 2 years, and a 15% reduction in average handling time.
  • Boosted tenure of their agent specialists by 10 percentage points, resulting in a more experienced and capable workforce.
  • Enhanced customer satisfaction, leading to higher loyalty and increased referrals.
  • Recognition of Mary Daniel on the Constellation Research AX100 list for her innovative approach to transforming customer experiences.

Key Achievements
 

  • Aflac's integration of empathy and technology has set a benchmark in the insurance industry.
  • The partnership with Avaya has enabled Aflac to implement innovative solutions at their own pace, ensuring seamless integration with existing processes.
  • Continuous improvement in both customer and employee experiences is helping drive significant business growth and operational efficiency.

Conclusion


Aflac's journey with Avaya exemplifies how a balanced approach to technology and human empathy can revolutionize business operations. Daniel notes, “In our line of work it is essential to understand that you can’t digitize empathy…Companies are quick to scale digital solutions, but to achieve value at scale there needs to be a healthy balance between humans and technology.” By focusing on the holistic human experience, Aflac has not only enhanced customer and employee satisfaction but also achieved substantial business success, underscoring the importance of intentional, empathetic innovation in driving long-term growth and customer loyalty.

"In our line of work it is essential to understand that you can’t digitize empathy… Companies are quick to scale digital solutions, but to achieve value at scale there needs to be a healthy balance between humans and technology."

—Mary Daniel, VP of Customer Solutions Center, Aflac

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More about Aflac Incorporated

About Aflac Incorporated

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL), a Fortune 500 company, has helped provide financial protection and peace of mind for for nearly 70 years to millions of policyholders and customers through its subsidiaries in the U.S. and Japan.

 

*LIMRA 2023 U.S. Supplemental Health Insurance Total Market Report.

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