BOSTON, March 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts has received three customer experience awards from Service Quality Measurement, a leading market research firm.

Blue Cross is honored to receive the following awards:

• Customer Experience Best Practice, CSR Selection for a recruitment program aimed at finding and retaining empathetic customer service representatives who deliver a personalized service experience to members. The approach has significantly reduced recruiting time and improved retention of team members, and has become so successful that other organizations have come to Blue Cross to learn how they can implement it.
• Customer Experience Best Practice, Standard Operating Procedure for robust new initiatives that ensure members who call the member services center have their issue solved on the first call whenever possible. The programs include a governance structure, new cross-enterprise collaboration and the creation of inter-department "hotlines."
• Contact Center World Class Customer Experience Certification for offering an outstanding consumer experience to retail customers, including Medicare members, who buy their health insurance directly from Blue Cross. To earn this award, the retail sales and retention team achieved a first call resolution rate of 80 percent or higher for three consecutive months. This was the third year in a row the team was recognized with this award.

Additionally, Blue Cross' pharmacy benefits manager, Express Scripts, received its first Contact Center World Class Customer Experience Certification for maintaining a first call resolution rate of 80 percent or higher for three consecutive months.

"I want to thank all our associates in member and provider services, retail sales and retention, and our partners at Express Scripts, for their efforts to meet the needs of our customers," said Blue Cross Chief Operating Officer Rich Lynch. "I am proud their hard work has received this well-deserved recognition from one of the leading customer experience market research firms in North America. It's a sign of our ongoing commitment to provide an outstanding consumer experience." 

About the SQM Awards
SQM's Contact Center Customer Experience, Employee Experience, and Best Practice Awards are the most prestigious and sought-after North American contact center industry awards. They are unique because they are based on surveys with customers who have used a contact center and/or employees who work in a contact center. On an annual basis, SQM conducts more than 1.5 million surveys with customers who have used a contact center and more than 25,000 surveys with employees who work in contact centers.

About Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (bluecrossma.com) is a community-focused, tax-paying, not-for-profit health plan headquartered in Boston. We are committed to the relentless pursuit of quality, affordable health care with an unparalleled consumer experience. Consistent with our promise to always put our members first, we are rated among the nation's best health plans for member satisfaction and quality. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

SOURCE Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts