ProCredit Bank improves contact center operations, cuts wait times by 30% using Dynamics 365 Customer Service

ProCredit Bank, established in Romania in 2002, focuses on financing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), recognizing their vital role in creating jobs and contributing to Romania’s economic growth. By providing simple and accessible financial services tailored to its clients, ProCredit Bank seeks to promote a culture of financial responsibility among businesses and individuals.

Addressing scattered customer information

Previously, ProCredit Bank's outdated and siloed applications made it difficult to navigate client interactions effectively. "Agentshad to check client information across multiple applications, whether external or internal, leading to delays. They resorted to tracking complaints using spreadsheets and discussing issues with other departments through separate, lengthy email threads," explains Laurentia Popescu, Head of Banking Applications Support Department at ProCredit Bank Romania. "Managing activities in the contact center was hectic, and standardizing processes was almost impossible."

The inability to measure performance or collect client feedback hampered the bank’s efforts to improve services. "If you can't measure what you're doing, you can’t improve it. We had no way of measuring performance or collecting feedback from clients due to our multiple disconnected systems," Laurentia Popescu adds.

Moving to an integrated platform

Recognizing the need for a change, ProCredit Bank decided to migrate to a more integrated solution. ProCredit Bank chose Dynamics 365 Customer Service to streamline its contact center operations. "Opting for Microsoft felt natural since we were familiar with the ecosystem," says Popescu. "We already use Outlook for email, Microsoft Azure for hosting various banking applications, and other Microsoft 365 tools across the bank. We also valued the platform’s ability to centralize information.” Finally, Microsoft offered a wide range of solutions, a user-friendly interface, and possibilities for integration.

To implement the new platform, ProCredit Bank through Quipu, the bank’s dedicated IT company with 20 years of experience, partnered with Aleman Software Group (ASG), one of Romania’s most innovative providers of consulting, software, and outsourcing services on Microsoft Dynamics 365. "The most important phase was drafting the business requirements," explains Popescu. "When you've been doing things a certain way for a long time, it’s hard to envision new possibilities. We needed someone to encourage us to think bigger while staying grounded in reality, and ASG excelled in this role."

Integration was another key objective for ProCredit Bank. Popescu explains: "We integrated and synchronized information between Dynamics 365 Customer Service and our core banking application, implementing a 15-minute refresh cycle. This ensures that the call center always has access to the most up-to-date information on every customer."

Taking advantage of its new platform, ProCredit Bank also expanded its communication channels to further improve client satisfaction. "Previously, clients could only call us. Now, we've added both voice and chat channels," says Popescu.

Boosting agents’ responsiveness

With the implementation of Dynamics 365 Customer Service, ProCredit Bank call center specialists have all the information they need at their fingertips during client conversations. This includes personal details, banking history, preferences, and details related to the products the client has acquired. Stefan Manole, General Manager at ProCredit Bank Romania, adds, “The comprehensive view helps our specialists make informed decisions and respond to client inquires in real time. Thanks to the integration we’ve set up between Dynamics 365 and our core banking applications, we now resolve 23% of customer inquiries at first contact.”

When issues cannot be resolved immediately, specialists can now easily open and forward cases to the appropriate department. "We have defined standard processes for the majority of issues our clients face," Popescu explains. “Since the history of a client's interactions with the bank is readily available in Dynamics 365, our specialists can easily identify recurring issues and previous resolutions.”

Enhancing client engagement

ProCredit Bank's contact center now operates more efficiently. With the addition ofDynamics 365 Contact Center, agents have gained the ability to switch between interactions seamlessly. "Previously, there was no automated routing process. The calls would go to all agents simultaneously, and the first one available would take the call. Now the system knows not to route more than three chats to one agent at once, and if they are on a phone call, no chats will be routed to them,” says Popescu. "Defining routing rules was remarkably helpful. With these changes, we’ve increased our speed in responding to clients' needs by 14% on average.”

ProCredit Bank also takes advantage of several automation features, speeding things up further. For example, previously, an agent would manually reach out to the client to inform them that an issue had been resolved. “This could cause delays in informing the client due to ongoing tasks,” recalls Popescu. “Now, once we close a case, the system automatically notifies the client.”

Elevating client satisfaction

Traceability has significantly improved as well, bringing structure and transparency to the bank’s processes. "Previously, we relied on emails, making it difficult to understand who did what and when. The traceability brought by Dynamics 365 finally made contact center operations efficient," says Manole. What’s more, the bank is now able to record and transcribe voice conversations between customers and agents, enabling it to coach its staff based on their actual performance.

ProCredit Bank’s operational improvements have also enabled quantitative performance measurements. "When we close the case, clients now receive a satisfaction survey with two questions: one about the interaction with the bank, and the other about how they feel their issue was handled," says Popescu. “Previously, we were relying on feedback that clients would share with their bank representatives, which would often be subjective. We now have concrete numbers to rely on."

This data-driven approach allows the bank to make informed changes in its workflows to improve client experience. “For example, we monitored and investigated the reasons behind long wait times based on analytics from Dynamics 365. As a result, we were able to decrease the average client wait time by 30%,” shares Popescu. With reduced wait times, 31% more customers stay on the line before an agent picks up. This has led to happier customers. "We didn’t measure our client satisfaction score before. After the implementation of Dynamics 365, we can track it, and it currently stands at an impressive 4.3 out of 5," notes Popescu.

Continued digital evolution

Today, ProCredit Bank is transitioning from an SME-focused approach to retail banking. So, it has embarked on its next chapter: gaining unique insights through customer segmentation. "In retail, marketing tools and automation are crucial. With Dynamics 365 Customer Insights, we can now leverage data to develop unique client journeys and create segments for personalized marketing," Manole explains.

ProCredit Bank is also planning to implement Dynamics 365 Sales. “With better visibility into client interactions and activities, relationship managers can engage with clients more effectively, especially those initially contacted by the call center,” shares Manole. The bank is also exploring Power Automate, Azure OpenAI Service, and Microsoft Copilot to improve internal processes.

As pioneers within the ProCredit Group, the bank has shared its experience with other banks in the group. "Given the improvements we’ve achieved with Dynamics 365, some of them will likely replicate our journey, tailoring the solution further to their own needs," shares Manole. “It’s clear that we are miles ahead of where we started, and we hope that others will follow suit.”