Title

AWS re:Invent 2022 - How NAB transformed the self-service experience w/Amazon Connect & ML (BIZ207)

Summary

Jim Kreitler from AWS introduced the session, emphasizing the importance of customer experience and its impact on business revenue.
Statistics were shared, highlighting the significance of IVR and conversational AI in boosting sales and customer loyalty.
The session focused on how National Australia Bank (NAB) modernized its self-service with Amazon Connect, improving customer satisfaction and innovation speed.
NAB's journey with AWS began four years ago, starting with a small contact center and expanding to more complex ones.
The bank faced challenges such as building a new team with different skills, defining scope, and navigating environmental changes like COVID-19.
NAB's customer journey was redesigned to be seamless, connecting digital and human experiences and providing a consolidated view of the customer to agents.
Results showed improvements in NPS, employee satisfaction, IVR containment, and transfer rates.
Cost savings were realized by decommissioning legacy platforms and infrastructure.
Service availability improved with fewer critical incidents and faster resolution times.
The session concluded with key takeaways, including the importance of top-down leadership, having a clear plan, and choosing the right partners.

The integration of Amazon Connect and machine learning has significantly lowered operational costs for NAB while enhancing customer experiences.
NAB's strategic focus on being "digital first and human when it matters" aligns with the capabilities provided by Amazon Connect, allowing for a more personalized and efficient customer service.
The transition to Amazon Connect required a shift in team skills, from managing third-party software to developing in-house capabilities with cloud engineers and DevOps.
NAB's approach to maintaining traditional services (like telephone banking) while introducing new technologies ensured a smooth transition for customers accustomed to existing services.
The bank's focus on reducing transfer rates and improving self-service options reflects a broader industry trend towards empowering customers to resolve issues independently.
The success of NAB's transformation was partly due to strong executive sponsorship, clear communication, and a willingness to embrace change, even if it involved some initial challenges.
The session highlighted the ongoing evolution of Amazon Connect, with AWS continuously releasing new features that enhance the platform's capabilities.
The mention of a tool developed by Neuroflash to convert existing VXML grammars to Lex suggests a growing ecosystem of tools and partners that facilitate the migration to Amazon Connect.