The United States is experiencing a shift in healthcare today and employers are at its center. Collective Health, based in San Francisco, California in the United States, strives to give companies a smarter way to provide healthcare coverage through technology and design. They won in the 2018 Silver Stevie® Awards for Sales and Customer Service: Silver for Customer Service Department of the Year and for Best Use of Technology for Customer Service.
 
Happier and Healthier Customers

Founded in October 2013, Collective Health is backed by NEA, Founders Fund, Google Ventures, and other leading investors. Erika Alperin is the Corporate Marketing and Internal Communications Manager at Collective Health.

“We’re focused on serving the 170M+ Americans who receive healthcare coverage from their employers,” says Alperin. “We are interested in the shift to recognizing that the member experience really matters when it comes to healthcare. When people get the help they need to understand their health benefits, they are better, happier, and healthier consumers of healthcare.”

They replace traditional health plans with a flexible, data-driven alternative that enables companies to get more out of their investment while taking better care of their people.

Collective Health has become a popular choice for organizations to review their increasing costs year over year, and how to improve long-lasting effects of profits and employee spending not running as efficiently as possible.

An Effortless Experience for Everyone

Collective Health is powered by an all-in-one solution that connects and administers the entire health benefits ecosystem: health plans, benefits programs, spending accounts, and employee support. Their technology delivers a more effortless experience for everyone.

This has led them to achieving an NPS (Net Promoter Score) score that is 10 times greater than the industry average, which is due in large part to their amazing Member Advocate team. Alperin explains why their team has played a pivotal role.

“A few of our MA's joined the role because they have had to navigate health insurance and coverage issues for some of their family members. Not only were they trying to understand their plans, they were translating their coverage to family members from English to Spanish. Upon joining Collective, they helped to start a group on our team to serve our Spanish members and translate complex plan documents.”

Collective Health has also been recognized by The Wall Street Journal Top 25 Tech Companies to Watch, 2017, and Rock Health's Best Digital Health Company to Work For, 2017.

“We offer a rigorous training program, both content and cultural, work with internally built tools and technology that streamline processes, and allow us to focus on doing our job,” Alperin says.

Hiring advocates with a passion for helping others and solving complex issues can provide an important sense of empathy to customers.

Brainier Solutions, Inc. is definitely making an impression in the tech world, both with their foundational Learning Management Systems (LMS) and their customer service. Consistent care has earned them the 2017 Bronze Stevie® Award for Customer Service Department of the Year. This is their third year winning a Stevie Award for Sales & Customer Service.

Brainier was founded in 1995 in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the United States with a mission to aid clients in continuing education and training, advancing skillsets, and expanding knowledge. They offer three different computer software packages: élan LMS, Chameleon 2.0 (developed by BI WORLDWIDE), and Legacy LMS.

Brainier Solutions serves small to large enterprises dedicated to training and investing in their staff. Their software packages offer an interactive, individualized learning portal accessible to employees at any time and on any digital device they choose.

They state, “Brainier programs are developed with the understanding that employees are not machines,” the company states. “They are people balancing needs, concerns, and interests in and out of the workplace. As such, we aspire to provide a curriculum that develops work-related skillsets and personal development attributes that promote success in every aspect of their life.”

The LMS offers access to courses in Drug and Alcohol Awareness, HIPAA, IT Skills, Legal Compliance, OSHA, PC Skills, SkillSoft, as well as access to other course libraries. Employees can study at their own pace in ways they can comprehend and succeed. LMS is sure to include blended learning options with interactive e-learning and multimedia resources. Success is measured by each individual’s testing and tracking.

Employers and their administrators can manage and coordinate trainings as well as keep track of each employee’s development and success. The LMS programs also offer internal social communication via blogs, file exchange, internal messaging, and live chat.

They are repeatedly recognized for their product and services by tech guru sites like TrainingIndustry.com and SoftwareInsider.com. TrainingIndustry.com cited Brainier Solutions as one of The Top 20 companies in 2017 for Learning Portals/LMS after several years of featuring them as a company to watch. SoftwareInsider.com assessed them as “Above Average” in almost every category. The Brandon Hall Group has awarded Brainier Solutions for Excellence in Technology for Learning Management and Unique Learning Technology every year since 2013.

Brainier Solutions’ excellent product and award-winning customer service mirrors the motivation behind their LMS systems. “To advance, you must inspire and invest in their [employee] development. In-house training not only motivates employees to improve, it also gives them the tools and knowledge to do so.”

The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service recognize the achievements of contact center, customer service, business development and sales professionals worldwide. Entries for the 2017 competition are now being accepted.

October 19 is the early-bird entry deadline with discounted entry fees. The entry deadline is November 16, but late entries will be accepted through January 11 with payment of a late fee. Winners of the eleventh annual competition will be announced at a gala awards banquet on February 24 at Caesars Palace Hotel in Las Vegas.

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

Today we will highlight the Customer Service Department Awards categories.

In addition to the possibility of receiving a peer-reviewed honor in these categories, all nominated customer service departments that are chosen as Finalists also will be included in voting for the People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Customer Service.  Online voting will open to the public worldwide in mid-January and will continue through early February.  We will provide Finalists in these categories with tools to help you encourage your fans, followers and customers to vote for you.  The nominee with the most votes in each category will receive a special crystal People's Choice Stevie Award.

The customer service department categories recognize everyone who works formally in customer service in your organization, regardless of their role or location. 

Information required for entries in these categories include:
(a) An essay of up to 650 words describing your customer service department’s accomplishments since July 1, 2015.
(b) Optional (but highly recommended), a collection of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges. At the very least you should provide a link to the organization's website.

80. Customer Service Department of the Year – Airlines, Distribution & Transportation
81. Customer Service Department of the Year – Computer Hardware
82.  Customer Service Department of the Year – Computer Software. This category is split into two separate categories:
       a. At Organizations With Up to 100 Employees
       b. At Organizations With 100 or More Employees
83. Customer Service Department of the Year – Computer Service
84. Customer Service Department of the Year – Financial Services. This category is split into two separate categories:
       a. At Organizations With Up to 100 Employees
       b. At Organizations With 100 or More Employees
85. Customer Service Department of the Year – Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Related Industries
86. Customer Service Department of the Year – Leisure & Tourism
87. Customer Service Department of the Year – Public Services & Education
88. Customer Service Department of the Year – Retail
89. Customer Service Department of the Year – Telecommunications
90. Customer Service Department of the Year – All Other Industries

Past winners of the Customer Service Department awards include…

Customer Service Department of the Year - Airlines, Distribution & Transportation 
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
Delta Air Lines, Inc., Atlanta, GA USA: Delta Air Lines' Sales Support

Customer Service Department of the Year - Computer Hardware 
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
Service Express, Grand Rapids, MI USA: SEI's Exceptional Customer Service Experience

Customer Service Department of the Year - Computer Services 
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
Datapipe, Jersey City, NJ USA 

Customer Service Department of the Year - Computer Software - Up to 100 Employees 
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
Druva Inc., Sunnyvale, CA USA

Customer Service Department of the Year - Computer Software - 100 or More Employees 
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
Jobvite, San Mateo, CA USA

...and more. See all 2016 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service winners here.

The Stevie Awards would like to recognize The 2016 American Business Awards Customer Service and Support Awards judging committee. These category groups are small but mighty. Learn a bit more about the professionals in these categories who will determine the Stevie Award winners.

There is still time to submit your nominations in the customer service and support awards categories. The final  entry deadline has been extended to Tuesday, April 19.

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

Judging Chair:

Steve Fulmer, Senior Vice President of Government Guaranteed Lending
First GREEN Bank, Orlando, Florida, USA

Steve Fulmer is the Senior Vice President of Government Guaranteed Lending at First GREEN Bank, a “local bank with a global mission” that endeavors to do the right thing for the environment, and the company’s people, community, and shareholders. Steve oversees all Small Business Administration and US Department of Agriculture Business Lending in Florida for the bank.

Steve has over 8 years experience in banking in Central Florida. He currently serves on the executive board of the Oviedo/Winter Springs Chamber and the steering chairman for Future Leaders of CREW Orlando. 

Steve has a Master’s Degree of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix and is a US Army veteran.

Judging Committee:

Ricardo Barreras, Senior Manager of Efficiency and Effectiveness
Locus Telecommunications, LLC, Fort Lee, New Jersey, USA
Proud veteran of our U.S. Armed Forces and 25+ year veteran of the support industry, to include both front-line [retail sales] and back-office [administrative, operational and bi-lingual customer relations].

Emilia DAnzica, Senior Director, Customer Success
WalkMe, San Francisco, California, USA
Emilia DAnzica is the VP of Customer Engagement at WalkMe, the worlds first enterprise guidance and enablement platform. Her primary goal is to ensure customer success and to share customer stories.

Ana Degani Goes, Regional Director of Customer Service, Americas Region
DHL Express, Plantation, Florida, USA

Sandra Finn, President
Cross Country Home Services, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
Sandra Finn has been awarded numerous Stevie and other awards during her 15 year tenure as President of Cross Country Home Services, a national home services company. The companys success reflects her expertise in Marketing, Customer Experience, and development and execution of significant new products, clients, and technologies.

Vernessa W. Gates, Chief Compliance Officer
V & W Compliance Group, Columbus, Ohio, USA

Lisa Gregovich, Manager, Vendor Operations
Prime Therapeutics, Irving, Texas, USA
Lisa Gregovich is an experienced call center/customer service leader who has held leadership positions at a diverse selection of contact centers over the last 10 years, including Prime Therapeutics, Paychex (ePlan Services) and Time Warner Cable. Lisa has over 15 years of contact center and customer service experience. In addition, she has a MBA, serviced on the Board of Directors for CSAE and has been a judge for the Stevie awards since 2010.

Seth Hall, Vice President, Customer Service
Philadelphia Insurance Companies, Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania USA
Experienced Service Operations leader with deep expertise in navigating change, leading larger service operations while realizing significant and sustainable results.

Batul Hasan, CEO
BSH Consultants, Karachi, Pakistan
Started my career as a Clinical Psychologist, taught at University of Karachi. With training in Business Management, moved to Unilever Pakistan and continued for 17 years. In 2004 started own Consultancy firm for Marketing Research which is growth to success.

Kevin Hegebarth, Vice President, Marketing
HireIQ Solutions, Inc., Alpharetta, Georgia, USA
Kevin is experienced in marketing technology solutions to improve the recruiting, hiring, performance, and quality of customer service professionals. He has held executive marketing, product management and business development roles with leading companies serving the customer contact market. He is a frequent contributor to industry publications and is a sought-after speaker at industry events.

Parag Jaripatke, Senior Systems Administrator
AOL, Inc., Ashburn, Virginia, USA
Result oriented professional equipped with 19 years of core Ecommerce, B2B and B2C domains. Background includes managing extensive critical top notch high end applications and systems spread across global infrastructures.

Deb Matthews, Vice President, Customer Experience
nexVortex, Herndon, Virginia, USA
Deb has extensive experience in both the telecommunications industry and customer care and helpdesks. Prior to joining nexVortex, she oversaw BAEs service desk, which was responsible for serving the needs of 53,000 employees all day, every day. She has worked at multiple telecom organizations including Neustar, Startec Global, and Teligent.

Thomas Moor, Global Director, Strategy and Planning
Sartomer, Exton, Pennsylvania, USA
With over 20 years of experience, developing strategy and leading global business teams in specialty chemicals, Tom brings a unique perspective to the judging process. Tom holds an MBA from Villanova University and has spent post-graduate time in executive education at Harvard Business School.

Lou Reinemann, Director, Customer Care and Documentation
SmartBear Software, Somerville, Massachusetts, USA
Lou has run service organizations with technology companies in the Boston area for over 25 years. With companies ranging in size from startups to Fortune 500 companies, he has built and lead pre- and post-sales technical service teams focused on outstanding customer service.

Kim Seney, Marketing Operations Excecutive
CSAA Insurance Group, San Francisco, California, USA
Kim Seney leads the Marketing Operations team at CSAA, a AAA company. Prior to AAA, she was Director of Operations at APS, responsible for the customer service needs of one million electric customers throughout Arizona, where her team received the 2005 Stevie Award for excellence in Customer Service and Communications.

Sunil Wadhwa, Vice President, Customer Success
Druva, Sunnyvale, California, USA

Teresa Waller, Broker / Owner
Blue Sky Telecom Brokers, Bakersfield, California, USA
Teresa is the Broker-Owner of Blue Sky Telecom Brokers, a company that takes a consultative approach to helping businesses choose the right Telecom or Cloud provider for their business. With over 30 years in the industry Teresa prides herself on making things a little easier for her clients.

The customer service awards categories to be judged are:

J01. Customer Service Department of the Year

J02. Customer Service Team of the Year

J03. Customer Service Executive of the Year

The support awards categories to be judged are:

R01. Support Department of the Year

R02. Support Team of the Year

R03. Support Staffer of the Year: recognizing non-executive support personnel, including office managers, administrative assistants, secretaries, maintenance professionals, etc.  There is no entry fee for this category

See the listing of all 2016 American Business Awards judging committees here.