Streamlining back-office operations through visualization of advanced tacit knowledge

Enhancing back-office operations with eye tracking technology at ORIX life.

Background

Digital transformation (DX) is sweeping the business landscape. With diversifying customer age groups and changing needs, customer behaviors are evolving.

ORIX Life is swiftly digitalizing its services with a customer-centric perspective, intending to remain the preferred choice. Specifically, ORIX Life has integrated digital technologies like RPA, AI-OCR, and Voice Bot to heighten customer convenience, streamline operations, and escalate business productivity.

The integration of these digital technologies has led to the consolidation of more sophisticated tasks in the back office. This trend is expected to continue, requiring enhancement of the quality of human-handled tasks and the training of new employees across various locations. It’s more important than ever to visualize and share the "tacit knowledge" of skilled employees.

Studying skill transfer

ORIX Life began exploring tools that could realize this vision. They studied various companies across industries that had successfully achieved "skill transfer" and "skill standardization." During this research, they discovered that Tobii's eye tracking technology was widely adopted in medical, academic, and precision instrument industries.

For instance, ORIX Life observed commonalities in their back-office departments with the work processing techniques used by an electric power company, which involved simultaneous multiple system checks. They also noted instances where advanced precision equipment manufacturers and medical institutions used eye tracking for skill transfer and technical education.

Based on this research, ORIX Life decided to adopt Tobii's eye tracking system, impressed by the tech as well as Tobii's broad industry experience. The company began using this system in their Call Center (Customer Service Department) and Underwriting Decision Department (New Policy Department).

Easing the customer experience

The call center, a critical customer touchpoint, involves operators speaking, listening, and inputting simultaneously for diverse customer requests across multiple systems. In a study involving six operators equipped with wearable eye trackers, 41 insights were unearthed. These included differences in the usage frequency of each system, the sequence of viewing, and the impact on post-call efficiency measures like call time and document dispatch arrangements.

The operators participated in a survey to understand the overall operational status of the call center. The survey results revealed operational challenges, prompting efforts to enhance existing guidelines and introduce new ones.

The department responsible for reviewing customer application documents and deciding on acceptance demands both accuracy and speed. Here too, variations were noted in the way individuals checked application forms and the overall system. Based on eye-tracking results from 18 individuals, a survey involving 55 people was conducted, revealing the tacit knowledge of seasoned workers. This knowledge included the sequence in which they reviewed application documents and reasons for double-checking them.