It was standing room only in the 16th floor mock courtroom of Morgan & Morgan’s offices in the heart of downtown Orlando. What an exciting opportunity for members of the NCSA Central Florida Chapter to learn more about their Case Control Division and Center (CCC).
Our chapter meeting began with a welcome by Joanne Vazquez, Training Supervisor/Coordinator. She presented a brief history of Morgan & Morgan (M&M), which has been in business for 27 years. M&M has offices in Orlando, and all across Florida, as well as in Georgia, Mississippi, Kentucky, Tennessee and New York. Soon the practice will expand to Pennsylvania. Currently, M&M has a support staff of 1500+ employees, over 250 lawyers, and 163 employees in its case-control division.
The Case Control Center is the contact center, mainly responsible for servicing inbound calls from prospective clients. There is also a small group dedicated to making outbound calls as a result of case evaluation requests on the firm’s website or as a follow-up to attorney leads. The center also offers assistance via live chat. Assistance is available in Spanish, Portuguese, Créole and Arabic.
Tom Speake, Director of Call Center Operations, shared with NCSA members a glimpse of daily operations at the CCC. The call center was running well when he joined last fall. But he was able to provide additional structure and identify efficiencies, based on his 15 years of experience in the call center industry.
The firm continues to evolve and grow, experiencing many of the challenges that plague growing contact centers everywhere: staffing 24/7, updating multiple systems, communicating and managing change.
During the Q&A session, the NCSA members were able to “cross-examine” Tom and Joanne. These are some of the highlights.
General process: On the initial call, the intake agent is attempting to identify, through a series of questions, if the individual has a viable court case. There are three possible outcomes: 1) There is cause for a case and an investigator becomes involved; 2) There may be a case, but it does not fall under M&M’s area of practice. The individual may be provided a referral; or 3) Based on the situation, litigation is not an option.
The ideal candidate for the CCC does not necessarily have a legal background. Previous customer service experience is the biggest driver. Former Publix, Starbucks or Disney employees, all companies well-known in Central Florida for their customer-centric approach, historically become outstanding M&M employees. M&M hires only for full-time positions. A key trait sought in candidates is compassion, which ensures these brand ambassadors live the value of working “For the People.”
M&M has a 0-tolerance 100% attendance policy during training. From there, the agent works within a 10-point system. Attendance, Conduct, and Mistake policies are each given independent treatment.
Training for a new intake specialist lasts from 2-3 weeks. The first week is instructor-led in a classroom environment, focusing on case criteria and legal terminology. Week 2, new specialist listen to and service calls side-by-side with their trainer. Tests and assessments are administered frequently during the training journey.
There are development opportunities after 2 years of service. Some grow into the role of a case manager or even a paralegal. According to Joanne, ideally they seek to hire M&M “lifers.”
With the update to SalesForce, M&M hopes to take advantage of additional best in industry tools, such as e-wizards to guide specialists through the call flow criteria. The potential use of eSign, would also significantly improve service provided to clients.
Given the recent uptick in call volume, scheduling recurrent training (M&M University) is challenging. Small breakout sessions are held, service-levels permitting. Communication updates to the floor are made possible via email or through the use of a shared folder (referred to as the CCC Library). M&M also offers courses to develop its leadership.
The Quality Assurance Form in use is a recent update. Three monitors per week per agent are completed by a dedicated Quality team. Any coaching required may be completed by the QA agent, the lead or a training team member.
The NCSA members were treated to a guided tour of the CCC. We are pleased to report that not “a slip or a fall” was reported.
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