Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island Expands Performance Optimization Focus with eQuality from Witness Systems(email this article)

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 22, 2003-- Witness Systems (Company Profile, Past Stories, Case Studies) (NASDAQ: WITS - News), a leading global provider of performance optimization software and services, today announced that Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island (BCBSRI) will implement additional applications in the eQuality® performance optimization software suite to enhance its quality assurance program.

BCBSRI's customer service center in Providence handles more than 1 million interactions per year. In addition to using eQuality ContactStore to record 100 percent of inbound and outbound customer interactions for verifications, the company will use eQuality Balance to capture 20 percent of contacts from both a voice and data perspective for quality assurance. The combined solutions, branded as eQuality ContactStore Plus, will enable BCBSRI to continue its proactive recording practices for liability protection while providing a highly effective means of evaluating customer service delivery to improve performance.

The eQuality ContactStore Plus solution will help BCBSRI record 100 percent of customer interactions, and then proactively organize them - based on business rules that it defines - into designated folders for easy access and replay. As a result, the insurer will know that all calls are being captured to meet its requirements and that important contacts are collected for review, categorized according to its unique business needs.

"eQuality will provide us competitive differentiation," says Stephanie Ledoux, Assistant Vice President of Customer and Provider Service for BCBSRI. "We anticipate that the software will help us increase customer satisfaction, enhance training and improve reporting within our service center. As a result, our customers will have better experiences because they'll know that we're committed to helping them."

BCBSRI also will use eQuality Vision, a data visualization tool that enables the rapid search and retrieval of recorded customer interactions to pinpoint and view those of particular interest. And it will deploy the eQuality Now e-learning application to help train agents in the use of the company's new Pega CRM system and to supplement new-hire and ongoing training when it comes to soft skills development. If an agent's performance in a certain area falls below the standard, as tracked by eQuality Evaluation, then eQuality Now will deliver online training to the desktop automatically. The application's courseware includes 35 lessons in seven contact center skills tracks.

To prepare for eQuality's full launch in January, BCBSRI has participated in system training and completed a Performance Optimization Workshop. Delivered by the Witness Consulting Network, the workshop is designed to help organizations map its unique business drivers against corporate goals to identify measurable agent behaviors that can enhance customer experiences. The key deliverable is an evaluation form reflective of corporate, contact center and agent goals that supervisors use to track agent performance.

"The Performance Optimization Workshop was really valuable because it confirmed that we have the right approach to quality, and it helped us fine-tune our scoring scale so we'll be more consistent," Ledoux explained. "It provided a re-infusion of enthusiasm and a focus on consistency, both of which will help us gain internal support from our agents and supervisors."

Ledoux adds, "We're really excited about our quality program and happy to be working with Witness Systems. The eQuality platform has proven stability and great support and training. We've been very impressed with the technology and related services, not to mention the company of fellow users that we're joining."

About Blue Cross Blue Shield Rhode Island

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island has been the state's leading health insurer for 64 years and now covers more than 650,000 customers. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

About Witness Systems

Witness Systems (NASDAQ: WITS - News) provides the contact center industry's first integrated performance optimization software suite to help global enterprises capture customer intelligence and optimize workforce performance. Comprised of business-driven and/or full-time customer interaction recording, performance analysis and e- learning management applications, the browser-based eQuality® solution is designed to enhance the quality of customer contacts across multiple communications media, including the telephone, e-mail and Web. The closed-loop suite enables companies to record, evaluate, analyze and learn from customer contacts and the touch points they use to develop staff, generate revenue, reduce costs, and achieve greater customer retention and loyalty - all by sharing captured customer and business intelligence throughout the entire organization. An integrated business consulting, implementation and training methodology provides services to support an effective, rapid deployment of eQuality that enables organizations to maximize their return on investment. For additional information about Witness Systems and its eQuality software suite, visit www.witness.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this release that involves Witness Systems' expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. They are identified by words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," and similar expressions. These statements are based upon information available to Witness Systems as of the date of this release, and the company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statement. Forward- looking statements believed true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond our control and may cause actual results to differ materially from our current expectations. Some of the factors that could cause actual future results to differ materially from current expectations include fluctuations in customer demand and the timing of orders; the company's ability to manage its growth; the risk of new product introductions and customer acceptance of new products; the rapid technological change which characterizes the company's markets; the risks associated with international sales as the company expands its markets, including the risks associated with foreign currency fluctuations; the ability of the company to complete and integrate successfully any acquisitions or investments it may make; and the ability of the company to compete successfully in the future, as well as other risks identified under the caption "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2002, and any other reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Witness, eQuality and the Witness logo are United States registered trademarks of Witness Systems, Inc., protected by laws of the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.