Streamlined Communications with Hybrid Mail

Bibby Financial Services (BFS) takes pride in being customer-centric, keeping clients regularly updated on their financial situation. However, the manual process of sending these updates was time-consuming and inefficient, especially when small issues required sending notifications to hundreds of debtors. Gwen Geay, Head of Client Service Centre at BFS, says: “For larger jobs, we might need two or three employees, taking an entire day just to prepare the mail. This often pulled important staff away from their main tasks.”

The situation reached a tipping point when BFS decided to launch virtual bank accounts for all its clients, meaning 55,000 debtors had to receive update letters. Recognizing the need for change, BFS turned to SPS, a trusted partner since 2010, which had previously suggested a Hybrid Mail solution.

Automating the Mail Process

SPS, with its extensive experience in Hybrid Mail, quickly developed a demo for BFS. The demo highlighted how Hybrid Mail could enhance efficiency and reduce staff workload by handling client communications externally at SPS’s Digital Transformation Centre. With the new system, BFS employees would only need to log into a portal, input delivery details, and click send. This streamlined approach impressed BFS, leading to a swift implementation of Hybrid Mail for key users within just three weeks.

“Even the demo was quicker than our old method”, Gwen notes. “Everyone who’s used Hybrid Mail loves it, and now other departments are curious about it too.” Currently, key team leaders manage Hybrid Mail, but BFS plans to roll it out to all employees – the system's single sign-on portal makes it easy to introduce and train new users.
 

Achieving Efficiency and Accuracy

Since adopting Hybrid Mail, BFS has begun transitioning clients to virtual bank accounts, sending communications to its 55,000 debtors with minimal disruption. Gwen highlights the benefits, saying: “Hybrid Mail combines efficiency and accuracy. It allows staff to focus on their day jobs and eliminates human error in client communications.”

She adds, “In the age of GDPR, ensuring business-critical mail is error-free is priceless. Hybrid Mail even rejects letters if the address is wrong, preventing mistakes.”

Pleased with Hybrid Mail’s performance, BFS is exploring how to expand the solution to include email and SMS communications, and ongoing discussions with SPS aim to identify further automation opportunities.

Gwen concludes, “SPS has always approached us with a problem-solving attitude. They continually support us and suggest new developments. We look forward to seeing what more SPS can bring.”