Umpqua Bank delivers elevated customer experiences with Webex Contact Center.

Few financial institutions have evolved so mightily as Umpqua Bank. Founded in 1953 with just six employees, the company quickly grew into one of the most prominent banks in the Pacific Northwest.

Now, Umpqua stands tall as one of the top 30 banks in the entire United States. In fact, with over 600 associates and 340 locations, it recently crossed the $50 billion valuation mark in 2021. 

How did Umpqua Bank get here? Like many financial institutions, Umpqua Bank’s growth can be attributed to a series of mergers and acquisitions. But, according to Cameron Mitchell, Telephony Services Manager at Umpqua Bank, this continuous growth can also lead to unprecedented challenges—particularly when it comes to customer experience.

After merging with Columbia Bank in 2021, Mitchell soon realized Umpqua Bank had a challenge to overcome. Both institutions were using a smaller contact center solution that wasn’t scalable enough for their large user base. 

"In a combined organization, it would not suffice," Mitchell explained. "It's just much too small for us. So, we went shopping for a bigger contact center solution."

At the same time, Umpqua decided it was the perfect time for a cloud migration. Previously, the bank relied on an on-premise system, but this wouldn't be practical for such an expansive workforce. So, it set off in search of a new and improved platform for the entire organization.

According to Mitchell, he and his team evaluated several vendors before deciding on a solution.

"We met with our business units to find out what their needs were—not just today, but 5 or 10 years down the road," he said. "When we met with different competitors, we posed questions to see if they could meet those needs. Webex Contact Center came out on top." 

Ultimately, Mitchell's colleagues were impressed by the platform's low-code environment, which allows them to orchestrate customer journeys across digital channels in a centralized manner.

It was also important that  Webex Contact Center could seamlessly integrate with Umpqua's core banking platform. This enabled customer data to carry over from one system to another, making it easier for associates to access information.

Having finalized the decision, Mitchell didn't waste any time getting his contact center off the ground and into the cloud. In fact, as he explained, his team had a tight deadline to make it happen.

"We had to do it in six months, and we ended up doing it in five," he said. Despite the quick  timeline, the Umpqua Bank and Webex were able to get the job done right. 

"The migration was successful because of the time we took and the hours we put in," Mitchell added. "We had a great Cisco team that helped us along the way, and that's really what got us to the finish line on time."

You might expect a little pushback when rolling out a brand-new technology. Fortunately, Umpqua Bank employees embraced Webex Contact Center.

"Our associates really like the new platform," Mitchell claimed. "Moving to Webex Contact Center's agent desktop allows them to have much more customization within their space. They can move widgets around and make it their own."

Plus, he added, agents can view more information about their call before even taking it. In other words, associates can quickly identify who's calling and pull up the data necessary to better answer their questions.

Umpqua associates are especially enjoying Webex Contact Center's new visual workflow designer, too. This feature enables contact center agents to easily coordinate the customer experience they want to deliver. Software development teams can also use it in combination with application programming interfaces (APIs) to create more advanced applications based on their needs. 

"Being able to graphically see the whole life of the call from start to finish allows them to trace and view anywhere within the call system where a caller might have an issue," Mitchell said.

Although he hasn't quite integrated the platform's full capabilities, Mitchell said he looks forward to rolling out new features in the future. He's especially excited about introducing self-service options to improve the customer experience. Through Webex Contact Center, customers will be able to check their account balance or schedule a meeting with a loan office without having to speak with an agent. 

"Another thing we're looking at is what AI can do," he added. "We're looking at a way we can authenticate customers prior to getting an agent involved, which cuts down on average handle time and allows agents to serve more customers throughout the day."

Mitigating long wait times is especially important for a bank as big as Umpqua. As Mitchell explained, their agents receive an enormous amount of calls on a regular basis. 

"We receive about 10,000 calls a day, and we need a system that can handle that type of volume," he said. "Webex Contact Center gave us the tools to service all of our customers. We've received a lot of good feedback from customers that say they've never had any downtime or issues getting through to our agents."

Beyond uptime, Webex Contact Center has helped the bank get within striking distance of its key business objectives, such as improving its containment rate. 

"Currently, we sit at about 40%, but we're trying to get that closer to 80%," he said. "Webex Contact Center gives us the power to offer self-service or help customers reach an agent much faster than before."

Overall, the Umpqua’s collaboration with Webex has produced tangible results, both inside and outside the organization. Not only are customers happy, but employees can do their jobs more effectively, too. As Mitchell said, Webex will continue playing an important role in this process moving forward.

“Cisco has a long-standing history in the industry, as well as the support to back up all of their products,” he said. “I truly believe Webex Contact Center and the whole Webex Suite can really take Umpqua Bank into the future."

Get in touch with our team today to learn more about how Webex can improve collaboration and customer experience at your organization.