Customer experiences matter. And many businesses struggle to improve them.
More often than not, a bad process is to blame: manual tasks, data spread across too many systems, or even just old ad hoc workflows that linger on because that’s how it’s always been done.
But the cost of ignoring these issues is high. Organizations with poor customer experiences often experience revenue loss and market share, costing an estimated $3.7 trillion annually across organizations worldwide.1
It’s why many organizations are looking inward, finding ways to improve processes that affect their customers—both those that touch customers directly and those that only employees encounter. Case management processes are often the perfect candidates for optimization. And with the right tools, your organization can reduce inefficiencies that increase satisfaction for customers, improve employee experiences, and boost your bottom line.
What is case management software?
Customer serivce case management software is designed to help organizations manage and streamline their workflows, particularly in fields where cases, projects, or tasks need to be tracked, monitored, and coordinated. It provides a centralized platform for storing, organizing, and accessing information related to cases, clients, or projects.
Case management software is used in various industries, including customer service, to improve productivity, enhance collaboration, and provide better service to their clients or constituents.
It is particularly useful for optimizing HR service management workflows involving policy and procedure guidance, grievance and disciplinary processes, HR service centers, email management, and employee onboarding.
Benefits of case management software for customer service
Your employees are empowered to work smarter
Case management software gives employees a much better experience for managing the dynamic nature of their work. Rather than sifting between emails, messaging, and documents, they can access everything they need to make decisions about a case in one place.
More advanced case management offerings even provide capabilities such as AI summaries and the ability to create custom processes and workflows without code. This means happier employees, more efficient work, and less turnover.
AI summary of customer communications in Appian Case Management Studio
Adding automation to your customer service process makes for better experiences
Automation benefits aren’t only for employees. With customer self-service options that trigger processes in your internal systems, you can provide faster, more flexible experiences. This is a non-negotiable as customers become increasingly expectant of on-demand services.
For example, some case management software solutions allow you to integrate with online portals and automate previously manual steps in a process. Let’s say you’re dealing with a customer service request ticket. Rather than having to manually create a ticket from an online request, a customer service case management system can automate the process, sending the case to the appropriate team or potentially even resolving simple requests without ever involving a human.
Task workflow for a case management process in Appian Case Management Studio
You can save and optimize IT resources
Another big advantage of using case management software is that you don’t have to build an in-house application from the ground up. This creates the coveted win-win-win scenario for your business: your IT department can preserve their likely limited resources, your caseworkers get faster access to tools that make their work easier, and your customers benefit from faster service sooner.
How to evaluate case management vendors
Case management software today is far ahead of what most legacy systems are capable of producing. Here are a few things to look for when considering a vendor for customer service case management:
Modularity with no-code customization
A recent trend in case management software is modularity—the ability to use prebuilt modules to more quickly build customized case management apps. Rather than having to build an application from scratch, your IT staff can get a new application up and running by using prebuilt modules as a jumping off point. The app can then be further customized with no-code capabilities to suit the use case and business users. This flexibility ensures that your case management apps can continue to meet the needs of your case workers, even when processes and systems change.
When evaluating customer service case management software, look for a vendor that provides modularity while still offering enough controls and flexibility to fully customize what you’re building.
Integrated HR service management (IHRSM)
Future-proofing your investment in case management software can help you prevent it from becoming another useless tool in a few years. Casework is highly dynamic in nature, and the tools you invest in should ideally offer more than just the ability to manage casework.
According to Gartner®, “Integrated HR service management (IHRSM) solutions provide holistic platforms to manage physical and/or virtual HR shared services operations and communications.” 2
Technology Solutions Map for HR (see Integrated HR Services in yellow). Source: Gartner 3
These IHRSM solutions are capable of managing and unifying all of the processes and workflows related to your HR shared service operations—cutting down on the number of tools you need to get the job done.
Look for vendors that offer case management as part of a larger process automation platform to ensure that the solutions you're investing in continue to add value over time rather than adding to a growing pile of siloed tools.
Need more information about tools and techniques for modernizing casework? Get the Guide to Case Management.
1. Forbes, Bad Customer Service Could Cost More Than $3.7 Trillion, 17, May, 2024, Shep Hyken
2. Gartner, What is Integrated HR Service Management Solutions market?, as of 7, May, 2024.
3. Gartner, Technology Solutions Map for the Human Resources Function, 10 February 20223, Tech Buying Behavior Research Team
