How to drive innovation from within

A background of innovation
In 2001, Blackhawk Network disrupted the branded payments industry by creating a gift card category in grocery stores, and it has since grown to become the leading gift card processing company in the world, serving 28 countries with more than 1,000 brands – including Amazon, Google Play, and Apple. Today, innovation and disruption continue to propel Blackhawk Network forward.

Tackling service complexity
Blackhawk Network has grown rapidly over the last nine years to the point where customer service had become a complex labyrinth of B2B and B2C support. To continue scaling to customer expectations and solidify its position in the market, the organization needed a way to rein in the complexity. Blackhawk Network is essentially a financial services provider and faces a similar level of regulation as a bank, so simplifying compliance was crucial. At the same time, the company wanted to connect agents with other departments and empower employees to contribute process improvement ideas.

Consolidate, automate, disrupt
ServiceNow Customer Service Management (CSM) emerged as the ideal solution for consolidating Blackhawk Network’s customer support ecosystem, enabling agents to deliver omni-channel customer service across countless client spaces through a single platform. The solution streamlines collaboration between customer support staff and other teams, while automation simplifies case routing and regulatory compliance. Finally, the Innovation Management feature in IT Business Management (ITBM) gives employees an easy way to submit suggestions and enables management to measure the results of each innovation.

Process transformation
Since launching the new platform in 2019, Blackhawk Network has received nearly 1,200 suggestions from its employees and implemented almost 600 of them. Ideas have ranged from agent happiness initiatives like providing Wi-Fi at contact centers, to updating customer-facing websites and interactive voice response (IVR) systems. Improvements like these have already saved the company over $2 million and led to dramatic improvements in both customer and agent satisfaction, with the impact clearly visible via CSM’s analytics capabilities. Blackhawk Network rewards employee idea submissions based on their effectiveness, with over $23,000 paid out to date.

Company-wide paradigm shift
With CSM in place, Blackhawk Network is now better positioned than ever to leverage the experience and expertise of its employees to drive continuous improvement—ensuring that it remains a trusted source for consumers. The platform has been so successful that Blackhawk Network has implemented the same innovative approach across its entire organization, helping it reduce costs, grow in new areas, and find fresh opportunities to better serve its clients.

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