Health System Leverages Variphy to Reduce Manual Work, Boost Ops

CentraCare, one of the largest health systems in Minnesota, faced significant challenges transitioning from their previous reporting system to Cisco’s unified communication platform. In an interview, Kristin Suggs, call center workforce manager, and Kalib Kautz, voice systems engineer, shared how Variphy transformed their reporting and call management operations.

• Location: United States
• Industry: Healthcare
• Products: Variphy Reporting and Analytics for Cisco CUCM, Variphy Reporting and Analytics for Cisco CUBE, Variphy Reporting and Analytics for UCCX
• Devices: 10,000 Phones

The Challenges of Scaling Communications

When CentraCare migrated to Cisco, they encountered difficulties monitoring devices and generating accurate reports. “We were looking for reporting to be able to see registered and unregistered devices for upgrades,” Suggs said. They were mired in the tedious task of manually compiling reports. “As you can imagine, every report gave us different information, so we had a lot of reports we were running, trying to compact it into one big spreadsheet.”

These challenges were compounded by the growth of their organization. In 2017, they opened a new call center, and by 2020, they were overwhelmed with the complexity of managing data from UCCX reports. A more efficient and user-friendly reporting solution was crucial for their continued growth.

Why CentraCare Chose Variphy

Suggs and her team discovered Variphy while searching for a Cisco-compatible reporting tool. Initially, they used Variphy to monitor device registration and upgrades. However, as their call center evolved, so did their needs. They expanded their use of Variphy to connect to UCCX and create dashboards for their contact center. “It went over really well with our agents and leaders,” Suggs said.

One of the most significant benefits Variphy provided was its ability to streamline data collection and reporting. Suggs explained, “Having Variphy’s ability to build one report to get all the information we need saved my workforce team so much time in a month that we were able to save almost a full FTE just running data. This allowed us to focus on multiple other tasks.”

“I live in Variphy; it’s a tab always open. I don’t even know of any other product that gives us everything we need, gives us the basic information, and gives us the ability to create reports and schedules for our hundreds of departments at CentraCare.”

Kalib Kautz, Voice Systems Engineer at CentraCare

The Impact on CentraCare’s Operational Efficiency

Variphy’s ease of use and powerful reporting capabilities have become integral to CentraCare’s daily operations. “I primarily live in basic reports all day, every day. I always have a Variphy tab open,” Kautz said. Variphy’s cradle-to-grave reporting allows Kautz to track every aspect of a call’s journey. “There are always questions about how or why a call got somewhere, or what numbers a person actually dialed. The Variphy reports are easy, the cradle-to-grave options are fantastic and easy to follow.”

This level of detail made troubleshooting and reporting significantly easier for Kautz, who emphasized the challenges of working with other systems. “Going through any other reporting software is much more difficult. Variphy is easy to use, effective, and gets me everything I want in a single pane of glass,” he said.

Variphy’s impact extended beyond basic reporting. Suggs shared how they used the system to create a unique experience for their agents, giving them limited, role-based access to Variphy to track patient calls more effectively. “This allowed them to figure out who made the call, how long the call was, and get a little bit more information for our patients,” she said.

The Role of Reliable Support

One aspect of Variphy that stood out to both Suggs and Kautz was the exceptional support provided by the Variphy team. Kautz praised the responsiveness and expertise of the support staff: “The team has been absolutely wonderful to work with. Simple questions to the support staff at Variphy are met with crazy knowledgeable responses.”

He added, “They’re my favorite vendor to work with when putting in support tickets or working with in general.”

Suggs and Kautz both highlighted the personalized support they received. Kautz said, “I can put in a support ticket even if I’m unsure how to create a report. With most organizations, if we have simple settings that need to be changed or need help with customization, they kind of leave you on your own. With Variphy, I can put a ticket in just to say I’m not sure how to display something, and generally within 15 to 30 minutes, I get a response.”

Saving Time and Resources Using the Right Analytics Solution

CentraCare’s adoption of Variphy has enhanced their reporting and call management processes. With Variphy, they reduced the manual labor involved in reporting, saving time and resources.

“It’s made my job so much easier day in and day out,” Kautz said. “It’s easy to use, it’s effective, and I think overall it hits every check mark we have in a reporting software.”

CentraCare has enhanced their ability to manage communication systems effectively, empowering their staff and delivering better service to their patients.