Wendy Kumm, Vice President of Customer Service at Associated Banc-Corp, was recently recognized by the Verint Customer Advisory Counsel (CAC) with an "Innovator of the Year" award for Contact Center Excellence at their annual user conference in New Orleans for her work in leveraging technology to improve processes in customer experience. 

Verint Systems, Inc. is a software provider used for customer care optimization in the Associated call center that provides actionable intelligence solutions and related services including speech and data analytics and voice of the customer.

Kumm was recognized for her role in leveraging Verint's Impact 360 Workforce Optimization suite to increase agent efficiency and effectiveness, and to measurably improve customer experiences and retention using Verint's analytics solutions. Kumm also played a role in expanding the implementation of Verint's technology to other business units across her company for customer and colleague support. In acknowledgment of their customer-centric workforce optimization strategies, Verint said it recognized a group of individuals for their outstanding performance in driving innovation across contact center and back-office environments, customer analytics, and branch excellence.

"Wendy has truly embraced the opportunities and capabilities in leveraging this software for optimal customer service," said Lorraine Avery, Director of Customer Service, Associated Banc-Corp. "She further played a critical role in expanding the implementation of Verint's technology to other business units across Associated for customer and colleague support. I am very proud of the support and work that Wendy continues to help champion to make our customer service 'Best in Class'."

Associated Bank's Wisconsin based call centers provide customer service 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Knowledgeable and responsive colleagues offer service and support to all product and business lines, with bilingual service. There are nearly 900 colleagues among the call centers in Green Bay, La Crosse and Stevens Point. The mission of the call center is to enhance the quality of interaction with customers to meet their service and financial needs. 

"We congratulate all of the winners for being forward-looking advocates of customer-centric workforce optimization, and for finding new and interesting ways to use the voice of the customer to drive operational excellence," said Nancy Treaster, GM, strategic operations, Verint Enterprise Intelligence Solutions.