Connecting People & Technology
Streamlining Membership Support with Splunk
Context
Kaiser Permanente’s membership call centers field hundreds, sometimes thousands, of calls a day from members asking a simple but critical question: “Where’s my membership card?”
The answer wasn’t so straightforward. Call center representatives had to search across multiple systems, decode technical messages, and manually piece together the file’s journey. Reaching a resolution was slow and frustrating for both members and staff.
Challenges
Operations teams began requesting more identifiers on enrollment files to help, so reps could pinpoint a file’s location in the process. These “quick fixes” created new problems:
Bloated systems that slowed file processing even further
Batch file processing errors due to increased load
We needed a solution that cut through the complexity, gave reps a clear view of a file’s status, and didn’t add more strain to the existing infrastructure.
My Role & Approach
I led the end-to-end effort in designing and implementing Splunk dashboards that turned scattered, hard-to-access data into actionable insights.
Mapped the journey by shadowing call center staff and tracing the entire file processing workflow, from backend applications to front-line desktop tools, to identify bottlenecks and tech/policy mismatches.
Quantified the pain by collaborating with team leads and analysts to measure turnaround time across applications, creating a baseline for measuring improvement.
Wireframed prototypes such as low-fi dashboards, and facilitated collaborative feedback sessions with team leads and enrollment processing staff to ensure the tools solved the right problems.
Built the bridge with Application Development teams to integrate Splunk, translating business needs into technical requirements.
Impact & Results
The dashboards cut file identification time, reducing overall turnaround time and a 35% decrease in operational costs.
Teams could now see where a file was in real time, resolve member questions faster, and focus on higher-value tasks instead of hunting for data.
Key Learnings
Shadowing users revealed hidden friction points even they may not notice.
Speaking each team’s “language” builds trust and accelerates alignment.
Practicing agile and communicating often positioned teams to pivot and move quickly.
Understanding each stakeholder’s “why” turned technical solutions into organizational wins.