Humans don’t experience “technology”. Or workflows. Or automation. Or the data structure in which their information is stored.
They experience moments.
Good moments. Bad moments. Stressful moments. Joyful moments. Moments they would love to have again. And moments they wished never happened.
In those moments, they feel emotions. Anxiety. Frustration. Safety.
Some are more acute than others. And specifically, when looking at the experiences policyholders have in insurance, we’re usually switching right from a baseline of zero (no emotions) to ten really fast.
And one of the only things that can support those emotions is communication.
The communication you receive directly relates to how you FEEL about what you do next.
If people feel informed and confident? They take the next step.
If people feel confused and unsure? They sit on decisions, request multiple pieces of information over and over, and constantly think about switching (even if they don’t).
Most companies know which one of those options they want to choose.
But your tech stack isn’t executing that unless it’s by design.
Communication Orchestration as the Baseline
Let’s use an insurance claim as an example, shall we?
How many systems go into that? Let’s see...we have: 1) core systems, 2) perhaps a CRM, 3) a separate billing system, 4) a platform for submitting claims, 5) a document management system, 6) a payment platform, 7) a communications system, 8) a broker portal, 9) a customer portal, 10) AI tools, 11) even a call center maybe...
Holy, that’s a lot of systems!
And the more a business gets, the more coordination between those systems is required.
Since the 2010’s, systems have been focusing on integrating with each other. At this point, a public API is just part of the software gig.
Then, with automation software, we began to automate activities (usually ones that used to be done by humans), to get more tasks done faster. Now, there’s still a lot of automations out there that are automating things that don’t add any kind of business value, but let’s leave that for another blog 😉
Now, we’re at the point of orchestration; where we know we can’t just connect the systems, but that the systems need to work together to accomplish things.
The systems need to coordinate outcomes together; not separately.
So, they coordinate the data, through workflows, to make sure the systems know what needs to be done next.
But who needs to do the thing that needs to be done next?
Usually a human.
So, if we stop at “data flowing between systems seamlessly”, we’re still missing the point.
The customer, or policyholder, or account holder, or whatever we want to label our human-in-the-loop, needs to know what to do next. And they need to feel good about doing it in order for them to do it.
And that experience? That’s driven by communication.
But, if communication is the BASELINE, that means it’s also not the final destination.
After all, it’s nice that we can communicate.
But what we really want is ACTION. For someone to:
- Submit the claim
- Upload the document
- Approve the estimate
- Renew the policy
- Schedule the appointment
- Make the payment
- Address their risks
- Take the next step
- Make better decisions faster
- Reduce friction
- Increase efficiency
- Create more connected experiences
Communication is simply the bridge between what the system knows and what the human needs to do. And that's where we begin to evolve beyond communication orchestration.
Because if orchestration is ultimately about coordinating outcomes, then the outcome isn't the message. The outcome is the action that follows.
Which means the real challenge isn't orchestrating communications.
It's orchestrating human action.
That's a much bigger challenge.
And a much more interesting one.
Human Orchestration: The Next Layer
For years, technology vendors have focused on helping organizations orchestrate information. SPLICE Ecosystem Partners across the insurance industry, are investing heavily in AI, automation, workflow management, and operational orchestration.
The goal is clear:
But there's an assumption hidden inside all those investments.
That once the system determines what should happen next, the desired outcome will naturally occur.
Anyone who has ever worked with customers knows that's not how humans work.
Knowing what to do and actually doing it are two very different things. I mean, we all know how much water we need to drink in a day right? But do you?
People need context. Confidence. Clarity. And sometimes they also need reassurance. And urgency. And let’s not forget about empathy.
And increasingly, they expect all of those things to arrive at exactly the right moment.
That’s where we move beyond communication orchestration into human orchestration.
Creating the ability to coordinate systems, communications, timing, and context in a way that helps people confidently take the next step.
Because technology doesn't create outcomes.
People do.
And we can talk about efficiency, automation, workflows, AI and digital transformation ALL DAY. But if it doesn’t help our people do the things they need to do? It’s never going to show on a balance sheet.
The Ecosystem is the Answer
Most tech companies are amazing at their piece of the puzzle. After all, without core systems, communication distributors, AI intelligence, the above orchestration isn’t possible. And we could all go and try to create a fully-baked system. But if you even look at the companies that use Google vs Microsoft, we can see the folly in that.
So, they key is to connect the systems (which most companies are doing).
AND THEN to ensure those systems are connected in a way that they can talk to each other to know what their people need to do.
AND THEN, those people need to do it.
SPLICE Software is all about that last piece of the puzzle; the “getting people to do it” part. Because a whole bunch of text messages that don’t get your policyholders to renew? Or to pay their bill? Sure, the cost might be small, but the ROI is still zero.
If you’re ready to go to the “get people to do it” level, let’s chat!