Weight Watchers
By entering all their data from paper forms manually, there was a significant delay in processing information, which made timely and accurate reporting an issue. Even with six full-time employees processing tally envelopes, the time lag could stretch into weeks and create problematic errors.
“It was a laborious, error-filled process. We can’t wait two weeks to know if this Monday morning meeting is growing or declining,” explained Amy Brozgold, chief financial officer, The WW Group. “We were seeking a solution to handle the ingestion of all these forms.”
Automatic data capture and classification
The health and wellness organization, known for supporting its members with consistent meetings and clear healthy eating diet plans, discovered the OpenText™ Intelligent Forms Automation with TeleForm™ solution, a paper digital on-ramp for document and electronic forms-driven processes.
Rather than shift requirements for managers overseeing client meetings, The WW Group worked to streamline processes and improve the accuracy of data once the material landed at corporate offices. When tally envelopes arrive, operators scan batches of documents and TeleForm automatically captures, classifies, indexes and extracts information from paper and electronic documents.
To scan incoming documents, the WW Group leverages Fujitsu scanners. “We have used Fujitsu scanners from the inception of our program and have found the hardware and support team to be reliable, maintenance-free and responsive. We would recommend a Fujitsu scanner to other organizations considering a scanning solution,” noted Brozgold.
Response and results
For close to 600 employees running the meetings and submitting weekly reports, the transition to TeleForm was a welcome change. “We developed an electronic form that mirrored our existing paper-based form, so there was zero learning curve on the field side,” said Brozgold. On the corporate side, The WW Group managed a training process for how to scan and verify the new forms.
Previously, the verification process could take up to two minutes. With TeleForm, verification is completed in 30 seconds or less—impressive time-savings when multiplied by 600 forms per week. Faster processing with an incredible degree of accuracy ensures that executives make informed and timely decisions. “The timeframe for management to receive meaningful operational data to make adjustments, if necessary, has greatly improved. Furthermore, our corporate employees are freed to focus on other tasks,” said Brozgold.
Business growth
For The WW Group, the initial return on investment projections included a 50 percent reduction in staff, saving a significant amount per year on salary overhead alone. However, rather than going down the path of employee reduction, The WW Group chose to reallocate personnel expertise to other business efforts.
By leveraging the OpenText solution, the organization now gathers individual data including the names and emails of members, along with attendance and goal achievement records, enabling them to respond to members on a one-on-one level. Within two years of using TeleForm, The WW Group developed a new database for member data. Its promotion and marketing department executed targeted email and direct mail campaigns to its members based on this information, an effort that proved extremely effective.
“With OpenText TeleForm, information from our various meetings was processed far more quickly and was easily accessible to our staff. This allowed us to know right away which meetings were more successful and enabled us to improve the way we target our members going forward. It changed our whole marketing and promotional effort. We went into a very flush period in terms of members’ successes, and revenues grew quite a bit as a result,” said Brozgold. For ongoing form design and management, The WW Group works with Optiform, a long-standing OpenText partner based in Indianapolis. “Optiform helps with software updates and our ongoing maintenance of forms, especially with regards to major changes. We recently transitioned from a five- to nine-digit processing number that crossed over several forms.
For me, that would have been a huge project, but we reached out to Optiform and I couldn’t have done it without them,” said Brozgold. Specialized forms also encourage a steady revenue stream from the Business Connect Program. The WW Group partners with large health insurers to run Weight Watchers in the Workplace. “We had Alliance reporting based on that data, so it was an integral part of our partnerships,” said Brozgold. “All of the scanning in Teleform made it available to us. We were able to give insurers the information they required to continue our Alliance Partnerships, so it grew revenue.”
As a more digitally adept company, The WW Group improved its ability to rapidly respond to the needs of its franchisees and their customers, and increased revenue through targeted interaction. The company expects to continue using OpenText Intelligent Forms Automation and its partnership with Optiform to drive efficiency and unlock new revenue streams for many years to come.
About Optiform
An innovator in information capture solutions since its inception in 1994, Optiform partners with leading companies across the globe to implement effective digital processes that bring visible results.
