Plasmanet Thinks - Friday 13th June 2008

With the recent release of the Varney initiative and the implementation of improvements being recommended by the end of 2008, public sector contact centres are evaluating their business practices.

Adoption of these best practises is only that at the moment; a recommendation. However, the feeling is that it will in time become mandatory.  With over 700 contact centres across the public sector and a mandate for continual improvement, there is a serious look at how technology can drive efficiencies in the contact centre. 

Increasingly, information displays are being used to communicate critical messages to agents in the centre. The argument for this internal communication medium is that consolidation of key messages can be pushed to display screens, desktop PC’s, mobile phones, PDA’s and other output devices. This is in contrast to “pull” messaging such as email, Intranet, posters or whiteboards, which leaves engagement to the discretion of the audience.

The foundation of the business case for attaining budget can now be centred around the continual improvement program required to meet the Varney recommendations. Better informed agents can lead to “positive citizen outcomes” (according to the CCA) which is now as high a priority as driving operational efficiency. 

Some councils are aiming to provide a single point of contact for citizens to decrease the “red tape” and improve resolution speed. Issues that once took callers days or multiple phone calls to resolve are now being handled far more quickly.

This new drive to adopt the Varney best practice recommendations will require that tax payer funded contact centres review their entire business process and generate new business efficiencies. This will include various new technologies to monitor, inform and motivate agents.

Click here to read the CCA’s take on the Varney review

Ray Edun
Sales Manager

Published: 2008-06-13