Generating citizen engagement with multi-channel communication
Savings from basic requests
With budget and staffing constraints, governments benefit from channels such as Web, IVR and mobile that automate registrations, payments and service requests. Automated service requests, alerts, targeted communications and crowdsourcing through online and mobile applications can reduce duplication, call volume, call-backs, and printing and mailing costs.
If the automated service is easy to use, it can encourage residents to use it frequently and report problems as early as possible. Early reporting has many benefits. For example, repairing a pothole early can cost five times less than if the pothole deteriorates to a base failure.
With greater use of contact centers and multiple communication channels, local government contact centers are taking collaborative approaches to enhance staffing resources. In Boston, area college students, who are paid by their schools, help staff the city’s new online chat service. Indianapolis has cooperative work programs with local disabled veterans and graduating teens with special needs as part of its contact center’s “RequestIndy” initiatives.
The multi-channel contact center in Corpus Christi, Texas, handles 97.2 percent of the more than 400,000 annual calls. As part of its integrated Customer Service Center, “CCMobile” combines mature GIS and open application programming so residents can identify problem areas. Residents download the free application to their smartphone and report problems by taking a photo, selecting the problem code and submitting the report to the city’s work order queue. Because GPS-enabled smartphones geotag the photos with a date/time stamp, work crews can locate the problem without requiring a resident to enter their address. Through a CCMobile widget, residents also can use the same application to report a problem directly from the city’s Facebook page. Residents can track request status and interactively participate on the issue through an online mapping mashup dashboard. Comparing year-to-date monthly averages in the current fiscal year to FY 2010-11, service requests issued through the mobile application have increased by 7.6 percent, with a corresponding reduction in agent calls.
Mind the gaps, addressing the challenges
Government contact centers often have problems linking with service departments. Policies, procedures and service level agreements facilitate smooth transition of customer call services. A lack of connection results in duplicate work orders, unnecessary time delays and conflicting performance data. Once a contact center is implemented, coordinating technology planning across the organization is critical. It may be fairly easy to implement one work management system for utilities and public works, but typically, services such as animal care, code enforcement, municipal court and utility billing require specific and individual systems. The reality is most contact centers likely will be using several systems.
In the quest for ever-improving customer service, local governments must balance the need, value and cost for both technology and processes. Operating a 24×7 call center may seem like the best service level, but may be unnecessary, as after-hours call volume is often quite low. Some contact centers now are using an IVR voice mail box with next-day call backs.
Other current and future challenges reported by lead city and county multi-channel contact centers include needing to purchase, upgrade or replace a centralized knowledge base; maintaining personal service with increasing call volumes; keeping up with expanding customer communication channels and methods for interaction; and implementing shared service and collaborative processes.
Challenges can provide focus. Successful results can provide direction. Today’s technologies are creating new assumptions and higher expectations for access to current information and active citizen participation in government. A multi-channel contact center is an opportune path for cities and counties to actively engage residents and achieve the efficiencies and cost savings loudly demanded of government.
Susan Cable is a strategic advisor to the Washington-based Public Technology Institute and manager for its Citizen-Engaged Communities and Web 2.0 State and Local Government Award programs, which set national standards and recognize excellence in government applications. Cable also is founder and president of eServices Consulting, serving as a lead advisor and providing technical services to government agencies on web strategies and development, 311/multi-channel contact centers, planning, communications, and performance management, with a focus on new media and mobile technologies.
Rewarding engagement
Citizen-Engaged Communities is a designation program for cities and counties that recognizes excellence in multi-channel contact centers and best practices for the use of Citizen Relationship/Records Management systems, coupled with 311 systems, web portal technology, telephony systems, new media and mobile communications infrastructure.
Through this program, initially funded through the Sloan Foundation, the Public Technology Institute (PTI) promotes both an incentive and a guide for local governments to connect their citizen contact and service delivery systems through improved processes and technology, focusing on four key areas:
- Citizen participation processes
- Integrated communication channels
- Integrated technology
- Performance reporting
Cities and counties that are designated as Citizen-Engaged Communities receive national recognition, attractive awards and the use of a special designation logo. In addition, their contact centers are featured in PTI’s “Winners Spotlight,” webinars, conferences, case studies and publications.
PTI provides information about the application process on its website at www.pti.org.