Softline Pastel improves customer service, increases productivity with Presence, INOVO

Issued by Inovo
Johannesburg, 05 Mar 2012

Softline Pastel, South Africa's leading developer of accounting, payroll, ERP and business software, has enhanced its contact centre platform by introducing the Presence Technology Solution, implemented by INOVO. This has achieved improved customer satisfaction, major cost optimisation and increased productivity.

Softline Pastel was seeking a contact centre solution that would help it increase service quality and revenue, and boost staff satisfaction levels. To meet these goals, it required a single supplier suite to address multiple contact centre requirements throughout the business.

Furthermore, Pastel required a solution that was cost-effective, and one that would allow non-IS/IT staff to address changes independently. Finally, an easy-to-use system was essential so that the staff could adapt quickly and use the system to its fullest potential.

After evaluating several solutions, Softline Pastel decided that the Presence Technology All-In-One Suite fulfilled the conditions required. The implementation was done by INOVO in a phased manner to ensure user acceptance and to make certain that the components were working fully and correctly before moving on to the next component.

Specifically, the solutions implemented were:

* Presence Intelligent Routing for interaction distribution based on business rules.
* Presence Recording (voice and screen), which makes it possible to record interactions for quality management.
* Presence Voice Inbound and Outbound to manage call campaigns.
* Presence Multimedia, which allows agents to handle SMS, e-mail and fax channels.
* Presence Internet for the management of chat, Web callback and Web collaboration channels.
* Presence Scripting, to create agents scripts/workflows.

After the implementation, the agent productivity time and First Call Resolution (FCR) have dramatically increased and the handling times have shown remarkable reduction.

According to Steven Cohen, Softline Pastel's managing director, “Working with Presence and INOVO has allowed us to offer better customer service and to get the most of our contact centre resources and staff. The results are higher customer satisfaction, major cost optimisation and increase of productivity.”

Tamsin Bradford, Pastel's call centre manager, explains: “Before Presence, tracking e-mails was a problem and there was no option for Web chat. It was difficult to prioritise clients in terms of queue management. Now, Presence enables us to prioritise calls appropriately.”

Bradford adds: “We are able to track each agent's productivity time, as well as talk time, which has allowed us to assess the average call duration for top performers versus below average performers.”

To learn more about the Softline Pastel project, please ask us about the full case study and more details:

Presence Technology
(+27) 10 500 3963 | info.africa@presenceco.com

INOVO
(+27) 12 665 2265 | sales@inovo.co.za

Softline Pastel

Pastel Accounting is South Africa's leading developer of accounting, payroll and business management software for the small, medium and large enterprise market. Since inception, Pastel has developed an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the industry, establishing itself as a market leader and the preferred choice of South African business. The numbers speak for themselves; daily, 200 000 businesses use Pastel Accounting to run their businesses and nine out of 10 accountants recommend Pastel Accounting.

Softline Pastel is part of the Sage Group, a leading global supplier of business management software and related products and services, principally for small to medium-sized enterprises. Formed in 1981, Sage was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989. Sage has more than 6 million customers and more than 13 500 employees worldwide. It operates in over 24 countries covering the UK, Europe, North America, South Africa, Australia, India and China.

For more information: www.pastel.co.za

INOVO

At INOVO we believe that the true value in technology is unlocked by how the technology is applied in the organisation. High operational costs, flexibility or agility to adapt to customer requirements, access to technology and capital, time to market, business continuity and specialised skills are some of the major challenges that organisations face by using traditional telephony, contact centre and self-service solutions. At INOVO we strive to break down these barriers by building innovative solutions, by combining technology, flexible commercial models, great service, exceptional technical and operational skills, revenue growth objectives and cost containment goals of our customers.

For more information: www.inovo.co.za

Presence Technology

Presence Technology is a worldwide leading provider of multi-channel contact centre solutions that enable contact centres to optimise resources and increase efficiency in the interaction between companies and their customers. Presence has a portfolio of global clients, served by a team of highly qualified professionals, with a network of strategic partners in Europe, Africa, Latin America and the United States supporting their projects around the world.

For more information: www.presenceco.com

Editorial contacts

Softline Pastel improves customer service, increases productivity with Presence, INOVO

“Working with Presence and INOVO has helped us to best utilise the contact centre resources and staff,” says Steven Cohen, Softline Pastel managing director.