HPCSA sees spectacular results from new call centre solution implemented by ATIO

When most people make contact with an organisation these days, they expect results. Whether it`s a simple query, a dispute or something to do with a transaction, they want to be put in touch immediately with the relevant source of information or problem-solver.

It`s for this reason, and to achieve increased efficiency, that a growing number of organisations are choosing to significantly improve their communications facilities. Not only should such systems help improve dialogue between organisations and the people they interact with, but they should also provide them with a way to measure the performance of their communications.

Many organisations are therefore rolling out call centres - facilities that marry state-of-the-art telecommunications technology with cutting-edge computer systems.

The Health Professionals Council of South Africa (HPCSA) is one of the first regulatory bodies in the country to invest in a call centre as well as unified communications for all employees - and it`s paying dividends.

The HPCSA is the organisation that regulates and registers health professionals. About 95 000 active members are on its books. That`s a huge amount of communication to deal with in anyone`s language and the organisation`s old PABX system lacked the functionality of modern technology.

Says Walter Maphosa, manager of the HPCSA`s IT department: "Our telephone system was out of date. There were no voice mail facilities and no way we could track call activities. At the same time that we decided to upgrade the telephone system with unified messaging, we also decided to implement a call centre in which we could automate some of our voice traffic as well as written communication with members."

Anina Steele, manager of service delivery at the HPCSA, says a new generation of healthcare professionals expects to have the latest communication technology at its fingertips. "We have a wide membership base so voice communication is important but younger people are just as comfortable with the Web, e-mail and SMS messaging," she says.

In consultation with ATIO Corporation, a decision was made to deploy a solution that combined the requirements for PABX functionality, unified communications and a call centre for the HPCSA. Says Jean Sinovich, director of service delivery at ATIO: "It became clear pretty early on that the organisation`s need extended beyond a traditional PABX system. We analysed what was required and recommended technology that would meet its future expectations."

The HPCSA invested in Interactive Intelligence`s Customer Interaction Centre (CIC) solution. To fully appreciate its benefits, let`s look at the manual processes that had to take place in the old days. When members wanted to communicate with the HPCSA previously, they did so by completing forms, which were then mailed to the organisation where they were processed and mailed back. Payment was also handled remotely and bank branches were in touch with the HPCSA mainly by fax.

"The whole procedure of signing up to become a member was very labour-intensive, time-consuming and, ultimately, expensive to administer," says Maphosa.

Communicating using the telephone was also fraught with difficulty and inefficiency. Because there were no voice mail facilities, people often had to call back, and there was no way of monitoring the HPCSA`s performance when it came to measuring its responses. The core of the communication process now occurs through the new call centre, and the statistics show that the centre has been a great success. During the three months prior to the CIC implementation, the HPCSA received an average of 38 291 incoming calls per month and made an average of 18 503 outgoing calls per month.

Following implementation of the CIC system, average inbound calls jumped to 52 377 per month and average outbound calls jumped to 37 684 per month. According to these statistics, the HPCSA`s inbound call capacity improved by 137%, while the outbound call flow increased by 96%. The unanswered call rate dropped by 82%.

Says Steele: "We are now able to provide better service, faster, to our members using the new system. The CIC is seen as the heart of a communications platform that will be rolled out in future. We have already captured a detailed database of our membership and we are able to add new technology that will integrate with the call centre as it becomes appropriate.

"Right now we have four permanent employees in the CIC, plus an administrator and a supervisor. The facility can cater for 10 seats and these will be used as soon as bottlenecks in the system become apparent. The point is that we can now check our efficiency accurately with the impressive reporting and analytical tools at our disposal, as well as plan for peaks and troughs in demand," she says.

Part of the CIC`s functionality includes interactive voice response (IVR). This technology involves voice recording and a menu driven support system for standard inquiries. Instead of burdening call centre agents with standard queries these can be answered automatically using voice prompts.

Says Sinovich: "The new PABX itself is called a soft PABX in that it is not strictly hardware. It is really a server with telephony boards that uses the latest software to process and route calls. It also includes unified messaging for HPCSA staff. This allows them to communicate with one another no matter what technology is used in the process. For example, someone`s e-mail inbox can accept faxes, voice messages and e-mail messages. These can be listened to, replied to or forwarded, depending on what is required. One inbox can handle all media and information can even be routed to a cellphone," she says.

The implementation took two months from start to finish. Sinovich says that deploying a CIC involves a fair amount of training in that people will have to get used to working in a totally different way.

"When people are exposed to new and more efficient technology it requires a fairly radical shift in mindset. For this reason, as part of an implementation, we recommend a significant amount of training, at the initial stages as well as refresher training a few months after the implementation is completed. Training should occur on an ongoing basis. Streamlining an organisation and the way it works requires change management and refresher courses help keep staff up to date with improvements," she says.

Call centre and unified communications technology benefits organisations of all sizes. It makes them more efficient, reduces costs and pays for itself in very little time. But above all it generates goodwill - and that`s something money can`t buy.