Voice automation for Waste Service calls
Working alongside PwC colleagues, we have developed an automated call answering service, launching this week, that will handle the simple and most frequently requested Waste Service requests. This will free up our Customer Services advisers to help with more complex calls.
Whilst the option of speaking to an adviser is still available where needed, this call automation can handle many of the transactional service questions we receive by signposting or completing the request there and then. It is not bound by normal office hours, it can answer residents’ 24 hours a day.
This is an improvement for the customer, helping to level up the experience between those able to go online and those who may otherwise be at risk of being excluded.
By starting with Waste Service calls we gain a practical trial of this new technology, during which we can measure success and get feedback from our customers that will allow us to improve and amend things if we need to before rolling this out across other council services.
We are also releasing a similar call automation for the Revenues and Benefits Service which we expect to also answer simpler signposting queries by directing people to the available online forms without the need for an adviser to become involved, freeing up their time for more complex calls.
We have begun work with PwC to hand over the skills needed to our in-house staff that will enable us to use this new technology with other council services as part of our approach to simplify processes for both our customers and services alike.