“ Public Spending”, “Cuts” “Budget Deficit”, “Public Service Reforms”, “Efficiencies” are all buzz words associated with this general election. It is hardly surprising when you look at the figures relating to Central Government’s National Deficit. According to the Institute of Fiscal Studies, overall Government spending must fall by £46billion by 2015 if it is to reach its borrowing target.
How these cuts and efficiencies will be achieved will, of course, depend on the outcome of the General Election. If, by some miracle, a single political party wins a large enough majority to form a Government, these cuts and efficiencies will be realised according to that party’s overall aims and objectives. However, if two or more parties have to form a coalition Government (and this is looking very likely) it will be very interesting to see how cuts and efficiencies will be applied to public spending.
One obvious way to reduce overheads is to digitalise a number of public sector establishments (tax offices or benefits offices, for example), a concept which is very high on the existing Government’s agenda. However, making certain Public Sector services only available via the Internet will inevitably lead to accessibility-related problems because one in four adults in the UK have never used the Internet and a third of UK households do not even have access to the Internet. http://www.21stcenturychallenges.org/60-seconds/what-is-the-digital-divide/
Automating the management process for routine telephone enquiries could be another way to help reduce public spending. Telephone based information services are generally much more accessible than Internet based ones because almost everyone in the UK has access to a phone, even if it is only a “pay-as-you-go” mobile.
As a result of last winter’s severe bad weather, many local authorities found themselves overwhelmed with routine telephone enquiries relating to school closures, gritting, changes to refuse collections etc. These types of enquiries could have been dealt with very quickly and efficiently using automated mass call handling technology. Many other information services, such requesting benefit claim forms, council tax payment and rent payment can also be automated very easily.
Basically, in order to set up a “self-service” information line, all you need is a dedicated number and a set of appropriate pre-recorded messages or prompts telling people what they need to know or what to do to get the information they require.
Callers dial this number and, rather than having to wait in a queue in order to speak to an operator, they follow a simple set of instructions by pressing buttons on their phone to get answers to their questions or to speak to an operator.
By deploying “self-help” services, huge numbers of routine phone calls can be processed quickly and efficiently, leaving council staff to deal with more complex enquiries.
Provided the call management software is straightforward to use, Council staff themselves can quickly set and schedule different self-service information lines as the need arises. They can also use the call handling software to study calling patterns and to find out which information services are being used the most.
C3 has been providing automated mass call handling solutions to public sector organisations for more than twenty years. Greenwich Council, for example, uses our automated call handling software to provide its residents with many different self-service information hot lines.
Nottingham City Council, along with a number of other councils, uses our call handling technology to help with the management and allocation of social housing.
Our call handling technology allows local authorities to run many different self service applications such as help desks, information hot lines and automated payment facilities simultaneously.
Visit www.c3.co.uk to find out more about who we are and what we do.
