Call Centres

The telephone channel is the dominant channel used by Canadians to obtain service from their governments. It is also the channel which causes Canadians the greatest number of problems in both access and service quality.

The main barriers to access include:

• busy phone lines,
• long waits for service, and
• overly-complicated automated telephone systems.

Furthermore, public sector services delivered via the telephone channel currently get lower ratings from citizens than service provided through any other channel, including Internet, in-person, mail, and kiosk.

In short, Canadians are constantly frustrated when they try and access services by the phone, and even when they do get through and speak to someone, they are often unable to get the service they require.

The days when operators had very limited access to information and little industry knowledge, however, are ending. Technology savvy operators, using the latest telecommunications equipment, integrate telephone, e-mail, and Internet technologies while querying databases to handle complex customer inquiries with speed and accuracy. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is the goal. This raises challenging issues for governments in achieving this transformation to a multi-channel service universe, particularly the integration of telephony service with Internet-based service. CRM Centre management is now considered a management science of sorts, with a great deal of supporting research and technological and management literature. This growing industry is focused on researching best practices, benchmarking industry standards, and forming collaborative networks.