Challenge
Harvesters’ Program Services department initiated a state-wide Missouri Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program outreach effort to provide information and assist with completing SNAP applications for potential recipients. The SNAP Outreach team needed a simple, low-cost call center application to handle the calls.
The team consists of five individuals serving both Missouri and Kansas, handling phone call inquiries from a toll-free telephone number from potential recipients and tracks calls to measure the success of outreach efforts. Outreach occurs through promotional outlets, such as advertisements on Kansas City buses, brochures, among other outlets.
The team conducts a basic SNAP benefits eligibility test for individuals who opt for this pre-screening information. If an individual is eligible for benefits, then the SNAP outreach representative may assist the individual in completing a SNAP application.
The outreach team currently uses Microsoft Excel to track the number of phone call inquiries, as well as the individual’s contact and income information.
The outreach team outlined some of the functions that a “call center” application would have:
The team consists of five individuals serving both Missouri and Kansas, handling phone call inquiries from a toll-free telephone number from potential recipients and tracks calls to measure the success of outreach efforts. Outreach occurs through promotional outlets, such as advertisements on Kansas City buses, brochures, among other outlets.
The outreach team currently uses Microsoft Excel to track the number of phone call inquiries, as well as the individual’s contact and income information.
The outreach team outlined some of the functions that a “call center” application would have:
- Allow 5-10 coordinators to handle calls and write notes on inquiries. Accommodate a growing number of SNAP representatives (call takers), including volunteers.
- Provide an Inquiry Intake form that allows SNAP reps to capture phone number, city, county, how potential SNAP benefit recipient heard about the outreach, among other information.
- Discover if a SNAP representative has talked with the client before and SNAP Outreach’s response; SNAP reps want to identify duplicate calls.
- Pull reports on various performance indicators like how many people heard about the program via different sources, such as bus advertisements, brochures.
- Place callers on hold in a queue to improve responding to large call volume during certain periods.
- Recorded outbound messages in two languages – English and Spanish.
- Record an “audio signature” for confidentiality acknowledgement.
- Publish a prominent web page (or website) on the Harvesters public website to provide information about the SNAP program and process. Establish a “live chat” function to assist with communication with clients.
- Promote and communicate with individuals via new SNAP Twitter and Facebook spaces, and possibly other social media outlets.
- Be operational by November 2014.
Action
The effort included gathering requirements from the SNAP team, researching and selecting a low-cost call center application, then implementing the solution.
Results
There are two parts to the application – the “client” which is software used to receive live, inbound calls from SNAP applicants and agencies representing applicants and the “web portal” which is used to create “Leads” for new inquiries that are received from voicemail messages and web inquiries.
My work on this project included documenting the call flow, building a touch-tone phone response system, and recording greetings, as well as developing the Javascript-based dialog form, developing a user's training guide, and conducting training, which helped deploy the system on November 10, 2014.
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| Click on the image for a full size view of the Call Routing |
