As local authorities strive to meet the needs of their constituents, they are increasingly looking to innovative technologies to improve the services they offer. One example of technology that has emerged as a game-changer in the public sector is CCaaS or Contact Centre as a Service. By adopting cloud contact centre solutions, local governments can transform their customer service operations, making them more responsive, accessible, and efficient.
Addressing the challenges of local governments
Despite serving a critical role in people's lives, local governments are often hampered by a range of challenges in providing efficient customer service. Limited resources, budget constraints, and outdated technology infrastructure create bottlenecks, leading to long wait times, delayed responses, and an overall lack of satisfaction among citizens.
Moreover, local governments are expected to cater to the unique needs of all their constituents, including vulnerable customers who require a more personable approach to customer service.
Driving innovation
With cloud-based technology, local governments can reduce their infrastructure costs and improve scalability, leading to quick adoption of new technologies to respond to public demand.
At a time when staff attrition rates and ongoing skills gaps are adding to the challenges faced by local governments in their quest to support their communities, technology can play a vital role in supporting the provision of customer service that enhances productivity, flexibility, and job satisfaction.
Below are a few ways that local governments can benefit from these innovative solutions:
Smart self-service capabilities
AI-powered self-service capabilities can help citizens quickly find information on frequently asked questions and handle simple queries. This frees up agents to deal with more complex issues that require human intervention, resulting in more efficient use of resources and a reduced wait time for citizens.
On-demand scalability
During peak periods of traffic, such as tax season or disaster response, cloud technology in particular allows local government organisations to quickly and easily engage more agents to handle the increase in volume.
Real-time analytics
Local governments can use real-time analytics to track customer satisfaction levels, identify patterns and trends, and allocate resources effectively. This leads to a better understanding of citizen needs, enabling local governments to prioritise urgent queries and respond more effectively.
Intelligent routing
With intelligent omnichannel contact routing, local governments can direct customer queries through different channels, including voice, email, chat, and social media. This means that citizens can use their preferred communication channel to connect with local governments, resulting in a more personalised experience.
Customised Solutions
A final benefit is that cloud technology for contact centres can be customised to meet the unique needs of local governments, further enabling them to deliver a tailored customer service experience. Whether it is handling specific types of queries or providing multilingual support, fast-tracked vulnerable customer channels, or self-service options, technology can cater to the diverse needs of local governments.
G-Cloud for technology procurement
The UK Government has launched initiatives such as the G Cloud Framework and Network Service to modernise the procurement of cloud-based IT services in the public sector, allowing organisations to acquire IT services through the digital marketplace from listed providers. Contact centres in local government have been able to reduce the time taken to conduct a competitive procurement process, speeding up the adoption of new technologies to increase efficiency, reduce operational costs, and create a more agile, sustainable future.
Emerging technologies can play a vital role in managing communication channels between the public and authorities. With the capabilities laid out above, local councils can ensure calls are answered quickly and accurately, help prioritise urgent queries, and deliver a personalised experience to each caller.
CCaaS and other technology is an investment in the future of local governments, providing an agile and flexible customer service solution that delivers real value to citizens. Very quickly, councils can become more responsive, accessible, and provide a better overall level of service to the people they serve.
It is time for local authorities to embrace the benefits of innovative technology and lead the way in transforming the public sector through innovative, forward-thinking solutions.
Jason Roos is founder and CEO of Cirrus
