CRM - March 2009 - (Page 23)

MARKET FOCUS: GOVERNMENT doesn’t matter whether you’re a government agency or a retail chain, recklessly adding new capabilities without first thinking about business benefits can lead to a doomed implementation. “You need someone who [understands] to champion this like [New York City Mayor Michael] Bloomberg with the 311 system,” he says, referring to the city’s citizen-information call-in number. “You can’t just implement a call center or throw in a CRM system. You have to know your end goal and take the proper steps to figure out how to best allocate resources based on that.” (See the NYC 311 chart, at right.) DIAL 311 FOR EVOLUTION Few cities have a larger constituency than New York City does. Boasting a population of more than 8 million people, the city decided back in 2002 to create a phone line for those living in—and visiting—The Big Apple to be able to call for quick information. The service has never looked back since going live in 2003.“This is a great example of a concrete application of CRM,” Madgett proclaims. “At 3 a.m., you can still call up 311 if you have a noise complaint, if something is wrong, there’s a leak in your apartment…you can find out instantaneously. This is the type of service we have come to expect.” While the system has been deemed a success so far, that doesn’t mean it hasn’t had to make some adjustments, according to Joe Morrisroe, the deputy commissioner and executive director of 311 and www.nyc.gov, the city’s official Web site. There have been many lessons learned during the continual efforts at service improvement, Morrisroe says. One maxim was to prepare ahead of time depending on the particular season. In the winter months, he explains, 311 puts information at the beginning of the interactive voice response (IVR) recording about guidelines concerning heat and hot-water complaints. “It’s a way of educating the populace,” he says. Morrisroe says that pushing information to the beginning of the IVR allows callers to either ignore the message if it doesn’t apply to them, or avoid having to www.destinationCRM.com wait for a representative to take the call. He admits call spikes can put a strain on the 311 system, but insists the city doesn’t blindly rely upon the IVR—there are other safeguards in place to avoid a backlog of calls, he says.“We’re staffed very well to ensure calls are answered quickly,” he says. “We have organic growth in our call center; a lot of people in staff support— be it supervisors or team leaders—are former call-takers or have that skill set. We can mobilize people quickly and put them on the phones if necessary to help with the volume.” This can come into play as the economic recession threatens to freeze or cut the budgets of many government agencies. While it is not yet clear if the 311 system will be affected, Morrisroe says he’s already taking safeguards to NYC 311: Call Volumes, Performance Levels, and Resolutions Preferred Avenues for Resolution Service Request 8% Other 14% Information Provided 50% Agency Transfer or Referral 26% Transfer to 911 2% Agency Transfer or Referral: Caller is transferred to the appropriate agency or is referred to and provided with the appropriate agency’s telephone number. Information Provided: Caller has been provided with all of the requested information for the specific inquiry and no further action is required. Service Request: Caller’s request is entered into the City’s Citizen Service Center tracking system and the request is forwarded to the appropriate agency for completion. Transfer to 911: Call is deemed an emergency, a crime in progress, or a Police Department 911 matter and is immediately transferred to 911. Other: Calls to follow-up on an existing service request or those that are not completed prior to the caller disconnection are classified as other. Source: www.nyc.gov; Mayor’s Office of Operations Citizen Service Center Volumes and Performance Levels Performance Measure Performance Goal Fiscal 2009 Year-to-Date November 2008 Total Incoming Calls Average Weekday Call Volume Average Wait Time Percent of Calls Answered within 30 seconds Percent of Language-Assisted Calls * No performance goal available Source: www.nyc.gov; Mayor’s Office of Operations * * 30 seconds 90% * 6,837,442 53,049 7 seconds 94% 2.1% 1,465,016 60,816 6 seconds 95% 2.1% CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT | MARCH 2009 23 http://www.nyc.gov http://www.nyc.gov http://www.nyc.gov http://www.destinationCRM.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CRM - March 2009

CRM - March 2009 Contents Front Office Reality Check Customer Centricity The Tipping Point Stay Tuned Stimulating Citizen Experience CRM on Twitter Retailers Face Reality Making Relationships Matter Required Reading We the People Innovation Nation CRM and the iPhone Looking to Score The Virtual Welcome Mat A Tough Transition Made Easier A Training Regimen Gets Rigorous A Battle Fought from Afar Secret of My Success Re:Tooling Connect Pint of View

CRM - March 2009

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