On call for a new career

CALL centres are usually associated with selling insurance, airline tickets and subscription TV, but local councils are now using them as "one-stop shops" for services, creating a new type of local- government career. "Using latest technology to handle a variety of enquiries is challenging but very satisfying work," says Lewisham's corporate call-centre manager, Jeremy Precieux. "Our CallPoint system was launched in July 2000 and now employs 89 staff dealing with up to 1.5 million calls a year."

Topics covered by the centre include council tax, benefits, housing repairs, refuse collection, street cleaning and abandoned cars, in addition to licences for rubbish skips and scaffolding and parking permits for disabled drivers.

"We want to provide the best possible customer service by channelling enquiries about specific topics through one point of contact," says Precieux.

"The aim is to be 'customer champions', resolving queries and problems in a courteous, efficient and confidential way."

Training is seen as key to providing skills needed to deal with 125,000 calls a month. Advanced computer technology is vital to handle the sheer number of enquiries, and Precieux says: "Staff must be comfortable using a PC to access a range of information that they cannot be expected to carry in their heads. IT training is provided, along with courses in customer care and on every topic covered by the call centre. Time is also spent shadowing experienced staff before anyone goes 'live' with a caller. Mentors supply continuing advice."

The council stresses its commitment to developing staff and says CallPoint officers are well-placed to build on their customer care, IT and communication skills and to climb the career ladder.

The most popular questions asked of the call-centre staff vary with the time of year.

Summer brings calls for pest control and complaints about overflowing refuse bins because the heat makes them smell; autumn brings a rash of housing-repair requests as central-heating boilers are switched on after the warm spell; and spring starts a new cycle of council-tax enquiries.

Staff handle two or three "families" of services, such as council tax or housing benefit, with technology directing callers to the appropriate operator.

Messages requesting various application forms can be recorded, leaving more complicated issues to be dealt with by a "live" conversation.

Lewisham has been awarded Beacon Status, an independent assessment of public service efficiency, for the accessibility of its services and bosses believe CallPoint has played a key role in achieving this.

But while the residents reap the benefits of improved communication, call centres have a reputation for causing stress as staff struggle to meet targets or deal with large numbers of complaints.

So, what is it like to be on the CallPoint front line?

Kate Keenan, 41, worked for various call centres in the private sector before joining CallPoint last November.

"The job is challenging but enjoyable, with none of the stress that can go with working in a regular call centre," she says. "The difference here is a commitment to training and a culture of support and encouragement."

The only frustrating part of the job for her is that CallPoint's "can-do" reputation has spread a little too wide. Requests for help sometimes come from people outside the borough about issues over which the council has no control. For example, a driver whose abandoned car was towed away in Chelsea asked for help in finding it.

But is using the technology a problem? Sue Weatherill, 40, a senior CallPoint officer, says not. "I started work here with almost no computer experience, but the training is so comprehensive that I was immediately comfortable in front of a PC."

She also identifies customer-friendly communication skills as vital and adds: "You have to 'manage' conversations so you can provide answers without straying from the point, or other callers are kept waiting."

While a desire to "put something back into the community" attracted her to the job, there is an added bonus. "I'm able to work part-time: 25 hours a week on the 9.30am to 2.30pm shift, which enables me to take my two boys to school and collect them. It's an ideal job for combining work with a family."

Council call-centre facts

Lewisham's CallPoint Officers are paid between pounds 16,410 and pounds 17,988 a year for a 35-hour week (pro rata part-time). See www.lewisham.gov.uk.

Westminster council's Customer Service Initiative (CSI) commences for 67 of its services from November. It has awarded a contract to a private company (Vertex) to run the one-stop shop. See www.westminster.gov.uk.

Copyright 2002
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.