Who you gonna call? 

On a quest to find more #RainbowHeroes who deserve some recognition, we caught up with Liz Cremer this week, Contact Centre Manager at C1V, to learn more about how the team have adapted to their new way of working.

Thursday 11 June, 2020

How have C1V adapted to the situation?

"As with colleagues across the council, recent events have caused a big change to how C1V work – call handlers are now split across various sites in the Civic Offices, to facilitate social distancing, and we also have a significant number of staff working from home. 

"C1V, as with many contact centres, has traditionally been a very team based environment, with colleagues helping and supporting one another, so the current way of working is an enormous change!

"However, the Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) have adapted to this well, keeping up to date with changes to all service areas throughout the authority and continuing to provide appropriate advice and guidance to residents during times when teams are delivering their services in different ways. 

CSRs working from home are using soft phone technology which enables them to handle calls from their laptops. Because the range of queries that are received in the centre are so varied, support is being provided remotely by managers who are also in various locations!"

How has your work changed?

"Several members of staff have been trained to handle calls on the 'Covid Crisis Line', providing advice and assistance to callers. This has been a new and rewarding skill for team members, handling over 800 inbound calls alone since 1st April. C1V staff have also assisted with managing outbound calls to residents on the shielding list – these were made by volunteers from other teams who joined us to assist with this crucial work.

"The excellent relationship between C1V and colleagues in other departments has been instrumental in service delivery at this time."

Has anyone gone above and beyond in their role?

“The team in C1V have worked extremely hard to ensure that our customers can still access services. Despite being located in many different locations, the high standard of service that C1V provide has remained consistent and the team have adapted well to the new way of doing things. Well done to all!”

C1V have handled 24,000 inbound calls since 1st April – including over 800 on the Crisis Line. In addition to dealing with several hundred emails every week.

Our wellbeing officers have to ensure that the majority of calls taken are dealt with at first contact, rather than being passed on to require social worker action, to free up their time for more complex cases. This highlights the wellbeing officers dedication to exploring all possible solutions  for the customer to ensure their needs are met whilst also offering emotional and practical support to our most vulnerable reside

Additionally, during the month of May, the Telecare operators handled over 9,000 calls. The telecare operators have continued to go the extra mile reassuring customers who are struggling with isolation and being very patient and understanding with frequent callers who struggle with Dementia - these customers have limited care in place at the moment.

Rob Thomas, Managing Director, wanted to give the C1V team a special thank you, saying:

"C1V staff are an excellent example of our service areas adapting to the unique circumstances that Covid-19 has presented. Despite immense changes to the way they work, staff have dealt with the crisis in their stride, putting others' needs before their own and ensuring residents are safe.

"In addition to supporting the newly established Crisis Support Team, Lynne Clarke has dedicated some time to improving the Courtyard at the Civic Offices so staff working there can take some much needed respite and enjoy their surroundings. Well done Lynne, you've done a great job.