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TMBC front line Advisors brought into the virtual contact centre can access the Macfarlane and Lagan technology at their desktops - while still maintaining close contact with qualified and knowledgeable back office
colleagues.

The virtual customer service technology went live in June 2006 with Car Parking, Building Control, Waste Services (Fly Tipping, Graffiti, Refuse and Recycling) and general Front Line Customer Services. The Revenue and Benefits departments, along with the Council's satellite offices were brought into the virtual contact centre in November 2006.

All high volume Council services are now running through the Macfarlane telephony system which is delivering over 5000 calls a week to around 45 Council personnel.

"Working as a virtual customer contact centre has improved the way we handle customer calls and strengthened integration between our front and back office teams" said Julie Beilby, Customer Service Manager at Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council. "We're rapidly learning about why customers are calling us - but without dismantling our operations and losing our traditional strengths. We're very pleased with how the switch to a virtual operation has gone. Abandoned calls, for example, fell from 11% to 8% of total calls in the very first month of operation and the average time to answer has fallen on average by 15 seconds."

The move to a virtual contact centre model is part of a major Customer Service culture change initiative within TMBC Council that's designed to encourage personnel to think 'customer'.

Already a top performing Council - in its 2004 CPA assessment TMBC scored 58 out of 60, the highest score of any Council in England - Council leaders were very keen to push standards even higher and, in 2005, set about creating a new customer strategy.

The strategy, ratified in September 2006, aims "to provide a high level of service for TMBC customers which will be reviewed in the light of customer feedback and best practice, so as to ensure continuous improvement". Key objectives of the strategy are to:

• Better manage contacts with customers
• Reduce unnecessary contacts through informed marketing and
  information
• Increase customer self service through the TMBC website
• Answer questions more effectively at first point of contact
• Create more efficient back office procedures

Implementing the strategy has involved investments in staffing, facilities and technology.

"Technology has played a major part in our overall plans" said Julie Beilby, Customer Services Manager, Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council "and the flexibility of the Macfarlane system has been a big asset. Initially, many people were nervous about the new technology but now they really like using it - especially as they come to realise how it can be tailored to work best for them".

"The close integration between the Macfarlane and Lagan systems has also been a major benefit as it means we can get customer data quickly and efficiently to the back office without the need for double entry."

The Macfarlane CallPlus system answers incoming calls and intelligently routes them to the most appropriate TMBC Advisors, as well as providing interactive voice response, call recording and detailed management information. Prior to the installation of the Macfarlane technology, the Council had a standard switchboard, no reliable call handling data and no customer satisfaction or quality data.

In the future, TMBC is looking to extend customer contact choice through the use of SMS (texting), digital TV and other technology options. It is also working with partners to see how accessibility to services can be improved in remote rural locations and what role the virtual contact centre can play in this.

The Council is also currently developing a business continuity plan and considering the role that the Macfarlane and Lagan technology can play. Customer Services has been singled out within the Council's business continuity plans as a high priority area.

"Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council has an enviable reputation for customer service quality within the local Government community and its innovative new virtual contact centre can help it move to the next level. We're extremely pleased to be working on this exciting project" said William Gray, Managing Director, Macfarlane Telesystems.