Johannesburg, 10 Feb 2004
In preparation for the upcoming elections in 2004, the Electoral Commission (EC) awarded Grintek Telecom, DigitalMall and Emmanuel's Staffing Solutions the contract to provide an outsourced call centre for handling enquiries from voters.
The call centre has allowed potential eligible voters to obtain information about voter registration, voter education and the necessary processes involved when participating or voting in the elections.
The EC required a solution that would provide it with the ability to offer a professional, measurable service with tangible benefits to both the EC and general public. A consortium was formed with the three companies to provide the necessary technology, infrastructure and skills to meet the requirements of the EC call centre.
One of the challenges was to ensure the call centre was up and running within a two-day period with the initial recruiting of 30 call centre agents. This was achieved and the call centre officially opened in Rivonia on 1 October 2003.
Since its inception, the call centre has had to handle up to 50 000 calls per month, some over peak periods, which without the VoiceXML solution from Grintek Telecom and DigitalMall, would have created a congestion of calls.
On 8 and 9 of November, over one million South Africans registered to vote for the upcoming election and since the establishment of the call centre, 446 870 calls were received of which 80% were answered. On 8 and 9 November, 74 628 calls were answered over the two days. This constitutes 74% of all calls received and a total of 53 914 enquires were received via the public EC Web site. This illustrates the success of the call centre solution and the technologies that enabled the handling of large volumes of calls.
According to statistics obtained from Telkom SA regarding customer telephone line efficiency conducted over a five-day period between 6 and 10 November, the average number of calls received during a busy hour were 6 122 calls and the busiest hour for the observation period constituted an all time high of 30 500 calls.
The introduction of the VoiceXML solution will allow callers to verify their registration details and obtain information without speaking to an agent. This intelligent, automated voice solution alleviates the queuing of calls, and allows agents to handle more complicated queries. As the Web site content is updated, so too is the VoiceXML telephony content, leveraging this technology off DigitalMall's existing investment in Internet technology. The VoiceXML platform assists with the reduction of the costs of running a call centre.
It was paramount to ensure the call centre agents are able to communicate in English and at least three other official languages, thereby allowing the call centre to respond to callers in all 11 official South African languages. Emmanuel's Staffing Solutions was able to call on its tremendous pool of resources and provided the resources to accommodate this requirement at the call centre.
The solution put together by DigitalMall and Grintek Telecom is based on Nortel Network's Meridian Option 61C PBX system which can handle up to 250 000 inbound telephone calls at any one time. The technology chosen provides DigitalMall with the ability to upgrade services with no downtime and effect to callers, as well as providing built-in redundancy in the event of emergencies.
The solution includes traditional telephony management as well as skills-based routing, ensuring the most well-equipped agent is able to handle the call.
Says Delio Senatore, Grintek Telecom group executive sales and marketing: "Nortel's Meridian Option 61C solution was ideal for the EC's requirements as it can handle peak periods through the ability to monitor the influx of calls and track whether incoming calls warrant additional resources to ensure the high service levels are maintained.
"We expect call queries to further increase as we draw closer to the election, and the system we have jointly put together is designed to cope with the peaks and troughs associated with public call centre environments."
Grintek Telecom's longstanding relationship with Telkom SA assisted the company to route the EC toll-free number (0800118000) to the call centre premises in Rivonia. "This would not have been possible without the professional assistance of the staff and management at Telkom," says Senatore.
Due to the fluctuations of calls which reach high peak periods at certain times, Grintek Telecom agreed to offer the additional interface cards that facilitate additional lines and instruments on loan, allowing the EC to save up to R1 million in costs which include installation, labour and support. Telkom SA also assisted by agreeing to a reduced monthly fee and waiving the requirement for a contract for the primary rate ISDN line. The EC is also in the process of negotiating further reduced costs.
Yaron Assabi, chief executive officer and founder of DigitalMall, comments: "Our history and experience in the call centre environment has enabled us to provide a professional environment that meets the high demands of the EC and the speed at which we managed to setup the call centre is testimony to our commitment to our customers. Furthermore, the experience and knowledge gained during the next two years will allow the EC to re-evaluate current systems while eliminating inefficiency and out-of-date processes and methodology."
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