Hold the line please, we’re improving our call center
A case study from Jordan on how best to run a call center
By Alice Schaus, Associate Regional Innovation Officer, with contributions from Rasha Batarseh (Associated Cash-Based Intervention Officer)
“Working with the Helpline reminds me to be aware of every word I say all the time because I’m talking with the most vulnerable people. Sometimes it seems like the hardest job in the world, but it is not like that all the time. It can be really rewarding especially when you manage to guide the person who needs help, or when you are the one delivering the good news to them. There is no greater reward.”
Husam (UNHCR Call Operator in Jordan)
Following our blog post on how to design and set up a call center, this post shares tips and recommendations on how to successfully run a call center. We define success in this post as a call center that is designed to meet specific internal objectives, to address the needs of users and workers alike, and to optimise its processes and tools.
There are many ways to run a call center effectively, with local factors often determining the best option. In this blog, we draw lessons from the UNHCR call center in Jordan, which is one of the largest refugee helplines in the world.
The origins of the UNHCR’s Jordan Helpline
The UNHCR Jordan helpline was established in 2008 to address queries mostly from the Iraqi refugee community. In 2014, following the large number of refugees entering Jordan from neighboring Syria, UNHCR upgraded the helpline infrastructure to respond to the increasing number of calls received. Since then, the operation has regularly been upgrading the call center technology to respond to the growing demand for its services.
Recently, the helpline operation was affected by the Covid-19 restrictions in Jordan. During the initial lockdown phases, the system was not equipped to allow call operators to work remotely and it took several weeks for this to be established. With the IVR in place, refugees were still able to get basic information about services affected by the Covid-19 situation. Furthermore, the IVR advised refugees to contact specific emergency hotlines set up during Covid-19, for urgent issues related to health or detention. Those hotlines were either operated by UNHCR or by partners such as Legal Aid and Caritas.
Based on the different adaptations the helpline went through over the last few years, below are some of the key takeaways from the UNHCR team in Jordan.
Four tips for effectively running a humanitarian call center
1 — Make sure your call center is meeting its objectives
“UNHCR’s Jordan Helpline is a humanitarian call center. This means that we need to follow the call center standards and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) while making sure that we listen and counsel our PoCs as needed”. Rasha (Associate Cash-Based Intervention Officer, UNHCR)
When dealing with emergencies or adapting systems, it’s easy to forget about the core objectives of the activity, and so it is important to regularly assess whether the call center meets its purpose and is used to its full capacity. The purpose of the call center can change over time and refugees may use it for unforeseen reasons.
During focus group discussions with refugees, the UNHCR team in Jordan takes the time to explain to refugees how the call center works. For refugees who are familiar with the call center, the team asks for feedback. They also conduct regular satisfaction surveys in person and over the phone. The interviewees also include refugees who haven’t called the helpline. The survey was conducted in 2018 and showed that 93% of the respondents mentioned that the service is excellent or good.
It is also critical to keep track of the quality of the service over time. In Jordan, the key performance indicators (KPIs) are divided between referrals, agent KPIs and operational KPIs (examples below) that are reviewed regularly.
Referrals
An important metric for Jordan is providing feedback to the callers. This is done either on-the-spot by the system or the agent, or by a referral ticket system for the relevant unit follow up. The helpline team reminds the units to take appropriate action and the referrals are then ‘closed’.
Agent KPIs include:
- Time utilization: Total hours that the helpline agent has to answer phone calls during the working day;
- Daily target of calls answered per agent;
- Total number of coaching sessions monthly: the coaching session is the regular meeting between management and agents to address attitudes, behaviours, and knowledge of the call operators. This is done by listening to recorded phone calls of the agent and evaluating them according to defined quality standards;
- Total number of evaluated calls per month.
Some operational KPIs are:
- Service level (SL): The percentage of calls answered within a predefined amount of time. For example, 80/60 states that 80% of calls should be answered in 60 seconds or less.
2 — Put people at the center
In addition to being the main users of the channel, refugees can play an important role in the set-up and running of a call center. Engaging Persons of Concern (PoCs) ensures the service is primed to address local needs and builds trust with refugee communities.
In Jordan, focus group discussions and meetings with refugee communities are regularly conducted. One piece of feedback the Jordan call center received recently was to include a Somali language option, and this will now be added to the IVR in coordination with the Somali community.
Another way to engage refugees is to hire them as call operators, which has the additional benefit of their familiarity with the context of displaced communities and language skills.. This approach was successful in the UNHCR call center in Kenya.
That being said, refugees don’t always have the legal right to work in their host country. One should also bear in mind that in some operations it might be challenging for data protection reasons to provide refugees with access to protection or case management data.
If it is not possible for refugees to be phone operators themselves, then other solutions can be put in place. You can select a group of dedicated Persons of Concern who visit the center regularly and support the creation of a work plan with activities. Refugees could also be included in the trainings for call operators, informing them of UNHCR’s activities or the service from the user perspective. In Jordan, this is achieved through regular training and information sharing sessions with Community Support Committees.
User testing is the process of evaluating design decisions by testing the assumptions which were made for a service or product with a set of users. Guided user testing with refugee communities on a call center service ensures that it is designed to meet their needs and that calling the call center is a positive experience.
3 — Happy call operators = happy callers.
“I feel happy when I help refugees, I am proud of providing services for refugees through the Helpline”. Suhad
“The helpline taught me better self-discipline and time management. Helping others is indescribable”. Alaa Hamad
(UNHCR Call Operators in Jordan)
In Jordan, the team provides the call center staff with regular self-development training, monthly breakfasts and they celebrate everyone’s birthday. A few years now, they have also organized annual Tai Chi retreats for call operators to relax and get to know each other in a different setting. Tai Chi classes are also conducted virtually three times a week with an expert based in the US. The team also regularly tries other ways of rewarding good performance, such as celebrating the Employee of the Month.
No matter the size of the call center, staff welfare is important for creating a good work culture, especially in the humanitarian context. The sensitivity of some of the calls the operators might have to manage can impact on their mental well-being. As such, it is important to provide operators with psychosocial support services if needed and have regular debriefing sessions with them.
4 — Invest in the right technology to save valuable time and effort
Whether it is to save costs or to improve customer service, investing in technology can improve the way call centers operate.
In Jordan, the helpline uses the CISCO Unified Contact Centre Enterprise technology, which includes a call recording system for training and oversight purposes, and allows for detailed monitoring and statistical reporting.
The helpline uses smart IVR technology to increase the number of calls answered, and direct callers more quickly to the right information. When refugees ring in, they provide their unique file number followed by security questions. They select the type of information they would like, such as basic needs assistance, health, registration or other concerns. Their reason for phoning is linked to the RAIS (Refugees Assistance and Immigration Services) system — which identifies the case and the information related to it. For example, when refugees face difficulties in withdrawing their cash assistance, a ‘referral ticket’ is created and sent to the appropriate UNHCR unit. The unit then acts as needed, and closes the referral on RAIS.
The helpline system is able to make automated outbound calls using phone numbers stored in the UNHCR database. This is a useful tool for passing on messages. For example, it was used to advise refugees on how to withdraw their Covid-19 cash assistance.
Future plans to iterate the call center
The team in Jordan is working on how to increase the number of communications channels available and to improve reporting on referral tickets. The team hopes to be able to put in place a two-way SMS channel and a chatbot over the next few years, to enable them to respond to the increasing number of enquiries received and to provide better feedback and responses to Persons of Concern.
As this case study has highlighted, to operate a productive call center it is important to measure key performance indicators. This enables an operation to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the call agents, the operation’s processes, and the call center software. It is equally important to regularly get feedback from users whether through surveys, interviews or focus group discussions. If possible, we recommend organizations include their users in the running of their call center since this can bring many benefits from access to languages to improving the quality of information provided and the perception of the call center among users.
Organizations will have to devote time and money to staff welfare — which is especially critical in humanitarian contexts. Lastly, as your operation evolves you should regularly assess whether your technology still fits the service’s needs.
A final note
This brings us to the end of our blog series on call centers, but not to the end of the Innovation Service’s work in this area. With ever changing needs, evolving technologies and pressures to reduce costs, UNHCR will have to continuously explore innovative approaches to communicate with communities. This is an area the Innovation Service is pursuing through its Digital Inclusion programme which focuses on experimental and forward-thinking approaches to the topic of digital access and inclusion. We hope that each of the four case studies are useful and relevant for humanitarian actors at any stage in their call center journey.
The first post provides some context and the general narrative on call centers in the humanitarian context. It has only been in the last decade that the humanitarian sector has resorted to call centers as tools for accessing information and providing feedback about humanitarian services. As a result, not many resources or guidance materials are available for humanitarians considering setting one up
The purpose of our second post is to guide organizations through a practical assessment when considering a call center solution. Before investing in a call center, organizations need to develop a good understanding of the communities’ preferred channels of communication, their needs , and the operational and administrative landscape.
For organizations that have decided to go ahead with a center solution, our third post looks at the different operating models. From outsourcing to interagency call centers, each option comes with its own challenges and opportunities. Last but not least, for organizations already operating a call center, this post reflects on lessons learned from running a call center.
We will continue to share new insights as we learn from our experiences. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any feedback or insights to share on the topic (hqinnov@unhcr.org).
