Delivering top-quality public-sector service with Webex Contact Center

Running the Department of Labor for a state is an intricate operation. The services offered by these agencies include unemployment insurance assistance and guidance for residents who are unemployed and interested in learning more about employment opportunities statewide. A large and efficient contact center operation is needed to serve this audience.

The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) operates approximately 35 offices with 500 agents and manages 14 queues, receiving an average of 60,000 calls per month. The department sees its mission as relational rather than transactional. Where possible, agents deal directly with callers one-on-one, helping individuals and families rebuild their lives after an unexpected job loss.

As the world struggled through a global health crisis and the department received an influx of calls, leaders realized that to keep providing a top-quality experience to residents, they would need to embrace cloud solutions.

“In 2021, like many other organizations, the pandemic significantly increased our call volume," said Phyllis Kimber, GDOL Director of Process Improvement. "We faced a volume of calls that our existing on-premise solution simply couldn’t handle. Moving to the cloud was necessary."

The GDOL previously used an on-premise solution to power its contact center operations. While department leaders reviewed competing options, Webex Contact Center ultimately checked all of the department’s requirements.

"We actually looked into several other alternatives, one of which was Avaya, among others, and we felt that Cisco was the best fit for our organization, primarily led by Gartner's Magic Quadrant," explained Kimber. "We saw that Webex ranked highly for its telephony services, so that really solidified our decision."

Due to the size of the organization, the GDOL opted for a phased cutover, with each of its 35 offices switching over one by one, in collaboration with Cisco and the state's telephony provider, AT&T.

The result of this carefully plotted journey was a quick immersion into new, cloud-driven functionality that has helped state employees provide optimal service, even when dealing with elevated call volumes.

The new cloud-based platform has brought major functional improvements for the GDOL, including access to the Webex app, which allows employees to stay connected at all times.

“One of my favorite features has been the Webex app," said Kimber. "It enables seamless, real-time collaboration across teams. I'm also a strong advocate for Vidcast and Slido, both of which we’ve been integrating more and more across the agency, further driving innovation and engagement."

GDOL agents can now stay connected and collaborate through the app. When agents are on live calls with customers, they can contact subject matter experts seamlessly. Receiving correct, detailed answers to queries allows agents to deliver a new level of precise, helpful service. While the GDOL is a public-sector agency, the staff seeks to operate with a level of efficiency that emulates a private enterprise.

"If you have to spend an enormous amount of time trying to find information, then you're probably using the wrong solution," said Bruce Thompson, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Labor. In this case, we’re confident we have the right solution because it allows us to quickly search for and locate information, and then effectively monitor it to ensure we’re solving the necessary problems.”

The organization measures average handling times, abandonment rates, and hold times. The new cloud-based service allows the team to track these metrics and lets supervisors act on them, assigning more people when demand is high to keep performance strong and customers happy.

The GDOL team is looking forward to leveraging Cisco AI Assistant features for Webex Contact Center to better serve its community members. The Agent Answers feature is a special point of focus, as it has the potential to reduce response times even further.

Working in the cloud hasn't just increased GDOL employees' ability to quickly and effectively help residents. The financial savings and efficiencies have also been significant, which has allowed the state to actively reinvest in its current operations and invest in new priorities.

"By migrating to Webex, we're able to eliminate unnecessary programs that may have some duplicity, allowing us to take those savings and reinvest them back into the people we have at the Department of Labor," said Thompson. "In some cases, adding headcount, but more importantly, we're reinvesting and investing in our people to make sure that they're utilizing this program to its full potential."

In addition to its Webex Contact Center deployment, GDOL relies on Cisco devices to serve the public efficiently.

“At the Georgia Department of Labor, Cisco devices are integral to our daily operations," said Kimber. "From Cisco Boards and Room Kits in our conference rooms to Desk Pros throughout the agency, these tools are essential for effective communication and collaboration.”

GDOL’s deployment of Cisco devices are all managed through a single point — Control Hub. This allows administrators to operate more efficiently, as they can manage every device from one interface and reduce toggling between multiple systems. Every point of access is part of a unified, easy-to-manage system.

As GDOL looks to the future, the organization is energized by the potential for innovation within their collaboration and customer experience efforts. GDOL and Cisco’s aligned values and vision serve as a solid foundation as GDOL plans for future growth.

"When people are choosing business partners, it goes way beyond just the solution," said Thompson. "It goes back to relationships and making sure that the vendors you partner with become interconnected in what you're trying to do. They've got to understand the vision, and if they can catch that vision, then incredible things can happen, and we're well on our way to incredible things happening here."

Serving the public with a high level of precision and efficiency is challenging, especially as the volume of requests remains elevated. The GDOL has approached the issue head-on, moving into the cloud and preparing to embrace what's next.

Contact us to see how your organization can tackle its next-generation contact center needs.