As one of the largest public agencies in the state, South Carolina Department of Social Services (SCDSS) provides a vast array of public services. These services result in a daily barrage of calls to the agency, straining the limits of staff to answer questions and provide assistance when it is truly needed.
The Challenge: Build A System To Take Stress Of Current Staff
As one of the largest public agencies in the state, SCDSS provides a vast array of public services. Its mission is to serve South Carolina by promoting the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and vulnerable adults, helping individuals achieve stability and strengthening families. These services provided under this mission result in a daily barrage of calls to the agency, straining the limits of staff to answer questions and provide assistance when it is truly needed.
The Solution: Multilingual, Speech-Enabled IVR
Working with DiRAD Business Analysts, SCDSS identified the programs that were generating the most call volume. It was decided that the agency would focus on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which helps needy families purchase food, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), which provides temporary financial assistance to needy families with dependent children. Since these two programs generate over 70,000 calls into the agency per month, automation could provide substantial relief.
DiRAD designed a multilingual, speech-enabled IVR that handles all calls to the agency and automates inquiries for case status and benefits information. Using their case number, callers can receive specific information about their case status, without having to speak with a live operator.
DiRAD also provided an outbound notification system that reminds recipients to schedule an interview for the Expedited SNAP program.
The Results: More Automated Calls, Lower Costs
With the multilingual IVR and outbound notification system up and running the agency experienced:
- Immediate relief for the call center – tens of thousands of calls are automated monthly
- Dramatically reduced telephony infrastructure and usage costs by offloading to DiRAD
- Reduction in no-shows for Expedited SNAP interviews
- Multi-language support reduces agency translation costs
- Customers can now get information 24×7
Some of the features of this communications solution include:
- Speech Recognition in English and Spanish
- Real-Time Dashboard for reports and administration
- Data security via hardware VPN
- Unlimited calls – elastic port capacity