More than 320,000 residents, 21,000 properties, and rent arrears to constantly track and chase – no wonder Dudley Council needed a new contact centre solution capable of meeting its complex needs.
A large UK local authority, its social housing rental income plays a vital role in the provision of services to the communities it serves. Tasked with ensuring timely collection, its Lead Income Team faced daily challenges that depended on efficient operations.
As is so often the case, a robust, at-scale means of communication was central to everything. As was an innovative partnership with a technology provider capable of designing and deploying the tools to make it happen.
“Managing rental payments and arrears for over 21,000 properties presented significant challenges for Dudley Council. The Lead Income team needed a system that could streamline their operations, improve performance monitoring, and enhance their ability to serve the community effectively,” says Howard Watson, Sales Director at leading contact centre provider MaxContact, whose powerful dialler system with advanced reporting was the perfect solution.
“As well as tracking and chasing arrears, they also needed better tools for identifying areas for improvement.
The council also wanted to empower its team to work more independently and efficiently.
They needed a system that could handle their complex requirements while also being user-friendly enough for the team to manage on their own. They were looking to reduce their reliance on external support for system updates, which often caused delays in making necessary changes.”
The MaxContact solution significantly boosted the volume of outbound calls the council was able to make, and the tailored reporting feature captured and analysed all call data - giving the team valuable insights into its operations which, in turn, enabled better performance management and service monitoring.
Importantly, a key aspect of the solution was its user-friendly interface, which allowed for ease of use and independent system updates. This feature was crucial in empowering the team to make necessary changes without relying on external support. MaxContact also provided comprehensive training and on-site support during implementation, ensuring a smooth transition to the new system.
“Working with MaxContact has been really positive,” says Kelly Read, Assistant Team Manager at Dudley Council. “They listened to what our concerns were, understood what we wanted the project to deliver for us, and were able to demonstrate how it would be achieved.
“The result has been enhanced efficiency and team empowerment, and the new system has also made a significant difference to the council’s wider operations.
The improved reporting capabilities have been particularly impactful. We wanted better performance management so we devised a way of capturing the data we knew would help us with that. MaxContact has been able to give us reports which ensure our service is closely monitored and able to identify where any improvements are needed.”