Integra ICT, an accredited telecoms and ICT distributor, has enabled Ramsay Rivers’ Flagship Hospital to achieve customer satisfaction levels in excess of 95% by upgrading its existing HiPath 3800 telecoms network to support “OpenScape Office HX” - a next-generation UC platform from Unify (formerly Siemens Enterprise Communications). The new installation makes use of existing equipment and resource and has ensured optimal use of the hospital’s overall ICT investment to date.
Ramsay Healthcare Group has 30 private healthcare facilities across the UK and is well-respected for its excellent track record in hospital management and patient care.
The new Unified communication solution is based on SIP technology, the new standard for managing multimedia communications. It comprises a suite of customer centre-specific applications including skills-based call routing (to ensure the even distribution of incoming calls to available agents), integrated voice and conference services, text, fax and email support, call-back requests, queue status, screen pop-ups, screen alerts during peak call periods as well as call recording capabilities for security, compliance and training purposes.
The system’s real-time call reporting and monitoring capabilities has allowed call centre supervisors to quickly react to caller demand and/or calling patterns, depending on factors such as the time of day or the nature of the call. They can increase or reduce their call handling capacity to reflect peaks and troughs, thus making best possible use of available agents and associated skills sets.
Since implementation, Ramsay Rivers Hospital has been able to analyze and report on all aspects of its customer centre activities, resulting in a significant improvement in overall customer service standards. More than 95% of incoming calls are answered by live agents and over two thirds of these calls are answered in less than 30 seconds.
Staff morale and ultimately the customer centre’s overall productivity has also improved because anticipated call volumes during busy periods (Monday mornings, for example) can be more accurately predicted and catered for, resulting in less stress for staff and a positive experience for callers.
The unified communications system was installed and commissioned by Integra’s experienced technical team out of normal office to minimise disruptions to services as much as possible.
In addition, Integra ICT worked closely with customer centre managers to create bespoke call flows so that call management processes were optimised prior to making the system live. Integra also arranged an intensive training program to ensure a smooth transition to the new system and also to make sure that all staff were using the available call management tools to their full potential,
Says Pas Ruggiero, CEO of Integra ICT; “Our technical team worked in close partnership with the hospital’s customer centre staff to fully understand their requirements so we could deliver a solution that met their objectives. Usage stats demonstrate that we have not only achieved but exceeded their expectations. In addition, our ability to make use of existing telecoms infrastructure avoided the need for “rip and replace”, which is expensive and disruptive.”
Integra’s implementation and support of the new UC infrastructure has been so successful that Ramsay Rivers Hospital is planning its rollout to other hospitals with high call volumes.
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