• Contact centre current state assessment

Property business

Assessment of the current state of a regional contact centre. Part of a larger housing association under regulatory and budgetary pressure

After a change of repairs contractor and operating model, repairs performance deteriorated severely. Customer calls to the contact centre doubled resulting in the contact centre reverting to a “crisis management” mode rather than normal operating procedures.

This detrition of service led to increased scrutiny by the HCA and as a result We were asked to identify key issues in the contact centres operational performance and the actions required to address them.


We provided a small experienced team to determine the root cause of increased demand and identify actions for improvement.

The team conducted side-by-side live call monitoring to assess the root cause of demand and how they were different from normal operations.

Further to this interviews were held with all team managers and the head of the contact centre to assess the management process being used, gain insight and hypotheses for key problem areas. This was supplemented by a workshop held with staff without managers present to ensure honest and open discussion. Obtained the view of key internal stakeholders on the contact centres performance on behalf of the contact centre.

Data was obtained from central IT, performance analysts and HR to support a deep dive into the operational performance at individual and team levels.

The team assisted in implementing key recommendations regarding supervision and coaching of staff within the assessment. Working closely with the Perform team in place at Circle we were able to double staff utilisation.

Our final reportmade a case for urgent change and actions to improve customer experience and efficiency The report identified a list of quick win initiatives and longer term strategic opportunities to aid the client in removing regulatory scrutiny, meeting budget and improving customer experience.

Conducting the CSA The team identified that

  • Operating costs could be reduced by 56% due to poor process definition, training and system support
  • Lack of forward planning leading to a very cyclical customer experience that dropped to unacceptable levels during winter
  • Repairs and Maintenance performance was cyclical and summer contact centre improvements were due to lower customer demand rather than improved operations