Banding Together to Provide Online Services

Multiple organisations have partnered together to create a complete online facility for adults in Lincolnshire to gain information.  The Connect to Support Lincolnshire website “is an online information and advice library, community directory and marketplace;” owned and managed by Public Consulting Group (UK) Ltd on behalf of Lincolnshire County Council.

As part of the website a telephone support line and website live chat service has been provided by Lincs2Advice which is supplied by Age UK Lincoln & South Lincolnshire. “Lincs2Advice promotes the self-care agenda through a web based model including offering an information and signposting service for all adults' and children’s services across Lincolnshire.”

The website live chat enables residents in Lincolnshire to speak directly with advisors to find out about local groups, activities and services within the community. The organisation operates the chat sessions during set days and times (Monday to Friday 2pm – 7pm and Saturday 10am – 2pm), with 2 teams managing the service between weekdays and weekends.

When the chat service is available during its operational hours the enquirer will see the online chat button. When clicked a pre-chat form is displayed; this gathers the visitor’s name allowing the advisor to address them straight away, therefore personalising the conversation and helping to build a connection.

All the windows throughout the website live chat service provide a link to their privacy policy information, ensuring that the individual makes an informed decision when entering their personal details and enabling the organisation to comply with data regulations.

Using Live Chat to Efficiently Provide Advice

Visitors seeking advice may be enquiring about what to do in a local area; others may need more specific information regarding a health condition or money situation etc. Whatever the reason for their enquiry, live chat provides a safe, secure and private environment to communicate.

Advisors can use the communication channel to provide any supporting information to the enquirer and signpost them. Auto navigation enables an agent to send any URL to the visitor which automatically opens in a new tab of their browser, allowing the representative to ensure that the individual has received the right information.

File transfer can also be used during a chat session to send any relating documentation directly to the enquirer. This can include guides, leaflets and brochures etc. The agent can quickly gauge if the visitor received the information which reduces time spent sending the documentation and then chasing to confirm receipt, streamlining the process whilst satisfying the customer’s need.

If an agent is unsure of what information the visitor is viewing, they can start a secure co-browse session that only creates a replica of the website page(s) that they have browsed including the one they are currently on. This allows the representative to provide more accurately advice, which increases first contact resolution rate, which some organisations providing advice services will measure especially if their resources are limited.

The organisation also has the option on whether to allow their advisors to see what an enquirer is typing in real-time as they compose the message. This is optional as some organisations such as the police find it useful to see what situation the individual is in and whether it is more serious than they are letting on, allowing them to step in if necessary. Whereas others such as charities working with young or vulnerable people prefer to have their feature switched off to protect the enquirer’s privacy.

Click4Assistance has been supplying website live chat to organisations that provide advice services to individuals for over 15 years. For more information on how live chat can benefit your company, contact our team on 01268 524628 or email theteam@click4assistance.co.uk.