Capita Procures Chat for Multiple Councils

Capita has been one of our partners for over 4 years. They have worked on projects to integrate live chat (known also as online chat software) into several local authorities. Recently, they have implemented the instant communication channel into 2 more councils.

Lambeth and the City of Westminster’s online chat software implementations have a level of similarity in the fact that both councils have deployed the communication service on their benefits and council tax support pages. However, they have achieved this in two different ways.

Lambeth Council

Lambeth Council was the first out of these two councils to have Capita implement online chat software for them. They have optimised the Click4Assistance system to attract a high level of uptake by offering more than one way to initiate a chat.

When a resident is browsing the benefits and support pages on Lambeth Council’s website, an invitation appears after a few seconds. The prompt explains that the council’s advisors are available to help; all the resident needs to do is enter their name to begin a chat. This makes it easy for the individual to gain advice and information.

On the council tax pages, Lambeth has opted for a button that is constantly in view as the resident browses. It allows them to start a chat at any point during their journey. Upon clicking the button a pre-chat form displays an informative message, notifying the individual that the chat service is for general advice and support to help signpost the resident to what they need online. To discuss their account they would need to contact the council by other means of communication.

This helps the council answer repetitive or simple questions quickly, whilst reducing the volume of enquiries via phone, allowing the phone lines to be dedicated to more complex or account related queries. 

Both the invitation and chat button/pre-chat form then guides the resident through the same journey; entering the visitor into the dialogue window where the main conversation takes place. This is followed by a survey which Lambeth has customised to receive valuable feedback about the service and their agents KPI’s. This ensures the council can continue to improve the help they provide to residents online.

City of Westminster

On the other side (they are actually opposite sides of the river!), Westminster Council are newer to using online chat software. They have opted for a simpler approach with a chat button following the visitor as they browse the specific pages. This provides easy accessibility to residents to receive help online.

Their difference from Lambeth comes with where their chats route to. Each button on their council tax, benefits and support, and business rate pages are identical, however each of the buttons direct the residents through to the relevant department using the intelligent CDS system. This allows multiple teams in various locations to efficiently handle chat enquiries and maintain/increase first contact resolution rates.

Their design is also consistent throughout the chat journey, regardless of which button the chat was started from. This ensures that the experience is smooth for the residents as they are not negatively affected by the intricate configuration that magically gets them speaking with the right team.

Council Implementations

Click4Assistance has been providing live chat software for over 15 years, working closely with councils and the public sector. Every implementation will have similarities; however each one is unique to the councils as the communication service needs to meet their requirements. There is no right or wrong way of integrating live chat, as the channel needs to be flexible to the individual issues that each of the wards experience.

For more information regarding Click4Assistance and the solution contact our team by calling 01268 524628 or email theteam@click4assistance.co.uk.