Communities must modernize their telephone service, which is lagging behind digital. By taking inspiration from the customer experience, they can make it more efficient.
Communities have invested massively in digital channels to simplify access to their services: online forms, paperless procedures, citizen portals, etc. These systems have transformed the relationship with residents, but they have also raised the bar. Accustomed to the fluidity of private sector services, citizens today expect the same efficiency from their town hall. In this context, how can we guarantee a quality citizen experience, across all channels?
The telephone, the weak link in citizen relations?
While digital management is progressing, telephone management often lags behind. In many communities, this channel still relies on an organization historically built around services: several numbers coexist, a central switchboard is in high demand, and calls are directed towards agents who are often mobilized for other tasks.
This organization generates complicated telephone routes, with successive transfers, long waiting times and difficulty in precisely following the activity. This gap creates a break in the relationship: where digital is designed to simplify, the telephone sometimes becomes a factor of frustration, even though it remains a key channel of proximity and continuity of public service. However, users’ expectations are simple: contact the right person, not have to repeat their situation, and obtain an answer or, failing that, reliable guidance.
Three lessons to learn from customer experience
To modernize this channel and fully integrate it into a citizen relations strategy, communities can draw inspiration from best customer experience practices.
Lesson #1: omnichannel
Citizens want to be able to move from one channel to another without friction. Starting a process online and finalizing it over the phone should be a no-brainer. However, telephone and digital channels are often thought of in silos. The solution: We must create synergies and think of channels as “crossed ambassadors”. An online service can, for example, offer easier access to the telephone when a complex situation warrants it. Conversely, an agent or voice server can guide the user to the right online resource for a simple procedure. The objective is to make journeys more fluid by orchestrating all flows, regardless of the entry point chosen by the user.
Lesson #2: Personalization and proactivity
Nothing is more frustrating for a citizen than having to repeat their request to several people. The first step of an appeal is therefore crucial. The solution: Fine qualification of the reason for contact, via an interactive voice server (IVR) or a natural language callbot, makes it possible to immediately direct the request to the competent agent or service. This limits transfers, reduces waiting times and facilitates the work of teams. Beyond this reactivity, the community can adopt a more proactive posture: use outgoing calls or SMS to warn of a construction site, inform in the event of an exceptional event or offer seniors activities dedicated to them.
Lesson No. 3: optimization through data
Without a clear vision of telephone activity (volumes, patterns, answer rates, peak periods), it is difficult to optimize the organization. The solution: having a global view of performance provides objective elements to analyze uses and make informed decisions. By relying on simple indicators, the community can adjust its system, prioritize certain flows, strengthen continuity of service (by offering automated information outside opening hours) and thus be part of a process of continuous improvement.
Towards a closer and more efficient administration
By drawing inspiration from these principles, the telephone can once again become a real asset for citizen relations. It is not a question of pitting digital against humans, but of making them work together to offer a public service that is more accessible, more efficient and, ultimately, closer to residents’ expectations. Technology, and in particular a targeted use of artificial intelligence, must be seen as a facilitator serving this objective, strengthening the bond of trust between citizens and their institutions.
