Any Type of Council Can Reap the Benefits Of Live Chat Software

Councils across the UK are implementing live chat software as part of their larger digital transformation strategies. They have been benefiting from improving signposting, completion of online forms and first contact resolution rates whilst reducing the impact on their resources.

Analysing the data from the councils using our services we have identified what areas of the country are using live chat software the most, along with providing the types of councils optimising the communication channel and how.

Austerity cuts have fallen hardest on deprived communities in the North of England; however councils situated in The Midlands and North West are still amongst the majority implementing Click4Assistance live chat software.

Metropolitan Districts

Salford City Council was named the overall winner of the 2018 Digital Council of the Year awards. Technology plays a huge role in providing customer service to their residents, therefore to support them online and streamline resourcing, the council approached Click4Assistance in 2016 to discuss a live chat software implementation.

The council’s Head of Customer and Digital Service, Steven Fry, commented “We have carried out a lot of analysis around digital capabilities within the city to make sure that technologies such as live chat software would be utilised, and around 85% of our citizens in Salford are digitally capable, hence the reason we implemented it. The council runs a digital first strategy – from end-to-end service design to face-to-face contact and telephony. The aim of this approach is to ensure that the council can cater for everyone living within the city. Our live chat facility featured in the submission as evidence of how we are providing customer services in a way that our residents want.  Our call handlers can respond to 4 enquiries via live chat at any one time compared to just one via the phone.”

You can read more about the council’s win and live chat implementation in Salford City Council Lead the Way for Digital Transformation with Online Chat Software.

London Borough

The London Borough of Havering certainly has had one of the most switchable live chat implementations we have seen.  They eventually added the instant communication channel to their School Admission Pages as they felt this was the right area after discussing their initial plans 3 years earlier and building from the results they experienced.

To find out more read London Borough of Havering’s Live Chat Story of True Perseverance.

Unitary

With an aim to reduce stress on resources, streamline their processes and improve the overall customer experience, Blackpool Council introduced live chat in 2015 within the school admissions section of their website.

Following their success, the council rolled out the communication channel to their sport and leisure section, as well as adding it to their Visit Blackpool website.

For more information request the Blackpool Council Customer Example.

District

Warwick District Council introduced live chat in 2017 onto their housing repairs section of their website after recognising the resource-saving benefits that the instant communication channel provides. Residents are easily able to report a repair to a representative in real-time using the chat service.

The council’s Website Services Manager Matt Pearce commented about the live chat solution and the service they have received: “A good product and very helpful support who were patient with us through the setup process. The chat interface and dashboard are easy and straight forward to use. Colleagues and users all seem happy with it and it offers another route of contact on our website.”

For more information take a look at our article How District Councils Improve Support for Their Online Services.

Your Council

These are just some of the success stories from each type of council. For more information regarding how live chat can benefit your council, contact our team on 01268 524628 or email theteam@click4assistance.co.uk