The business case for barrier free call routing

Call routing or steering manages incoming phone calls to make sure they are handled by the most appropriate representative. Call routing, while not universally popular, is accepted as here to stay and provides a vital 'access point' to businesses and service providers.

The following is taken from "Barrier free call routing: Designing inclusive customer-focused telephone access", sponsored by BT and the Central Office of Information.

Building barrier free call routing which works better for older and disabled customers, results in a system which works better for everyone.

Benefits

Increased access for a large and growing group of customers with significant spending power

• At least 2.4 million disabled customers [i] and significant numbers of Britain's 9.5 million older people are excluded by inaccessible call routing.
• The number of people with impairments which affect their use of the telephone is increasing as Europe's population ages. Already 16% of the UK population is over 65 and 42% of older people have a disability [ii]. Many more have milder difficulties with hearing, vision, memory and dexterity, which affect their use of the telephone.
• Customers over 50 have 30% more disposable income than those under 50 [iii].
• Disabled adults in the UK have a combined annual spending power of £80 billion[iv].

Better designed, more efficient call routing which works better for everyone

• Addressing the needs of disabled and older customers helps businesses to focus on the customer's needs rather than solely the needs of the business – a key cause of problems with call routing systems.
• The majority of changes are easy to make and cost effective to implement.

Accessible call routing systems are well designed systems, which enable businesses to achieve their core call routing targets:

• More efficient use of advisers
• Fewer transfers and reduced length of calls
• Higher rates of successfully completed transactions
• Fewer unnecessary calls
• Reduced costs.

Well designed systems are more stable and cost effective to maintain.

Improved corporate reputation in a high profile area of customer service

• Negative customer experiences of call routing systems attract a lot of bad press for business. The experiences of older and vulnerable people are often highlighted.
• 1 in 3 people are disabled or close to someone who is. [v] 59% of disabled customers surveyed recently say that the way they are treated by companies affects where their friends and families choose to shop. [vi]

Improved community relations and better services for vulnerable customers

• Consumers increasingly expect businesses to set and meet high standards of ethical and socially responsible behaviour.
• Despite the rise of the internet, many disabled and older people rely on the telephone to maintain their independence. Companies have a responsibility to ensure that customers can access important information and essential services.

Enhanced ability to implement new technology effectively

• Building organisational knowledge of the needs of disabled and older customers helps ensure a genuine understanding of the diversity of customer needs and experiences.
• Call routing technology is changing fast: understanding how to involve disabled people in user testing and planning is essential to avoid costly future mistakes.
• Involving people who use systems differently upstream in the design process helps to promote innovations which benefit everyone.

Reduced legal risk

• Service providers have legal responsibilities towards disabled customers, including an obligation to anticipate the needs of groups of people with different impairments. Public sector organisations have an additional duty to be proactive in ensuring that their services do not exclude disabled people.
• Adopting good practice guidance will help to ensure that further regulation is not required.

Poorly designed, inaccessible call routing systems result in more customers bypassing the system and waiting on hold in order to speak to an operator.

Bad experiences lead to disabled customers hanging up, taking their business elsewhere and, in some cases, avoiding making phone calls to companies that use call routing altogether.

Benefits for disabled customers

While call routing remains unpopular, disabled people believe there are real benefits to accessible call routing, because it provides:

• An effective way of accessing 'easy' information, e.g. account balance
• Potential to cut down on queues
• Potential to get through quickly to appropriate operator

Disabled people find the phone cheap and convenient to use and, for many, it enables them to overcome barriers related to their impairment.

A PDF or word version of the Forum guide "Barrier free call routing" can be downloaded from the Employers' Forum website.

The Sponsors

• BT Age and Disability Action
• COI The Central Office of Information (COI) is the Government's centre of excellence in marketing communications.

 

Sources

1. [i] This is a conservative estimate based on the numbers of people whose primary impairment impacts on their use of call routing. Many people have multiple impairments and secondary impairments may also affect access (Labour Force Survey and ONS Census data, 2005)
2. [ii] Labour Force Survey data 2005
3. [iii] OMD, December 2005
4. [iv] Department for Work and Pensions Estimate, December 2004
5. [v] ONS census data 2005
6. [vi] Employers' Forum on Disability and RADAR survey, 2006
7. [vii] Employers' Update, Summer 2005.