Overcoming an outdated system
Oldham Council serves a diverse community of approximately 250,000 residents and provides the majority of local government services in Oldham, Greater Manchester. It is a picturesque, historic town, but it is not the old days anymore—now Oldham is home to a thriving, busy, and diverse community. The town council, employing about 2,400 individuals, was not thriving with its historic switchboard, which forced employees to manually direct 300 to 400 calls a day.
The inflexibility of this outdated system posed multiple issues. The switchboard was separate from other queues, which meant that during busy periods, staff had to be diverted from their primary duties to manage call spikes, breaks, and absences. This led to inefficiencies and placed a heavy burden on supervisors who had to monitor and adjust the system constantly. Plus, the challenge was compounded by Oldham's unique linguistic landscape. The area is known for its strong regional accents and diverse dialects, which could potentially make it difficult for AI solutions to understand callers and accurately route calls.
Christie Jones, the System Support and Quality Officer at Oldham Council, knew that this antiquated system needed to be replaced—and fast. She led the search for a solution that could adapt to Oldham’s unique linguistic landscape with a top-tier cloud solution. Christie reached out to 8x8 to learn more about its contact center solutions and AI capabilities. 8x8 listened attentively to the needs of the council and the two teams worked together to develop a game plan.
AI-powered call handling for improved efficiency
The solution came in the form of 8x8 Intelligent Customer Assistant (ICA), a sophisticated conversational AI solution designed to handle complex call routing with high accuracy. Instead of relying on a dedicated human operator, the new solution leverages advanced AI to automate call handling.
“It’s surprising just how well the 8x8 solution does,” Christie remarked, once the migration was complete. “Even with the wide range of accents in Oldham, the 8x8 platform performs exceptionally well. It’s awesome.” The AI capabilities surpassed expectations, achieving a 60-70% success rate in call recognition and transfer right from the start. With ongoing post-deployment tuning and support, the solution's performance quickly improved, reaching over 80% success and even approaching 90% on some days. That means that calls are either handled entirely by the ICA or sent directly to the specific department they need, without the callers needing to speak with someone in the contact center first.
Cost savings, operational agility, and more
The transition to 8x8 not only resolved the immediate challenges but also brought about a positive shift in operational dynamics. The council saved £40,000 (approximately $32,000 USD) annually by eliminating the need for a full-time switchboard operator. Beyond that, the automation allowed agents and supervisors to focus on their primary tasks and responsibilities. Christie initially felt hesitant about using a new solution and found the process straightforward and efficient. “I used to get a bit nervous at first when I had to update things or make changes,” she said. “Now, I don’t even think about it. Someone asks for something, I change it, save, and it’s done. Simple.”
Some of the biggest benefits of Oldham Council’s move to 8x8 include:
- Cost efficiency: Saved £40,000 annually by eliminating the need for a dedicated switchboard operator
- Operational agility: Enabled agents to prioritize their primary workflows and increase productivity
- Improved efficiency: Reduced incoming calls to the contact center by 86%, enabling staff to operate more efficiently and focus on higher-value tasks.
- User satisfaction: Enhanced the administration experience by making updates and changes simple
- Future scalability: Recognized the potential for expanding the use of the 8x8 platform to achieve further operational improvements
Future of endless possibilities
Christie and her team are now exploring further possibilities with 8x8, recognizing that they are only scratching the surface of what the platform can offer. As Christie put it, “What we have done with 8x8 has been quite successful, and we’re only using such a small part of the platform. So I think the possibilities going forward are endless.”
