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About our client
Our client is one of Ireland’s largest local authorities. This entity is responsible for housing and community developments, roads and transportation, urban planning, amenities and culture, and environmental initiatives across the county.
Out of Hours Call Answering Service
Since August 2020, Arema Connect has provided an Emergency and Out of Hours call answering service to this local authority. We handle calls from 5 pm to 9 am Monday to Friday and provide 24x7 support on weekends and public holidays.
We supply the client with a pool of agents from our Shared Services Centre to support fluctuating call volumes associated with adverse weather events and other emergencies associated with the nature of their industry. Our team is responsible for handling transactions relating to a wide variety of queries and issues, with the majority relating to roads, water, and housing. Other queries include - Piers and Harbours, Environment, Media, Insurance Department, Motor Tax, Planning, Rates Department, Traffic Lights and Public/Street Lighting. Our Management team works closely with the client to develop a large-scale knowledge base to aid queries being resolved on a first-contact basis where possible. The Out of Hours Call Answering Service is provided in both English and Irish, making certain that we cater to all caller’s needs. We also oversee many Emergencies/Severe Weather events on behalf of the local authority ensuring that members of the public are always supported and offered peace of mind, day and night.
Our agents are required to log all calls in the client’s in-house system. Any calls that require immediate attention are escalated to an on-call engineer in the relevant location and department. With the support of our client, we have established an extensive escalation process for any calls that require immediate attention. All issues are escalated to the on-call contact by phone with a corresponding follow-up text and WhatsApp messages detailing the issue.
Our team of agents' knowledge and know-how has greatly benefited the local authority in detecting trends relating to particular areas and issues. Our agents' experience ensures that calls are appropriately categorised into urgent and non-urgent. This makes certain that only urgent calls are escalated and actioned, thus reducing escalations to on-call contacts when not required.
We provide the client with an all-encompassing reporting function to highlight issues and aid decision-making. The local authority is furnished with detailed reports each morning before 9 am that detail the number of calls and query/issue type handled by our team for the previous day/night.
Infrastructure in place to handle emergencies on behalf the local authority
Our team has a tried and tested process for dealing with Severe Weather events or Major Emergencies on behalf of the client. To date, this has included measures to combat the effects of Storm Eunice in February 2022 and Storm Barra in December 2021.
- Having full control of our telecoms solution, we upload periodic announcements to the local authorities line detailing updates on reported issues and restoration times for members of the general public, offering reassurance during stressful times.
- We deploy a scalable staffing solution during any Severe Weather event or Major Emergency on behalf of the client. Our remote working model ensures that our services to the client remain uninterrupted during any weather events.
- During any Severe Weather event or Major Emergency, we furnish the local authority with hourly reports to highlight any trends emerging relating to a particular area or incident.
- In the past, we have deployed bulk text messaging on behalf of the local authority to promptly send updates to key personnel in their organisation.
In summary
Since our establishment in 2001, we have built up ample experience in supporting a number of local authorities with our Out of Hours Call Answering Services. We understand the challenges faced in providing members of the public with an accessible and timely support solution around the clock. This industry requires flexibility to meet the demands of ever-changing weather conditions and any emergencies that may arise.
Arema Connect has cemented a close partnership with this client. Both parties continuously look for new ways to drive efficiency and streamline processes with the primary objective of supporting the general public around the clock.
