The Value of Multi-Channel

Contact Centers: A Checklist

for Local Elected Officials
Citizen-Centric Government—
Transforming Government
through Service and Technology

Public Technology Institute

The resource for technology executives in local government

w w w. p t i . o r g
 “Finally, New Yorkers don’t
have to search through a
phone book or experience the
frustration of being bounced
around from one agency to
the next as they try to find the
service they need. And 311
doesn’t just let us respond
better, we use what we learn
here so we can manage better.”
—Michael Bloomberg, Mayor
City of New York, NY
“Sacramento City 311 is
more than a customer-focused
call center. While outstanding
customer service is our commit-
ment, having a “single source of
information” regarding issues
concerning our residents gives
us a continuous gauge on
customer needs, allows for
strategic planning and gives the
executive team objective data
from which to make sound
decisions for our city. Our
CRM system is the catalyst that
enables this to happen. Strong
leadership with the right
technology can transform.”  channel contact center can
—Kevin Johnson, Mayor
City of Sacramento, CA
The Value of Multi-Channel
Contact Centers: A Checklist
for Local Elected Officials
Citizen-Centric Government—
Transforming Government through
Service and Technology
No matter how you currently engage citizens—311, call centers,
walk-up desks, the Web—you can take customer service to a
new level—multiple channel contacts! 
People have become accustomed to using the channel of their choice
for communication and transactions. Today’s technology is making that
very convenient for the user and offers great management tools for
the organization providing the service.
For the citizen, these contact
FACT: In 1997, the Federal centers provide quick and easy
Communications Commission des- access to government.
ignated 311 as a national number
to handle non-emergency calls.  For the elected leaders, these
Since that time, local governments
centers help you stay in touch
across the country have been
establishing contact centers. with your constituents. The
systems and business processes
that contact centers use help
you to “monitor the pulse” of your constituency and provide you with
real-time analysis on how effectively government services are being
delivered.
The Public Technology Institute (PTI) has prepared this checklist
identifying many of the benefits of multi-channel contact with the
public. Designed specifically for elected officials, this list is meant
to provide a non-technical look at how these technologies impact
you and the citizens you serve.
The checklist focuses on three priority areas:
• Citizen satisfaction
• Economic development and revenue opportunities
• Business process re-engineering
Citizens
Multi-Channel
Contact Center
Work Orders
Call Agents
E-Mail/IM
In-Person
IVRs
Web
With the foundation of technology
and communications, a multi-
build dynamic andresponsive
connectivity between citizens
and local government.
Technology & Communications
As you review this list, think about the technologies and processes “Our Strategic Customer
that you currently use and what more you could do to transform Services division has enabled
government services. us to take a 360° approach to
citizens and service. With
Citizen Satisfaction FACT: Good customer ser-
integrated technology for 311,
GIS, the Web and IVR, we
vice used to mean friendly
✔ Achieve a lighter, simpler, swifter, have connected the community
and courteous. Today, it also
more accessible and trusted means a citizen can use a to the City of Dallas.
government through the multi- combination of communica- We stay accountable and very
channel contact center service tion channels to interact with responsive to that connection
and technology government, has options for
24x7 access, is not trans-
through ongoing citizen input
✔ Improve accountability and trans- ferred, and does not have to and extensive performance
parency by meeting the demand repeat information. improvement processes.
to provide real-time assessment It’s a great way to manage.”
of the effectiveness of services
—Jill A. Jordan,
✔ Transform citizen communications by offering channel of choice, Assistant City Manager
expanding walk-in and call services with Web 2.0 dashboards, City of Dallas, TX
news feeds, text messaging, social networking, and Interactive
Voice Response and balancing with commonplace technologies
to maximize inclusion and utility
✔ Institute continuous citizen engagement through surveys, comment 311/CRM Project
and complaint forms, special project feedback, town hall meetings,
kiosks, public access to computers, and other two-way interactivity Coordinating Group*
initiated by the multi-channel contact center
Created by PTI, ICMA, Rutgers
✔ Gain understanding of citizen priorities and community issues
University and the Ochs Center
through the abundance of straightforward data generated by
for Metropolitan Studies, this
the multi-channel contact center
group hopes to:
✔ Attain seamless service delivery through consistency of information
sharing between citizens, the contact center, service departments • Create a unified public voice
and field crews to promote the diffusion of
311/CRM systems to local
Economic Development and Revenue Opportunities governments across the U.S.;
✔ Increase timely collections for accounts receivable through • Share information and serve as
cost-effective, 24x7 payment processes a resource to local governments
✔ Facilitate business development with quick and automated access on 311/CRM systems;
to business information and maps, interactive web forms, • Promote best practices and
and faxing strategies that lead to more
✔ Increase registrations and reservations through easy access to responsive government and
dynamic tourist and recreational information improved government
✔ Generate revenue and economies of scale by establishing partner performance.
networks to share services, data and technology use *Each organization has a research
✔ Improve economic development efforts by using browser-based project supported by the
applications to end data silos and enable access to information Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
on demand and in real-time (e.g. sales and marketing data,
business contact data, lead management, e-mail integration,
e-mail lists) “My focus is to be responsive
to the needs of our citizens and
Business Process Re-engineering to engage them in building
a better community. Corpus
✔ Manage by facts and improve forecasting with real-time and relevant Christi provides seamless
data access, including easy-to-read report summaries customer services through
✔ Target limited resources by using call, complaint and location data to the call center and an award-
focus on service improvement opportunities winning interactive website.”
✔ Easily transition and effectively support emergency operations and —Henry Garrett, Mayor
establish reliable communications infrastructure between public City of Corpus Christi, TX
 “Our Philly311 Contact
Center allows our City to
work smarter, faster, better.
Integration between our CRM
and departmental work order
systems creates more efficient
processes and enables valuable
trend tracking and advanced
analysis. The results are
greater coordination among
departments and improved
service delivery.”
—Camille Cates Barnett,
Managing Director,
Philadelphia, PA
“Citizens expect and deserve
government that responds
in real time to what they
need. Solano County is using
311 to meet citizen expecta-
tions of customer service by
providing a ‘one-stop shopping’
resource. Callers don’t have to
know how County government
works. They only need to know
when they call 311, there is a
friendly person ready to help
them access information and
get connected to the experts
that can address their needs.  PTI is a non-profit technology research organization created by and
I believe 311 is one of the new
wave of tools that maximize
technology to help elected
officials and management
staff assess how well services
are being performed and
how effective the programs
are managed. Taxpayers get
a return on their investment
with improved efficiencies
and better accountability.”
—Michael D. Johnson,
County Administrator
County of Solano, Ca
safety agencies and affected
constituents and between FACT: In a 2004 Pew study, 55%
critical first responders of Americans—both Internet users
(72%) and non-users (23%)—con-
✔ Develop employees to become tacted government. Fifty-seven
service design and delivery percent of the population ages 18
agents to 29 years old contacted govern-
ment—and this tech-savvy age
✔ Address declining workforce
group now makes up 22 percent
issues and create greater of the U.S. adult population.
efficiencies through integrated,
shared or interoperated data
and technology systems
✔ Achieve faster response times by empowering reliable access
for employees to critical information
✔ Maximize technology investments by expanding contact center
technology to other departments, such as development
services or municipal court
PLAN AND STRATEGIES
A fully integrated multi-channel contact center enables
local govenment to function as a cohesive organization
delivering seamless service to its citizens.
In-Person Integrated
Call Agents • Technologies
• Point of Contact
Web • User Options
• Processes
IVRs • Tracking
• Communications
• Response
E-Mail/IM
Seamless
Work Orders Service
Public Technology Institute
The resource for technology executives in local government
for cities and counties. PTI’s Citizen-Engaged Community
Designation Program recognizes best practices in the use of Citizen
Relationship Management (CRM) systems, 311 systems, web
portal technology, telephony systems and mobile communications
infrastructure. Visit www.pti.org to learn how your local
government can be a citizen-engaged community.
PTI would like to thank the following sponsors: