10 December 2008

By Keotshepile wa Mogotsi

MANY rate payers referred to Mogale City’s switchboard as “a nightmare” and “a bone of contention”; whenever the number 011 951 2000 was mentioned, they lost their cool - but that was all in the past.

In the bad old days, making a call to the municipal switchboard was like calling a cellphone that had been lost in the middle of the bush for some time. The phone simply rang and rang, and was never answered.

What went wrong, asked many who visited the Civic Centre. The reality was that there was no real call centre. Three overworked switchboard operators were confined to a tiny office in the Civic Centre and were, frankly not to be blamed.

The three, ancient-looking receivers at the switchboard were uncontrollably bursting at the seams with calls inquiring about municipal accounts and services. But two years ago, the former marketing and communications director, Jeff Nkosi, mooted the idea of setting up a call centre in the proper sense of the word.

New number
And the idea bore fruit, and a new call centre was launched recently. With a new number - 0861 664 253 - it has salvaged the mayhem and its launch at the Centenary Hall painted broad smiles on the faces of many.

It was a glitzy affair, well attended by councillors, executive managers, managers, key customers and other guests, all dressed in their finery. The lip-smacking smell of delicate cuisine greeted the guests who came to witness Executive Mayor Koketso Calvin Seerane open the facility.

For the city, it will provide a central point of access for all residents and customers in Mogale City that will improve customer service and also show transparency and integrity. It comprises 12 call centre agents who were all trained in soft skills, getting customer service certificates, and in all the systems that they use - CIC-telephony, SAP-CRM and BIQ.

Of the agents, 10 are inbound; the other two are the back-office champions for water and sanitation queries; as they worked in the sector before joining the call centre, they have relationships with all the relevant field artisans. The 10 handle all first call resolutions and are able to take further details for all escalations.

Promise
In his State of the City address on 24 April, Seerane had announced that as part of the government’s mission to take services to the people, “Mogale City is working on a call centre project to be launched before the end of 2008”.

He referred to this promise, and a statement made in his State of the City address in 2007, in his speech at the launch. “It was exactly 21 months ago that we, on the occasion of our State of the City address of 2007, declared: ‘One of the challenges of service delivery is the issue of making it easy and convenient for residents to access services.’

“The municipality had started on a project to establish a call centre which was meant to do exactly this. Following discussions with the then MEC for finance and economic affairs [who is] now premier of Gauteng, Paul Mashatile, we have struck a partnership with the Gauteng provincial government to jointly establish a call centre in Mogale City.

“Whereas the initial plan was to have a call centre with 12 seats, this partnership will see us establish a 150-seat call centre. Besides the benefits of ensuring services not only of Mogale City Local Municipality but of the entire Gauteng provincial government, this initiative brings with it much-needed job opportunities for our people in this ever-growing industry,” Seerane said.

The facility is expected to lead to customer satisfaction; customers and rates payers will not only be able report on service delivery issues, such as street lights and pot holes, but will also be able to enquiry about their municipal accounts. The call centre will also bridge the space gap between the municipality and the public as residents will not have to travel to the municipality but will be able to interact with the municipality from their offices, businesses or homes.

Partnership
The Gauteng Shared Service Centre’s Melinda Prinsloo explained that the centre’s partnership with Mogale City was a platform to share knowledge and create employment and skills. Speaking at the launch, she said the current number of calls would grow drastically because businesses and residents had access to the service.

“The Mogale City call centre will give an opportunity for the community and businesses to engage with the municipality. There are currently 3 134 calls, which will grow drastically, which is good for creating more employment,” said Prinsloo.

At the end of the programme, Seerane toured the facility where he unveiled the plague to officially open the call centre. He also answered a call, made by journalist Marinda Toerien, who was also at the centre.

According to call centre specialist, Thobile Hlela, the Gauteng Shared Service Centre (GSSC) and Sibize contributed a great deal in setting up the facility. “Since [Mogale City] had been battling with the project for a while, it made sense to approach the GSSC to assist.”

As Sibize was contracted to the GSSC, it drew up a plan for its establishment until it was released by GSSC to stand alone.

“The CIC telephony system that we use belongs to them and therefore they still offer support services to Mogale City, whereas SAP-CRM is solely owned by GSSC, and GSSC provides support for this system,” Hlela said.

Excellent service
People could expect excellent service and good care, and they “now have a shoulder to lean on in relation to their queries”.

In November, the call centre received 3 265 calls and handled 3 134, a service level of 94,89 percent. However, it is still in this first phase, focusing on just two departments as a test. All problems that are thrown up will be rectified. The two departments are revenue services and infrastructure, which includes water and sanitation and roads.

In phase two, all other departments that deal with external customers will be added to the centre, providing a one-stop shop for all callers.

The call centre is at the Independent Election Commission building. Its phone number is 0861 664 253.