MOUNT VERNON — Moving to a standalone call center model has resulted in shorter waits, faster responses and better service to Knox County Job & Family Services clients, according to local officials.
For more than 10 years, KCJFS participated in a virtual customer access call center with Sandusky, Coshocton, Marion, Carroll, Delaware, Holmes, Morrow and Wood counties (Group 1).
The center handles intake applications, re-determinations and customer service.
In May, KCJFS decided to withdraw from the group so it could focus on Knox County.
Although it cannot officially withdraw until October, the agency started standalone operations July 1.
“We know it’s still early … but the initial indications are very promising in terms of how staff have adapted and, more importantly, how we’re able to serve the community,” KCJFS Director Scott Boone said.
The state funded the call center’s technology and required Knox County to join a group to keep receiving state funding and upgrades.
“When we joined that group, everything had to be completed within that group, and we had to follow that group’s regulations,” said Carla Poland, KCJFS public assistance administrator.
“We didn’t have much freedom at all.”
Poland said Knox always led other counties in production and suggested ways to process documentation so they could meet state requirements.
“We’ve only started July 1, but I really feel this was the best decision we’ve ever made.”
Carla Poland, administrator public assistance, Knox County JFS
The state recently changed its procedures to allow counties to stand alone.
“You have to stay in a group, but you can stand alone and only do Knox County cases. So, after through evaluation, we decided to make the decision to transition from [Group 1] to a standalone model,” Poland said.
Early results are positive
By controlling its own scheduling, Poland said KCJFS can set intake and redetermination appointments more efficiently and complete them on time.
“In the past, we had some problems where we can’t control other counties. They maybe made some mistakes, which caused us to take a hit for our application timeliness,” she said.
“To continue meeting our application time, our supervisors had to check those cases every day. Now we won’t have to do that anymore because we’ve only got Knox County completing Knox County cases.”
Between July 1 and July 14, the department handled 360 of 372 calls, a 96.8% response rate.
Poland said the 12 uncompleted calls were not dropped; rather, either the caller hung up or the call was disconnected for some reason.
“Our average speed of answer (wait time) was 1.9 minutes, and our average handle time is 17.4 minutes,” Poland said.
In comparison, the state’s average wait time is 26.8 minutes, and the average handle time is 21.6 minutes.
Poland anticipates the change will also yield financial savings.
The department has four open caseworker positions. Poland said the plan is to fill one and leave three vacant.
“I do not believe that we will need to fill those positions because of the improved time management, the direct control over the call center process, and the streamlined workflow,” she said. “I think we’ll be able to meet all state requirements while reducing staffing costs.”
New call center model boosts morale
Although state regulations now allow Knox County to operate independently, it still must join a group to receive state support.
In October, Knox County will formally exit Group 1 and join Group 10, a coalition of counties already operating independently.
The group includes Allen, Ashland, Medina, Mercer, Ottawa, and Tuscarawas counties.
‘By transitioning to Group 10, we also save money because we will no longer have to pay a Group 1 coordinator,” Poland said.
Group 10 will provide backup in case an emergency strikes Knox County, such as flooding or severe weather.
However, Poland said Group 10 has never needed cross-coverage.
Case workers previously had to staff the call center all day. Under the stand-alone model, Poland can schedule calls for specific times, freeing up caseworkers to process documents.
“I think the people of Knox County will notice that they’re getting better customer service,” Poland said.
She believes the new model will reduce turnover and burnout, noting morale increased when the staff learned they would spend less time on the call center.
Boone agreed the staff reacted favorably to the change.
“It’s really a credit to them, and they bought into the commitment for us to make the change, and they’re doing their best, so we couldn’t ask for anything more,” he said.
