The Alberta Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society (STARS) maintains a small call centre in Alberta where 2-4 agents are available 24 hours a day. In addition to taking calls for medical emergencies, STARS also offers a remote worker registry, where companies can register employees and crews that will be working in remote locations or unmanned sites during specified periods of time. If an emergency were to take place, STARS already has all of the locating information and will conference in local 911 emergency services in order to reach the area.
As you can see, the STARS call centre deals with very complex calls.
complications
Prior to working with TELUS, multiple 1-800 numbers were directed into the STARS call centre. There was no queue
environment and all calls received the same priority - both remote registry calls as well as medical emergencies.
Without a queue, it was very difficult for STARS agents to identify and prioritize true medical emergency calls. As
well, all agents had to be trained for all types of calls.
priority queue ensures high service levels
Working closely with STARS, TELUS implemented a contact centre solution that allows STARS to prioritize calls, route
calls to agents with appropriate knowledge, as well as plan and schedule staffing requirements.
The system is a Nortel Symposium solution that provides one central number with an IVR (Interactive Voice Response)
that introduces a prompt at the beginning of all incoming calls. Callers are immediately prompted to identify
the reason for their call. For example, pressing '1' for emergency medical assistance or pressing '2' for remote
or unmanned site registration. All emergency calls are given priority and answered first.
valuable insights
This solution also gives STARS valuable reporting and scheduling capabilities. The new system collects statistics
and creates reports on all incoming calls, such as the number of calls, duration of calls, and type of calls. These
insights into operations assist STARS with planning and scheduling staffing requirements. During the summer and
winter months, when remote worker site registrations are higher, STARS can better forecast requirements and
schedule volunteers to ensure capacity and service levels in their call centre.
We are providing STARS with ongoing system maintenance; including a designated technical support person available
24 hours a day to ensure that this critical system is always ready for the next emergency.
about STARS
Alberta Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society is a non-profit, charitable organization providing an emergency aeromedical
transport system for critically ill and injured patients in Alberta, including communities in southeastern British
Columbia. Ongoing professional development, training, research and outreach activities are also significant
components of the STARS program.
Funding for the STARS program is provided from individual, service club and corporate donations, and through their
relationship with Alberta Health and Wellness.
Since it began in 1985, STARS has flown more than 10,000 missions.
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