Increase scheduling coordination efficiency with SMS chat and IVR
On average, each call that a provider places to a customer cost $2.30. Many of these calls are to answer routine questions like confirming schedules and rosters – the next service date, make changes and add new requests. In fact, 60% of all calls to and from providers fall into the scheduling and rescheduling category, demanding undivided attention from the Care Coordination team, and costing the organisation both time and resources spent on repetitive and low-quality administrative tasks.
On top of this, we know from the Royal Commission findings that over 45% of home care recipients feel their needs are rarely, or never met. Keeping your communication practices to the status quo is not only costing you as a provider a great deal of time and money – its proven time and again to be simply ineffective in translating all that effort into positive client outcomes, client confidence and trust in the services you provide.
Increase scheduling coordination efficiency without sacrifices
The only way to ensure ‘cost-cutting’ is not ‘customer attention cutting’ is by getting more efficiency as the result of innovative customer service.
So how do providers optimise their scheduling coordination and increase customer satisfaction?
Use SMS chat instead of calling
With SMS chat, providers are able to work more efficiently by communicating simple routine messages without the administrative burden. This means that more customers can be reached in less time. With more time and attention on their hands, Care Coordination teams can multitask and prioritise their tasks more efficiently.
By making use of intuitive SMS capabilities, providers are even able to reach out to a customer before they’ve had the chance to ask their question. Instant messaging also allows customers to manage their service in their own time providing an enriching, innovative, and bespoke care experience.
Enable IVR and smart numbers channel
Interactive voice response (IVR) allows incoming callers to access information via a voice response system of pre-recorded messages without having to speak to a staff member.
It might seem rather robotic and distant, taking away the touch of human interaction, but not when combined with smart numbers capability. With the customer’s landline or mobile number, these systems are able to identify and present them with all their personal and relevant information from the moment they call. It’s an automated but still customised and assertive service to the client.
Or even better – combine SMS and smart numbers channels
In the end, the best policy is to be available on the customer’s preferred channels. So why not give them the choice? Multi-channel communications are about surrounding clients and staff with a range of points of contact and managing each one according to personal preferences.
It’s the best strategy to increase the client’s feeling of being heard and well looked after, building trust between providers, care coordinators and customers; and delivering wellbeing to all involved in the duty of care.
But still, many providers are unsure about digitising their communication in case their customers aren’t confident with technology. However, in the providers supported by Hayylo, clients have shown an eagerness to use the new channels – as they are seamless and now mainstream in their day to day communication – and we’re proud to achieve an over 80% acceptance rate.
Just because there are fewer voices doesn’t mean there is less communication or less meaningful connections. Don’t just take our word for it though. IntegratedLiving Australia, after partnering with Hayylo to enable multiple communication channels, was able to reduce the volume of calls by 23% while reporting an increase in efficiency in the remaining calls by 27%. Watch the case study.
With less pressure to jump onto the next call, coordination and care staff are able to add a conversational and personalised layer to their service to the customers who choose to connect via a regular phone call.
Building stronger client relationships
The Hayylo platform provides a modern conversational experience to communicate care services without sacrificing the customer experience or trust. With one single platform, providers can add extra layers of support so that Care Coordination teams can have rich and personal interactions with clients – with the added bonus of decreasing administration burden and maintaining a full Communication Audit Trail to boot. Watch how easy it is:
Everybody chooses to communicate differently and adding multi-channel communication to a service means everybody gets a fair go and feels more connected and well assisted. With Hayylo, providers can cut costs without cutting customer service. So strike up a conversation through Hayylo’s Chat today and let the good convos flow.
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