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Case Study: Nonprofit Organization: Volunteer Network
A major evangelical organization relied on WS iNet to create a flexible and cost-effective solution
to handle fluctuating call volumes with a geographically dispersed volunteer support network.
The Challenge
A well-known evangelical organization was challenged
with handling large call volumes generated following
special monthly television programming. In addition,
during special week-long programs airing several times
throughout the year, the number of volunteer agents
needed spiked from 100 to over 500.
They needed a way to connect callers to their
volunteer support groups, which were geographically
dispersed throughout the United States. The system
had to be easy to use, as their volunteers were not
technically sophisticated. In addition, the system
needed to be flexible in order to scale from supporting
100 volunteer agents to over 500 during peak call
volume spikes.
Upon further discussions, the organization revealed
that 1) seven to twelve different volunteer centers
would be in place to support the call traffic generated
by the monthly programs as well as the sporadic spikes,
and 2) the volunteers would not be equipped with
computers – only a standard telephone.
The Solution
The team at
WS iNet really took
time to understand our
problem and come up
with the most effective
solution. They saved
us money and time
as we did not need to
purchase and manage
our own in house
platform.
Association President
After evaluating several options, which included
purchasing their own ACD and call center technology, the
organization turned to
WS iNet. They knew WS iNet’s
technology powered the largest and most successful home
agent network:
Agents OnDemand by Working Solutions.
WS iNet needed to develop a solution technically advanced
enough to meet the rigors of a distributed, high-volume
program while making the product easy to use for the
volunteer agent group.
The solution developed by WS iNet allowed volunteer
center organizers to log in multiple agents from a single
terminal, which helped simplify the process for the
volunteers. WS iNet’s hosted contact center solution puts
callers in queue if no agents are available, utilizes IVR
during wait times, and allows callers to select and listen
to additional information while waiting on hold.
The system was successfully designed and implemented to
routinely handle the monthly call volumes and volunteer
agents, in addition to handling the traffic spikes generated
by live broadcasts that aired several times during the year.
The Result
The client, a major evangelical organization, is now able to
focus on its core activities. They are free from the complexity
and cost of managing and supporting their own in-house
call center technology. Furthermore, they only pay for the
time used on the system and do not have to worry about
missed calls during peak volume spikes.
Since the system is easy to use, the staff does not have to
train their volunteer agents on the use of a complex product.
Agents simply answer the incoming calls as they arrive.
By using a hosted solution, the organization can operate
its volunteer centers at any location and allow the centers to
remain connected through WS iNet’s advanced technology.
As a result of implementing WS iNet’s hosted contact center
solution, the organization was able to immediately realize the
following additional benefits:
- Reduced staff overhead
- They no longer have to retain a support staff to manage an in-house call distribution system.
- Substantially reduced capital and operating costs
- Capital expenditures and annual maintenance contracts are
no longer required. Purchasing an in-house system would
have cost the organization more than a million dollars.
- Ability to handle peak call volume spikes
- Five hundred percent increases in call volume and volunteer agents are now easily supported.