Missing People - Case Study

Missing People is the UK's only charity that works with young runaways, missing and unidentified people, their families and others who care for them.
Rocket’s relationship with Missing People began in 2000 when they were asked to install a new phone system at their premises in West London.

Due to budgetary restrictions at the time, the Avaya Argent Branch was deemed the perfect choice. It incorporated all the basic features Missing People needed to meet their communication challenges head on; answering more calls every day while still being affordable.

Why the need for change?
In the last eight years, Missing People has undergone a series of major shifts in both its funding and its branding. Thanks to a new board of trustees, strategic planning and greater media presence (due to a number of high profile cases and Missing People's tireless work to keep them in the public's consciousness), their visibility has increased, as have their challenges, most notably the need for greater accountability

With only the most basic call centre management and monitoring tools to hethem achieve this, it was becoming cleathat Missing People was outgrowing the Argent Branch. This was compounded by an announcement from Avaya that support for Argent Branch would cease at the end of September 2007.

Concerned that replacement parts would become more and more difficult to source, Missing People's Business Systems Manager Edward Pickering realised they needed to replace the system before it failed completely.

Key Components Selected in Project

ISDN line Installation
 ISDN line Installation
NEC Aspire ACD System
 NEC Aspire ACD System
Call centre overflow
 Call centre overflow
Low cost phone calls
Low cost phone calls
MyCalls call management
 MyCalls call management
Business continuity
 Business continuity

“Missing People offers a unique and confidential service which helps missing people and runaways let their families know they’re okay. It might take someone months to pluck up the courage to pick up the phone, so if their call isn’t answered because the system is down it would be devastating, not just for them but their families too.”

 


Finding the perfect solution

Taking everything into account, Missing People decided to replace their old system altogether. And thanks to additional funding from an external corporate funder, they could finally get the system they wanted, not just the one they could afford. But which one?

Rocket meets all requirements
To get the ball rolling, Missing People drew up a detailed 12 page requirements list of all the features and functions they wanted in their new phone system. This was then distributed to five vendors, including Rocket who were given four weeks to come up with a solution.

Rocket’s solutions architects immediately set to work, going through the requirements list with a fine tooth comb, ticking off what was possible, and offering suitable (and affordable) alternatives to those that weren't. In addition Rocket spent a lot of time getting to grips with Missing People’s present and future requirements to ensure that nothing had been missed off the list.

Simplicity of use
Looking at Missing People’s requirements list, it became clear that no matter how technologically advanced the new system was, it had to be easy to use. There was no point in having an all-singing all-dancing telephone that no one could figure out.

We knew the Aspire would be perfect. NEC is famous for its intuitive, user friendly features, plus its self configuring wizard would empower them to personalise each extension

.“This really appealed to us,” explained Edward. “ We needed to be able to react quickly to changes in operational conditions ; making adjustments to the system, such as adding a name to the directory for example, without being dependent on external support.”

What’s more, many of these ‘office’ features would still be available to Edward and his team away from the office.

“ Remote access was something that featured high in our requirements list.. As a charity we need to be out and about raising awareness and generating funds. We needed something that would enable us be in two places at once ... and not have to employ extra people to man the office when we’re out.”


With the Aspire’s mobile flexibility, Edward could take his office with him anywhere. His voice messages would be available on his laptop via email; so he’d never miss a call. Plus, he could remain fully operational, making important changes to the ‘on hold’ messages for example from anywhere in the country.


Missing People use Rocket for lines and calls, low cost phone calls, business phone systems

At this point in the tender process, Missing People were still using analogue handsets which made handling and transferring calls tiresome and cumbersome. If Edward wanted to transfer a call to someone in a different department, he could end up transferring the call to several different extensions only to find them all busy. Not only upsetting for the caller, but a waste of valuable time and money for Missing People.

Rocket explained that problems like this could easily be solved with digital handsets as they would give employees greater visibility and control. For example, if Edward wanted to transfer the same call using a digital handset he’d only have to look at his keypad to see who was free and who wasn’t.

The time and cost savings due to the increased productivity achieved by using digital handsets soon became apparent to everyone in the organiation.

Missing live - BBC1 weekday mornings
With their new phone system, Missing People continue to go from strength. In April 2009, for four weeks, Missing People broadcast a live show -- Missing Live -on BBC 1 which followed the work of the police and Missing People as they attempted to discover the whereabouts of some of those who have disappeared. As a direct result of the show, Missing People was deluged with calls. It was thanks to their new telephone system, and Rocket's call centre overflow service that they were able to manage the calls successfully.

Revolutionising the Missing People call centre

The more we spoke to Missing People, the more it was becoming clear that the biggest change of all would come from an effective call centre management package.

If Missing People could monitor and analyse call centre traffic and performance, it would revolutionise everthing; productivity, costs and even stress levels among volunteer case workers.

The MyCalls Contact Centre Management Application from NEC would allow supervisors to monitor and measure (from one central location) the service and call levels across the entire business. Its valuable features would give real time access to the number of calls received and abandoned plus the average and longest waiting times for callers. Supervisors would be able to monitor calls silently from their own extension and even 'take control' of the call.

“We asked everyone what they wanted and needed in the phone system and MyCalls really fitted the bill for lots of people. We particularly wanted to be able to export the data and use it later for reports and analysis."

What’s more, if Missing People wanted to employ home workers in the future, their calls would also be included in the real time and historical statistics as well.

The Decision
Taking everything into account, Missing People agreed that the NEC Aspire would best fulfill their needs. This decision was fuelled by Rocket's inclusion of a Disaster Recovery Plan in the package which would automatically re-route their
calls to Rocket's 24 hour call centre in the event of fire, building evacuation or any other unforeseen catastrophe.

The switchover
While Missing People were aware of their ageing phone system's unreliability, they were also worried about the potential cost and logistical problems associated with installing a new system: down time, teething problems, not to mention staff training. Given the sensitive nature of Missing People's work, it was vital the transition be as seamless as possible. There couldn't be any disruption to the users whatsoever.

The project took place over a period of four weeks during which time the phone system was installed. A functional model of the new system was also made available two weeks prior to completion so that Missing People personnel could familiarise themselves with the new system before going ‘live’.

significant CALL Savings
Missing People were keen to cut costs and Rocket saw this as an opportunity to provide an additional service that would not only signifiantly reduce their costs and increase flexibility, but would also protect them incase of an emergency.

Rocket Connect is Carrier Pre-Select service that significantly reduced Missing People's phone bill. In addition to these great savings, Rocket offered Missing People personal account management and FREE 24x7 Business Call Continuity in case of an Emergency.

24 Hour Support Rocket has provided Missing People with a comprehensive business continuity plan, so in the event of power loss, system failure, fire or flood, Missing People calls can be forwarded to Rocket’s 24 hour contact centre in Fleet, where the calls will be answered with a greeting specified by Missing People and handled with the utmost confidentiality totally free of charge.

Training
The support and training is ongoing. Missing People purchased training vouchers which can be
redeemed at any point. Each voucher is worth 2 hours of training and can be used for refresher training and or training of new staff.