The keys to accomplishing effective & efficient government service centre visitor interactions through digital solutions

Managing your customer volumes and requests can be challenging at the best of times. Now you are faced with social distancing and capacity restrictions but still need to meet your communities’ service needs. Too often, the requests are seasonal or cyclical and can negatively impact your ability to offer timely service delivery and meet the deadlines and targets your department has set.

As you and your public sector teams have realised, new platforms and ways to interact with Canadian citizens need to be developed and deployed. The old norms are no longer the new norms, now or in the immediate future. A digital omni-service approach to delivering Canadian government services and adhering to your customer service targets will be needed.

Building permits are seasonal in most North American regions, which means there will be a Spring rush at the municipal and regional permit offices from contractors and home builders. These are often time-sensitive and need immediate attention. With COVID-19 preventing many in-person interactions, contractors are forced to wait to meet with Municipal or Regional staff to get the approvals they need.

As municipal and regional offices soon begin to open again, there will be high volumes of people seeking services after waiting months to request. This applies to not only the permit offices but the backlog of driver testing and permit issuing, health card applications and renewals, as well as passport and Canadian citizen document applications, renewals and retrievals.

Standing in a queue for long periods of time will only frustrate and annoy already irritated customers. People want to know when they can be served, if they will be able to meet with the expert they require, what they have to bring and how long the interaction will take. For example:

Joe is a General Contractor and needs a new permit for a job under his responsibility. He has a team of carpenters, HVAC installers and general labour who are all ‘on the clock.’  The longer he is away from the job site; the more money is wasted in productivity. If he could avoid a long lineup and conduct his permit application process on his tablet from his construction trailer, that would make Joe happier and allow him to manage his business more effectively.

By offering an online queuing and appointment management solution for Canadian government offices, customers can book a specific service at their desired location at the time that is convenient to them, improving the service centre experience for both the service agent and the customer - and reducing backlogs!

Interactions can be in-person (where allowed) or via a live video session where documents can be shared and IDs confirmed - all while respecting social distancing and possible stay-at-home restrictions.

Many Canadian municipalities and regional offices offer unique and disparate interaction methods, hours of operation and services. An omni-service solution that supports multi-location, service-driven environments is at hand.

Using Q-Flow’s Omni-Service Solution, your customers’ immediate and future needs will be met – and exceeded. Whether in-person, via video or over the phone, you and your  service centre staff will be able to manage all interactions in a timely and efficient way.

Q-Flow is a market standard for government services around the world.