The COVID-19 pandemic is the biggest health crisis in the current times. Despite the vaccine rollouts and lower case rates, fear prevails. Resurgent waves and new strains of the virus are still keeping the world on a back foot.
One thing that has kept us connected through this pandemic is technology.
It has allowed schools to continue teaching, businesses continuity and people to always stay connected.
Even as the situation forced us to stay indoors, we never lost touch. This was thanks to cloud telephony that allowed organisations to host their communication systems safely on the Cloud.
Among the many features of cloud telephony that helped businesses hop to the ‘new normal’, IVR service greatly enabled companies to maintain their service for customers.
Many organisations chose to employ smart IVRs to aid against the pandemic by helping them connect with healthcare professionals, tests and so on. It played a crucial role in COVID-19 relief, and it can help in the future as well.
Read to discover how IVR service helped organisations in the COVID-19 effort.
Round the clock availability
An IVR system makes help accessible round the clock. The 24×7 feature enables callers to get seamless assistance, anytime and anywhere. For relief organisations and NGOs, an IVR can simplify call management and allow them to respond to callers whenever they need it.
IVRs can also handle massive call volumes, which is crucial in a widespread pandemic. This can help suffering families who have to worry about phone lines not being available when they need help, regardless of the location and timing. Furthermore, NGOs can leverage features such as multi-level IVR, call routing, and call recording to go the extra mile with assistance.
Help for everyone
As the infection spreads like wildfire, it gets harder for organisations to help everyone who calls.
This can lead to many missed calls for help. Thankfully, an IVR system ensures no call is left unattended. Even when the phone lines are busy, call queuing ensures that the caller gets in touch with an agent at the earliest.
Additionally, the system also serves as a detailed database of statistics, including the answered, unanswered, and missed calls. All of this data can help measure the efficiency of the contact centre.
Need-based routing
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a variety of issues. Some need hospital beds, while others require oxygen support and lifesaving medicines. People quarantining at home may require help to run errands or even for meals.
For a contact centre agent, segregating calls can become a real challenge. It can also lead to wasting precious time. The IVR service can help with call filtering so that the callers are routed to the right person in the first go. Work management becomes a lot easier for the organisation and customer queries are resolved at the earliest.
Patient check-ins
As the hospitals become burdened with patients, many choose to accept home care. However, a home quarantine means that a doctor is not readily available. For such cases, smart IVR’s can be utilised to measure the patient’s vitals and keep a check on their recovery.
This can prove to be very beneficial for large hospitals as well as the government who can keep a better tab on the spread.
Gathering information through surveys
IVR surveys are the best way to gather information from respondents without coming in close physical contact. The surveys must be designed with simplicity, so more people can participate.
The best part is that IVR surveys can be customised with detailed analytics and multiple levels to assess and analyse the information collected. All of this information can be highly beneficial for research on the virus and is crucial for the preparation of the next wave.
Final thoughts
The COVID-19 pandemic seemed to halt the world right in its tracks. However, with communication technologies like cloud telephony, the world made a seamless transition to the ‘new normal’. These modern communication systems are helping us during the pandemic and will continue to help long after.
If you are interested in building a resilient call centre management system, then look for Servetel solutions. We offer IVR service to businesses and organisations across the country at highly competitive prices. Contact us at 1800-120-4132.
