The NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) has widened its reach to thousands more children, young people and adults through a new expanded system of communication channels. Utilising Alcatel-Lucent’s Genesys solution, the NSPCC can – for the first time – communicate via email, SMS and web chat with children and young people in need across the UK. In just 10 months, the system has enabled the NSPCC to engage in over 50,000 web interactions, and increase the number of phone interactions for its helplines by 24 per cent.

The NSPCC has created an advanced system that routes all interactions, both web- and phone-based, through one central communications system. The key driver behind the Helplines Development Programme was to allow all potential users of the services to communicate via their preferred channel of contact. Many children today are more comfortable using the web, e-mail, SMS, or instant messaging than they are picking up the phone.

“The nature of our work makes us unique, and yet we still have similar business needs like any other contact centre: we needed to optimise resources, reduce costs and continually increase service levels, while keeping privacy top of mind, and we’re doing just that,” says the NSPCC’s chief information officer, Phil Reed. “The Genesys platform provides the reach and the flexibility we needed and enables us to route all calls, e-mails and web interactions on one system to ensure consistency for all users of the service. With an improved infrastructure, we can fully monitor and optimise the service across all channels, making the most of our resources.”

As part of the project, the NSPCC has invested in new online tools, including an integrated chat function that enables website users to connect directly to a counsellor, to make its website more child-friendly. And because some users find it easier to express themselves in writing or pictures rather than to talk to a counsellor on the phone, the NSPCC has also added interactive white boards, which allow users to write or draw pictures on the virtual board, which the charity has found helps many children express themselves more easily, especially where serious issues are concerned.