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Partnership Key to Service Delivery for Hurricane Victims
Written by
Lesly Simmons
, Staff Writer, RedCross.org
Wednesday, October 12, 2005 — BAKERSFIELD, CA.—Throughout the response to this year's unbelievable hurricane season, the American Red Cross has pushed to developed innovative and fast ways to support the hundreds of thousands of storm victims who need immediate support to begin rebuilding their lives. Shortly after Hurricane Katrina's true level of devastation was clear, the Red Cross moved to find a new way to provide financial assistance to those affected by setting up call centers around the country.
Red Cross volunteers serve as counselors for call agents needing additional help to answer client questions. (Photo Credit: Lesly Simmons/American Red Cross)
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In little more than one week, the Red Cross pulled together a call center through a partnership with ACS, Inc. that has since processed financial assistance for hundreds of thousands of hurricane victims who need help rebuilding their lives. Since its start the center has been abuzz around the clock with the hum of voices talking to people around the country who experienced the devastation of this year's major hurricanes.
ACS is a client operations company that handles outsourcing projects, including call centers, for major corporations in the United States and abroad.
"On September 1st we got a call from the Red Cross that said they might want to utilize the space in Bakersfield" for a call center, said Susan Richberg, Vice President of Operations for ACS and onsite call center manager. "By Friday we were told to start moving that way, and we got to work that day. We had our first new hire classes on Sept. 8, and we took our first call on Sept. 10."
ACS provides the space for the callers, and the telephony functionality, and they contracted with temporary employment agency Spherion to handle the staffing.
Right away it became clear that this would not be a typical call center.
"I don't know if any of us understood what was going to happen that first day," Richberg said. "The length of calls was just enormous, and we could not manage this as a regular call center—it had some major differences."
One of the biggest changes was the length of call times the agents experienced in the beginning. As families in shelters got through on the line and had cases opened, they often passed the phone around the building. Some agents spent entire shifts on one call, processing cases as the phone was passed from family to family. In the beginning, the average call time was around 45 minutes. Today it's closer to 17 minutes.
"Everyday something got tweaked to get us where we are today, which I think is a good place," said Richberg. "Our whole process has changed."
Once Hurricane Rita hit, call agents had to go through additional training to prepare for dealing with yet another influx of callers. Through all the adjustments the agents have remained flexible and committed to helping their callers, making them the strong backbone of the operation.
"Ultimately, all the agents are trying to do is to validate the client so that we can provide the appropriate assistance," said Rock Ahulau, a Red Cross employee and call center day manager. "They strive to do a good job, and we really urge them to remain compassionate."
Agents are given a set script to help them process each caller in the same manner. Information is verified through a variety of sources using zip codes and other details and those who experienced significant damage to their homes. Once a case has been created and eligibility for Red Cross assistance is determined, clients are given a Western Union number, and after 24 hours they're able to claim their funds at any Western Union office with proper identification.
The operation has become one that ACS is proud to be a part of, from both the business and humanitarian perspectives, according to Richberg.
"This couldn't have been done without the strong ACS and American Red Cross partnership, and all of us are proud to be a part of this venture," she said. "When something like this happens, you always want to help, but sometimes you end up writing a check and that's it. Here we have the ability to actually touch the people affected, and that is something we all feel good about."
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