The municipality of Upplands-Bro in Sweden focuses on service and the customer experience. The fact is that the municipality‘s Contact Center has been named the best in Sweden for public services. Upplands-Bro Municipality has more than 27,000 residents and is growing steadily. The Contact Center in Upplands-Bro Municipality receives many visitors every day and is responsible for, among other things, land leases, parking permits, water and waste matters, mobility services, marriages, venue bookings and school transportation.
Many of its visitors are “drop-in” visitors, but it is also possible to pre-book appointments with the municipality administrators. All the services provided by Upplands-Bro Municipality are gathered under one roof with all offices located in the municipal building. This means that the visitor frequency at the Contact Center is high.
According to Susanne Schenström, Contact Center Manager, and Camilla Jägerfjäll, Contact Center Coordinator, the Contact Center has on average around 2,000 visitors every month. There are 18 employees working with the Contact Center in the municipality‘s two towns, Bro and Kungsängen. They also mention that well-functioning IT Support is very important for the municipality.
Before investing in the solution from Qmatic, the municipality used a system that was more of a visitor registration system. One challenge for the Contact Center was the large number of visitors waiting in line, who could overhear conversations about sensitive topics. The Contact Center also wanted to be able to obtain good statistics over visitor flows.
Upplands-Bro Municipality now has a combined queue and self check-in system. The Contact Center‘s visitors are met by a self-service kiosk where they can choose from three alternatives on the touch-screen: Social Services Office, Arrival Notification and Other. Visitors to the Social Services Office or other departments take a number and can sit down on a sofa to wait their turn in a relaxing environment. Visitors who have a scheduled meeting select “Arrival Notification” on the touch-screen, enter their name and choose their administrator. They can then sit down and wait for the administrator to come and greet them. The administrator receives email notification that the visitor has arrived.
The solution is hosted by Qmatic, and the Orchestra platform provides statistics and reports if desired. Susanne and Camilla explained that they considered two other systems in their search to find a solution, but Qmatic won the procurement and best met their needs and wish list. Upplands-Bro Municipality intends to also implement Qmatic‘s Mobile Connect solution. This smart mobile app allows Contact Center employees to leave the reception counter and meet visitors in the visitor‘s room.
“The Qmatic solution brings visitors into contact with Contact Center employees already in the waiting room, and they can talk without needing to be worried that someone else can overhear their conversation” says Susanne. Visitors no longer need to stand in line and wait their turn, which feels good given their reasons for being there. If you know your number in line, you can be confident that no one will push their way to the front, and we can take the time that is needed for each visitor without needing to argue.