As we transition off the university’s current phone system as part of the Communications and Collaborative Technologies (CCT) Program, Amazon Connect is the tool we’re considering for all groups that handle high-volume telephone-based customer service.
Information Services did a quick initial rollout of Amazon Connect in spring 2020 to enable remote call centers, and most UO customer service groups have been using the tool since summer 2020. However, so far we’ve only implemented a basic set of features.
Our next step this winter was to determine which additional features in Amazon Connect would provide the greatest value for UO customer service groups — driving operational improvements, improving efficiency, or improving the customer service experience for students, staff, and faculty.
To facilitate that process, UO’s core project team worked with consultant partners Presidio and The Northridge Group to host a series of remote product demonstrations February 16-19, 2021.
Many members of the UO community were invited to attend, including UO customer service groups that are using Amazon Connect and those that aren’t yet, as well as the CCT Advisory Board, departmental telephone coordinators, and everyone who participated in the 2019 needs analysis.
Each day of the Amazon Connect demonstrations focused on a single set of features, with morning sessions tailored to attendees less familiar with the product and afternoon sessions designed to enable more advanced discussions of the same features.
Participation in the demos was robust. Sixty-four people from 15 departments attended at least one session, and many asked questions. After the demonstrations, attendees were invited to complete a brief feedback survey about the features.
The CCT team will now analyze that data to inform decisions about which advanced features to implement and how to prioritize them. After that, the implementation work will be initiated as a separate project under the CCT Program umbrella.
This Amazon Connect work is proceeding in parallel with the early stages of designing and engineering the replacement for the UO phone system. We’ll provide more updates on that work as it progresses.