Lifeline Aotearoa: Interactive Intelligence for Counsellors

Lifeline Aotearoa Calls on Interactive Intelligence for Counsellor Support

Auckland – 2 July 2012 – Lifeline Aotearora has announced that it will deploy the Interactive Intelligence (Nasdaq: ININ) all-in-one IP communications software suite, Customer Interaction Center ™ (CIC), for use in its Auckland counselling centre.

CIC replaces an aging telephony solution that has proven costly to maintain and unable to provide the functionality the organisation now requires to effectively sustain future community support in an era when demand for its services is constantly escalating.

“We evaluated several vendors but when we saw CIC we realised that the solution could provide Lifeline Aotearoa with critical functionality for skills-based routing as well as workforce management and enable the organisation to scale and build out its counselling service through internal control of the software,” says Jody Lane Workforce Systems Coordinator, Lifeline Aotearoa.

CIC includes a multitude of features all running on an open, single platform. These include support for email, web chat and social networking options such as Facebook, increasingly critical to counselling youth who may be more comfortable seeking support through web-based services.

Lifeline Aotearoa is a Not for profit organisation providing the NZ community with access to crises support, suicide prevention and mental health support services. They deliver national services and programs that promote emotional wellbeing, encourage people to seek help, and also education and training specific to suicide prevention and awareness. The organisation receives around 20,000 text messages, 6,000 email, and over 140,000 inbound telephone calls each year.

CIC will enable Lifeline to scale up and down the number of counsellors it has on roster depending on circumstances such as natural disasters when more community assistance is required for assisting people in crisis.

“Currently, callers dial a central number but we have no real way to route the call through to a counsellor with specific skills. This results in caller delays and inefficiencies in handling an individual circumstance.

“Not only will CIC support our staff rostering requirements but it will enable us to optimise human resources through calls being routed to staff with the most appropriate and relevant skills. At the same time, CIC will enable Lifeline to switch counsellor time between handling inbound calls, responding to emails or conducting web chats. By allocating resources where they are needed based on call volume and availability, as well as having counsellors support multiple channels, we’ll dramatically increase efficiencies,” says Lane.

CIC's open software architecture will also assist at integrating CIC with Lifeline Aotearoa’s CRM platform which will provide greater support for both callers and counsellors. Screen-pop capability will give counsellors vital assistance information and provide for a faster, more effective service tailored to individual caller requirements.

“In the long term, CIC will also provide an opportunity for Lifeline Aotearoa to deploy its counsellor staff in their own home offices thereby giving employees and volunteers the option to work from home at their own hours of most convenience.

“At the end of the day our aim is to provide for a faster caller response time and route them to the right person whether the counsellor is based at one of our premises or in their own home. The aim is to support the community any time from any location.

“In addition, we will also aim to increase our revenue base by tapping into CIC’s new IP PBX functionality and offering contact centre resources for New Zealand business organisations requiring both inbound and outbound calling expertise at times when our call volumes are traditionally slack. Ultimately though, CIC will provide us with a solution which will support our strategy of providing value to our service users and long-term organisational sustainability,” says Jo Denvir CEO, Lifeline Aotearoa
Lifeline Aotearoa purchased CIC through Interactive Intelligence’s New Zealand reseller, Amtel, which will also manage the design, deployment and project management.

“We were impressed with Amtel’s track record and their inherent flexibility to meet our specific requirements with a product which can be easily customised, resulting in a better caller experience and offer significant operational cost savings. Amtel is an ideal partner to work with on this implementation,” says Lane.

CIC will be fully deployed at Lifeline’ Aotearoa’s premises by September 2012.

About Interactive Intelligence
Interactive Intelligence Inc. (Nasdaq: ININ) is a global provider of unified business communications solutions for contact centre automation, enterprise IP telephony, and business process automation. The company’s solutions, which can be deployed via an on-premise or hosted model, include vertical-specific applications for insurance and collections. Interactive Intelligence was founded in 1994 and has more than 4,500 customers worldwide. The company is among Software Magazine’s 2010 Top 500 Global Software and Services Suppliers, and Forbes Magazine’s 2010 Best Small Companies in America. The company employs approximately 1,000 people and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It has 19 offices throughout North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Interactive Intelligence can be reached at info_aunz@inin.com; on the Net: http://www.inin.com/au-nz

Amtel Communications is the New Zealand provider of Interactive Intelligence, and can be reached at marketing@amtel.co.nz or visit www.amtel.co.nz

ENDS

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