VHT Reports Growth in its Government Market Segment

According to a recent government order, federal agencies are under Executive Order to improve customer service and productivity by October 24, 2011. The efforts have been underway even before the order was passed, as Virtual Hold Technology (News - Alert), a provider of contact center virtual queuing systems to the private sector, has noted significant growth in its government market segment.

The state agencies have discovered virtual queuing projects meet their strict standards for return-on-investment and effectiveness for federal agencies considering contact center improvements while simultaneously experiencing budget constraints. For example, VHT estimates it saved the various departments of labor it serves $1.7 million in toll minutes in 2010 and saved callers 162 years of hold time, the company stated in a press release.

“In the past two years, we've seen tremendous growth among state departments of labor in particular,” said VHT President Mark Williams. “Directly or through partners, the company now serves 25 government agencies including the Social Security Administration.  Our government growth has been fueled by high demand for services. When callers to 1-800 numbers wait on hold, it costs the call center money. Often, Virtual Hold solutions pay for themselves within a year by reducing toll minutes.”

38 percent required service from a live agent in addition to an IVR (Interactive Voice Response) system according to the survey of 707 people who had recently contacted a government agency. This is a critical point in the call handling process where hold time is likely to occur. Making “great service” vital to a positive reputation for the agencies, about half the respondents said they had shared their recent experience with the contact center in conversation with others.

In June 2010, the company announced that it had received a Call Center Excellence Award in the category of Best Technology Solutions (News - Alert) Provider from the International Quality and Productivity Center. The award can be seen as underlining the importance of hosted outbound call centers in general. The Call Center Excellence Awards honor what its officials describe as “the most innovative call center solutions and individuals over the past year.

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