These email processes could be handled completely through the implementation of the automated SmartAgént email management solution from numéro. This application can reduce the workload markedly and automate much of today’s manual effort. Today, the our agents handle around 7 emails per hour whereas the SmartAgént reference sites we have seen handle around 50 to 60 comparable business emails per hour. There is further scope for improvement if we were to automate fully the response (this is not a technology problem but more a business confidence issue).

The solution addresses the audit and compliance issues and provides full visibility and control over the management of the agent workload. The solution provides scalability to the business and can handle over 1 email per second. The system will support the automatic update of the back office operational systems. The impact on the business is minimal: we need a resilient server environment which is likely to cost around £10,000 to run the system; the SmartAgént set up will take about 6 to 8 weeks and involve our business people for about a week. The contact centre agents can be trained in around 2 hours.

The solution could be implemented in several evolutionary stages to reflect our maturing approach to email management:

• Standalone: no integration to back office applications; an immediate 44% uplift in performance
• With back office integration: adds a further 30%; we could increase the degree of automation
• Route more standard telephony business through SmartAgént by promoting the email channel in preference to telephony (deflect telephony to email); implement via our website, corporate documentation, etc.