3 Transferring Calls

3.1              Transferring a call

The National Call Centre officer will

-              advise the caller that their call will be transferred to someone who can help them.  For security reasons, the Call Centre officer should not reveal the surname of the person to whom they are transferring the call.

-              ask the caller to wait while the call is being transferred to the appropriate office

-              complete any transactions or enquiries (related to the current call), that are not related to the reason for transfer, before transferring the call to the appropriate Centre

-              ring the relevant officer, introduce themselves, give the caller's PRACSYS claim number and/or name, and briefly advise the officer of the details of the enquiry, and what advice has already been given (if any)

-              advise the caller if there are any difficulties in getting through to the appropriate officer and offer them the option of holding on or getting the officer to call them back

-              refer to the relevant Office Manager any perceived problems with identifying appropriate officers for referral, or officer willingness to accept enquiry.

3.2Receiving a transferred call

The receiving officer will

-              answer the telephone promptly (where possible with 3 rings for own phone, 6 rings for phones within the vicinity)

-              accept calls immediately after receiving an adequate introduction from the Call Centre, and accessing claimant record on PRACSYS if possible.  While having PRACSYS details on the screen before speaking with the claimant is desirable, it should not delay your accepting the call

-              answer calls by greeting the caller by name, identifying yourself by name (first name and/or surname) and asking “how may I help you ?”

-              avoid asking, or expecting the caller to re-tell their situation.  Instead summarise the information that has been passed on by the Call Centre and ask the call if the details are correct

-              offer to call the caller back if investigation necessary to answer enquiry will take some time

-              refer to the relevant Office Manager any perceived problems with the manner or type of National Call Centre staff referrals.

3.3What not to do when receiving a call

The receiving officer will not

-              expect the Call Centre to act as an intermediary

-leave a caller on hold for long periods without advising them of progress of the investigation or offering to call them back

-              refuse to respond to a call between 8am and 6pm

-              refer a call back to the Call Centre if, following resolution of the enquiry, the caller has additional questions that the staff member is able to answer or action.