Public service organizations are expected to deliver efficient, responsive support, often with limited resources and growing demand. For Redditch Borough Council, which is responsible for more than 80,000 residents in Worcestershire, UK, these challenges were acutely felt in its contact center. Long wait times, high call abandonment rates, and inefficient wrap-up processes weren’t just operational hurdles—they were barriers to providing the timely support residents rely on.
Limited Visibility Creates Bottlenecks
A key issue was the lack of real-time visibility. The Council’s contact center relied on its phone system to manage a wide range of inquiries—from reporting maintenance issues to coordinating repairs—but the system’s reporting capabilities were extremely limited. The 10-agent maintenance team had no clear view of call spikes, wait times, or other critical metrics. Performance tracking was done manually, making it difficult to respond quickly or identify where improvements were needed.
For a public-facing service team, this lack of insight affected not only efficiency but also the experience of the residents they served.
Finding the Right Analytics Platform
What Redditch Borough Council needed was a way to make data actionable. That’s where Brightmetrics came in. Its advanced analytics platform integrated seamlessly with the Council’s Mitel phone system, providing real-time monitoring, historical reporting, and customized dashboards.
Live performance data was displayed throughout the office, giving agents and supervisors immediate visibility into queue times and activity. Audio alerts helped agents respond quickly when wait times exceeded targets. Meanwhile, team leaders used tailored performance reports to guide one-on-one coaching and track improvements over time.
Results That Speak for Themselves
Within just 30 days of implementing Brightmetrics, the Council saw significant improvements across the board:
- Call abandonment rates dropped from 35% to just 4–5%.
- Call wrap-up times were reduced from 25–30 minutes to under 4 minutes.
- Agents became more proactive and engaged, using real-time data to manage their workloads more effectively.
Brightmetrics also introduced custom activity codes, which enabled more accurate time tracking and better insight into how agents spent their days. This helped managers fine-tune workloads, focus coaching efforts, and celebrate top performers, contributing to a more motivated and effective team.
Building Better Service Through Data
The success at Redditch Borough Council highlights a critical truth for public service organizations: when frontline teams are equipped with the right data, they can deliver better outcomes for their communities.
Brightmetrics gave the Council the visibility and control needed to reduce inefficiencies and elevate service quality. In a sector where public trust and accountability matter deeply, the ability to respond faster and more effectively to residents’ needs builds confidence in local governments’ services.
This transformation didn’t require a large team or months of change management—it just required the right insights at the right time.
For government teams facing similar challenges—high call volumes, limited resources, and rising expectations—Brightmetrics offers a path to meaningful, measurable improvement. It empowers contact center leaders to move from reactive to proactive and from guesswork to clarity.
To see how data can reshape your service delivery, read the full success story for Redditch Borough Council here.
