Supporting the needs of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities is gratifying work, but it can also be physically and emotionally exhausting. The agencies responsible for managing the people responsible for this vital role recognize the value of educating and supporting their staff’s well-being. But in an era of growing caseloads and pandemic restrictions, who has the time to deliver all the relevant information they need and still manage to provide encouragement?
The folks behind Quillo understood the dilemma well. After years spent focused on staff education and retention for similar agencies, they were convinced there had to be better ways to champion the people charged with taking care of other people. They hit upon a brilliant solution: combining the ubiquity of smartphones with the power of video.
Through Quillo’s application, agencies deliver 60-second video messages directly to their remote staff. Whether an update on procedures or simply a reminder that their work was genuinely improving people’s lives, the app keeps the agencies and staff connected and communicating. It wasn’t long before the Quillo team recognized the opportunity to address another need and began to develop a second app to help state agencies use videos to communicate directly with families and caregivers.
As the number of users increased, Quillo COO Sue Gordon noticed the volume of support emails was growing exponentially. “I would check for support emails in the morning, at noon, at 5:00 p.m., and before I went to bed,” Sue recalls. While she was happy to help users make the most of the app, tech support wasn’t the focus of her job and she recognized the situation wasn’t sustainable.
“We were getting ready to launch the second app and wanted to find a third party to help us provide top-quality customer support for both products,” she adds. “Another app developer referred us to Netfor.”
The customer service solutions provider’s extensive experience with other apps gave Gordon confidence they would be able to do the same for her company, but what really impressed her was how quickly Netfor’s team came up to speed and how effortless the process was for Quillo.
A key element of Netfor’s customer service approach is the development of a database of primary knowledge articles that spell out the most common issues users may encounter and provide step-by-step instructions for guiding the user to the solution. “I was given free rein to just give their team all sorts of knowledge,” Gordon explains. “I sent any documents and information we had, and Netfor worked their magic and put them into the articles. I was able to read the articles, make any corrections, and discuss particular situations. We talked about the key issues and what the resolution should be if someone calls in and has an issue.”
At the same time, Netfor Technical Account Manager Kami White was guiding Gordon through the company’s system and establishing the performance metrics. “At the time, we only had about six weeks before we were going to launch the new product,” Gordon recalls. “What I found interesting was that Netfor was constantly working behind the scenes to get the agents up and ready to go. As I was sharing information, they were training the team, so everyone was ready to go when we launched.”
She was surprised at the simplicity of the process and how little effort it involved for Quillo. “Going into it, my expectation was that there would be more meetings and a lot more of our staff’s time to work through everything. But because Netfor has this framework they’ve developed while working for other clients, it was far easier than I anticipated.”
White, who has guided other Netfor clients through the onboarding process, credits the Quillo team for being well-prepared. “The biggest challenge in onboarding is getting the knowledge piece done,” she says, “and Sue already had everything for the key issues so well-organized. Outside of that, getting started was just a matter of setting up the phone system and going through training and configuration.”
Now that everything’s up and running, knowledge-sharing between Quillo and Netfor continues. “I like the fact we’re constantly updated on the metrics and knowing what’s happening in terms of calls and how they’re being resolved,” notes Gordon, who doesn’t miss responding to pre-bedtime support requests. “It’s also a big relief knowing our users now have 24/7 support from a group that knows what they’re doing. If you’re looking for an organization that will listen carefully to your needs and help you provide the best customer service experience, Netfor is there to help you succeed.”
