Public sector investment in citizen services during covid must continue in the face of a recession, says HGS

The cost of living crisis continues to loom over the British economy and its citizens, and HGS, a global leader in customer experience optimisation, believes public sector organisations and their contact centres must put responsiveness at the heart of their strategy to ensure citizens have access to the support they need during these unsettling times.

Responsiveness and communication were crucial during the Covid-19 pandemic and will be more important than ever as households, individuals and businesses face unique challenges that will influence their interactions with public authorities. With the expected increase in individual and household vulnerability public sector departments must continue to invest as they did during the Covid-19 pandemic or risk leaving large numbers of the population at risk.

Graham Brown, Chief Revenue Officer at HGS UK said: “During the pandemic the government demonstrated its ability to quickly focus, adapt and invest in services to respond proactively to the needs of its citizens. It demonstrated ‘the art of the possible’ and what can be achieved when all government departments work together to protect the health and wellbeing of its citizens.

“Whilst we’re through the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic, we now face the cost-of-living crisis. Leaders must reflect on what worked (and what didn’t) during the pandemic for both citizens and public sector employees and use this to inform decisions for their future engagement strategies such as the need for flexibility, agility, and resilience.”

It is expected that the volume of inbound queries will increase for many central and local government departments, particularly those that handle financial matters such as benefits, social care and tax. Undoubtedly many of the interactions will be time sensitive and the support centres will also need the capacity and expertise to handle individual needs and concerns.

Graham added: “Responsiveness is key and will be the benchmark for building trust, which is critical when handling vulnerable customers. People will have less money in their pockets and may also be experiencing well-being issues as a result, so it is important that their needs are addressed in a timely and respectful manner. Now is a time to invest in service and not look at ways in which cost can be removed.”

ENDS

About Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS) UK

A leader in optimising CX, HGS helps our clients become more competitive every day.

We provide world-class customer care and digital innovation for contact centre operations locally and globally. Our solutions ensure high quality conversations, in the customer channel of choice resolving contacts first time all underpinned by great people, cloud technology, digital innovation (automation, analytics, and artificial intelligence) and a collaborative partnership to optimise and future-proof.

HGS UK has over 3,000 employees making a difference to some of the world’s leading brands, central and local government partnerships. Although locally managed we are part of the HGS group, a multi-million dollar business, bringing global best practice, backing and investment.

To learn how HGS transforms customer experiences and builds businesses for the future visit HGS UK

HGS continues to invest in public sector expertise, delivery capability, and infrastructure and its unique ability to compete with and in many cases outperform key competitors in the UK public sector space. To find out more about HGS works with Public Sector in the UK market, visit https://hgs.cx/industries/public-sector