National call-handling standards

Red Box understands the requirements of UK police service contact centres. We specialise in solutions for quality monitoring to help organisations meet and exceed national call-handling standards. These deliver call handler and process evaluation, coaching, online assistance and training. In addition, we provide a comprehensive reporting package to give automated results directly to the individuals who need them.

Perception is everything

Call handlers often give the only impression of the police service to many callers via emergency or non-emergency contact centres. This perception and the level of service offered are ultimately on what the force is assessed, judged and funded. Red Box understands the pressures to perform statistically and qualitatively under demanding conditions and strict budgets. That is why our solution does not distinguish between a mission-critical voice recording solution for evidence and disclosure and a fully-featured qualitative assessment solution for call and performance management. Totally scalable and upgradeable, the solution helps organisations deliver operational performance with systems that are reliable, cost-effective and easy to use.

The answer: Virtual Observer

Virtual Observer (VO) is a Windows 2003-based server with database development in MS-SQL 2000. The VO server uses all the security options associated within the OS and development tools. VO is ODBC compliant, which allows for interfacing with most popular software. It has been specifically developed to meet the needs of today’s emergency and non-emergency contact centres by a specialist team of developers with many years’ experience. VO offers a total infrastructure with all the supporting services, training, user documentation and help files needed to adopt the solution quickly and easily.

Supervisors can select calls for review from the voice recorder replay interface (Red Box Web interface) or the Virtual Observer system (event log). The VO event log is a robust and adaptable ‘search and sort’ component. By offering the unique ability to perform SQL queries, ascend and descend column sort and dynamically hide, show or move columns, the event log displays customised subsets of data – for example, only specific calls within specific date range for specific supervisors and specific call handlers.

The event log, amongst other executables, is a component of the VO Supervisor Client application, a Microsoft Windows 32-bit client/server executable developed in Microsoft Visual Studio that runs on each supervisor’s Windows PC.

When a call is selected for playback, the Virtual Observer event player opens and, if applicable, loads the synchronised screen recordings (video or shots). The user is presented with a fully functional event controller consisting of features such as play, stop, pause, fast forward, rewind, zoom and jump. The event player shows call statistics including length of call and current location within the call.

Virtual Observer call playback with screen capture

Comprehensive evaluation

Virtual Observer contains a template builder that allows users to build templates, or questionnaires, within a report structure that measures against competencies set out by HMIC. Generally, one template is built for each call or customer type, such as emergency or enquiry. The questionnaire-building process is customisable and allows the user to define topics (groups of questions) individual questions and their corresponding text, acceptable answers (True/False, Yes/No, numeric range, customisable, date or text), weighted values for answers, required comments and much more.

By using the event log to query specific calls, the supervisor initiates playback by double-clicking an event and launching the event player. As the call begins to play the user simultaneously hears the audio, sees the agent’s screen (if applicable) and is presented with the evaluation questionnaire. This allows the supervisor to do three things at the same time, easily and comfortably. When the call is completed, the evaluation is posted to the database for inclusion in reporting and trend analysis.

Each call may be evaluated an unlimited number of times and individual evaluations may be ‘reviewed’ for evaluator calibration.

Simple scheduling

Virtual Observer contains an auto-scheduler that allows a supervisor selectively to schedule required recordings up to five years in advance. Each call handler has their own set of requirement parameters, so that scheduling can set up individually.

Requirement parameters include:

Number of recordings per week or month
Length of recording
Type of call

Days between recordings
Agent work schedule
Re-schedule parameters

Running the auto-scheduler allows the user to create thousands of randomised calls for assessment in as little as six mouse clicks. By using customised re-scheduling, Virtual Observer eliminates the need to maintain a complicated timetable that links with workforce management. VO automatically tracks down and captures calls required for assessment.

VO scheduling interface

Highly flexible reports

Virtual Observer provides performance reports that allow you to select and sort data and use a common ‘report definition builder’ front-end to build reports. This powerful component is a simple, user-friendly SQL query builder and lets you select only the subset of data that matches their criteria. For example, this might be only specific agents, for specific supervisors within specific date ranges.

The reporting tool also uses the power of the VO scheduler. VO reports can be scheduled to be delivered to each manager by email or any other means when required.

By using Virtual Observer reports, users can detect shortfalls in agents’ skill and create targeted training programmes to improve performance. Reports include:

Event log
Call-handler performance
Evaluator performance
Supervisor performance

Call-type performance
Questionnaire performance
Question performance

All Virtual Observer reports are developed in Crystal Reports and so can be modified or imported into third-party applications. Virtual Observer data is stored and served in a standard Microsoft SQL 2000 database; data is available to any third-party ODBC compliant application. Users can create their own reports using Crystal Reports or any other compatible application and add them to the existing Virtual Observer reports menu.

Virtual Observer performance reports provide graphing and textual output with the option to include or exclude graphs, text, summary data, detailed data and user defined data. When a Virtual Observer report is produced, it is sent to the Crystal Report viewer. From there, the user may print or export the report criteria to any OLE registered file type on their PC, such as Adobe PDF, MS-Excel, RTF, HTML or XML.

Sample reports