Improving Services at ProtectNWT and 8-1-1 With Technology Investments

Businesses and residents will receive better service from Protect NWT and 8-1-1 as new call centre technology comes online this week.

The new call centre technology provides assurance that all calls will be answered and none will be dropped from the system while callers are on hold, allows for better data management, and improves call triage procedures. Business callers will also be given an option to connect to an operator who can provide them with business-specific responses.

Protect NWT and 8-1-1 have received between 1000 and 1500 calls per week since August, 2020. At times, this level of volume has resulted in dropped calls and less seamless experiences for residents and businesses.

Additional staff has been hired since the establishment of the COVID Secretariat and all Protect NWT and 8-1-1 employees are being cross-trained to further increase capacity to get information on public health orders to residents and businesses quickly.

Quote

“When we established the COVID Coordinating Secretariat, we promised to improve services for residents and businesses. These investments in technology and capacity are a good step towards delivering better pandemic services as we continue to rise to the challenge of COVID-19.”

- Caroline Cochrane, Premier of the Northwest Territories.

Quick facts

· Protect NWT is the first point of contact for those looking for information on public health orders, exceptions to the orders, and self-isolation planning.

· 8-1-1 provides general information for individuals about COVID-19 including providing assistance on symptoms, how to arrange for testing, contacts with local health providers, and community-level information.

· Call centre services are available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week.

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Improving Services at ProtectNWT and 8-1-1 With Technology Investments