Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity
Continuous Improvement in beneficiary contact services
Reason we were needed
Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity is the only charity that provides financial and emotional support to the construction community and their families. In partnership with Connect Assist, Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity has been offering a 24/7 helpline to its beneficiaries since 2014.
Connect Assist’s contact centre services act as a ‘force multiplier’, ensuring a consistent contact platform across inbound / outbound calls, text and online chat for Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity clients whilst allowing the charity to focus delivering their wider mission.
Throughout the relationship, the goal has been to consistently:
- Extend their specialist services provision
- Engage with more construction workers (and their families) in need
- Enhance the availability, skills and knowledge of advisors to ensure no one in need is forgotten
What was done
Initially, the service was hosted through a ‘blended’ team answering calls, triaging and eligibility-checking before passing service-users onto Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity for further support. The ‘blended’ team is a cost-effective solution that shares advisers across a number of lower call volume services but is not without compromises.
Initial screening conversations can be cumbersome, not particularly conducive to building rapport and requiring a standardised set of eligibility questions.
2019 saw a new approach to the service delivery model, facilitating a shift away from the view that Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity is only available for financial assistance and promoting the wider wellbeing service; the addition goal being to make positive interventions to avoid service users reaching a crisis point in their lives.
The new dedicated adviser works collaboratively with the ‘blended’ team.
Qualified to level 4 in advice and guidance, they have the ability to deal with complex needs of service users and take calls not only presented to the helpline, but also cases that come through online forms.
The specialist adviser is now a designated case worker, assisting service users where more than one presenting issue is apparent. This early intervention strategy is showing some very promising early results.
Outputs/outcomes
Continuous improvement is more than cause and effect requiring open-mindedness, a willingness to take managed risks, mutual respect and willingness to collaborate. The best results for service users ultimately come from relationships that have transitioned from ‘client-supplier’ to ‘partnership’ as reflected in this flagship service.
Testimonial
“We have been working with Connect Assist since 2014. Our partnership allows us to focus on our charitable goals whilst maintaining an on-brand and reliable contact platform 24/7 for our service users. Connect Assist bring long experience in the Charity and benevolent society space, so we benefit with learnings, ideas and techniques drawn from across their client base. To a large extent they have become the ‘right arm’ of our organisation and we look forward to working together on future initiatives to further extend our reach and services in support of construction industry workers and their families.”
–Sarah Bolton, Head of Charitable Services
