Sol to upgrade its call centre

A STATE-OF-THE-ART call centre, situated in Galeshewe, is on the cards for the Sol Plaatje Municipality.

It was confirmed yesterday that the municipality’s existing call centre will be upgraded and moved to the municipality’s current offices in Galeshewe early next year.

Municipal spokesperson, Sello Matsie, yesterday denied rumours that the entire municipality was moving to Galeshewe and said the only section that would be affected was the call centre.

“The reason for the move follows a decision by management to officially establish and expand the call centre,” Matsie said.

In terms of the previous organogram, the municipality had four control room attendants, who worked shifts so that only one person was on at any given time.

“Following a feasibility study on non-revenue water, together with a focus on the effectiveness of public interface sections, the control room was identified as an opportunity to better serve the public of Kimberley by handling and directing all reported electricity faults, as well as other service delivery breakdowns or inconveniences.”

Matsie added that this had resulted in a decision to convert the old control room into a call centre, with state-of-the-art equipment designed to manage and report the reported faults.

“The design of the current office space accommodates a maximum of two people. Currently we have four people per shift, as well as a supervisor who is on duty during the day shift, bringing the number of people per shift to five.”

He added that the current situation was not conducive for the number of people on duty at a time.

“Management therefore took a decision to establish a proper call centre, in terms of design and functionality, with six agents per shift, a shift leader and supervisor. Various options were looked at, and the Galeshewe offices were identified as the only place that can accommodate the required floor space.”

According to Matsie, the project will start with the design of the call centre for approval by management, followed by the upgrading and furnishing of the venue.

The appointment of staff will happen concurrently and it is expected that these will be internal appointments.

“The intention is to ensure that we carry out our mandate of providing services to the public of Kimberley.”