University of Greenwich adopts Siemens OpenScape Contact Centre to improve clearing process

System will make handling 97 per cent increase in calls more efficient

The University of Greenwich has partnered with Siemens Enterprise Communications to improve the experience of prospective students going through clearing, the two organisations have revealed ahead of A-level results day.

The clearing process sees prospective students attempting to find a place at an institution after they've received their results, a process that puts large amounts of pressure on university communications departments. On last year's results day the University of Greenwich contact centre received 6,433 calls, a 97 per cent increase on the usual levels.

As a result, the university has selected Siemens Enterprise Communications' OpenScape Contact Centre to enable it to more effectively handle the increased volume of calls, which can reach 180 at once during peak times of the clearing period.

"For a number of students, the clearing process is the first experience they have with our university. Competition is fierce so it is crucial to engage with as many prospective students as possible and provide them with the right information at the right time," said Paul Butler, head of information systems at the University of Greenwich.

The flexibility and scalability of the system, along with real-time reporting, enables the contact centre to better manage calls and improve efficiency.

"OpenScape Contact Centre enables us to do this effectively thanks to the insight it provides into the calls we receive. As a consequence, we are better placed to deal with the spikes in demand that we experience during the intensive clearing period," Butler continued.

"In previous years it has been a challenge dealing with and resourcing the unpredictable nature of the call volumes, but now I am confident that we have the right team, the right supplier and the right technology in place."