Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba on Tuesday launched the Department of Home Affairs’ (DHA's) new contact centre, which is aimed at speeding up enquiries and at opening multiple avenues for citizens to access information about their applications and the validity of their documents.

Situated at the DHA head office, in Pretoria, the contact centre has been in operation for a few months, during which time the department ensured that it was properly piloted.

It operates on top of Home Affairs’ civic and immigration services platforms through an online customer relationship management system.

“This contact centre is a drastic improvement on the call centre we used to operate, as the operator can almost immediately resolve your question,” Gigaba enthused.

He explained that through logging a citizen’s identification number in the system, an operator can see when an application, for example, for an unabridged birth certificate, was lodged and where it is in the processing pipeline. “We try to set the trends, to break new ground and use technology more to reach out to our clients.”

Applicants can now also access their applications through the DHA website, either by email or through a mobile app.

Gigaba highlighted that the contact centre, which will employ about 120 people, could only be successful if the front office was functioning correctly.

“We also need an effective back office to provide our clients effective and accurate information. We are continuously improving this contact centre to take on board a number of other issues that the department faces,” he added.

While one operator answers about 120 calls a day, Gigaba pointed out that there was room for more calls, which he believed would pick up as more people became aware of the centre. Employees at the centre undergo a one-month training programme to ensure they have the emotional intelligence to deal with challenging clients.

The design, configuration and implementation of the in-house contact centre solution system was outsourced to telecommunications company Vodacom.

Speaking to Engineering News Online, Vodacom Business CEO Vuyani Jarana said that the company was selected as the technology partner for the centre through an open tender process.

“This is a very good story, as digitising government services gives citizens better access to information. It is a big credit to the department, as [it has] a very clear roadmap,” he noted, adding that cutting the length of time spent on phone calls also improved peoples’ experience.

The contact centre, which can be reached by dialling 0800 60 11 90, is open from 07:30 to 17:30 on weekdays and from 08:00 to 12:00 on Saturdays.