State Unemployment Call Centers Struggling to Keep Up with Call Volume

Government call centers are under added scrutiny under normal circumstances, but with the economic yo-yo taking place making the employment uncertain, these call centers are a lifeline to millions of Americans. Record unemployment is creating overwhelming call volume and many employment departments across the country are failing short of the mark due to poor scheduling.

Using Illinois as an example, Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) Acting Director Thomas Chan says bluntly, call center staffing has been subpar.

Chan points to two key factors: a lack of federal funding and a large number of IDES employees retiring, leaving a less experienced workforce at the helm. The Acting Director is looking to bring in 170 team members immediately – having already shifted some 75 employees form other areas to assist in the call center.

"If you look at the statistics, you can see that we're receiving around 200,000 calls from unique claimants each week," Chan said. "Even though our capacity is expanding, we've only ever been able to answer about 15% of those calls."

The problem however, goes beyond simply putting agents in seats. The call center has lost not just a significant number of employees, but more importantly decades and decades of experience. The unemployment call center addresses a wide range of queries, which requires comprehensive training for team members – from the unemployment system, to navigating software applications to troubleshoot and resolve issues.

I do not mean to pick on Illinois they are not alone in this struggle. These are scary fiscal times, and if unemployed and uncertain, they are terrifying. Call center staffing and scheduling properly play a pivotal role in providing the population peace of mind the rent check is on the way, or we don’t have to eat ramen this week.

Edited by Maurice Nagle