Wesleyan University-extending the network

Wesleyan University is a private, coeducational university serving 2,700 undergraduate and 195 graduate students.  The faculty consists of 300 members who remain active as scholars and researchers.  Located in Middletown, Connecticut, Wesleyan’s campus encompasses 290 acres with 60 on-campus buildings, including an 11-building complex housing the Center for the Arts. 
 
Operators overwhelmed
The operations group noticed that the switchboard operators were being overwhelmed with internal call transfers and it was reducing the time they had to service public callers.  Students, staff and faculty were opting to use the operators to connect calls instead of referring to their directories.  Directories were often inaccessible or out of date.  Something needed to be done

Drawn to voice services
The operations team evaluated their options. Add staff, tolerate lower service levels, work to improve usage of directories.  They decided that instead of hiring additional staff or trying to change directory usage that they would add voice enablement features to their existing network that would make calling easier and draw the internal calls away from the operators.

Parlance’s NameConnector® service was chosen and installed. The service was known for its ease of use and high connection rates and it provided callers with fast, accurate connections 24/7.

Customized departmental greetings
Wesleyan asked Parlance to configure their voice service to meet the unique needs of different calling groups.  Internal callers, students, faculty and administrators wanted fast connections so access to the NameConnector was a 4-digit extension followed by short dialogues to connect them quickly. And, some numbers were only accessible to certain groups.

Public callers
Public callers to the university’s main number needed more information on their first call and less as they used the system. First time callers are greeted with a more formal greeting that helps a new caller navigate easily.  Callers who need specialized assistance are transferred directly to the operator by saying, “operator”.  And repeat callers can speed their connection by going directly to the NameConnector.

Special events
Wesleyan also customized greetings to inform callers of special circumstances such as holidays, weather cancellations or emergency notifications.

Extending the voice network
The service has extended the reach of Wesleyan’s voice network by providing users with a “virtual directory” of over 4,700 on-campus destinations including students, faculty, administration and departments.  Common destinations include Registrar, Admissions Office, Human Resources and Alumni Office.

Easy operations
Parlance’s managed voice service provides on-line administration tools to facilitate adds, changes and deletes, greatly simplifying voice network maintenance. 

Monitoring for excellence
Parlance service representatives and designated Wesleyan employees monitor the service via customized on-line reports summarizing performance metrics such as: connection rates, call volume, destinations called etc.  The reports provide data to assist in determining what, if any, measures should be taken to improve caller connection rates across the university. Wesleyan and Parlance remain committed to delivering top-notch service.
  
Reducing future costs
Parlance’s voice service is also poised to handle additional call volume, eliminating the need for future telecommunications investments as well as to insulate the callers from any telephony changes that the University might elect. All callers need to know is a name to get connected. As a result of Parlance’s NameConnector® service over 8,000 calls are handled automatically each month.

“The NameConnector Service enables us to provide callers with an enhanced level of service and has improved the efficiency of our existing voice network.  The service connects more than 8,000 callers per month, drastically reducing our current and future telecommunications operating expenses.”
Debra Story Houle, Manager of Network Services and Operations at Wesleyan University