Assessing the Value of a Government Call Centre in India: A Case Study

Abstract

Integrated information systems enable governments to provide better services to citizens. With the aid of such systems, citizens and service agents are able to communicate and resolve issues faster and with ease. The present study looks at an integrated information system employed in a government call centre in South India to gauge its value for the government and citizens. A holistic evaluation of the integrated information system was made in order to identify the impact on governance-centric values for citizen services. Analysis of call logs, process flows, citizen feedback and web-presence led to an understanding of aspects that disable better utilization of the integrated information systems for citizen-centric services. The call centre lagged in efficient resource allocation, agent utilization and process flow that are essential for creating value for the government by improving operations and processes. Citizen-centric values that were affected emerged mainly from the inadequateness in service quality and paucity of digital access. Resource utilization, process efficiency, higher participation by citizens through the digital medium and citizen satisfaction were seen as areas that could impact services offered to the citizens positively.