Minutes of the Call Centre Committee Meeting

SUMMARY OF DISCUSSIONS:

1. Opening Remarks

The UTE Co-chair opened by indicating that he is pleased that the committee finally had the opportunity to meet in person. Contact centres have grown in the past months which has brought more challenges along the way. One of the noted challenges has been communication with management.

Management shared positive feedback about meeting in person as it provides a great opportunity to share concerns. Management was also looking forward to collaborating with the Union to address operational programs issues.

2. Implementation of Article 60.01 of the PSAC-UTE Collective Agreement

Kira Sherry apologized for the tardy update being provided as it was prepared in advance for the November meeting, which unfortunately had been cancelled. Management shared trends on usage of article 60.01. A relative consistency was observed from results of data from August 2021 to July 2022. The usage rates and time spent has found to be similar in ITE vs. BE sites. Management’s recommendation was to not continue with further review but stated that they are open to feedback. A reminder has been sent to employees to encourage them to use it. Management confirmed that they have not received any complaints or concerns.

Management asked if everyone understands jargon/acronyms being used. ITE-Individual tax enquiries and BE-Business enquiries.

Question Union (Eddy) – We understand that management have been verbally promoting it. Has there been any follow ups in order to determine instances where it is not going as well as others areas. What kind of tools is management using to ensure we are on the right track? We agree we might not reach 100%, but how can we improve?

Response management (Kira) – We can certainly look at more rigorous communication campaign from management and see how it impacts numbers. Management has not seen real differences amongst offices (around 60% usage).

Response management (Michael) – Not surprised by the numbers, as call occupancy has been low. If there is down time and calls are continuously coming in, agents tend to use the 5 minutes breaks a little less.

Response from CVB (Charly) – We have the opposite situation happening in CVB. We have been receiving non-stop calls since July/August 2022. This situation might explain why CVB agents are using it more.

Question Union (Eddy) – Could it be that the narrative that goes to employees is different?

Response management (Kira) – Each office received the same guidelines which mentions that employees may choose when to use the allowed 5 minutes break. This break should be a productive time, but it is not meant to be policed by management.

Management concluded by suggesting that a communication product will be created and issued to all employees in advance of filing season. Afterwards, a re-evaluation of the impacts can be analyzed by pulling numbers again to see the usage during filing season.

3. Canada Dental Benefit and Canada Housing Benefit Program

Management stated that the Government introduced these two programs last Fall to help with dental and rental costs. Both programs were launched in December 2022, and it was an overall success. For the Dental benefit, management used existing contact centre agents and the existing workforce at the contact centres. For the Housing benefit, approximately 2000 new employees were hired as high volume of calls were expected on the newly built telephone system. After about one month following the implementation of this new structure, management shared that call volumes have not been as high as expected. Based on this, management is now looking at re-assessing resources for the housing and dental benefits. For the housing program, management is anticipating that it will begin the sunset period in March 2023 with only a low number of residual calls expected after that period. The dental program is for a duration of three years and is expected to expand over the course of next few years.

Management has confirmed the use of an Amazon platform for the housing benefit which could support a high volume of calls, as initially anticipated by management. The average call handle time is 15 mins, management projected 30 minutes.

Question Union (Andrea) – The Amazon platform is to be used for housing benefit until March?

Response management (Michael) – Yes, if we cannot find another use, we will sunset the usage. The amazon platform does not offer call recording. We would rather use a platform that offers it. Remote listening is available on both platforms, which has always been a tool used but call recording is a better option as it gives the agent the opportunity to hear it again. The difference between the two platforms has brought limitations for the housing benefit.

Response Union (Andrea) – Our concern is the agent not being able to hear what the team leader has heard. This is a violation of the collective agreement which stipulates employees have the right to listen to recorded calls. Therefore, these calls cannot be used for quality review.

Management confirmed they would need to review the collective agreement in order to fully understand the issue as they do not share the same understanding.

The Union concluded by mentioning they will consult with Shane O’Brien – Senior Labour Relations officer for UTE - in order to obtain clarification on the subject.

Management confirmed they are presently looking at re-allocating housing benefit call agents to regular contact centres. Also looking at the possibility of cross training employees and creating the opportunity to develop multi skilled agents. This initiative will depend on available funding.

The Union raised the issue of SP-04 agents being used as technical advisors for other agents which is not part of their work description. The union raised this issue to management last Fall (via an email) indicating that the SP-04 job description needed to be defined.

Management mentioned that for the housing benefit, they looked at the complexity of calls (low complexity) and looked at the SP-04 job description which allows them to support other officers on low complexity level calls. This process allowed for SP-05’s to remain on more complex workloads.

Question Union (Justin) – Why would SP-04 agents ask technical questions to SP-05 resource officers if SP-04 agents are used to support each other? It depends on how we define support.

Response management (Bruce) – The difference is in the complexity levels of calls being received. If there were complex calls, management would not have opted for this strategy. SP-04 agents involved in this process were only answering housing benefit questions.

Question Union (Eddy) – Why is the Union being presented this information and rationale used during Contact Centre Committee meetings? A consultation email could have been sent to the Union to help them understand the process instead of having Union representatives being informed through their members. Contact Centres agents are already dealing with other challenges, such as mental health issues, if we can save them some frustrations by informing them in advance so they know what is coming, we should.

Response from management – Bruce and Kira committed to better communicate in the future, and indicated that there will be more consultations with Unions coming shortly.

4. Ratio of permanent vs. contract employees by contact centre

Management opened the topic by stating that they provided an excel spreadsheet with December’s numbers. They stated that funding for permanent employees has been limited and temporary.

The Union shared that management should increase the budget for permanent positions as they expect that contact centres demands will increase in the near future.

Management mentioned they are looking at opportunities to increase the budget for permanent positions. Filing seasons are creating peaks in demand and the need for term employees.

CVB management has observed an increase in demand for employees in the last few years. CERB benefits recovery has been a big part of their work with approximately $3 billion to be recovered. CVB has different ratio (PERM vs TERM) percentages as they have a bigger permanent positions base. Keeping permanent employees has been a challenge for CVB as employees move up from SP-03 position to SP-04 and then leave for other job opportunities.

Management concluded by offering to present refreshed ratios at the next meeting.

5. Health and Safety

The Union shared concerns about employees’ mental health as they noticed an increasing number of incidents/conflicts between team leaders and employees or employees with taxpayers. Other than going through the formal workplace violence process, which is time consuming, is there any other process offered to employees?

Response management – Kira shared her experience as an Assistant Director in the Surrey contact centre. She has seen numerous cases in which employees were not satisfied with their team leaders and requested a change. It is hard to accommodate every single situation and make the requested change. From her perspective, using conflict resolution should be prioritized in order to prevent violence in workplace.

The Union mentioned that contact centre team leaders seem to be micromanaging their teams which creates a strict and closed environment, thus increasing potential conflicts.

Management shared that there has been a high number of new team leaders as the contact centres teams keep growing and because of this there is an inexperience element to be considered. Management has been developing a scoreboard accountability framework, which will be presented later, which might help this issue to some degree. Team leaders would have a consistent understanding on how to approach employees. This will be an opportunity to make sure all team leaders are focusing on the right aspects.

Management also reinstated that conflict resolution is an effective tool. Given that the Human Resources Branch is responsible for this process, management proposed linking them in finding solutions to reduce the increased numbers of conflict in workplace.

Question Union (Eddy) – Montreal has TVs (lobby) communicating messages, could this be used to communicate messages to the floor?

Response management (Kira) – There are no messages going directly to employees right now about this topic. In the new accountability framework scoreboards would incorporate employee satisfaction rating which would allow us to identify conflictual situations between employees and their team leaders.

Question Union (Eddy) – The problem we see with team leaders who have received a bad rating, is that the next steps for resolution are not defined. People lose confidence in the process if no results are seen.

Response management – We need to work on supporting the team leaders community and ensure a fair and consistent approach. A big piece of the puzzle is to reduce micromanagement and build a positive work atmosphere.

6. Workforce Management (WFM)

The Union shared concerns about the implementation of WFM as they have started seeing it being used by employees. However, only some elements seem to be available to them at the moment such as booking vacation time. Some of the features are limited by the collective agreement. The Union asked if employees are responsible for trading vacation or if there is a framework in place?

Management shared that WFM was launched before the pandemic as they went to HCCS (Hosted Contact Centre Service) in 2018 to start getting a better understanding of its purpose. At the moment, management is still unpacking all the features.

Management has launched a pilot project for the time off feature with offices in Hamilton, St-John and Montreal. They are not changing the tools used rather than changing the process. With WFM, the system would update schedules for time off and require less management involvement. In an ideal world, employees would go in the system to request vacation, after talking to their team leaders to make sure they have enough leave time. Management indicated that they have received a lot of positive feedback to this point. The goal is to rollout nationally in about a month and a half to be ready for summer vacation requests. This process is going to save time for agents and operations.

Management presented an update on the shift bidding feature of the system. Employees are to put their working hours preferences in the system which will then create a complete work schedule taking in consideration employees preferences. Management is looking at experimenting with this system using the Hamilton office. Employees would be given training on how to use the system. Management would then pull statistics from the resulting schedule and analyze the results. This would only be a trial test to see how effective this tool is, it would not change employees real schedules. This new feature is to be presented at the Tech Change Committee as well.

Question Union (Brian) – If I am an employee with 30 years of service, do I get priority at choosing work shifts preferences?

Management response – No, the system will not be using seniority as a criteria. We need to see results from the trial test first, which is planned to be done in the next three weeks. Then an analysis from the management team will be done. Purpose of this is to remove manual scheduling and allow everyone to see the entire contact centre team schedule as oppose to each individual teams. Additional flexibility can be added as the system is quite a powerful tool which is still being tested at the moment.

The Union shared concerns about new employees being assigned with their actual schedules with limited options to change it. The Union’s fear is that the system would create an optimal schedule with limited willingness from team leaders to change it.

Management’s goal is to consider the human element while testing the system.

Question from the Union – Why is seniority being removed from the calculation if we do not know if it will even change the end result?

Management response – Right now, we do not have the ability to use seniority as directed by HR and TBS. Management sitting at this table do not have the authority to make that decision.

Management and Union agreed to further discussion on this subject at the next Contact Centre Committee meeting.

7. Debt Management Contact Centre (DMCC) General Update

Management opened the discussion by giving praise to the DMCC agents as they have been very busy these past few months. CVB has sent out, in a very short period of time, 1.8 million notices in relation to ERB-EI Covid benefits recovery, with more than a million contacts made.

Management shared that their service standards took a small hit for a few months, but are now pleased to share that things are more back to normal with 90% of calls being answered within five minutes.

Management shared another positive change in DMCC, which goes in line with People First mentality, about stopping the requirement for agents to give legal warning. The next level of collection officer at the ARNI level will start this process of possible legal measures.

Management confirmed that the initial plan to start a new the Atlantic region DMCC on April 3rd is now onboarding on May 15^th. Management is looking at hiring 60 new agents. The new site will eventually handle all workloads, but will start by focusing on T1 and T2.

8. Accountability Framework - Confined

Management introduced this topic by indicating that the initiative came from a consultation with Price Waterhouse Coopers. The main goal of the accountability scorecards is to develop complimentary measures to ensure everyone is held accountable for the right things at every level, including management and team leaders. This initiative would be included in employees’ performance evaluations. The goal is to regularly recognize where coaching/training is needed by developing a rating system.

Management will continue to consult on individual categories and measures in subsequent meetings. At this point, they presented and shared an overview PowerPoint presentation and general ideas.

Question Union (Justin) – How many calls and how much time will be used for review?

Management response – We are still at the initial stage. Everything is still pending approval and review. At the moment, we are looking at 8-10 calls per month, independent from team leader’s review. We would need feedback from regions and Unions before a final decision is made. The Quality team would do the review and provide results to team leaders and contact centre agents at the same time. Then, team leaders would work with agents to determine where coaching might be needed. This coaching could be technical as well as behavioral. Behavioural coaching would preferably be dealt with by team leaders.

Question Union (Brian) – Will this new initiative be the new evaluation system, the new CCAAT?

Response management – Yes, in a perfect world this would replace the Y280 performance report. We will need to evaluate its effectiveness and then make recommendations. The goal is to get away from CCAAT, Y280, etc. and lessen team leaders’ time spent on those. Creating a common, understandable approach across all contact centres.

The Union shared their positive view of this new initiative for re-hire purposes as it will be used on a regular basis and will let contact centres agents know about their success and where development is needed as opposed to being told 6 months later. On another note, the Union also shared the importance of this tool being used as an indicator for training and employee development rather than a disciplinary or performance report.

The Union also shared that they would like to see this new initiative used by agents as an input mechanism to identify issues with team leaders or for team leaders to flag lack of management support. This tool could be used to share feedback without it being confrontational.

Question Union (Eddy) – When I was on the floor doing quality review, I always had problems with too many questions being evaluated, is there a way to reduce the number of questions in order to reduce the possibilities of having agents being lost in all the different categories?

Response management (Kira) – It depends on the levels being evaluated but agrees some categories can be worked on and reduced if needed, this is the type of things management would want the Union’s input on.

Question Union (Eddy) – Is it possible to review work descriptions? A lot of work is being put on people already there.

Response from management (Kira) - In terms of doing measurements, the goal would be for a scorecard to be developed by system and agents. Having said that, Management acknowledged wanting to review the job descriptions.

The Union raised the issue of using this new initiative possibly resulting in agents receiving bad reviews from frustrated taxpayers. This would impact employee’s evaluations even when taxpayers feedback is not founded.

Management indicated that it is still in development and there is still a need to evaluate factors such as this one.

9. Round Table

Both management and UTE thanked all participants for a great meeting and shared positive feedback about meeting in person for the first time since the pandemic. They also both agreed to look at the possibility of having one of the next Contact Centre Committee meeting at a contact centre in order to observe their reality.

Management shared that they are looking at expanding the live agent chat function, and that further information will be shared with the Union. They also confirmed that service counters will not be coming back.

The Union mentioned they are receiving general complaints from their members. In order to reduce the number of issues, they asked that management keep the Union informed to ensure that there are no surprises.

Management noted that the next meeting will be held in April 2023, preferably on April 26^th or 27th. UMR will look into finalizing a date for this next meeting.