DialOnce

Directing citizens to online services through a visual IVR: the case of the City of Paris

Challenge

Guide users toward digital services while improving the contact experience

Guide users toward digital services while improving the contact experience

The City of Paris aims to optimize the user contact experience while promoting the many digital tools already available.

The city’s website, mobile applications, online procedures and web forms already allow users to access numerous services and complete certain requests independently. The challenge is therefore to better guide users toward these services when relevant, in order to streamline journeys and make online procedures easier to complete. At the same time, it remains essential to preserve the possibility of reaching a customer advisor whenever the situation requires human assistance.

The needs of the City of Paris:

  • Direct calls toward existing digital services
  • Facilitate access to online procedures and the city’s applications
  • Encourage users to complete procedures independently whenever possible
  • Maintain phone access for users who need it
  • Adapt contact journeys based on opening hours and current events
Visual IVR allows customers to exit a traditional phone call and instantly access personalized digital services via SMS or instant messaging.

Prioritize the most frequent call reasons

As in many local authorities, certain call reasons account for a significant share of contacts. This is particularly true for requests related to bulky waste collection, parking, or administrative procedures such as passport applications.

These requests generate high call volumes even though some of them can be handled directly through digital tools. These use cases were therefore prioritized in order to better guide users toward online services and encourage their adoption.

To achieve this

Visual IVR

The City of Paris deployed DialOnce’s visual IVR to offer a digital alternative during phone calls.

When a user calls from a mobile phone, they receive an SMS containing a secure link to the visual IVR. In just a few clicks, they can specify their request and access the available solutions in real time. The interface guides users toward various self-service options available online, such as completing administrative procedures (marriage certificates, birth certificates), accessing useful applications like DansMaRue to report an issue in public spaces, or reaching forms related to parking or urban planning declarations.

Although digital solutions are highlighted throughout the journey, access to a customer advisor remains available at any time through a call button integrated into the interface. Users therefore retain the choice of their preferred contact channel.

The solution also makes it possible to offer journeys adapted to service opening hours. Some journeys, such as those dedicated to bulky waste collection and cleanliness, allow users to submit a pickup request completely autonomously, regardless of the time of day.

The journey can also be adjusted according to current events or situations that generate high call volumes, such as election periods, in order to anticipate peaks in activity and guide users more efficiently.

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