Denver -- Working for the government, we all know the potential for getting lost in a maze of
acronyms and offi ce symbols. ARPC has its own set of sometimes confusing abbreviations and directorate jargon.
But the more knowledge we have about what makes our organization work, the better
service we'll be able to provide our customers.
Many of us know of the ARPC Contact Center, but how many actually know how it
works?
The contact center is the primary source for delivering ARPC's product - personnel
services to our Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve customers. That delivery is provided through different levels or tiers of service. In DPS, we refer to it as a Shared Service Model encompassing Tiers 0, 1, 2 and 3.
Tier 0 is online self-service, and provides Airmen the option to complete personnel
transactions and updates online.
Tier 1 is referred to as the "Front-end and Back-shop." Employees providing Tier 1 service give general customer service support via Web, phone, e-mail, fax and mail
requests.
Tier 2 is individual directorate support. These involve more complex, researchintense
customer requests requiring policy interpretation and mastery.
Tier 3 is service provided by Centers of Expertise. Here policies are created and modifi ed, and customer inquiries are resolved requiring policy review.
As division chief, I manage three contact center branches.
Contact Center 1 is the "Front-end," and employees here handle all phone contacts
from Airmen, dependents and retirees requesting:
Copies of personnel documents.
Generic personnel information.
Guidance on completing processes.
Status updates concerning pending requests.
Referral information for other personnel contacts.
Address updates.
Other personnel inquiries.
These employees engage with other DPS teams, ARPC directorates and Tiers 2 and 3 for additional assistance to resolve customer service inquiries.
The only time a customer should be transferred to another party is if they request to
speak with a specifi c person, if a directorate offers to take the call directly, or if the customer insists on being transferred.
Contact Center 2 is our overfl ow offi ce for phone support to Contact Center 1 and a
"Back-shop." The Back-shop is divided into service teams that are based onpersonnel lifecycle phases. This includes the onboarding and exiting teams, where personnel issues dealing with accessions, re-enlistments, recruiting, separations and retirements are handled.
Contact Center 3 is also a Back-shop and includes the performing and careering
teams. Issues dealing with assignments, training, education,
classifi cation, duty history, duty status, awards, benefi ts, decorations and entitlements are accomplished here.
Job I've had in my 25 years at ARPC, and I have tremendous respect for all the employees who make up the ARPC Contact Center. They are the first point of entry into ARPC, and our goal is to answer the Airmen's questions without transferring the call.
Knowledge and education are critical to effi ciency and good service. Knowing a little about how the contact center works will hopefully provide a better understanding for everyone as we all work toward accomplishing the mission.
(The Post Report is an opportunity for Center Scene Perspective column writers
to tell the story of their offi ce, and to give ARPC employees insight into what happens at their "post.")