We’re delighted to announce Appello Careline has been selected by Wiltshire Council to provide an emergency out of hours call handling service for key teams, including Highways and Housing Management. Careline will offer support and reassurance across a wide range of situations, mirroring the council’s own high levels of customer service for seamless cover, 365 days a year and in emergency scenarios.
Appello was one of several organisations requested to submit a quote for the contract and stood out for quality of service, as well as competitive pricing. The panel was impressed with the level of detail in the Careline submission, which showed ‘an excellent understanding’ and ‘strong evidence’ of the requirements.
In particular, the council was looking for:
– High standards of customer care, with a commitment to the health and wellbeing of customers.
– Clear processes that can be tailored to the council’s requirements, with real-time monitoring of performance.
– Flexibility and scale of service to provide additional support when needed, with a detailed Business Continuity Plan.
– A collaborative approach to develop and improve the service.
Appello was also able to highlight the successful delivery of similar out of hours contracts, with experience of partnering with a number of other councils, as well as housing providers.
The four year contract begins in October 2024. Careline will be used to manage a diverse range of out of hours calls from members of the public, council housing residents, emergency services and other partner groups.
Craig Barlow, Managing Director at Appello said: “We’re delighted Careline has been chosen to provide an out of hours service that meets Wiltshire Council’s high customer service standards. As one of the largest monitoring centres in the UK, we already ensure over 300,000 people receive knowledgeable and professional assistance when needed. We’re looking forward to working with Wiltshire to develop their service and tailor this to each team’s requirements, helping meet the council’s commitment to improve the quality of life and environment in Wiltshire and its surroundings.”
Simon Rowe, MBE, Operations Resilience Manager at Wiltshire Council said: “We’re pleased to be working with Appello Careline to provide our out of hours call handling service from October.”
Separately to the out of hours contract, Appello has previously partnered with Wiltshire Council to install our digital warden call system, Smart Living Solutions, at a number of extra care facilities across the county. This is supported by our monitoring services, ensuring the safety and wellbeing of residents throughout the digital phone switchover and beyond.
About Appello Careline
Appello’s Out of Hours service ensures all calls are answered, no matter what the time of day. We help deliver essential services across multiple sectors, handling over 5 million calls each year as a seamless extension to teams outside of your usual office hours.
Our operators are trained to provide the highest levels of customer support and assistance across a wide range of scenarios, including maintenance repair, emergency building repair, property security, local authority services, community equipment repair and many more. As members of the UK Contact Centre Forum – and certified to the TSA Quality Standards Framework – you can feel confident our services are quality assured.
Our Careline services are underpinned by our award winning digital platform, CareNet EVO. This is secure, flexible and proven – and offers a wealth of customer insight.
Find out more about Appello’s Careline services.