Contact Lens

A Closer Look at USP’s Contact Centre Operations
September 2024

Josef Rosenberg - Contact Centre Manager - Utility Safety Partners

I’ve spent a lot of years telling our agents that “September is just May, but later in the year.” Less generally, September is often the time of year where we tend to see a moderate amount of employee attrition; some agents go back to school (for those starting a new career path), some first-year agents have had a large enough sample size to determine the job just isn’t for them, and some — by incident or necessity — have to leave. This of course results in a “busier month,” not by dint of increased locate requests (though homeowners rushing to complete their work before first frost is a contributor), but by a smaller work pool.

Of course, we budget and plan around these typical attritions however, in years past, they often have posed a challenging month. Lately? I would be lying to say it has been more than a notable but brief jump in requests between the end of August and the fall equinox.

This interestingly feels part and parcel with the overall vibe of the industry; one where we see volumes increasingly moving online and the agents’ roles becoming more and more support focused. While there will always be a contingent of users (both emergency and non) that rely (or require) on phone service, the changes in the world lay bare the direction in which this service must go.

Without fail, USP will always be leading that march of progress, and will continue to be nimble in the face of change.

Riding the seas of change, buffeted by the winds of necessity