1. Employment Security Advisory Committee
Julie Lord, Director Unemployment Insurance Customer Support
May 13, 2019

2. Agenda Post-peak review Key improvements Claimant survey results
Next steps
Questions

3. Improved Service to Claimants
Post-Peak Review
Triage team answered more than 170,000 calls from October 2018 through March 2019
Awarded the Washington State Chapter of International Association of Workforce Professionals Group Innovation Award on May 10, 2019
Selected to receive national recognition at the 106th Annual Workforce Development Conference in San Antonio on June 19, 2019

4. Improved Service to Claimants
More Post-Peak Review
107,790 claims filed vs 93,832 the year before
More than double the total calls answered from 94,612 to 192,530
Intake staff concentrated efforts on more difficult calls
Employment Connection staff assisted claimants in 23 local offices
Almost 70,000 call-backs scheduled with 93% called within the scheduled appointment window
Connect rate at 100% compared to 52% last year – with the “snowmageddon” exception
Average wait times improved up to 73% year-over-year

5. Improved Service to Claimants

6. Improved Service to Claimants

7. Improved Service to Claimants
Key Improvements to eServices
Reduced ‘clicks’ required for customers to perform specific actions, accomplishing tasks quicker
Added visual improvements including progress indicators and improved the add, edit, save and upload functionalities
Added interface to WorkSourceWA.com for job searches and retrieving job contacts without the need to sign in
In partnership with OAH, improved appeal notifications

8. Improved Service to Claimants

9. Improved Service to Claimants
Claimant Survey
Survey of claimants from Jan. 14 through Feb. 13, 2019
Filed one or more continued claims in December
Have an address and accept correspondence
Do not have a fraud determination in this claim year
Do not have an ID theft indicator
59,932 claimants received the survey (58,120 English-speaking and 1,812 Spanish-speaking)
27 percent response rate - 16,077 survey responses were returned (15,611 English-speaking and 466 Spanish-speaking)

10. Improved Service to Claimants
Claimant Survey Results

11. Improved Service to Claimants
Claimant Survey Results
Q2: Have you used online eServices? 85% said yes.

12. Improved Service to Claimants
Claimant Survey Results
Q4: Have you used our telephone system? 62% said yes.

13. Improved Service to Claimants
Claimant Survey Results

14. Improved Service to Claimants
Claimant Survey Results
Q7: What can we do to improve your unemployment insurance claim experience?
More than 7,600 responses were received. The top four responses are below:
Customer Service
Accessibility of customer service: expand hours, get more agents (579 votes)
Technology
eServices: Improve usability (340 votes)
Improve customer service experience, train agents on content and empathy (198 votes)
Provide more in-person assistance (70 votes)
7,600 responses written

15. Next Steps Peak planning is underway
Considering expansion of hours of customer service
Continued enhancement of eservices
Staff training modules available in claims centers
Working with our EC partners to explore options for in-person service
Job search training for claimants early in claim

16. Questions ?