By MARTY LEVINE
Putting more people on the phones, and adding new inquiry processes, have greatly improved Human Resources’ ability to solve issues quickly, just since January, HR’s director of Client Services, Laura Schmid, told the latest Staff Council Spotlight presentation on March 21.
And a new AI-based chatbot system is in the works as well, Schmid said.
The new Contact-OHR system’s phone component (412-624-7000) leads callers to information sources before directing them to an agent or voicemail, Schmid said, and has allowed the office to collect data on callers’ inquiry subjects, resulting in better training for those answering calls. Now, too, all eight HR agents are available at once, not just one or two at a time.
“In the past eight weeks, we’ve received more than 5,300 phone calls,” Schmid reported. “We’ve never had that level of call data previously. Team members have answered more than 1,200 calls. … Another 1,200 were transferred out of the system. … Approximately 800 calls went to voicemail, which automatically opened a Contact-OHR case, where the agents were able to respond and close the case with a 94% (rate) in two business days. The remaining calls either disconnected after receiving the information they needed or they just disconnected for other reasons.”
For comparison, HR in fiscal year 2021-22 had an average time of 45 days until case closure, she said, while this year so far has achieved average case closure in four days.
“We analyze the types of inquiries we get every week. We focus on the top five to seven that are repeated: What about my onboarding? What about my I-9? What about my time record? … By having that information, we’re able to ensure that our strategic plan matches resolving those types of questions to improve the systems and processes.”
HR also opened a self-service portal on Jan. 21, allowing more than 300 Pitt employees thus far to keep track of their case status online, Schmid noted.
Since joining HR in 2021, Schmid has been focused on turning the former Shared Services office into Client Services.
“It’s more than just a name change,” she said. “It firmly places the emphasis on you, our client. … We’re working to identify ways to enhance the services we provide and the systems we use, whether it’s identifying new technologies or improving functioning of existing systems, by removing roadblocks or developing new processes. We’re also exploring technology to improve your experience in obtaining assistance from the Office of Human Resources as quickly as possible.”
That includes development of chatbots, with the help of Pitt IT, for HR web pages and the Contact-OHR web form so that clients can obtain answers 24/7, she said. The chatbots are being trained on the information on those webpages and other relevant sources and will eventually be able to respond to HR queries or help Pitt employees submit an inquiry to an HR rep.
“It’s being thoroughly tested by both HR and Payroll staff and will not be released until we are satisfied with the answers,” Schmid said. “We want to make sure that you’re not going to get a recipe for pound cake if you ask: How do I submit my time record?
“We have a dream of finishing this by the end of the fiscal year for a launch early next fiscal year, so we’ll see,” she said. “We’re making sure that it really does answer what we need, that it’s not going to lead someone down a rabbit hole, that we can ensure that we control it.”
She noted that Client Services also processes I-9s and other federally required tasks, and has developed a Pitt Worx notification system that automatically sends emails to every employee whose I-9 is expiring, 60 days, 30 days and five days prior to its expiration. The emails instruct the employees to come to Craig Hall and re-verify it to ensure that their pay and their University access continue.
Schmid said the motivation for her HR work stems from the variety of Pitt posts she has held through the years. As personnel director in Pitt Public Health, for instance, “I was answering a lot of questions and trying to seek guidance from Human Resources, and I too found it a little frustrating trying to get some of the answers that I needed. So I thought, well, maybe I can help.
“I’m coming from a different perspective. I’m coming from the end user, the client, perspective. Maybe I can do some good and provide some information on what we’re really asking for or how we go about looking for things, or how funding works and how it impacts what we’re doing.”
Still, she discovered, “It’s very different on this side of things, because you have people contacting you from every direction. It was enlightening, and you realize how few people are doing so much work for such a large institution, and they’re doing, for the most part, a really great job.”
Marty Levine is a staff writer for the University Times. Reach him at martyl@pitt.edu or 412-758-4859.
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