There has been a record number of callers overwhelming the federal 1-800 lines for benefits claims, according to the Department of Employment..The managers stated that there were a lot of incoming calls, and even with 150 operators, they could not handle the volume..“Call volumes have skyrocketed,” reads a department briefing note 1-800-O-Canada. .“The program needs ongoing service delivery officer capacity beyond the existing base funding levels of approximately 150 officers to meet the anticipated volume demand.”.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the call centres that handle claims for Employment Insurance and other benefits cost $6.9 million last year. .In the 2023 Budget, the Cabinet provided an additional $17.7 million in funding over the next five years..The briefing note said the budget “only covers up to 1.6 million calls a year.”.However, the actual number of calls they receive is one-third more than that. The note did not explain why there was a difference..“When compared to the pre-pandemic level of demand, call volume has increased by 35% from 1.6 million calls in 2019 compared to 2.1 million calls in 2022 and 2.2 million calls in 2023,” read the June 28 note. .“The growth in volume has begun to stabilize while remaining above two million calls annually when the program is only funded for a service delivery officer capacity of up to 1.6 million calls annually.”.“During COVID-19, it provided Canadians with answers to specific questions about the government’s pandemic response,” according to the note. .“Call volumes and call duration increased and continue with little indication of reducing. This, in turn, drives the extra service delivery officer capacity and infrastructure requirements for the program and a structural deficit.”.The department in 2021 in-house research admitted applicants for benefits typically had to dial its call centres at least three times and as many as 10 times, before speaking with an agent. .Only 20% of users who called the 1-800 number were “very satisfied,” according to the report Grants and Contributions Applicants Client Experience..“An ideal client experience typically involves communication with a representative by telephone or online chat and being able to reach an actual person,” reads the report. .“Some participants preferred one central point of contact to turn to with questions rather than having a different person each time.”.In 2020, at a Government Operations committee meeting, the department admitted that they often were not able to answer the phone..“There were problems with calls that weren’t dropped but simply never got answered, frankly,” testified Paul Glover, then-president of Shared Services Canada, the federal IT service..“That was another issue. So people would get in and the call would never get dropped. It was just never answered.”
