NHS Direct Wales selects Sabio as strategic partner for workforce optimisation

Sabio recommend and implement Open Wave WFM to manage complex shift patterns for 350 nurses and agents to support critical 24/7 public service

Includes five-year support contract to ensure NHS Direct Wales is a leading public sector contact centre

London – 13 June 2005 – Sabio, the innovative contact centre services and solutions company, has announced that it has been selected as the strategic partner for workforce optimisation by NHS Direct Wales – the 24 hour NHS telephone health advice and information service for Wales. Under the new contract Sabio will provide workforce optimisation consultancy and implement the Open Wave workforce management (WFM) system for up to 350 advisors and nurses across three contact centres in Swansea, Gwent and Bangor. The solution will manage the organisation’s complex shift patterns to ensure a well manned 24 hour service for the people of Wales.

NHS Direct Wales selected Sabio on the strength of its consultancy expertise, its proven experience in workforce optimisation and its unique systems integration capabilities. The contract includes the integration of Open Wave into six existing systems including Symposium ACD across two sites, CAS (the clinical assessment system), the organisation’s Intranet, in-house HR application and the Q-Pulse document management system.

Thomas Benninghaus, Applications Development Manager for NHS Direct Wales said: “NHS Direct Wales provides an important public service by offering round the clock health information and advice, so it is essential we have the best possible contact centre systems and applications. With Sabio we have a strategic partner that provides us with first class technical and business consultancy, supporting our drive to become a leading public sector contact centre.”

Sabio will manage the Open Wave integration with the organisation’s multiple existing contact centre systems and applications, and will help to streamline internal processes through the automatic sharing of data such as personnel data, centralised reporting features and a high degree of self-service.

Judith Birkett, Contact Centre Specialist for NHS Direct Wales commented on the operational perspective of the partnership: “I was impressed with Sabio’s professionalism and how the consultants strategically designed the implementation to match our business needs, rather than trying to crow bar our specialist requirements to fit an ‘off the shelf’ product. We are confident that Sabio will develop our workforce optimisation strategy and enable us to become a leader in the public sector contact centre arena.”