2025000013 - ITN KABA 2025-13: UI Telephony System and Virtual Agent Update II

UI provides unemployment insurance services in a fair, timely, accurate, and efficient manner to the employers and citizens of Colorado to stabilize the workforce and to minimize the impact of unemployment on the state’s economy. The UI program provides temporary partial wage replacements to workers who have become unemployed through no fault of their own and is funded by employer-paid premiums. 

The UI call center has a long history of challenges in staffing due to unique knowledge and fluctuating volume of work depending on season and external economic influences. This is further complicated by the complexity and pseudo-legal information required to answer questions and complaints from people seeking information about their tax liabilities or who are admittedly unhappy after losing their jobs. On the employer premiums side, the employers who need information have limited hours to get responses to any challenges. They have to ensure they can manage the complexities, have their accounts up-to-date, and can determine impacts due to separations.  

The current phone and virtual agent systems are separate, and neither supports the whole picture of what information is required to adequately assist the claimants or employers and their third-party administrators in the self-service environment. Training new staff takes a minimum of six weeks to answer basic questions. We work to direct calls to the right agents to help the caller with their questions. We support about 4000 calls per day from the claimants calling the UI Benefits line but we only have the capacity to answer 1500. The balance of the calls are sent to the VA. Colorado employers also call in for support to the UI Employer line with an average of 450 calls per day.

UI is looking to move towards a more holistic product enhanced by agile artificial intelligence capabilities (learning models, training, and call trends/insights), which can provide more adaptive and relevant reporting and resource management to UI leadership. The product should include a virtual agent (via IVR and chat) that interfaces with the MyUI+ system for enhanced self-service opportunities including providing account status updates, obtaining payment request information, explaining correspondence, and potentially obtaining the information necessary to file unemployment insurance claims. The solution should also be able to assist live agents when required by presenting the summarized interactions with customers upon transfer to the live agent and access to suggested help resources. Overall the system must empower the agents to overcome the daily challenges by streamlining extended calls and post-call tasks. Features like automated call summarization, concern identification, and knowledge-based suggestions need to aid the agent providing crucial support. 

As a 24/7 extension of live agent support, the virtual agent must be key in reducing frustrating wait times and ensure immediate access to assistance. It must quickly evaluate the user needs, respond to common questions, and provide authenticated users with secure access to individual account information. 
The system must be designed to facilitate continuous optimization for both live and virtual agents by capturing performance metrics for key areas that should include at a minimum time management and caller sentiment. 

We will also need to be provided with training for ongoing in-house support needs. In short, CDLE seeks a solution with integrated functionality, allowing the entire system to supply both the features to get users answers to their questions 24/7 and provide improved data and information for managing current and future decision-making. Having information from the system will enhance the ability of the UI managers to make critical decisions more confidently and timely than they can achieve today.