Deployment of TTNC services - Covid-19

Giving all we have to those who are helping others.


Our Covid-19 response

In the Spring of 2020, the world suddenly looked very different. The Coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown caused many businesses to reconsider their everyday working practices, and groups were created with the idea of helping each other and supporting their local communities.

We, as I'm sure most people, were overwhelmed by the selfless focus of these groups and of the individuals going the extra mile to help those in most need. This led us to look at how we could help.


What we did

As a company, we sat down to discuss what we could do to help, and the unanimous decision was "everything we can". Not just around our community, but to anyone who was going above and beyond. We had the telecoms know-how and resources to offer our services to those who were helping others and we thought it was only fair that we provided these services for free.

We hoped that we could enable community groups to focus solely on helping their neighbours rather than worrying about their funding and creation of a phone system. We were ready to give everyone who was part of the frontline everything they needed to make a difference.


How we did it

We published a blog post titled "Dear Community Heroes" on the 20th of March, days before the lockdown was announced, in which we outlined our plans to offer everything that these groups or individuals need for free, for as long as they're needed.

We followed this up with a social and email campaign, reiterating our pledge, and began to create new accounts and configuring services, some of which are still being utilised more than a year later.

Our entire customer-facing team were given the go-ahead to offer advice and free services to these new enquiries, as well as aiding existing customers looking to re-purpose their numbers to help.

It didn't take long for referrals to start coming in and for our offer to begin being mentioned in the press, across various social groups and forums, allowing us to help more and more compassionate organisations.

Further calls to action were posted on our social media and to existing customers, and as the first lockdown came to an end, we reiterated our commitment and vowed to continue to offer services until things got back to normal.

Screenshots of blog post and Social Post

How our service was deployed

We quickly realised that each group, although setting out with the same goals in place - helping those that need a hand or a chat - had various different ways to achieve it. Offering each group access to all our features meant that we could listen to how they wanted their number to work and adapt their number functionality to realise their vision.

The main requirement across the board was a simple way to forward their call to the right people at the right time; most groups were run by volunteers who were on-call for periods of time. This was efficiently dealt with using Time Based Forwarding, creating Time Plans, which allows calls to be sent to the correct volunteers. Used in conjunction with Hunt Groups and Forward To All, allowing up to 15 destinations to ring at once means that no calls are missed, and everyone can answer, ensuring that calls are handled as quickly and effectively as possible.

As a lot of the volunteers were using their personal mobiles, it was essential to ensure that calls wouldn't be intercepted by anyone's mobile voicemail. Rather than restrict its use, Call Screening was added to most number setups. This meant that not only would a forwarded call require confirmation of acceptance, but the call handler would be aware of the source of the calls.

As well as receiving calls, many groups were also coming to us for an outbound solution. Our VoIP Service allowed their members to make outbound calls displaying their TTNC number. This meant that all of their communication could be recorded, ensuring there were no mistakes made with shopping drop offs. VoIP was easily rolled out using our Softphone App with instant QR Code provisioning sent via email.

Outbound SMS was also utilised as a communication method, for example Sarah from Fare Divide used an SMS Display Name to send out daily updates to those who were unable to access the food bank's Facebook page. Notifying her community as 'Fare Divide' proved successful in reaching those less technically minded.

Our Virtual Receptionist functionality was a must-have for those groups attempting to provide multi-dimensional help to their neighbours. Offering callers a simple menu to route calls correctly proved to be a great success - we created bespoke Professional Voice Recordings, giving the callers the details of each option, then set up the call forwarding. This allowed the groups to be able to run all of their services from a single number.


How our services were used

All the groups who approached us were looking to help their communities, most by helping with shopping trips or delivering vital prescriptions to those who were vulnerable, shielding or unable to get out.

Some groups were looking for ways to help with their neighbours' mental health, the idea of a line for those who lived alone to be able to ring up for a chat with a volunteer. In the case of the Bute Lifeline, a qualified counsellor was available to help if needed.

As well as a vast array of community groups and Mutual Aid organisations, we also helped several medical bodies, both within the NHS and private sectors. For example, establishing new internal contact numbers for Neurology and Occupational Health Departments in hospitals, to provide patient assessments, while restricting inter-departmental movements. As a result, their patients received better care and stopped the potential spread of Covid. The Orpington Central Community Aid Group began an online shopping service aimed at staff of their local hospital - over the course of the first 12 months of the pandemic, they have helped over 5,000 NHS Staff members to be able to focus on the frontline effort.

In the initial 12 months since the first lockdown began, we helped many groups make a difference to those around them. Some groups have closed due to the loosening of restrictions. Others have become mainstays of their area, using their experience from lockdown to assist their neighbourhood permanently.

Almost 75,000 calls were made to TTNC numbers, equalling 246,000 minutes - so many people helped, and so much fantastic work done by people from all walks of life who simply wanted to selflessly help those in need.

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"They went the extra mile to help others, and for that, we are eternally grateful."


TTNC - A Lifeline During Covid-19

Exmouth Mutual Aid are a community group in Devon, who at their peak, had over 300 volunteers running errands for their local community during Covid.

A Google search led the group to call us to discuss how we could help them. They were aware of our VoIP capabilities, however, decided to look at simpler forwarding to mobiles and landlines due to the ease of set-up for those without smartphones.

"They were wonderfully helpful, offered us exactly what we needed, and did it all for free."

While their needs were straightforward, the creation of Time Plans to aid the routing of calls proved to be the icing on the cake, as it allowed them to rota their volunteers as well as having out of hours voicemail messages emailed to their centralised email address for easy pickup.

"Couldn't have asked for more."

With their number created and configured in minutes, they were able to route calls to the right places, freeing up the Hub Team to continue their great community work.

"Super helpful, super knowledgeable, and quick to support."

We were able to expand their service with ease when needed and without causing the volunteers to lose focus on their neighbours.

"TTNC have been an absolute lifeline for the Exmouth Mutual Aid Covid-19 Group. From sales, support and going live, they were with us every step of the way."

Dawn & Fanchea

"With our support, the Exmouth Mutual Aid group has directly helped over 2,000 people. We are, and always will be grateful for heroes helping selflessly."

Chris - TTNC


Feedback from community responders

  • Ripley Corona Support

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    Ripley Corona Support

    Mike

    "We approached TTNC at the start of the COVID crisis to set up a village hotline for our support group. TTNC not only answered our technical questions - on a Saturday, as I recall - but when they found out we were doing a neighbourhood support network they gave us free calls and threw in all the features for free!

    In particular we went to TTNC in the first place because of the API access, which allowed us to direct calls to a rotating team of volunteers, each available for varying times throughout the week, with some simple scripts run locally.

    The API had us up, running and automated in a couple of hours. I should note TTNC were not the first company I went to - I'd checked 4 or 5 firms with similar offerings but found the ability to script our ad-hoc "call center" was always missing or more limited than first appeared."

    Bute Lifeline

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    Bute Lifeline

    Malcolm

    "We have really appreciated TTNC allowing the charity to use their platform during Covid-19. The software is very intuitive and easy to use. Every time I think wouldn't it be if it did - it does. We have had no problems with stability or service provision. You can configure the platform from your mobile device as easily as on a PC. A fantastic piece of kit and company."

    4 Cancer Group

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    4 Cancer Group

    Andreas

    "The TTNC product is superb. Having used a lot of other cloud based telephone solutions across a variety of private and public roles, I can say with confidence that this is a great product. We had to shut our charity office at the start of the pandemic and TTNC have looked after us really well. Highly recommended."

    Berkley COVID19 Support Group

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    Berkley COVID19 Support Group

    Rachel

    "I can't speak highly enough of TTNC, they got us a local number up and working incredibly fast, the system has been very easy to use with a great range of functionality that has helped us adjust to changing circumstances, its easy to monitor, they've just made everything so easy."

    Mottisfont Parish Council

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    Mottisfont Parish Council

    Peter

    "It took about 30 minutes from deciding to go with TTNC to having the phone number configured and working - quick and easy! Some great features available, too, like being able to set up a rota of who would receive any calls to our number on a timed basis. Then, when TTNC found that this line was for community support during the current virus crisis, they waived all charges! Attentive customer service and support, and generous support to the community. What more could you ask for?"

    Chaucer Community Group

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    Chaucer Community Group

    Dimple

    "TTNC have been incredible. We are a community group that have set up in response to COVID 19. The system is really good to use, intuitive and allows for monitoring of inbound calls, multiple users that just download an app. Call quality has been excellent. Extremely happy with the service and the company. Couldn't recommend enough"

    Sturry & District United Church

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    Sturry & District United Church

    Peter

    "Having a virtual number which can be answered by whichever church officer happens to be available means that calls can be answered and responded to promptly is a boon.

    It is certainly helpful when people are not coping well with lockdown/isolation. The process of switching from one phone to another via the website is easy and pretty intuitive"

    Orpington Central Community Mutual Aid

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    Orpington Central Community Mutual Aid

    Brian

    "I have had an account with TTNC for a number of years now that I use for business. Their customer service and responsiveness has always been fantastic. I have never had a problem with any of the numbers I have on their system.

    Recently I have become engaged in running a voluntary Mutual Aid Group support-ing vulnerable persons affecting by COVID-19. We set up 5 telephone lines with local landline numbers through TTNC. We started receiving a large number of calls that were costing us quite a bit as the minutes were mounting up. Being a voluntary organisation cashflow is crucial to us currently.

    I called Chris at TTNC and explained what we were doing and they gave us a fantastic deal on the phone lines we have. The help that Chris and team has given us is extremely generous. The impact to our cashflow is immense and will really help the local community during the current unprecedented time

    Thank you Chris for your support, not only now during our time of need but also over the last few years. I would not hesitate to recommend you and your team at TTNC for anyone needing VOIP services."