FourNet & Alzheimer’s Society in the finals at European Contact Centre and Customer Service Awards 2024

Digital transformation and customer experience specialists, FourNet, and leading UK dementia charity, Alzheimer’s Society, have reached the finals at the prestigious European Contact Centre and Customer Service Awards 2024.

The two partner organisations have been shortlisted in a highly competitive category for Best Approach to Supporting Vulnerable Customers (In-house).

FourNet and Alzheimer’s Society were nominated for the support being offered to those living with dementia and their carers – thanks to a new cloud-based care and support centre which is harnessing technology to transform fundraising and support services and enhance the charity’s inclusive approach.

Built in collaboration with FourNet’s cloud contact centre partners, NICE, the contact centre solution has been tailor-made to ensure best-in-class support for people living with dementia, with key input to the design from people with lived experience through Dementia Voice, Alzheimer Society specialists and their Dementia Friends programme.

The tailor-made solution supports Alzheimer’s Society’s core fundraising and dementia support services across its operations including sites in Birmingham, Norfolk and Warrington as well as its offices in Northern Ireland and Wales.

Richard Pennington, CEO of FourNet, said: “We want to make sure that Alzheimer’s Society is able to deliver the best possible support for people living with dementia and we are delighted that the solution we designed and delivered for them has been shortlisted at the European Contact Centre and Customer Service Awards 2024.”

FourNet designed a new cloud-based support centre and telephony system to support the charity’s fundraising and dementia support services, replacing an outdated contact centre setup with a versatile omni-channel contact centre system for frontline teams, and migrating 900 staff onto a new softphone application.

Jennie Mummery, Senior Supporter Engagement Manager at Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Dementia is the UK’s biggest killer. One in three people born in the UK today will develop dementia in their lifetime.

“We are thrilled that we have reached the finals at the European Contact Centre and Customer Service Awards 2024, which will allow us to highlight to other organisations how our unique care and support service is harnessing technology, expert advice and input from people living with dementia, along with helping to transform our support services and fundraising.”

Typical contact centre solutions would not have suited Alzheimer’s Society or those it supports.

Instead, FourNet’s solution enhances the charity’s inclusive approach thanks to the detail considered in designing the system. For instance, people contacting the Society through the contact centre do not have to choose multiple options on their keypad; soothing on-hold music has been tested to minimise upset to a person living with dementia, sentiment analysis identifies vulnerable callers.

New technology has also been implemented which identifies important emails and contacts for the Society’s fundraising teams and will help the charity to maximise support through donations.

Amanda Henderson, Solution Architect at FourNet said: “We are extremely proud of the strong bonds and collaborative partnership we have forged with Alzheimer’s Society and we hope that the solution we have designed will help other charities who also have to deal with vulnerable members of society and their carers.”

FourNet works with a range of organisations – from charities and local authorities to the housing sector and financial service companies – using technology to support some of the most vulnerable members of society.