In implementation of Fiscal/Employer Agent services for the participant direction program, F/EA seeks to empower consumers to manage their services.
Inbound Calls
3. <<Staff Title>> listens to brief description of nature of call
4. <<Staff Title>> asks the caller if they are the participant or representative.>>
5. <<The below section may not apply if program does not have restrictions on F/EA speaking with stakeholders other than consumers and representatives>>
6. << If the caller says “no”, <<Staff Title>> explains that F/EA can only speak to the participant or representative about Fiscal/Employer Agent matters>>
7. <<If necessary, <<Staff Title>> explains that F/EA is not the employer of the workers, but rather that the participant or representative is>>
8. <<Staff Title>> reminds the caller to contact the participant or representative with any questions, and if necessary, the participant or representative can contact F/EA>>
9. If the caller states that they are the participant, <<Staff Title>> asks the caller for his/her name
10. Verify that the participant exists in the program
11. Log into Customer Service System
12. Search for participant by name
13. If participant exists, open participant record
14. Record information about call per in Customer Service System for Consumer Record
15. If participant does not exist in Payroll System, get more information from caller about why they are contacting F/EA
16. <<If the caller states that they are the representative, ask the caller his/her name
17. Ask the caller the name of the participant for whom they are the representative
18. If the representative name matches F/EA records for participant, proceed with call>>
19. <<If the representative name does not match, inform the caller that they are not listed as the representative and that F/EA can only communicate with representatives and consumers
20. Inform the caller to contact the representative or participant
21. If necessary, provide the caller with the name of the representative listed
22. Do not provide additional information to the caller who is neither the representative nor representative>>
23. <<Staff Title>> proceeds with call.
24. Information is provided as applicable
25. If additional research is required, <<Staff Title>> provides caller with an estimated time when <<Staff Title>> will contact caller with research
26. For specific types of calls, see “Respond to Consumer Inquiries” Policy and Procedure document
27. Document caller issue, caller name, and resolution in Customer Service System per Policy and Procedure X.X
2. Collect all applicable information and place call
3. If phone is answered, state: “This is <<name>> from F/EA. Is <<participant or representative>> available?”
4. If participant or representative is available, discuss issue
5. If participant or representative is not available, ask to leave a message with the person who answered the phone
6. If a voicemail system is reached, state:
7. Record the communication in Customer Service System
The internal controls used by F/EA to monitor this process establish responsibility, segregate duties, document procedures and ensure independent internal verification.
On a daily basis, F/EA Payroll Department identifies discrepancies or errors on timesheets and invoices using applicable systems and manual verification. All timesheets with discrepancies or errors are printed and the problem is noted on the timesheet.
7. Two attempts to contact the participant by phone must be made within the day the discrepancy is identified by Customer Service
8. <<Staff Title>> completes a “Not Paid” template letter from the F/EA Master Copy File
9. All timesheets for which calls have been made or timesheets that have been mailed are placed in a timesheet discrepancy sorter in Customer Service Unit
10. Sorter is reviewed each Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday afternoon and Friday morning
11. <<Staff Title>> opens sorter
12. For each timesheet in sorter, <<Staff Title>> goes to Payroll System to see if the timesheet has been paid yet
13. If timesheet has not yet been paid, keep timesheet in sorter so that it can be verified the next time the sorter is reviewed
The internal controls used by F/EA to monitor this process establish responsibility, segregate duties, document procedures and ensure independent internal verification.
Robust and accurate Customer Service is the crux of F/EA’s services. Customer Service staff answer the F/EA toll-free phone number from <<9A.M to 5PM>> on all State business days. Mail is reviewed daily (See Policy and Procedure document). F/EA Customer Service makes every effort to respond accurately to all participant inquiries either via phone or in writing.
Incoming Calls
4. After retrieving all messages, <<Staff Title>> assigns Customer Service staff to research and respond to each call within the business day
5. <<Staff Title>> auto-filters by “Date Message Retrieved” equal to today’s date and by “Assigned To” to each staff member
6. After making each call, <<Staff Title>> records resolution in Customer Service System (See Policy and Procedure document)
The internal controls used by F/EA to monitor this process establish responsibility, segregate duties, document procedures and ensure independent internal verification.
Outgoing Calls
6. If F/EA staff member who speaks participant’s primary language is not identified <<insert process>>
7. If the participant would benefit from a TTY call, <<Staff Title>> contacts TTY Contractor
8. Resolution of call is documented in Payroll System
4. If F/EA staff member who speaks participant’s primary language is not identified <<insert process>>
5. If the participant is contacting F/EA via the TTY number provided on F/EA communications, <<Staff Title>> will hear the TTY operator say “This is TTY Operator, Opr5xxxxx with a relay call. Do you know how to use relay?”
6. Resolution of call is documented in Customer Service System
The internal controls used by F/EA to monitor this process establish responsibility, segregate duties, document procedures and ensure independent internal verification.
F/EA maintains a log of all communication with consumers and representatives in the Customer Service system. Each call is denoted with a code denoting the nature of the call. Each <<Staff Title>> receives training on the use of phone call log codes. A phone call log codes chart, with code and description, is posted at each <<Staff Title>>’s work area.
4. All other communication with consumers or representatives is recorded
5. Upon making an outbound call or receiving an inbound call, log in to Customer Service System
6. Enter username and password
7. Select a participant by number or name
8. Go to Customer Service Tab and start logging the call.
9. Enter one of the following codes in the “Caller” field for the applicable description covered by the communication being recorded:
Code
|
Description
|
10. In the “Notes” field, first enter a sub-category code:
11. Enter “OG” for an outgoing call
12. Enter “IC” for an inbound call
13. Enter “VM” for a voice message
14. Enter “WI” for a walk-in communication
15. After entering the sub-category code in the “Notes” field, enter as much of the following information as possible:
16. Enter at least the first name of the person with whom communication occurred
17. Enter the nature of the issue
18. Enter the resolution to the issue as applicable
19. Save the note
The internal controls used by F/EA to monitor this process establish responsibility, segregate duties, document procedures and ensure independent internal verification.
F/EA staff never provides tax advice to participants, representatives, workers or other stakeholders. All staff are trained, within 15 days of hire, to not ever provide tax advice to any stakeholders with whom F/EA staff communicate.
3. Advise the caller to contact their tax professional or seek information from one of the following resources:
The internal controls used by F/EA to monitor this process establish responsibility, segregate duties, document procedures and ensure independent internal verification.
If at any time, F/EA changes a policy that will impact a participant, representative, workers or vendor, consumers/representatives must be informed in writing as soon as the F/EA receives notification of a change in policy or at least 30 days in advance of the implementation date. Consumers need not be informed about policy changes that do not impact their interaction with F/EA, Counselors or their workers and vendors. Written communication regarding a policy change is created and submitted to consumers or representatives by the <<Staff Title>>. All written communication must describe the policy change and it must include an effective date and instructions for complying with the policy.
The internal controls used by F/EA to monitor this process establish responsibility, segregate duties, document procedures and ensure independent internal verification.
Mail is delivered to F/EA at <<address>> each day that federal mail is delivered. F/EA receptionist sorts mail. <<Staff Title>> is notified when mail has been sorted and is ready for Customer Service to pick up. <<Staff Title>> assigns staff to pick up F/EA mail from receptionist.
The internal controls used by F/EA to monitor this process establish responsibility, segregate duties, document procedures and ensure independent internal verification.