Unemployment Office Vastly Improves Phone System With A Simple Tweak

The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development reports a fraction of the call volume since making it easier to use the automated system. Credit: jasonEscapist/Flickr

A minor adjustment to the phone system that handles Tennessee’s unemployment claims has resulted in a dramatic drop in call volume. More people have been able to use the self-service functions instead of calling back over and over only to wait on hold.

Those who’ve lost a job often tie up the state’s 600 phone lines just seeing when they will get their first check. It’s supposed to come within three weeks, and right now it usually doesn’t. That’s because the Labor Department has been working its way out from under 29,000 overdue claims.

If all of the phone lines were tied up, agency spokesman Jeff Hentschel says callers were unable to access the automated functions.

“It seems a very simple fix but we took the option to get into the self-service, put that at the front end of the system, so those lines will always be available.”

The number of people using the automated system has jumped more than tenfold since January.

An audit released by the state comptroller in March found a laundry list of problems in the Department of Labor, including poor systems for handling the claims backlog.

Have you waited on hold regarding unemployment benefits? Tell us about it in the comments.