Editor's note: Over the years, Northwoods has expanded its footprint across Ohio, ultimately partnering with the state in 2018 to implement enterprise document management to transform human services delivery in all 88 counties. Read more about that work here.
Congratulations to Collabor8, a partnership of seven Ohio county job and family services agencies, which received two national awards from the National Association of Counties (NACo) yesterday as part of the NACo Annual Conference.
Collabor8’s virtual call center received an Achievement Award, given for innovative programs that modernize county government and increase its services to residents. The project was also named “Best of Category in Human Services.”
Collabor8 is a partnership of agencies in Delaware, Hancock, Knox, Marion, Morrow, Sandusky, and Wood Counties, and the Ohio Department of Job & Family Services.
Northwoods partnered with Collabor8 on its integrated call center and document management process allowing all seven counties to share a common toll free number that connects the seven noncontiguous counties and sets them up as a virtual single call center.
Calls coming into the toll free number are distributed via a unified call center solution on a round-robin basis among the seven counties. Through a process termed “case banking” case managers no longer have assigned caseloads, but rather work on cases as needed in real time by accessing a digital case bank. The system means clients can speak directly to a case manager every time they call.
The NACo Achievement Award program is a non-competitive program that recognizes counties for improving the management of and services provided by county government. Since the program’s inception in 1970, the NACo Achievement Award program has honored thousands of county government initiatives that have improved service delivery, achieved greater cost efficiency, provided enhanced customer service, and helped to develop a better-trained work force.
Congratulations to Collabor8, a partnership of seven Ohio county job and family services agencies, which received two national awards from the National Association of Counties (NACo) yesterday as part of the NACo Annual Conference.