In recent years, Hsinchu County Government has continuously improved the service quality of its 1999 Hotline service. Hotline workers are polite and empathetic, and they assist callers in connecting to service personnel who can solve their problems quickly and effectively. A special app is also available to help residents present their cases. On July 3, 2024, Hsinchu County Government was awarded the Gold Medal in the Commercial Times’ 2024 Service Survey in Taiwan. Deputy County Magistrate Chen Chien-hsien accepted the award on behalf of County Magistrate Yang Wen-ke and encouraged the Hsinchu County Government team to keep working hard to “Provide warm and caring services for the residents of Hsinchu!”
Deputy County Magistrate Chen Chien-hsien expressed great pleasure that Hsinchu County Government’s 1999 Hotline service was recognized with the Gold Medal. Hsinchu County’s 1999 service was launched in June 2016, and over the years, staff have consistently upheld the spirit of attentiveness, patience, and empathy to serve all residents of the county and resolve their problems. In the future, Hsinchu County Government will redouble its efforts to assist residents in all aspects of their lives so that everyone living in Hsinchu County can lead a happier life with a greater sense of honor!
Hsinchu County Government’s General Affairs Department explained that over the past year, the Hsinchu County 1999 Hotline has received an average of 2,700 to 2,800 calls per month. Due to the increasing population of Hsinchu County, coupled with the county government’s efforts to promote the 1999 Hotline, the public’s demand for county government consultation and policy information is also increasing. As a result, the call volume continues to rise, and at the same time, the county government is actively enhancing the quality of the hotline service.
Hsinchu County Magistrate Yang Wen-ke pointed out that the Hsinchu County 1999 Hotline receives a wide variety of requests, ranging from public issues such as reports of violations of laws and regulations, feedbacks on environmental improvements, and suggestions for public construction, to personal problems encountered by the public. When handling each and every one of these calls, hotline workers put themselves in residents’ shoes and treat the public’s problems as if they were their own, responding with “patience, attentiveness, and empathy”. Furthermore, Hsinchu County has a large Hakka population, including many Hakka-speaking elders. In addition to having Hakka voiceovers for the hotline’s greeting, the county has also deployed Hakka-speaking hotline staff to solve communication problems.
According to Director Chou Chiu-yao of Hsinchu County Government’s General Affairs Department, in terms of service quality, at least 80% of calls should be answered by dedicated staff within 20 seconds, and the wait time should never exceed 3 minutes—a backup mechanism can deploy manpower at any time to maintain service quality. The county government has also commissioned a third-party organization to conduct monthly telephone satisfaction surveys and requires hotline staff to achieve a satisfaction rate of 85% or higher. In terms of training and mentoring, Hsinchu County Government hires professional lecturers in the industry to give lessons and assessments every year, focusing on courses related to emotional management with an aim to minimize the impact of negative emotions on hotline staff, help them achieve psychological balance and adjustment, enhance their professional knowledge, and maintain their work enthusiasm.
Every day, supervisors at Hsinchu County’s 1999 Hotline educate their staff about the county government’s business, build a database, and share the latest policy information so that each staff member can stay up to date and provide the best service to the public. This can be considered the beginning of a transformation into a service-oriented government. As the volume of incoming calls continuously increases, the county government has begun to introduce smart customer service, and this year it will introduce AI related information technology to increase the overall efficiency, accuracy, and attentiveness of the 1999 Hotline service.