Remote Customer Service

1. Conduct an inventory of what services you currently provide only in-person vs. those that can be provided remotely.

If you need a starting point, here is a remote customer service checklist a list of services that you could provide remotely, or in person.

2. Choose one or more areas or programs you want to begin piloting. Here are some ideas for starting points:

• Allow people who have lost pets and finders to text or send via email their lost and found reports, so reports can be immediately made public. See Pima Animal Care Centers’ Lost and Found Pets page for an example. 
• Provide remote adoption counseling. ASPCApro Virtual Adoptions Resources can help you get started. 
• Implement live chat services for the public contacting you with questions.
• Begin practicing telehealth for foster appointments. See this virtual triage example from Austin Pets Alive!.
• Change paper forms to online forms for intake procedures, so people can complete intake paperwork prior to coming to the shelter. Dallas Animal Services Intake Forms are available online in English and Spanish. 
• If your city requires dog licensing, move to online dog licensing instead of in-person licensing. See the LA Animal Services Online Licensing information.
• Start an intake-to-placement program, remotely matching waiting fosters and adopters with animals before or at the time they enter the shelter. See the HASS Element: Intake-to-Placement.
  
  

3. Choose your technology solution from the variety of available options in the Human Animal Support Services Technology Catalog.

This is a partial list so please contact us if you have something that should be added to our technology library! Some technology platforms are very inexpensive at just a few hundred dollars per year, while others are more costly so you’ll want to consider how you will pay for technology you need. Eventually, using remote technologies will result in a decrease in staff time, so you should realize either cost savings or a neutral budget impact.

4. Make a plan for who, what, when, where and how you will offer this new service.

While most remote customer service options will save time in the long run, they may require extra staff and/or volunteer hours while you are getting started. Animal shelters are already complicated operations and a change from in-person to remote customer service can impact multiple areas of the shelter.

5. Pilot services on a small scale to identify challenges.

6. Communicate with all internal stakeholders so there is widespread awareness of the change in service provision and people have a place to voice questions or concerns and get a response.

Communicate proactively and positively, letting people know you are working to streamline and improve your services to the people and animals who need your help.

7. Track your data to determine the results of implementing remote services.

Most technologies will allow you to see time spent per interaction (so you can potentially show a reduction in time per service) and the outcomes of the interactions.