Food For The Poor, Inc.

“I saw the demo and was convinced that Call SWEET! was what we were looking for.”

Established in 1982, Food For The Poor is currently the second-largest international charity in the United States. The organization raises funds and provides direct relief assistance to the poor of Latin America and the Caribbean, usually by purchasing specifically requested materials and distributing them through the churches and charitable organizations already operating in areas of need. Since inception, Food For The Poor has distributed more than $4.8 billion worth of aid and built over 46,000 homes. For more information, please visit www.foodforthepoor.org.

Food For The Poor’s Situation

Less than a year ago, Food For The Poor found themselves in need of a new call accounting solution to replace their outdated system. With over 200 employees throughout the organization and 42 callers in their call center, comprehensive reporting on phone usage was essential. Eddie Mustafa, Technical Services Manager at Food For The Poor, explained that various departmental and individual user reports were necessary, as was the ability to monitor telephone usage. Setting accurate phone usage budgets was very important, so reports showing call costs by department were required. This is just one example of a reporting need at the organization, as the reports being requested by supervisors and managers changed day-to-day and were random, Eddie further explained. It was apparent that Food For The Poor would require a wide range of reports to satisfy their various needs. Another key reason for wanting to upgrade their call accounting system was to gain the ability to closely monitor employee productivity when it comes to phone use. With their outdated system, the organization did not have a way to make sure that the call center employees were “calling who they needed to call.” Supervisors wanted to view the call activity of all employees in order improve usage eciency.

DATEL’s Solution

When Food For The Poor decided to purchase a new call accounting solution, their rst step was to ask their reseller for any recommendations. Upon hearing that the organization was looking for a first-rate reporting solution, the reseller suggested Call SWEET!. A live demonstration of the solution was set up and as Eddie later said, “I saw the demo and was convinced that Call SWEET! was what we were looking for.” Reporting was essential for Food For The Poor and Call SWEET! included everything that they needed, from department-level to extension-level.

Results

Increased productivity – Before the implementation of Call SWEET!, Food For The Poor supervisors and managers did not have a way to closely monitor and analyze employee call activity. With the new system in place, employees are aware that all call information such as duration, number called and date/time, can be observed in a report or in the Call Data Viewer. Knowing that their call activities can be viewed at any time makes for more efficient and hard-working employees.

Improved budgeting – With Call SWEET!, accurate budgets can be prepared based on cost information revealed by reports that are generated. Food For The Poor is able to budget for phone usage by department, which is a high priority for the organization.

Improved overall telecommunications visibility – A variety of reports are created in Call SWEET! every day for supervisors and management throughout Food For The Poor. One department may be monitoring its incoming calls while another is checking on specific agents’ call activity. All of this call data and more can be viewed with Call SWEET!’s reporting features, so visibility is greatly increased for everyone at Food For The Poor that is utilizing the software.