This government services company was backlogged with rent relief cases for the State of California. They came to Omni to help in this urgent situation as the rental assistance program (RAP) was reaching its cutoff date and if those cases weren’t cleared, they would not receive the much-needed help. Omni implemented an instalaunch and rostered 650 Gig Brand Ambassadors (GBAs) within three weeks. The client anticipated it would take us about a month to go through the more than 10,000 cases, however, we completed it in three weeks.
This professional services company assists state and local governments in designing and implementing programs to build prosperous and resilient communities. Since the emergency rental assistance program began–a result of the CARES Act funding sent to states and counties from the federal government to help those adversely impacted by COVID-19–they and their partners have disbursed more than $1.2 billion in rental assistance to more than 150,000 individuals and families in five states.
With a deadline approaching, the company reached out to Omni Interactions to help them process tens of thousands of rent relief cases in California so that the applicants could receive the needed assistance. They needed Omni to start as soon as possible. The request for rental assistance came from either the tenant or landlord and both were required to provide documentation. If it was not included, the application was sent back for proper documentation, then it was reviewed and waited for payout. The process was too slow. Omni stepped in to review the cases, return the applications for more information, and then move it to the next step in the process.
Omni was the obvious selection for a partnership because of the ability to identify the right skills from their existing network of GBAs. With Omni’s ‘Rapid Response’ solution, the client was immediately able to see Omni’s full plan for sourcing, certifying, and supporting 300 GBAs into production. The ability to seamlessly start a new program while minimizing the effort required from a partner was tremendously attractive for this (and most all!) partnership need.
"We wouldn't have been able to get caught up on our backlog by the deadline without Omni's help."
Omni immediately began the instalaunch and had ramped 650 Gig Workers certified and rostered within three weeks, holding two large certification classes of Gig Brand Ambassadors (GBAs), one class of 275 and another of 375. The client provided training with our support, eventually moving them to self-paced training so that the GBAs could complete it on their own time and move more quickly. We monitored performance closely to identify any training gaps and address them with the GBAs.
Several challenges popped up: The client’s reporting was often inaccurate or delayed, GBAs were required to be on a webcam, and their processes were outdated and manual, onboarding new contractors to the system one at a time. While providing the necessary staff, we were able to automate their processes to help make it easier on the GBAs as well as simplify reporting. We identified errors in their reporting and addressed them with the client until they were resolved, and we provided several ways to keep the GBAs engaged, such as chat, pop quizzes, and a weekly Knowledge Bar.
Even though the client was not versed in the Gig model, they were very open to learning how Omni operates and working with us as a partner to find ways that were best suited to help them. The original goal was to work through the backlog in a month. Omni completed it in three weeks. Because Omni moved so fast, the client decided to pivot and move us to help with four other case types. This called for the re-certification of hundreds of GBAs at the last minute, and a lot of management to make sure they were able to move on.
For this project, Omni averaged 23 hours per week, managed 2.08 cases per hour, and resolved 127,149 cases. The client thanked Omni for exceeding their expectations, especially when it came to the speed of our work, and they are now a long-term partner.
Total Cost Savings
Remote Brand Ambassador Community
Gig Workers Ramped in 3 Weeks
If you're ready to reduce your costs, build capacity, and delight your customers, get in touch with Omni today!