Dementia charity's technology-enabled support centre wins prestigious title for its supportive approach to vulnerable individuals and carers

Digital transformation and customer experience specialists, FourNet, and leading UK dementia charity, Alzheimer's Society, have won at the prestigious European Contact Centre and Customer Service Awards (ECCCSA) 2024.

The two partner organisations took the Gold Award in the highly competitive category for Best Approach to Supporting Vulnerable Customers (In-house).

The ECCCSAs are the biggest and longest running awards in the sector and are considered to be the equivalent of the 'Oscars' for the European customer contact industry, recognising organisations from more than 30 countries that are leading the way in delivering exceptional service to customers.

The awards are highly regarded for their robust judging process and put a spotlight on organisations that continually innovate to improve their customer experience, value their people and operate efficiently and effectively.

FourNet and Alzheimer's Society were nominated for the support being offered to those living with dementia and their carers - thanks to a new cloud-based care and support centre which is harnessing technology to transform fundraising and support services and enhance the charity's inclusive approach.

Built in collaboration with FourNet's cloud contact centre partners, NICE, the contact centre solution has been tailor-made to ensure best-in-class support for people living with dementia, with key input to the design from people with lived experience through Dementia Voice, Alzheimer's Society specialists and their Dementia Friends programme.

The bespoke solution supports Alzheimer's Society's core fundraising and dementia support services across its operations including sites in Birmingham, Norfolk and Warrington as well as its offices in Northern Ireland and Wales.

Collecting the award at a lavish ceremony in London, Amanda Henderson, Solution Architect at FourNet, said: "FourNet designed and delivered a bespoke solution which is considered to be the first dementia-friendly contact centre in the UK.

"We want Alzheimer's Society to be able to deliver the best possible support for people living with dementia now and in the future and we are absolutely thrilled to have been singled out by the judges for this prestigious accolade at the European Contact Centre and Customer Service Awards 2024."

FourNet designed a new cloud-based support centre and telephony system to support the charity's fundraising and dementia support services, replacing an outdated contact centre setup with a versatile omni-channel contact centre system for frontline teams, and migrating 900 staff onto a new softphone application.

Jennie Mummery, Senior Supporter Engagement Manager at Alzheimer's Society, said: "We are delighted to have picked up the equivalent of an Oscar after all the hard work and dedication of our team and FourNet's to help improve our support services using technology.

"Dementia is the UK's biggest killer. One in three people born in the UK today will develop dementia in their lifetime so it is vital that we ensure that Alzheimer's Society's services and support are fit for the future. Alzheimer's Society offers help and hope to people living with dementia, by providing vital support, campaigning for governments to prioritise dementia, and investing in groundbreaking research.

Sian Arthur, Dementia Support Line Manager at Alzheimer's Society, said: "We hope that our win highlights to other organisations how our unique dementia support service is harnessing technology, expert advice and input from people living with dementia, along with helping to transform our support services and fundraising. We hope other organisations can learn from our experience."

Typical contact centre solutions would not have suited Alzheimer's Society or those it supports.

Instead, FourNet's solution enhances the charity's inclusive approach thanks to the detail considered in designing the system. For instance, people contacting the Society through the contact centre do not have to choose multiple options on their keypad; soothing on-hold music has been tested to minimise upset to a person living with dementia, sentiment analysis identifies vulnerable callers.

New technology has also been implemented which identifies important emails and contacts for the Society's fundraising teams and will help the charity to maximise support through donations.

Richard Pennington, FourNet CEO, added: "We are extremely proud of the strong bonds and collaborative partnership we have forged with Alzheimer's Society through this project. At least 30 members of our team have also attended Dementia Friends' information sessions so that we can ensure FourNet has a more dementia friendly workforce. We hope that the solution we have designed and delivered will help many other organisations who deal with vulnerable members of society and their carers."

FourNet works with a range of organisations - from charities and local authorities to the housing sector and financial service companies - using technology to support some of the most vulnerable members of society.