Modernizing Contact Centers for Veterans at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Contact centers play a critical role as a primary gateway for Veterans and their families seeking information and support from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Each year, these centers handle over 140 million inquiries covering a vast array of topics including compensation, pension, education, health care, provider benefits, life insurance, and interment options.

Recognizing the need to improve the Veteran experience, VA embarked on a journey to significantly improve, modernize, and transform its contact centers, aiming to deliver an unparalleled experience to our Veterans. To achieve this ambitious goal, VA partnered with Baldr member Atlas Research, selected for their expertise in strategic transformations.

Our collaborative effort resulted in the development of a comprehensive three-part strategic roadmap, focusing on enhancing every facet of our contact center operations. Key steps included assessing operational capabilities and identifying best practices and opportunities to enhance call center operations, digital infrastructure, and human capital management practices. Recognizing that transformation is as much about people as it is about technology, we crafted an organizational change management strategy. This strategy was tailored to guide and support VA through this period of significant change, ensuring a smooth transition to its envisioned future state.