Case Study: Illinois Tollway Authority (ITA)
Lighthouse Enterprises has worked with the Illinois Tollway Authority (ITA) for 13 years and counting. We originally joined forces to handle the ITA’s ongoing growth at scale while also fulfilling its mission for inclusivity. Now, as its exclusive contact center vendor, we continuously adapt to manage the agency’s changing customer service needs as efficiently as possible.
Details
Industry: Transportation | Service: Call Center – Bilingual | # of Staffed Agents: 363
Addressing Growth & Inclusivity
The Illinois Tollway Authority is an administrative agency that oversees the operations and maintenance of the state’s tollway system. In 2012, the ITA had two primary goals that Lighthouse resolved: provide flexible contact center services to accommodate its growing call volumes, and provide employment opportunities for veterans and people with disabilities. Lighthouse was able to fulfill both of these objectives.
Challenges
Scalable Solutions to Meet Growing Call Support Needs
The ITA anticipated a consistent increase in call volume and needed to identify a partner that could scale staffing accordingly and include targeted staffing. This resulted in the search for a vendor with the ability to manage customer calls effectively and keep up with growing demand.
After Lighthouse began working with the ITA, our team had to navigate many hurdles, such as how to handle sudden spikes in call volume, consistent training of staff to ongoing system changes, managing customer needs in line with process improvements, and facilitating proper staffing levels based on seasonality.
Solutions
An Adaptable Approach That Optimized Increasingly Complex Operations
With white-glove service, Lighthouse addressed the client’s needs by recruiting, training, and onboarding its workforce in alignment with the ITA’s staffing needs. We helped the agency meet its diversity goals by including people with disabilities and veterans on our team. Meanwhile, to accommodate more workers, the client repurposed space in what used to be Student Center East, part of the University of Illinois at Chicago, and converted it into a call center.
5 steps we took to meet the client’s demands:
- Began using client tools such as Twilio (customer-engagement) and SAP (business management) platforms.
- Included automated services from the start.
- Adapted to changes such as sticker tags that replaced I-PASS transponders, causing a surge in call volume.
- Incorporated new services such as password reset support.
- Removed language barriers by using bilingual call center agents.
Leveraging Bilingual Agents for Optimal Customer Service
The addition of bilingual staff improved both operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Our skills-based routing system enables customer inquiries to be automatically directed to the appropriate agent based on their language skills. With agents who spoke both English and Spanish, we eliminated the need for costly external translation services.
Success Relied on Lighthouse’s Training Process
The project’s success relied on our strong emphasis on education. For our team to become familiar with the ITA’s phone call processes, we provided our call center agents with 2.5 weeks of classroom instruction, followed by hands-on training on ITA customer management systems.
Equipped to Handle Multiple Call Categories, Including
A Cost-Saving, COVID-Era Collaboration
Our focus on problem-solving came in handy during the pandemic, when tollbooth clerks were reassigned to call center roles. From September 2020 to October 2024, Lighthouse handled overflow calls for those employees, facilitating the transition to a hybrid model. Allowing call center agents to work remotely further reduced expenses by saving on equipment and furniture.
Results
Advantages of Lighthouse’s Unique Skills and Workforce
Due to our hybrid operations and reduced equipment needs, our client has seen cost savings and increased organizational efficiency. What other advantages do we provide?
- Public Image Benefits: Illinois Tollway customers have voiced appreciation for a partnership that helps employ workers who are blind, visually impaired, disabled, and veterans.
- Greater Recognition: The partnership has been recognized by high-profile entities, including the Secretary of State.
- More Work Contracts: Working with Lighthouse Enterprises helped the ITA secure additional government and transportation-sector work.
Added Specialties: The inclusion of motorist assistance (*999) calls highlights our ability to specialize as we scale.
Looking Ahead
Lighthouse Enterprises now handles all of the ITA’s customer service operations. A recent phishing scam caused a sudden 50% spike in calls, underscoring our ability to respond rapidly to unpredictable events. Our quick-thinking staff and adaptive scheduling allowed us to reallocate resources immediately. This flexibility is made possible by our customizable staffing structure and a proactive planning process that allows us to anticipate and respond to changes effectively.
Funding Other Nonprofits
Our longstanding partnership continues to emphasize the employment of people with disabilities and veterans. Working with the Illinois Tollway Authority has allowed Lighthouse Enterprises to fund additional nonprofit programs such as childcare and low vision clinic services. We remain committed to improving workforce accessibility for blind, disabled, and visually impaired individuals.
Case Study Infographic
View the Illinois Tollway Authority (ITA) Infographic on a mission to provide scalable support and inclusive employment for Veterans.
