By Leada Gore
al.com
(TNS)
Two major administrative changes—both aimed at improving customer service and satisfaction—were announced recently by the Social Security Administration.
The changes involve realignment of Social Security’s processing centers and expansion of its call center services.
“These changes reflect ongoing efforts to optimize operations, strengthen communication, and deliver timely, policy-compliant outcomes,” the administration said in a statement.
Changes to the processing centers could have the biggest impact on the 85 million Americans who receive either traditional Social Security or Supplemental Security Income. The centers handle much of the heavy lifting for the administration, including reviewing initial claims, calculating back pay and maintaining earnings records.
The agency operates eight processing centers, including Disability Operations and International Processing. These centers are now unified under a chief-level organization and have picked up duties related to earnings, workload support units and field office support.
“This realignment merges similar workload responsibilities, streamlines decision-making, and enhances customer service across the agency,” the agency said.
The work of the Representative Call Center was also expanded. RCC now serves as a single point of contact for attorneys who are assisting beneficiaries.
In the past, attorneys and other representatives had to contact different processing centers depending on where the claim was being processed. Now, representatives have a single point of contact that is able to automatically route calls to the correct processing centers. Technicians are able to assist with a range of issues, including pending cases and attorney fee payments.
The changes are the latest improvements touted by the agency. According to a recent report, the agency has reduced its national 1-800 number response time from more than 42 minutes to about 5 minutes and cut wait times at field offices by about 30 percent.
Photo credit: Douglas Rissing/iStock
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