Make-a-Wish UK Boosts Employee and Doner Experiences with AI-Driven Microsoft Teams Tools

This week, leading UK children’s charity Make-A-Wish UK chose to enhance its phone communications and support systems by integrating Microsoft Teams 365 Call Analytics and Call Recording for Microsoft Teams. 

The move aims to target supporter and family engagement by streamlining internal communication processes, building on Make-A-Wish UK’s pre-existing integration of Microsoft 365 Collaboration Analytics. 

Oli Wilson, Technology and Workplace Manager at Make-A-Wish UK, explained that integrating 365 Call Analytics and Call Recording is a “major game changer” in how the charity understands its “external Teams’ Phone communications.” 

Moreover, Wilson added: 

We can now track and return missed calls which we had been unaware of, understand peak call times, and ensure that every supporter or family member reaches the right person in a timely manner. This level of control and visibility was simply not possible with our previous on-premise system. 

Make-A-Wish UK also looks to continually improve its communications by working with Microsoft Team’s vital analytics and insights, which can improve business communications over time.  

The Teams analytics achieve continuous improvement of calls through 365 tools, including those that track call volumes, durations, and outcomes. This assists with supporter engagement and, therefore, donations and relations.  

Wilson explained:  

We can identify trends in supporter interactions and understand what’s working and what needs improvement. We were particularly surprised to see our ‘thank you’ calls to supporters were lasting 10 to 15 minutes, showing that supporters were keen to share their stories and connect with us on a personal level. 

Make-A-Wish UK’s Experience and Fundraising teams will leverage the new Teams integrations to record all external calls on Teams Phone, which link directly to a Salesforce contact. This means that “if there is a query, we can go to the contact’s record, see the call, and who took it,” remarked Wilson. 

Make-a-Wish UK to Leverage AI

In addition to the deep analytics that Make-A-Wish UK is integrating, the charity is also implementing Analytics 365’s AI-powered capabilities to transcribe calls and pull-out sentiments. 

The Teams AI integration enables Make-A-Wish UK to “understand trends and repeated queries across every interaction – whether with a supporter or a wish family – and ensure that every call is handled with care and precision,” Wilson explained.  

The AI-driven analytics also enable Make-A-Wish UK to improve its employees’ experiences, not just supporter experience. 

The AI integration aims to support employee well-being while also optimising team efficiency and communication. The data helps Make-A-Wish UK to “identify potential overwork, and we can also take proactive steps to improve team engagement and performance,” Oli explained. 

Tollring’s latest Analytics 365 Call Analytics and Recording services also support the Teams AI integration. The move sees Make-A-Wish UK become the first user of the Tollring offering, with Wilson noting that the SaaS integration “ensures that we are fully utilising such a cutting-edge tool.” 

According to the Charity, Tollring’s Analytics 365 service helps to scale its communication efforts, “engage more effectively with supporters, and continuously improve how we operate,” said Wilson. 

In closing, Wilson added: 

This technology is not just about understanding our communications; it’s about capturing the heart of our mission and making sure that every conversation matters. Over the past year, we have been able to grant 1,276 life-changing wishes for critically ill children. By centralising our communications on Microsoft Teams, we now have an entirely cloud-based system, allowing our 86 full-time employees and numerous volunteers to work seamlessly from anywhere.