2025000009 - ITN KABA 2025-0009: UI Telephony & VA System Update

CDLE is a 1300-person state agency serving Colorado through resources for workers and employers, as well as public safety and regulatory functions. CDLE provides Colorado employers with recruitment, workforce training, labor law education, layoff transition assistance, and labor market information. CDLE also assists Colorado workers through job training and job search, unemployment benefits during periods of job loss, workers’ compensation benefits when they are injured on the job, and in recovering unpaid wages.
 
UI provides unemployment insurance services in a fair, timely, accurate, and efficient manner to the employers and citizens of Colorado to stabilize the workforce and to minimize the impact of unemployment on the state’s economy. The UI program provides temporary partial wage replacements to workers who have become unemployed through no fault of their own and is funded by employer-paid premiums 

The UI call centers have a long history of challenges in staffing due to unique knowledge and fluctuating volume of work depending on season and external economic influences. This is further complicated by the complexity and pseudo-legal information required to answer questions and complaints from people seeking information about their tax liabilities or who are admittedly unhappy after losing their jobs. On the employer premiums side, the employers who need information have limited hours to get responses to any challenges. They have to ensure they can manage the complexities, have their accounts up-to-date, and can determine impacts due to separations.   

CURRENT STATUS OF PROGRAM
The current phone and virtual agent systems are separate, and neither supports the whole picture of what information is required to adequately assist the claimants or employers and their third-party administrators in the self-service environment. Training new staff takes a minimum of six weeks to answer basic questions.

UI is looking to move towards a more holistic product enhanced by agile artificial intelligence capabilities (learning models, training, and call trends/insights), which can provide more adaptive and relevant reporting and resource management to UI leadership. The product should include a virtual agent that interfaces with the MyUI+ system for enhanced self-service opportunities. We will also need to be provided with training for ongoing in-house support needs. In short, CDLE seeks a solution with integrated functionality, allowing the entire system to supply both the features to get users answers to their questions 24/7 and provide improved data and information for managing current and future decision-making. Having information from the system will enhance the ability of the UI managers to make critical decisions more confidently and timely than they can achieve today.