How to Deal with a High Volume of Incoming Communications

by CMF on February 03, 2017

As the volume of incoming constituent communications rises exponentially across Capitol Hill, the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) has pulled together information that might help your office deal with the deluge.

Please read on for our advice – whether for phone, email, social media, or your website.

Phone:

  • Properly train your interns and staff assistants on how to answer the phone. This seems obvious but you'd be surprised at how many offices only show their interns how to use the phone for transferring and voicemail and do not give their interns proper customer service training before having them answer calls. Teach them how to use tone and language to demonstrate that your office is listening. Role-play some example calls with them to get them comfortable and more confident in answering calls from constituents.
  • Develop short scripts or talking points for phone calls. If the Member has announced their position on what the constituent is calling about, give them an answer immediately. It's OK, even desirable, to collect their name, address, and email address for a future communication – and if you have the resources, by all means send them a message. But it's much better to give a caller an immediate answer than sending a letter in a month or two. In private sector customer service parlance this is known as "first call resolution" – meaning the customer issue is resolved during the first call. Many offices will resist this advice, saying, "I don't want junior staff as the spokesperson with constituents." But they're not a spokesperson; they're following a script and giving the constituents exactly what they want when they want it.
  • Ask whether the constituent desires a response. CMF research with congressional offices indicates that many constituents don't want a reply. Especially if you are employing the "first call resolution" method above, ask the constituent if they even want a reply from the legislator. Some will say "no," and this is an easy way to reduce the volume of responses required right at the source.
  • Rotate people who answer the phone. This is an "all-hands-on-deck" time for Congress. Citizens are engaged like never before, and a lot of them are ... well, upset and maybe even rude. That takes an emotional toll on those staff on the front lines. Everyone in the office should take a turn on the phones, even if it's for a short time period. You might even ask the Member to take a few calls. Take a photo of the legislator taking calls, then post it on social media. No better way to demonstrate (accurately!) your boss is listening to constituents.
  • If you have voicemail on your main line, update your message to indicate that people can find answers online as well. Make sure you prominently display on the top of your website any of the legislators' reaction to the news of the day. We know ... there is a LOT of news coming out of the White House, so you get to pick which topic most connects to the legislator's mission and agenda. If constituents can get an answer to their questions online instead of phoning or emailing, they may be satisfied and you'll have fewer responses to send.

Email:

  • Set expectations with auto-reply. Utilize a generic auto-response that recognizes the extraordinary volumes you are currently receiving. Make it clear that your office is receiving an unusual volume of communications.
  • Let every person writing know that you are listening. This is always important, but even more so when constituents' emotions are running high. And EMPHASIZE in the auto-response that the Member gets a tally or summary of all constituent correspondence. Public polling shows that about only 1 in 10 Americans think Congress cares what their constituents think. You and your office can help bust that myth and emphatically declare: we're listening.
  • Consider mail responses an office-wide challenge and address it accordingly. You are not in a "business as usual" situation and may need to redistribute resources to help batch and answer mail. Consider asking state staff to assist in the effort. For additional advice, see: Dealing with Backlogged Mail.
  • If the communications are part of an organized campaign, try to determine the source. This can help your staff to draft responses that address the concerns of the people who are participating in the campaign. Perhaps the group would even send out a message from your boss to their list, proactively reducing the number of people who contact you directly.

Social Media:

  • Consider recording your boss addressing your constituents' concerns. If the majority of the callers/emailers are contacting you on a single topic, you can record a video response and direct constituents to that link. This is a more "personal" way for your boss to communicate his/her views and builds far more emotional connection than a simple email response.
  • Proactively post content about how many people are contacting your office. Praise your constituents' involvement and interest in the democratic dialogue. Keep reposting updates as developments occur, but continue to direct them back to your website with a more robust and detailed response.
  • Provide outlets for your constituents' input. If a debate starts on one of your social media platforms, let it flow (assuming the constituents are conforming to appropriate and polite norms). We're often surprised at how these conversations "police themselves." If a robust thread is developing, pop in every once in a while with a comment from the boss. It demonstrates that we have a dialogue in America, not just a one-way conversation.

Website:

  • Put a clear note to all constituents on your website's landing page that you're receiving extraordinary volumes of constituent communications. Managing expectations is always important. You need to assure your constituents that you're listening and will take their views into account, while acknowledging that it might take longer to issue a response.
  • Proactively post your Member's position on the issue(s) on your website and social media. Make these prominent on your home page and ensure that your site's search tool is working. Repeat these often on social media, utilizing helpful hashtags.

Related Resources

For additional customer service training, the House Learning Center offers in-person programs (Interns 101 and Staff Assistants 101) as well as webinars (Orientation for Entry-Level District Staff Assistants, Customer Service, and Managing Casework Burnout and Stress).

Additional CMF Resources