Providing support over chat & text is pretty different from providing support over phone calls.
Running a text and chat helpline is pretty different from running a phone helpline. One big difference is that you often can’t tell if the person you’re talking to is still there, or if they’ve closed that tab on their browser. This is a guest post from a former crisis coordinator at a non-profit agency serving survivors of sexual violence. Any views or opinions reflected are the views of the author alone. The author was compensated for writing this article.
Support text and chat can expand access to your hotline
At my former agency, we were the first local center in our state to pilot a text and chat helpline. We found we were able to serve more survivors, and I loved working with text and chat!
Support text and chat interactions require different communications from calls
Many find text and chat easy to use, but it can be tricky for advocates to tell if a client is done, has left, or has internet issues.
Delivery receipts can help advocates identify internet issues
By using reliable delivery receipts, we can tell if a survivor isn’t responding due to an internet problem, allowing us to follow our policy and end the call appropriately.
Read receipts help keep the hotline available
Many people leave non-crisis chats or come back later. But, hotline services often focus on crisis calls. If a client returns, they might chat with a new advocate. Read receipts help us know if a client left the chat or is still there but quiet—possibly reading but not typing for safety reasons.
Another note on delivery and read receipts
I’ve experienced issues with a vendor’s “connectivity status” notifications. They were often inaccurate, showing clients as offline when they were actually messaging and vice versa. It’s crucial to choose a vendor with a reliable system for tracking connectivity and providing accurate delivery and read receipts.
To talk more about adding support chat or support text to your hotline or helpline you can reach out to us at sales@helplinesoftware.com or schedule a meeting. CONTACT OUR TEAM
