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LivePerson > Case Studies > Lifeline Australia: Providing Help and Resources to People in Crisis
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Lifeline Australia: Providing Help and Resources to People in Crisis

Technology Category
  • Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Connectivity Platforms
Applicable Industries
  • Healthcare & Hospitals
Applicable Functions
  • Human Resources
Use Cases
  • Remote Collaboration
  • Chatbots
Services
  • System Integration
  • Software Design & Engineering Services
The Challenge
Lifeline Australia, a crisis counseling and referral service, wanted to add a live chat channel to its phone counseling services to reach a younger demographic that is less comfortable with calling in by phone. The organization initially tried a rudimentary live chat solution and an internally-developed application, but found these solutions lacking in several ways. The offshore service had slow connectivity and full-time support was difficult to obtain. The in-house system was not built with the right technology skills and had mistakes in the underlying architecture of the platform.
About The Customer
Lifeline Australia is a crisis counseling and referral service that was founded in 1963 by Methodist minister Rev. Dr. Sir Alan Walker. The organization provides services to Australians in distress, available by phone, live chat, and in person at 60 locations across the country. Lifeline has 1,000 staff and 11,000 volunteers who operate from more than 60 locations across the country. The organization wanted to add a live chat channel to its phone counseling services to reach a younger demographic that is less comfortable with calling in by phone.
The Solution
After conducting a formal market survey in 2012, Lifeline Australia decided to use LivePerson's LiveEngage platform with Click-to-Chat. The platform was recommended by Telstra, which provides part of Lifeline's telephone infrastructure. Lifeline's crisis chat service was switched to the LiveEngage platform in October 2012. The LivePerson Customer Success team worked with Lifeline to ensure a smooth deployment and maintains a cadence of touch points to make sure the organization gets the most out of the solution. Lifeline started with five concurrent agents of the LiveEngage platform, but now runs 18 concurrent agents in the Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth locations, covering all of Australia’s time zones. The live chat channel is now available during the especially dangerous overnight hours, from 8:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m.
Operational Impact
  • Exit surveys sent through the LiveEngage platform clearly indicate that Lifeline’s crisis chat service reaches people who would not call the organization on the phone.
  • While live chat is a comfortable channel for starting a conversation, counselors strongly encourage visitors to speak with a counselor by phone when conversations become more serious.
  • Due to the anonymity of live chat, it is impossible to quantify exactly how many live chat participants subsequently contact Lifeline by phone, but the evidence suggests that this is a common scenario.
Quantitative Benefit
  • 40% increase in live chat conversations from 2012 to 2013 (from 16,000 to 27,000)
  • 42% of live chat conversations discussing topic of suicide
  • 95% of exit survey respondents feel better after chatting with a counselor

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