This March, we celebrate 25 years of RCN Direct. The member support service has come a long way since taking its first call in 1998. We’ve moved location, introduced new technology and seen many staff come and go – often to new roles within the RCN.
Of the 29 original staff, six remain and although the service has changed, one thing has stayed the same we continue to provide the best possible service to you, our members.
The service is more in demand than ever before. Since 2014, when our reporting began, we’ve responded to almost 250,000 member enquiries. The number of people accessing the Get Help section of our website has increased from 12,466 per month in July 2014 to 199,475 in January 2023. We help RCN members with queries about pay, sick leave, industrial action, bullying and much more.
We adapt to ensure we respond to the issues affecting our members the most
Technology has played an important role in our ability to meet members’ needs too. By expanding the advice we offer online and introducing our virtual assistant, members can often find everything they need online. Anyone who still needs to contact us has more options than ever before.
Leading the birthday celebrations, Terina Scheeres, Head of the Customer Service Centre, said: “Every day, I’m proud of what our talented team delivers. The achievements over the last 25 years show that we never rest on our laurels and continually strive to improve.
“Whether that’s introducing new technology or new services, we know we can adapt to ensure we respond to the issues affecting our members the most.”
RCN Direct: highlights from 25 years of support
- 1998: Welcome to RCN Direct. Open 24/7 for 365 days a year, until the closure of the night service in 2006, our staff used internal briefing sheets to give advice.
- 2002: We enter the digital age. Online advice and web enquiries allowed members to find the information they needed on our website or contact us electronically. This started our journey towards making our information more accessible, while still providing support for members who need extra help.
- 2007: It’s OK not to be OK. This year we launched our counselling referral line helping members get easy access to this vital service.
- 2010: First contact goes live. RCN Direct became the main point of contact for members who needed advice, wherever they’re based in the UK.
- 2017: We expand our contact channels. From this point, members could chat with us online or ask a question on social media allowing them to get advice in a way that suits them.
- 2020: COVID-19 arrives. With the support of our amazing colleagues in IT, we moved to working from home overnight. Contact volumes more than doubled but with the invaluable help of volunteer responders, we continued to provide a quality service at the time our members needed it the most.
- 2022: Hello, virtual assistant. With more members than ever using our online advice, our virtual assistant is always available to help them find what they need, when they need it.
Looking back, we can be proud of what we’ve achieved and how many of you we’ve helped. Here’s to the next 25 years.
