Agape Connecting People is a social enterprise and contact center aimed at providing jobs for vulnerable groups such as prison inmates, ex-offenders, and persons with disabilities. Since its inception in 2013, Agape has grown from 15 agents to more than 250 across various locations in Singapore and the Philippines. 

At the time, Agape’s mission was to deploy a contact center in the Singapore Prisons facilities, so as to provide training for inmates and boost their employability. Thus, founder Anil David was on the hunt for a feasible solution that could pass strict IT security guidelines and the prisons’ numerous vetting processes.

The path was not easy, as Anil tried and tested many different solutions including Salesforce and Zendesk. He said, “We tried everything out there. On the surface, things would seem suitable at first, but end up with many costly add-ons. It was painful, and not viable for us.”

When Anil first came to FocalScope, he was skeptical. This was understandable, considering he had been burned several times prior. What changed his mind was a successful proof of concept by way of a free trial.

“What I liked most was that it was not transactional, rather we got support from the full FocalScope team who helped us implement the solution according to our unique hybrid model,” said Anil.

Private cloud network hosting approved by IMDA and Singapore Prisons

With the joint-goal to deploy contact centers in the prisons, FocalScope’s implementation team and IT experts worked closely with Agape to fulfill all required security protocols maintained and audited by the Singapore Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). 

Eventually, the solution and deployment passed vigorous penetration tests and with IMDA and Singapore Prisons’ stamps of approval, Agape was well on its way to transform numerous lives. 

Location agnostic deployment that can support on-site and hybrid work 

In addition to prison inmates, Agape also wanted to work with other priority groups such as single mothers, the elderly, and persons with disabilities (PWDs). For these groups, working from home was a necessity. At the same time, Agape wanted to ensure its employees in the Philippines could have access to the system. 

Hence, the FocalScope team deployed a hybrid model that could support on-site and remote work. This means that everyone working from home, the office, the prisons facilities, or overseas in the Philippines had access to the same system, channels, and capabilities.

Intuitive, easy-to-train interface

Once the system was in place, the implementation team provided train-the-trainer sessions with Agape to ensure they had a good grasp of the system. Training and onboarding only took a day, as the straightforward interface allowed for quick mastery, even for Agape’s unique elderly agents.

This proved to be invaluable when Agape won a massive contract to serve the Singapore National Care Line during the COVID-19 pandemic, which required their team to serve more than 800 psychologists across the country.

How long it took for Agape and FocalScope to achieve this? 10 days.

Full transparency and traceability to manage team performance

With more than 250 agents in various locations serving multiple customers, Agape’s supervisors rely on FocalScope’s SLA and routing features, as well as live dashboards and reporting to keep everything running smoothly. 

“With a system that works so smoothly, almost idiot-proof, we can focus on our main mission: Upskill people, improve their livelihoods, and help them assimilate back into society,” said Anil. 

Agape has come a long way since its humble beginnings, and now serves notable brands such as Starhub, Courts, Manulife and various government projects.