1. Business Memo
MEMORANDUM
TO: VA Phone Support Staff
FROM: Erica Jones
DATE: July 1, 2019
SUBJECT: Upcoming VA Website Changes
CC: Management Team
Good Day,
At the Department of Veteran’s Affairs, we have an obligation to serve those that have chosen to
serve this country. An opportunity to improve the quality of the services provided has been
identified. There have been complaints from Veterans regarding the difficulty and time
associated with reaching a live person in the VA that can answer questions and provide
assistance. To provide better a better experience for the veterans, a series of changes will take
place over the next few weeks. Those changes will improve communication between VA staff
and veterans and simplify the process of making appointments.
In addition to making the process easier for veterans, the upcoming changes will reduce the
workload on VA staff members as well. The updated VA website will route veterans to phone
support after they enter some key identifying information. After our upcoming changes are
complete, the information entered by the veterans will be provided directly to staff members,
eliminating the need to ask for and enter the information manually.
It will take some time to make the necessary changes to the VA website and to the backend
system used by the staff that receives incoming calls. To prepare the Veterans for the changes, a
banner ad will be added to the website later today. That banner will let them know that their
complaints have been heard and a new and improved system is on the way soon. During the next
week, our engineers will be preparing the website and necessary backend systems to capture
veteran data when they choose the option to speak with a VA staff member. We will use this
time to provide training to staff members on the system changes. Each staff member will receive
a simple 2-hour training session during his or her work shift one day next week. A follow-up
email with date and time of each meeting will be sent out to each staff member in advance.
Management will handle any scheduling conflicts and makeup classes. Next Monday, the new
system will go live and both staff members and veterans will enjoy a better appointment system.
Sincerely,
Erica Jones, VA Training Specialist
