When demand for public services suddenly increases, the systems that have supported government services for years can fail to deliver. The COVID-19 pandemic pushed outdated government systems to their breaking points in efforts to meet demand for essential services. Unemployment insurance (UI) programs suffered at a time when people needed support the most, with legacy infrastructure – in some cases 40- to 50-year-old systems – preventing states from being able to respond to surges in claims.
Based on the challenges Kansas faced during this unprecedented public crisis, the Kansas Department of Labor (KDOL) acted to modernize its systems to handle a larger volume of claims more quickly and efficiently. In record time, Kansas built an agile, adaptable UI system capable of processing claims faster today and evolving to meet Kansans’ needs.
When Kansas Secretary of Labor Amber Shultz assumed office in 2021, the agency was struggling to process the volume of UI claims created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The UI system, built in the late 1970s, was listed as one of the state’s highest risk systems, and the system could not keep up with the increased volume. “You couldn’t even use a mouse; our customer service representatives had to have four or five screens up at a time to attend to a single claim,” Shultz said of the limitations of Kansas’s legacy technology. “So, our first call resolutions were taking 25 to 30 minutes just from navigating the system.”
To Shultz, it was abundantly clear that Kansans urgently needed – and deserved – a better system that was flexible and agile enough to support Kansans when they needed it most. Shultz and KDOL partnered with TCS – Tata Consultancy Services to reimagine the UI system from the ground up, building a modern platform that enabled new ways of working. The new platform now supports self-service options for claimants, a streamlined back-end for state workers, and greater transparency for employers.
A more user-friendly system also enabled Kansas and its technology partner, TCS, to design and implement more efficient processes. During the early phases of implementation, training and upskilling were critical to smooth deployment. “We look at training as a way to ensure that the change we’re looking to implement actually takes place,” said Robert Kane, Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer, U.S. Public Services at TCS. “We work with our clients to help them understand how the system works and how it fits into the new ways of working so that they can get the results they targeted now and keep adapting as things change down the line.”
This two-pronged approach to modernization has enabled Kansas to administer 60 percent of claims without manual intervention, getting answers to claimants more quickly while employees attend to more complex cases and higher-level work. For inquiries that require a customer service representative, call resolutions average three minutes—down from 30 minutes just two years prior. These interactions are also more secure, reducing fraud risk and rebuilding trust with Kansans.
With a modern UI system, Kansas can process claims faster and is also capable of forecasting labor trends more accurately, shaping long-term strategy with reliable economic insights. “We’re now able to be strategic about what we want to add in three months, six months, 18 months, and we know that the system will not only keep up with employer and claimant expectations, but also us as an agency and the state as a whole,” said Shultz. A platform designed for perpetual adaptability and a commitment to delivering exceptional service will help Kansas improve the experiences of Kansans for years to come.
