Introduction

The South African Local Government Association (SALGA) plays a crucial role within the South African system of government. As a representative body, SALGA is dedicated to protecting the rights of the local government sector, ensuring that municipalities can effectively serve their communities. Additionally, SALGA works proactively to address and reform existing systems and processes that hinder local governments from fulfilling their mandates, thereby enabling more efficient and effective service delivery.

Prior to implementing the WhatsApp API chatbot, staff members faced several communication challenges. They were using fragmented communication channels, which led to missed messages and delayed responses. Important announcements were often lost in crowded inboxes, and the lack of real-time interaction hindered timely decision-making. Accessing essential resources quickly was a struggle, causing inefficiencies. Inconsistent messaging created confusion and misalignment, while security and privacy concerns arose from using public platforms for internal communications. Tracking past communications was difficult, overloaded channels made prioritisation hard, and there was a need for automated responses to common queries. These issues hampered effective collaboration and increased the workload on support staff, ultimately affecting overall productivity.

The brief

We were commissioned to develop an internal staff communication chatbot for SALGA. Utilising Infobip and Agile methodology we created the SALGA CHATBOT. Our approach consisted of four key phases: Architecture, Development, Testing, and Deployment.

The Results:

After the chatbot was created, we trained staff members to ensure they could effectively use the new solution, and there is now a notable excitement to adopt this innovative communication tool.