Recommendation 23

The Department did not systematically collect data on Edenred’s processing times, or how long it took people to access Edenred’s website to order eCodes or convert them into vouchers.40 It also did not monitor performance against the service-level indicator in Edenred’s framework contract that it should answer 90% of telephone calls within 30 seconds. Calls to Edenred’s helpline peaked during the early weeks of the scheme in April 2020.41 The Department told us that it discussed performance in its meetings with Edenred, but that it did not ask Edenred for regular reports on how quickly it answered calls.42 Edenred and the Department started collecting data on the number of calls answered from 11 May 2020 when Edenred brought in the outsourced contact centre.43