Department of Transport staff visit Rockingham retirement facility to help seniors get tech-savvy

Department of Transport staff stepped out from behind their desks and headed to a Rockingham retirement facility in an “out-of-the-box” strategy to help residents become tech-savvy. Customer service staff met with RAAFA Challenger Court residents as part of the department’s pilot program to help seniors navigate and use its website. Residents were aided in opening online accounts to complete transactions and enable direct debits for vehicle registrations. Department service delivery director Julie Briggs said the program was one of several initiatives designed to reduce the need for people to go to metropolitan driver and vehicle service centres. “Foot traffic and wait times in our centres are increasing,” she said. “At the same time our online services are underutilised and my team considered ‘out-of-the-box’ solutions to enable and encourage more people to use our online services. “We found some reluctance among our older customers in making use of our online services but we believe that can be addressed by focusing on specific customer groups, at their place of residence, demonstrating the benefits and ease of online service options. “In many cases it’s simply helping people set up a DoT online account and getting them comfortable with navigating the website.” Ms Briggs said the initiative had also proven to be a rewarding experience for customer service staff. “Feedback from the staff who visit lifestyle villages has been overwhelmingly positive,” Ms Briggs said. “Their engagement and efforts have been very well received. “Residents of the lifestyle villages we visit genuinely appreciate the one-on-one time we provide in helping them understand DoTDirect in a more relaxed and familiar environment.”