Czech Republic helps 100,000 people a month with portal and agent built on Azure

The Czech Republic Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs had 374,000 Ukrainian refugees needing help. It knew paper applications and long lines would no longer work when it had to give 100,000 applicants a one-time payout.

The Ministry modernized its offerings, including building an agent with Azure OpenAI in Foundry Models, to help constituents self-serve. It also created an Azure-based analytics platform to enable data-driven decisions and an application portal.

The Ministry now serves about 100,000 clients monthly through digital channels, saving time and reducing costs. Call center volume has decreased by 60%, and service quality has improved, with 90% of payments completed within 30 days.

Czech Republic Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs

Redefining social care through technology

After the parliamentary elections in 2021, the new Czech Republic Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Marian Jurečka, sought to digitally transform the Ministry. His goal was to improve both the accessibility of public services and the Ministry’s ability to make data-driven decisions. To lead this effort, he appointed Karel Trpkoš as Deputy Minister of IT & Transformation, an experienced digital transformation leader in banking and utilities. Trpkoš was entrusted with assembling a team focused on revolutionizing service delivery through technology.

When 374,000 Ukrainian refugees arrived in 2022, the Ministry was already strained by an energy crisis that increased the number of public requests. It struggled with long lines, unreachable call centers, and inefficient paper-based processes. With traditional systems no longer able to keep pace with rising public needs, Trpkoš realized that a shift toward innovative solutions was paramount.

“Trying to run the Ministry without Azure Data Lake Storage and Azure Databricks would be like sailing a ship without a map. What we are learning from our data is absolutely essential to improving our operations by replicating the best practices of our most efficient branches.”

Pavel Vybiral, IT Architect, Czech Republic Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs

A new digital era

The Ministry, with the help of Microsoft, created three solutions to enhance public service delivery. These included Eva, a digital AI assistant; the Jenda portal, a highly secure platform for citizens to request social benefits and more; and a robust data analytics platform to optimize resource allocation among branches.

The Eva assistant helps answer frequently asked questions and guides users through requests. Built with Microsoft Azure OpenAI in Foundry Models and supported by partner technology, it helps reduce the call center load by quickly providing answers to requesters. The AI assistant also boosts the productivity of employees, who can now focus on helping people with more complex requests.

The Ministry also created the Jenda portal when the government began a benefits program that provided a cash allowance for people with children. The portal uses Azure AI Document Intelligence to automatically extract data from paper forms that Ministry staff used to manually fill out. This automation is accelerating the time in which social benefits are dispersed. The Jenda portal also helps users track the status of benefits payments and offers enrollment in upskilling courses. The site is safeguarded by Microsoft Defender for Cloud, helping ensure robust protection against potential threats.

Meanwhile, to enable more data-driven decisions on the efficiency of its branches, the Ministry created a data analytics platform using Azure Data Lake Storage and Azure Databricks. The Ministry is benchmarking branch performance and identifying inefficiencies through its access to real-time data.

“Trying to run the Ministry without Azure Data Lake Storage and Azure Databricks would be like sailing a ship without a map. What we are learning from our data is absolutely essential to improving our operations by replicating the best practices of our most efficient branches,” says Pavel Vybiral, IT Architect, Czech Republic Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. Sensitive citizen databases are stored on-premises through Azure Local, in compliance with Czech law.

“We have arrived at a place where, for a reasonable cost, we can give each client our time, consultation, and care. With the large number of people we serve, we could not provide this without Microsoft.”

Karel Trpkoš, Deputy Minister, IT & Transformation, Czech Republic Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs

The results: empowerment, efficiency, and equity

In just a few years, the impact has been striking. With the Eva assistant answering as many as 55% of inquiries, requesters receive faster and more efficient support. Thanks to a 60% decrease in call volume, the Ministry staff can now prioritize in-depth assistance for complex cases.

The Ministry supports more than 100,000 clients online each month, with 40% opting to use the Jenda portal. Such usage streamlines service delivery and lowers operational costs.

“Because some of the routine tasks are automated with our digital tools, our employees can now focus on providing higher-quality counseling, versus spending 80% of their time on manual data entry,” Trpkoš says.

Efficiency has improved, too. In 2021, only 60% of social benefits were paid on time; now, that figure exceeds 90%, according to Daniel Kristof, Director of the Labor Office at the Czech Republic Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. “We have arrived at a place where, for a reasonable cost, we can give each client our time, consultation, and care. With the large number of people we serve, we could not provide this without Microsoft,” concludes Trpkoš.

Discover more about Czech Republic Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs on Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, and YouTube.