Case Study: Paycheck Protection Program provider (U.S. Small Business Administration) achieves rapid scale and 48-hour agent proficiency to handle peak 136,000 calls/day with Liveops

Speed to proficiency in the shadow of a global pandemic

Liveops, a virtual onshore call center, was engaged by the U.S. Small Business Administration in March 2020 to support two emergency relief programs (EIDL and PPP). The urgent, high-uncertainty request required thousands of agents within days—an initial forecast of 3,000 agents (20–30k calls/day) doubled to 6,000 on launch—and demanded rapid scalability to meet extreme, fluctuating pandemic-driven call volume.

Using its Virtual Flex model, Liveops built training in 48 hours, certified more than 6,000 agents in two days, and coordinated subcontractors to scale immediately. The program handled peaks up to 136,000 calls per day, maintained an average speed to answer of 15 seconds (80% within 20 seconds), kept escalations low, and evolved from a 30-day Tier 1 engagement into ongoing Tier 2 support and a longer-term SBA partnership.