CUSTOMER SERVICE STRATEGY
Table of contents:
1. Executive Summary
2. Introduction
2.1 Background
2.2 Purpose of this document
3. Aims
4. Objectives
5. Principles
6. What our customers want
6.1 Initial Consultation - Customer Service: A Green Paper
6.2 Building on the initial consultation
7. Overview of our strategy
7A Delivery channels
7B Use of enabling IT
7C Excellent service delivery
7D Value for money
7E Ensuring alignment
8. Action Plan
8.1 Annual review of Customer Service Strategy
9. Glossary
1 Executive Summary
1.1 Introduction
Everything that we do at Newcastle City Council is about providing services to
customers. Few organisations provide such a diverse range of services from
such a variety of locations, so it is a real challenge to ensure that we provide
excellent customer service.
Our Customer Service Strategy was developed in 2000 and provided a firm
foundation for the development of Customer Service Centres and other
initiatives. However, it is now an appropriate time to review and refresh the
Strategy. This document (together with supporting appendices) outlines our
strategic approach, progress to date and how we plan to continue the delivery of
the Strategy.
1.2 Aims
We will continue to provide community leadership in the provision of:
• Responsive services that meet peoples’ needs and demonstrate that we have
understood their demands.
• Quality services which are efficient, cost effective and delivered through a
highly trained and skilled workforce.
• Accessible services that provide people with a choice about how and when to
access services.
1.3 Objectives
The objectives of the customer service strategy describe the main ways in which
we will achieve the overall aims of the Strategy.
We will use a selection of delivery channels so that people have more choice in
how and where they access services. Please refer to section 7A. This means:
• Delivering a citywide network of Customer Service Centres providing a range of
public services as close as possible to where people live.
• Developing contact centre technology to respond to the demand to contact the
council by telephone.
• Making effective use of appropriate new delivery channels to encourage all
sectors of the community to access our services.
We will make use of relevant enabling IT technology to deliver joined up
services. Please refer to section 7B. This means:
• Using IT systems which help us to understand our customers and meet their
requirements (customer relationship management system).
• Designing and implementing systems which help us to provide better quality,
joined up and accessible services to our customers.
We will ensure that our service delivery is excellent. Please refer to section 7C.
This means:
• Understanding the nature of demand and what matters to customers.
• Consulting with our customers to ensure we understand their individual needs
and preferences in order to give them a good experience.
• Creating a culture of customer service within the organisation.
• Delivering a comprehensive customer service training and development
programme. This will include staff dealing with both external and internal
customers.
• Changing the way we deliver services and redesigning our processes to deliver
continual improvement in our performance and customer service.
We will deliver cost effective services which provide value for money. Please
refer to section 7D. This means:
• Effectively managing and prioritising our investment, assets and revenue.
• Establishing effective performance management.
• Driving out and capturing the anticipated financial benefits.
We will ensure alignment of our customer service strategy with national, local
and council initiatives. Please refer to section 7E. This means:
• Taking a strong community leadership role to join up and promote access to
services.
• Recognising and reinforcing relevant strategies, projects and initiatives.
It is equally important that we seek to achieve the right balance in terms of effort,
timing and presentation. For example, offering a wide range of methods by which
customers can access our services is of little value if our staff have not all been
trained to deliver excellent customer service and access is not presented to the
customer in a logical way.
1.4 Principles
Our Customer Service Strategy is underpinned by the following principles and
values:
• Being open, honest and communicative
• Working in a collaborative way
• Focusing on delivery
• Providing good stewardship
• Valuing diversity
• Being progressive
1.5 What our customers want
One of the main reasons we are reviewing our Customer Service Strategy is that
we now know more about how customers are using our current services and
what their views are. We have developed a programme of consultation including:
• Customer Service: A Green Paper (2001)
• Customer Service Centre research and surveys
• Community Focus Groups
• Research into customer expectations of a Contact Centre
Some of the key findings in terms of strategic development have been:
• The majority of non-users of Customer Service Centres (70%) indicated they
would use a Customer Service Centre near to where they live.
• Customers would like to access a range of public services in these centres
• Just under 80% of residents anticipate using a new Contact Centre.
1.6 Overview of our strategy
At this point in our continuing journey, our overall customer service strategy can
be summarised as follows:
“We know (from consultation) that our customers want to contact us in ways that
are convenient to them - using an increasing number of delivery channels. The
only way we can understand and efficiently address our customers’ requirements
is by continuing to use enabling IT and applying it across all delivery channels to
provide a high quality joined-up service. It is vital that we continue to translate
this into excellent service delivery by consulting with customers, creating a
customer service culture, and training and developing our staff.
At the same time, we must ensure that we prioritise and manage our
investments, assets and revenues to deliver cost effective services which provide
value for money. We can continue to maximise opportunities and realise
synergies by ensuring alignment of our customer service strategy with relevant
national, local and council strategies, projects and initiatives.”
1.7 Key messages
We need a co-ordinated and joined up approach across the council and with
partner organisations if we are to benefit from efficient resource utilisation and
deliver real benefits to our customers in the form of improved service delivery.
• This requires that we move to a model where services are built around
customer needs and not organisational structures.
• We need to work within the council and with partner organisations to establish
the most appropriate and cost effective configuration of locations and means
of service delivery.
We will need a mix of delivery channels into the medium term.
• Research shows that customers place importance on accessing local
government services in a number of different ways.
• The channel mix will change over time with increased acceptance of electronic
“self service” channels and it is important to anticipate future tactical shifts.
The major elements of the council’s user-led customer service strategy are the
Customer Service Centres and the Contact Centre.
• Co-located services in convenient locations can be expected to result in a
significant up-take of services (for example, increased footfall in a library colocated with a Primary Customer Service Centre).
• The Contact Centre will reflect on and build upon the council’s experience to
date with call centres. It will consolidate services and use enabling technology to
ensure a corporate and consistent high quality approach to handling
customer contacts.
Enabling technologies can provide us with the capability to understand
customers and deliver high quality, joined up and accessible services across
multiple delivery channels.
• It is important that customer requirements drive IT developments rather
than IT developments determining how services are delivered to customers.
We must ensure that we have the underpinning principles, people and
processes in place to enable us to follow through and provide excellent service
delivery.
• We need to understand who our customers are and what services they need
and want. We need to know how and when they want to access these services.
• If we understand our customers, we can work within the council and with
partner organisations to put together “bundles” or “clusters” of services that a
customer is likely to seek at the same time.
• A culture of excellent customer service is required throughout the
organisation.
• Staff are our most important and valuable asset. We must continually train,
develop and support staff.
We can provide community leadership in service delivery, working in
partnership to provide customers with joined up and integrated services. Our
locations (especially the Primary Customer Service Centres) and activities can
become focal points for regeneration and creation of community networks.
We need to take a comprehensive and consistent business case based
approach to our investments.
• The primary driver for investment in customer services has been to improve the
quality and accessibility of services we provide to customers. Economies of
scale and efficiencies will follow as the entire council becomes more customerfocused and directorates reconfigure themselves accordingly.
Finally, it is important to recognise throughout delivery of the Strategy that the
council has wider social responsibilities and our developments need to
embrace issues such as social inclusion and equalities.
2 Introduction
2.1 Background
Every local authority should have a living Customer Service Strategy at the
centre of the organisation. An effective Customer Service Strategy should not sit
on a shelf until its next review. Its purpose is to:
· Recognise and support political and management objectives;
· Respond to the changing needs of customers
· Set out a clear vision for the development and delivery of services to customers
· Aid decision making
· Deliver real benefits to customers, and
· Incorporate mechanisms for implementation and review.
Newcastle City Council’s Customer Service Strategy was developed in 2000 and
has provided a firm foundation for much of the work since then (particularly in
relation to the development of Customer Service Centres).
However, it is now an appropriate time to review and refresh the Strategy for a
number of reasons:
· We have made a good start on the journey and need to assess our experience
to date.
· We know more about how our customers are using our current services and this
can help to inform our future decisions.
· We have built a modern customer service infrastructure in terms of people,
buildings, technology and knowledge, and we need to ensure that we maximise
the delivery of benefits from these assets.
· There has been a change in political leadership and the Customer Service
Strategy must help to deliver political objectives.
· There have been a number of national, local and council developments with
which the customer service strategy must remain aligned.
2.2 Purpose of this document
This document reviews the high level aims and objectives of the Customer
Service Strategy. It details the overriding principles which govern how we will
develop and deliver services. This is followed by an evaluation of what we now
know our customers want.
Improving access without the ability to deliver an effective response (‘building a
motorway to a dirt-track’) is a recipe for disappointment for customers and staff.
An effective Customer Service Strategy must therefore be underpinned by a
realistic assessment of the delivery capabilities, skills and finance available.
The section entitled “Overview of Our Strategy” outlines the elements which we
must proactively manage to ensure that Newcastle City Council is successful in
delivering excellent and efficient customer service.
A significant amount of progress has already been made. The journey to date is
briefly reviewed and recommendations for the way forward are documented. The
main body of the document contains key messages with supporting information
contained in appendices. The strategy concludes with an action plan which sets
out how we will implement the strategy and achieve our vision.
2.2.1 Terminology
This document seeks to provide full definitions throughout. A glossary is also
provided in section 9.
One important point of terminology to note is that the term “customer” is used
throughout the strategy rather than “citizen” or “client”. We have deliberately not
used these words interchangeably because they have different meanings.
· “Citizen” implies a resident of the city and someone exercising their statutory
civil rights.
· “Client” refers to professional services and a person dependent on the
protection of another.
· “Customer” can be defined as a person, company or other entity which obtains
goods or services from another person, company or entity.
Our Customer Service Strategy applies to people who live, work, visit or study in
Newcastle. It applies to businesses and other agencies. It also covers our
internal customers (e.g. members of staff) in addition to our external customers.
This is why we have chosen to use the widest possible definition by using the
term “customer”.
Newcastle City Council will seek to apply the same high standards of customer
service whether someone has no choice but to use our service (e.g. payment of
council tax by citizens) or whether we are encouraging people to use optional
services provided by ourselves or a co-provider of services.
3 Aims
The high level aims of the Customer Service Strategy remain largely unchanged.
We will continue to provide community leadership in the provision of:
• Responsive services that meet peoples’ needs and demonstrate that we have
understood their demands.
• Quality services which are efficient, cost effective and delivered through a
highly trained and skilled workforce.
• Accessible services that provide people with a choice about how and when to
access services.
The ongoing achievement of these aims will make Newcastle upon Tyne one of
the most satisfying and attractive places in which to live work, study and visit.
4 Objectives
The objectives of the customer service strategy describe the main ways in which
we will achieve the overall aims of the Strategy.
We will use a selection of delivery channels so that people have more choice in
how and where they access services. Please refer to section 7A. This means:
• Delivering a citywide network of Customer Service Centres providing a range of
public services as close as possible to where people live.
• Developing contact centre technology to respond to the demand to contact the
council by telephone.
• Making effective use of appropriate new delivery channels to encourage all
sectors of the community to access our services.
We will make use of relevant enabling IT technology to deliver joined up
services. Please refer to section 7B. This means:
• Using IT systems which help us to understand our customers and meet their
requirements (customer relationship management system).
• Designing and implementing systems which help us to provide better quality,
joined up and accessible services to our customers.
We will ensure that our service delivery is excellent. Please refer to section 7C.
This means:
• Understanding the nature of demand and what matters to customers.
• Consulting with our customers to ensure we understand their individual needs
and preferences in order to give them a good experience.
• Creating a culture of customer service within the organisation.
• Delivering a comprehensive customer service training and development
programme. This will include staff dealing with both external and internal
customers.
• Changing the way we deliver services and redesigning our processes to deliver
continual improvement in our performance and customer service.
We will deliver cost effective services which provide value for money. Please
refer to section 7D. This means:
• Effectively managing and prioritising our investment, assets and revenue.
• Establishing effective performance management.
• Driving out and capturing the anticipated financial benefits.
We will ensure alignment of our customer service strategy with national, local
and council initiatives. Please refer to section 7E. This means:
• Taking a strong community leadership role to join up and promote access to
services.
• Recognising and reinforcing relevant strategies, projects and initiatives.
It is equally important that we seek to achieve the right balance in terms of effort,
timing and presentation. For example, offering a wide range of methods by which
customers can access our services is of little value if our staff have not all been
trained to deliver excellent customer service and access is not presented to the
customer in a logical way.
5 Principles
Our customer service strategy is underpinned by the following principles and
values which govern how we set about meeting our objectives.
Being open, honest and communicative
• We will be open and honest with our customers and staff. We will recognise
and reward success and will tackle problems in a constructive ‘no blame’
manner.
• We will keep our customers and staff advised of developments and initiatives
and give them opportunities to provide feedback.
Working in a collaborative way
• Service users will be involved in identifying, shaping and monitoring the
Customer Service Strategy and service delivery.
• We will maximise opportunities to work in partnership with other organisations
and agencies to deliver cost effective and joined up services.
Focusing on delivery
• Wherever possible, customers should have their needs met at the first point of
contact.
• Services will empower rather than devalue individuals and give them the
maximum possible control.
Providing good stewardship
• Services will be designed to achieve environmental, economic and social
sustainability.
• The council will comply with all relevant legislation and best practice.
• Highest standards will be followed in managing authentication, security,
privacy, confidentiality, and the use of ownership of information.
• Everything we do should contribute to building trust in the competence,
propriety and authority of Newcastle City Council.
Valuing diversity
• Services will be designed and delivered to provide equal access to all sectors
of the community. They will respect cultural and community diversity and be antidiscriminatory.
Being progressive
• Where appropriate, services will be personalised and built around an
understanding of the customer and their “life events” (e.g. moving to Newcastle).
• We will be innovative in how we continue to exploit new technology and new
ways of working to enable us to deliver improved services.
6 What our customers want
One of the main reasons we are reviewing our Customer Service Strategy is that
we now know more about how customers are using our current services and
what their views are. We have consulted widely with customers over the past four
years. Some of the important activities and findings are summarised in this
section. Please refer to Appendix 1 for more information.
6.1 Initial Consultation - Customer Service: A Green Paper
A Green Paper was published in 2001 in order to communicate and consult on
the Council’s customer service strategy. This is attached at Appendix 25. The
overall aim was to assess customer satisfaction with services currently provided
and to obtain views to inform future service development. Some of the key
findings from this research were:
• Phone is the most common method of contact with the council, and is expected
to remain so in the future.
• People wanted more Customer Service Centres provided locally in council
buildings such as libraries and leisure centres as well as shopping centres.
• It was felt that the council should provide other services at Customer Service
Centres such as banking, utilities, information on welfare benefits and health.
• Respondents also reported an increase in the use of new technologies such as
digital TV and the Internet.
6.2 Building on the initial consultation
The Green Paper provided us with the foundation to establish an ongoing
programme of consultation. It is essential to engage with non-customers to find
out what they perceive to be barriers to accessing our services. We have used a
number of methods of consulting with customers and non-customers including:
• Customer research
• Comment cards – corporate and service specific
• Elected Members’ workshops
• Road shows/open days
• Mystery customers
• Switchboard survey
• Customer Service website
• Union consultation
• Residents’ newsletters
• Area Committees
• Staff focus groups
• Community focus groups
The Communication and Consultation Framework is attached at Appendix 31.
6.2.1 Customer Service Centre research
We have an ongoing programme of surveys. The Customer Service Centres
have provided a very effective way of getting close to our customers and finding
out more about what they want and what they think of our services.
Some of the key findings from recent surveys are detailed below:
• Many non-users of the Customer Service Centre indicated a willingness and
likeliness to use a local Customer Service Centre, with a broad swell of opinion
that neighbourhood provision was preferable to its city centre equivalent. Almost
70% of respondents indicated that they would use a Customer Service Centre if
there was one near to where they live.
• Word of mouth continues to be the most frequent method of finding out about
Customer Service Centres (especially in relation to the East End where almost
70% of users had found out about the facility in this way).
• The percentage of customers who were very or quite satisfied with the overall
service they received at the 3 Customer Service Centres were 94% at the Civic
Centre, 95% at the Outer West and 100% at the East End.
6.2.2 Community Focus Groups
Community focus groups were established in the early stages of development for
the Outer West and East End Customer Service Centres to ensure that the
development of the new centres was customer-led and reflected community
priorities. They have also provided a valuable channel of communication back to
the wider community. The intention is to follow this same model for future
Customer Service Centres.
6.2.3 Research into Contact Centre expectations
Research into public expectations of a new Contact Centre was undertaken in
May 2004. Some of the key findings from this recent research are:
• Two-thirds of residents (65%) usually contact the council by phone, while 33%
contact us in person and 2% by letter.
• Just under 80% of residents anticipate using a new Contact Centre. The main
reasons for not using a new Contact Centre were ‘no need to contact council’
(31%), preferring face to face (21%) and using a Customer Service Centre
(17%).
The research also investigated customer preferences in terms of the times they
would use a Contact Centre, call routing options, acceptable waiting times,
listening preferences and so on.
7 Overview of our strategy
We need to manage five distinct components as key objectives of the Strategy if
we are to achieve our aim of delivering excellent and efficient customer service.
We must continue our development and management of:
• Delivery channels
• Use of enabling IT
• Excellent service delivery
• Value for money
• Ensuring alignment
It is equally important that we seek to achieve the right balance in terms of effort,
timing and presentation. For example, offering a wide range of methods by which
customers can access our services is of little value if our staff have not all been
trained to deliver excellent customer service and access is not presented to the
customer in a logical way.
At this point in our continuing journey, our overall customer service strategy can
be summarised as follows:
“We know (from consultation) that our customers want to contact us in ways that
are convenient to them - using an increasing number of delivery channels. The
only way we can understand and efficiently address our customers’ requirements
is by continuing to use enabling IT and applying it across all delivery channels to
provide a high quality joined-up service. It is vital that we continue to translate
this into excellent service delivery by consulting with customers, creating a
customer service culture, and training and developing our staff.
At the same time, we must ensure that we prioritise and manage our
investments, assets and revenues to deliver cost effective services which provide
value for money. We can continue to maximise opportunities and realise
synergies by ensuring alignment of our customer service strategy with relevant
national, local and council strategies, projects and initiatives.”
These five components are illustrated in the diagram on the next page.
By taking this approach, we will ensure that we “build the right thing once and
use it many times” rather than “building more or less the same thing (or
conflicting things) many times”.
7A Delivery channels
7A.1 Overview
A delivery channel can be defined as a method by which customers can access
our services. The main delivery channels which we have in place (or plan to
develop) are categorised below:
• Face to face (the customer coming to a council location to access services)
o Primary Customer Service Centres
o Satellite Customer Service Centres
• Remote mediated (the customer dealing with a person but not face to face)
o Contact Centre
o Freephone
o Video conferencing
• Self Service (the customer accessing services by themselves)
o Internet / intranet
o Digital TV
o Kiosks
• Mobile Services (face to face but with the service taken to the customer)
7A.2 Our approach
We need a co-ordinated and joined up approach for the development and use of
delivery channels if we are to deliver real benefits to our customers in the form of
improved service delivery and efficient use of resources. Otherwise there is a risk
of a multitude of different services being delivered in an inconsistent way and to
varying levels of quality.
• This requires that we move to a model where services are built around
customer needs and not organisational structures.
• It means that we need to look at the end-to-end costs of delivering services to
customers across multiple channels rather than take a “silo” snapshot view
based on outdated and unrepresentative costs.
• A joined-up approach adds value for the customer and the council and delivers
savings. For example, sharing a Customer Service Centre also means sharing
the costs of building maintenance and upkeep, compliance with the Disability
Discrimination Act (DDA) and health and safety legislation, security and facilities
management and IT and telecommunications networks and equipment. It also
develops a culture where behaviour is focused on the customer. A joined-up
approach can also assist with issues such as fraud prevention, data protection
and social inclusion.
The move to join up services and seamless service delivery leads us to expect
that intermediaries will play an increasingly important role. An “intermediary” can
be defined as a third party service delivery provider (or even a different
directorate). For example, a council may provide services on behalf of a
voluntary sector organisation, or one directorate may provide services on behalf
of another.
• The question to be addressed in each case is whether an intermediary can
provide improved customer service and value for money for the services being
delivered, based on an understanding of the customers’ needs.
It should be noted that customers place importance on accessing local
government services via a mix of delivery channels.
• This is supported by a survey by a leading industry consultancy (Gartner May
2001) which found that 73% of respondents attached great importance to the
ability to access services through a variety of channels. The majority of
respondents also indicated that they would be likely to use different channels for
the same transaction, for example initial information via the internet, further
details from a Contact Centre, and completion of the transaction in a Customer
Service Centre.
• Experience from the private sector has shown that customers still want to use
traditional delivery channels (e.g. face to face) to support them in using
automated channels and for more complex transactions.
A portfolio of delivery channels will therefore be required into the medium term.
• The channel mix will change over time with increased acceptance of electronic
channels and it is important to anticipate future tactical shifts within the Customer
Service Strategy to reflect this.
• The role of providing strong community leadership can be effectively enhanced
in a face to face environment such as a local Primary Customer Service Centre.
We need to understand our customers’ requirements, preferences and abilities.
• An important part of this is identifying our different customer segments and how
we need to respond to (or indeed can influence) their changing preferences in
terms of the channels they use.
• We need to recognise that it is necessary to spend time building customers’
confidence and trust in using new delivery channels. This can mean publicity,
reassurances about privacy and security, and access to sources of assistance.
• The council should have a common “look and feel” to help the customer access
services as well as the same high standard of quality service across all the
delivery channels.
Finally, the council needs to lead the drive to social inclusion. This means
ensuring that services are available through delivery channels where lack of skills
or confidence and cost are not impediments to their use.
7A.3 Delivering the strategy
7A.3.1 Primary Customer Service Centres
A major element of the council’s Customer Service Strategy is the user-led
development of a citywide network of six Primary Customer Service Centres.
More information on the vision, progress to date and way forward can be found in
Appendix 2.
The aim of Primary Customer Service Centres is to provide communities across
the city with a face-to-face facility that can provide a high quality, seamless and
consistent approach to the delivery of council and other public services. We will
make best use of staff and information technology to ensure that the majority of
enquiries are resolved at first point of contact for the convenience of our
customers.
By November 2003 we had three Primary Customer Service Centres:
• Civic Centre (opened July 2000)
• East End – interim centre (opened August 2003)
• Outer West (opened November 2003)
We will deliver four further Primary Customer Service Centres through the
Newcastle and North Tyneside LIFT (Local Improvement Finance Trust) initiative:
• Phase 1 – Kenton (summer 2005)
• Phase 2 – Benwell, Gosforth and Shields Road (replacing the interim centre) –
by 2007
7A.3.2 Satellite Customer Service Centres
Supporting the Council’s network of Primary Customer Service Centres is the
development of Satellite Customer Service Centres. These will make best use of
existing council and partner facilities which are accessible and in key
neighbourhood centres across the city including libraries and Your Homes
Newcastle offices. More information on the vision, progress to date and way
forward can be found in Appendix 3.
We currently have plans to open four Satellite Customer Service Centres:
• Walker (co-located with health care services, welfare rights and Your Homes
Newcastle) – mid 2005
• High Heaton, Fenham and Fawdon (within refurbished branch libraries) – from
2006/07
We are taking a co-ordinated and joined-up approach to developing these and
further Satellite Customer Service Centres. Where we identify that there is a
requirement for customer services at an existing location, we will review the
requirements to understand if it should be staffed by customer service officers or
whether access to services should be provided by technology such as
freephones, video conferencing and the Internet. We will also undertake an
analysis to understand the impact on the network of Primary and Satellite
Customer Service Centres.
7A.3.3 Contact Centre
The purpose of a contact centre is to handle many different types of customer
contact (unlike a call centre which is limited to telephone calls). A contact centre
will potentially handle telephone calls, fax, e-mail, instant messaging, text
messaging, digital television, video conferencing and textphone (Minicom). More
information on the vision, progress to date and way forward can be found in
Appendix 4.
The development of the Contact Centre will reflect on and build upon the
council’s experience to date with call centres. It will consolidate services and use
enabling technology to ensure a corporate and consistent high quality approach
to handling customer contacts. A roadmap is shown on the next page.
A significant amount of planning and preparatory work has been completed. We
are currently addressing accommodation and funding issues. The Contact Centre
will initially focus on Revenues and Benefits but will quickly expand to offer a
wide range of services for internal and external customers. It will ultimately mirror
the range of services offered in the Customer Service Centres, our aim being to
ensure equal access to services via all channels.
7A.3.4 Provision of mediated delivery channels – freephone and
video conferencing
Many customers will access Contact Centre services from their own phones.
However, we recognise that not everyone has a phone or can afford to make
calls, and these people may also not be able to travel to Primary Customer
Service Centres to access our full range of services.
The drive towards social inclusion and equitable access requires us to provide
the means for customers to access our services in a convenient way. We already
use freephones and video conferencing and will continue to deploy these as
appropriate in council and partner locations to provide customers with convenient
ways to access our services. More information on the vision, progress to date
and way forward can be found in Appendix 5.
7A.3.5 Self Service delivery channels
The council has developed a number of “self service” delivery channels. These
can be defined as ways for customers to access information and services by
themselves without dealing directly with a member of staff. These complement,
rather than replace, traditional methods. More information on the vision, progress
to date and way forward can be found in Appendix 6.
Our range of self service delivery channels currently comprises:
• Computers (Internet and intranet)
• Digital TV
• Kiosks
• Video Conferencing
A project (E-government Phase 2) is underway to improve the quality and
accessibility of our internet and intranet services. The council is also working to
provide access to the internet through the provision of computers in Customer
Service Centres and initiatives such as the People’s Network (computers in
libraries).
We have been working with the other Tyne and Wear councils to develop a
digital TV service which is now available over Telewest, NTL and Sky. We have
also worked together to establish a network of forty on-street information kiosks
across Tyne and Wear.
7A.3.6 Mobile Services
Mobile or outreach services can be defined as those which are taken out to
customers who are unable or unwilling to access our services at Customer
Service Centres. Mobile services may be provided in peoples’ homes or in a van
or in a local community location. More information on the vision, progress to date
and way forward can be found in Appendix 7.
The council and partner organisations currently offer a number of mobile or
outreach services which have tended to be developed in isolation. Going forward,
we will seek to identify customers unable to access our services and consult with
them in order to understand the range of services they need to access. We can
then work as a council and with other organisations to provide appropriate
“bundles” of services.
7B Use of enabling IT
7B.1 Overview
The previous section discussed the delivery channels which we have established
and/or plan to develop. However, delivery channels are of little use if an
organisation lacks the technologies which provide the capability for it to
understand customers and deliver high quality, joined-up and accessible services
across these channels.
Another way of viewing this is to see delivery channels as the building blocks and
the enabling IT technologies as the tools we use to help deliver services to
customers.
We can identify a range of “enabling IT” tools which can help us across all of the
delivery channels. Some of the key components are:
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
• Corporate knowledge management / knowledge engine
• Core line of business systems
• Middleware
• Payment engine
• Document Management System (DMS)
• Geographical Information System (GIS)
• Content management
• Portal development
• Smartcards
7B.2 Our approach
It is important that customer requirements drive IT developments rather than IT
developments determining how services are delivered to customers.
• This requires IT to be customer-focused and develop close relationships with
departments dealing directly with customers. City Service brings IT and
Customer Services together and this enables more effective demand-led IT
development. See Appendix 0 for an outline of the functions within City Service.
• In addition, the restructure of IT to include a team of business consultants (or
account managers) reflects an increased focus on aligning technology to
customer requirements.
We need to provide a consistent quality of service regardless of what delivery
channel a customer chooses to use.
• This means that integration of enabling technologies and applications is key.
7B.3 Delivering the strategy
7B.3.1 Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system
A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System helps us to understand
our customers and provide high quality, joined up and consistent services across
a range of delivery channels. Staff are helped by scripting within the system to
resolve a wide range of straightforward transactions at “first point of contact”.
We have implemented the Lagan Frontline CRM system in our Primary Customer
Service Centres. In the future we will further expand the number of services
offered through the CRM system in addition to developing the system for use in
the Contact Centre and through other delivery channels.
More information on the vision, progress to date and way forward can be found in
Appendix 8.
7B.3.2 Corporate knowledge management / knowledge engine
An organisation’s ability to function efficiently and effectively depends on its
ability to gather, manage and share information and its knowledge base.
Technology is an important enabler and can provide mechanisms to harness and
utilise information and experience through creation of a “knowledge engine”.
A project has been established and work is underway to create a corporate
knowledge engine which joins up information from various sources. This will be
supported by a corporate knowledge management framework comprising policies
and procedures for accessing and maintaining data and information.
More information on the vision, progress to date and way forward can be found in
Appendix 9.
7B.3.3 Core line of business systems
Core systems are those that provide key business functionality – e.g. Council
Tax. In the past, many core systems have been developed around “silo”
functionality rather than based on customer-focused requirements.
The council’s established vision is to move to a modern and efficient information
and communications technology environment. We are buying new “best of breed”
software packages off the shelf and implementing them with minimal
customisation.
More information on the vision, progress to date and way forward can be found in
Appendix 10.
7B.3.4 Middleware
Middleware is a general term for software that connects (or serves as the glue
between) two or more otherwise separate applications. Introducing middleware
into our technical architecture will enable us to manage integration much more
efficiently on an ongoing basis. We are establishing a project to procure and
implement the appropriate solution.
More information on the vision, progress to date and way forward can be found in
Appendix 11.
7B.3.5 Payment engine
A payment engine can be defined as the technology and processes which enable
customers to pay for services using different types of payment and across
delivery channels. It also enables more efficient back-office processing and
reconciliation of payments.
We have established a project to modernise our ability to take and process
payments from customers.
More information on the vision, progress to date and way forward can be found in
Appendix 12.
7B.3.6 Document Management System (DMS)
A Document Management System is a system which manages the
documentation received and handled by an organisation. Documents are
scanned, indexed and stored electronically. The system incorporates a workflow
function so that transactions and the relevant documents are directed to the
appropriate member of staff and dealt with quickly and consistently.
We are implementing a new Document Management System in Revenues &
Benefits and Planning initially. However, we have procured a solution which can
be grown to provide a solution across the council. This will contribute greatly to
providing integrated and joined up services.
More information on the vision, progress to date and way forward can be found in
Appendix 13.
7B.3.7 Geographical Information System (GIS)
A Geographical Information System (GIS) enables the storage, retrieval,
mapping, and analysis of geographic data. It can help answer fundamental policy
and service delivery questions relating to land, property, people and services.
Future priorities will be driven out of the Corporate Knowledge Engine project.
More information on the vision, progress to date and way forward can be found in
Appendix 14.
7B.3.8 Content management
Content management covers the creation, management, distribution and
publishing of information, potentially across a range of delivery channels. .
The council currently uses Lotus Notes for content management on the internet
and intranet sites. The user interface is being improved and future content
management system requirements will be considered in due course.
More information on the vision, progress to date and way forward can be found in
Appendix 15.
7B.3.9 Portal development
A portal provides a single, centralised point of access for all content and services
relevant to the audience. A portal may be accessed across multiple delivery
channels (e.g. internet, kiosk and digital television).
The council is involved in a number of portal projects.
• The council is participating in the development of the Tyne & Wear Community
Service Portal which provides content to the on-street kiosks and digital TV
service. (Please refer to section 67A.3.5).
• The council is also partnering to develop the “newcastle.com” Digital City portal.
This is focused on small and medium sized enterprises.
• The E-Government Phase 2 project “Building a world class portal” is focused on
improving the quality of and access to electronic services. Portals will be
developed for customers, staff and specialised sub-groups within these larger
groups. For example, a schools extranet will be created for school staff and
community portals will be created for specific wards or communities of interest.
More information on the vision, progress to date and way forward can be found in
Appendix 16.
7B.3.10 Smartcards
A smartcard can hold multiple value added applications, and can provide
convenient and secure access to electronic services over multiple delivery
channels.
Newcastle City Council is the lead authority in the North East Regional
Smartcard Consortium (NERSC). NERSC has implemented a number of
smartcard pilots in schools and leisure. The current focus for NERSC is obtaining
funding for the development of a regional platform of trusted services, needed to
operate any identity management scheme, known as the Trusted Services
Network (TSN).
More information on the vision, progress to date and way forward can be found in
Appendix 17.
7C Excellent service delivery
7C.1 Overview
The two previous sections discussed the delivery channels and the enabling
technologies that we can use to help us deliver joined up and accessible
services. However, there is little value in having these components in place if we
do not have the underpinning principles, people and processes in place and
cannot follow through to provide excellent service delivery.
There are a number of factors which contribute to excellent service delivery:
• Understanding customer demand, requirements and expectations
o Customer segmentation
o Managing demand – life events, cyclical, latent
o Managing expectations
• Culture
• Staff training, development and support
• Communications
• Consultation
• Performance management, change management and continual improvement
• Community leadership and social contribution
7C.2 Our approach
Our starting point is understanding who our customers are and what services
they need and want. We need to know when and how they want to access these
services.
• We can use this information to put together “bundles” or “clusters” of services
that we know are likely to be sought at the same time. This means we need to
work together across the council and with partner organisations. For example, a
high proportion of Your Homes Newcastle customers are entitled to claim
Housing Benefit.
• Customers benefit from accessing all the services they want at one convenient
point. Previously they would have had to “travel” – physically between locations,
or by having their queries redirected.
• Understanding our customers helps us anticipate and manage the demand for
our services.
A culture of excellent customer service is required throughout the organisation.
• Everyone needs to recognise that they have customers (whether they are
internal or external customers).
• The culture should reflect our desired behaviours and principles (please refer to
section 5).
Staff are our most important and valuable asset. We must continually train,
develop and support staff to ensure they have the necessary skills and
knowledge to deliver quality services and meet the expectations of our
customers.
We need to make sure that customers and staff are aware of the full range of our
services. Targeted and effective external and internal communications is vital.
An ongoing encompassing programme of consultation provides us with essential
information and feedback.
We need clear targets and a performance management framework to lead us
into a cycle of ongoing change management and continual improvement.
We can provide community leadership in service delivery, working in partnership
to provide customers with joined-up and integrated services. Our locations and
activities can become focal centres for regeneration and creation of community
networks.
7C.3 Delivering the strategy
7C.3.1 Understanding customer demand, requirements and
expectations
This section outlines what we need to do to understand and manage customer
demand, requirements and expectations. More information can be found in
Appendix 18.
Customer segmentation means analysing our customers and identifying groups
of individuals with similar requirements, preferences or competencies.
We need to understand the “bundles” or “clusters” of services that customers will
frequently want to access together. These can be driven by “life events” such as
having a baby or moving home. We need to work across the council and in
partnership with other organisations to meet the full range of requirements of our
mutual customers
Understanding the cyclical nature of demand helps us to anticipate the level of
customer requirements over time and undertake the necessary capacity
planning. We also need to take account of any “latent” demand which might be
unlocked when we offer a new service.
The proactive management of customer expectations is important if we are to
satisfy customers. We must clearly convey what is to be delivered and when.
7C.3.2 Culture
We can provide staff with the tools, skills and experience to provide excellent
customer service but this is not enough. We need to create a culture of customer
service throughout the council. In particular, everyone needs to recognise that
they have customers (whether they are internal or external customers).
We have produced a number of tools which are helping us to develop a culture of
customer service excellence. These include the Customer Service Charter, Staff
Charter and Customer Service Handbook for Staff.
More information can be found in Appendix 19.
7C.3.3 Staff training, development and support
Staff are the organisation's most important and valuable asset. The Council, in
striving for continuous improvement in customer service, recognises and values
the contribution that its staff makes in delivering quality services.
Ensuring staff are well motivated and equipped with the right skills and
knowledge is therefore an integral element of the Council’s Customer Service
Strategy.
In 1998/99 it was recognised that as part of the Council’s commitment to
improving customer service there was a need to invest in a comprehensive
training programme, which would not only provide a corporate approach to
customer service but respond to the different needs of staff delivering services
across the organisation. A number of programmes were developed which have
been continually reviewed and built upon in the last 3 or 4 years to now provide a
comprehensive “Customer Service Pathway” programme for staff at all levels of
the organisation (see Appendix 29).
A corporate Customer Service Training Programme is now developed and
delivered annually across all Directorates and monitored by the Council’s
Corporate Customer Service and Training and Development Teams on a regular
basis.
Within the Council’s Corporate Training and Development budget an allocation is
provided to assist Directorates annually to specifically deliver their Customer
Service Training programmes.
A corporate target for Customer Service Training has now been established as
part of the portfolio balanced scorecard; our target being “20% of appropriate
council staff to be trained in customer service annually”.
From 2004/05 each Directorate is required to develop an annual Customer
Service Training plan which documents the number of staff to be trained, the
courses required and it will identify the mandatory and optional training in
customer service for specific staff. This will allow for better forward planning and
cost projections on Customer Service Training in the future.
It is important to maintain the momentum on Customer Service Training. It can
be further embedded in the Council by including Customer Service Training in
Service Plans and Personal Development Appraisals, and specifying
training/qualifications in job specifications for key front line posts.
7C.3.4 Communications
We need to tell customers about how they can access our services. It is
important to be socially inclusive and so we need to identify “hard to reach”
groups and communicate appropriately.
Staff also need to be kept up to date with our services and facilities so they can
provide the best possible customer service.
By having a good understanding of our customers, and working across the
council and with partner organisations, we can target our communications to be
appropriately focused and efficient.
A customer services communication and consultation framework and action plan
has been produced and a variety of activities have been carried out or are in
hand.
More information can be found in Appendices 21 and 31.
7C.3.5 Consultation
If we do not know what customers want, we cannot hope to meet their
expectations. However, consultation is of little value unless we use it to inform
our decision making, policies, procedures and service delivery.
It is also important to pass feedback from customers to staff at all levels. This will
remind people that we are customer focused and need to constantly be thinking
about and anticipating customer requirements.
We need to consult with all parties involved in the provision of service. Particular
attention needs to be given to consulting with “hard to reach” groups to ensure
that we are socially inclusive.
It is vital that we complete the feedback loop and demonstrate that it is a learning
process and we have taken account of the outcome of consultation exercises.
We can either publicise “you said … now we’ve done” or can explain why it’s not
possible. This reassures people that it is worth participating in consultation
activities.
We will continue to use and develop the consultation framework outlined in
section 6. More information can be found in Appendix 22 and 31.
7C.3.6 Performance management, change management and
continual improvement
An effective organisation has clear targets which enable it to recognise and build
on success and address opportunities for improvements. A performance
management framework leads into a cycle of change management and continual
improvement.
Our performance management is built around the portfolio balanced scorecard.
The Modernisation, E-Government and Regulation Porfolio contains key
customer service targets.
We need to analyse our performance and identify the changes we need to make.
This will lead us to an ongoing cycle of continual improvement. This is about
“getting better all the time” through a series of incremental changes.
More information can be found in Appendix 23.
7C.3.7 Community leadership and social contribution
We need to take on a strong community leadership role if we are to achieve the
best possible outcomes for the city. We are already playing a key role in bringing
together and co-ordinating joined-up and integrated service delivery. For
example, in addition to council services, the Outer West Primary Customer
Service Centre provides a wide range of facilities and drop-in services including a
library (with ICT room and reading group), swimming pool, sauna, pool
community rooms, street wardens, New Pathways, North East Pensioners’
Association, Essential Skills Tutors, MoneyWise (a credit union), Citizens Advice
Bureau, Age Concern, Shaw Trust Employment, Jobcentre Plus, Inland
Revenue, Connexions Tyne and Wear, Workfinder, Northumbria Police
Community Beat Manager and Child Contact Centre.
The joining up of council and other services is likely to lead to increased uptake
of services as people become aware of services they did not know about and/or
find it more convenient to access services. For example, the library at the Outer
West Primary Customer Service Centre has seen a 115% increase in footfall
compared to the old library.
Primary and Satellite Customer Service Centres can become focal centres for
regeneration and creation of community networks. This can contribute to the
empowerment of local people and foster civic culture and citizenship. More
information can be found in Appendix 24.
7D Value for money
7D.1 Overview
The council is committed to providing efficient services which give value for
money. This means:
• Effectively managing and prioritising our investment, assets and revenue.
• Establishing effective performance management.
• Driving out and capturing the anticipated financial benefits.
Efficiency can be defined in a number of ways:
• Maintaining current levels of service provision but with fewer resources.
• Obtaining the resources needed to provide services more cheaply.
• Achieving improved service provision with the same amount of resources.
The primary driver for investment in customer services has been to improve the
quality and accessibility of services we provide to customers. Economies of scale
and efficiencies will follow as the entire council becomes more customer-focused
and directorates reconfigure themselves accordingly.
The following sections outline some general principles for management of:
• Investment
• Assets
• Revenue
Finally, this section briefly outlines the framework and mechanisms which need
to be in place to provide an appropriate focus on customer service and drive out
efficiencies to ensure value for money is delivered.
7D.2 Investment
• We need to identify and access appropriate potential sources of investment (i.e.
grants, funding).
• Wherever appropriate we should work within the council or with partner
organisations to pool investments, share risks and reduce costs.
• There must be clarity on what the investment will deliver for the council and
customers.
• We must prioritise investment to meet the needs of specific areas.
• The investment should be “future proofed” as far as possible. Analysis of future
demand must be undertaken, and necessary capacity to deliver on the
investment must be in place or planned.
• We must identify ongoing revenue implications and confirm how this will be
funded on an ongoing basis.
• Our investment decisions need to be challenged on the basis of:
• Environmental sustainability.
• Social contribution.
• Legal issues.
• Associated risks (including reputation).
• Anticipated delivery of benefits (and degree of confidence that benefits will be
delivered – i.e. sensitivity analysis)
• Wider implications on the council
• In summary, we need to take a comprehensive and consistent business case
based approach to investment.
7D.3 Assets
Assets can be tangible and intangible. Intangible assets such as reputation and
knowledge are valuable and need to be proactively managed. Sections 7C.3.4
and 7B.3.2 dealt with communications and corporate knowledge management
respectively. However, this section will focus on efficient and effective
management of tangible assets. Our tangible assets are our buildings,
equipment, systems and people.
There are some general principles we should apply to obtain maximum value
from our assets:
• We should identify opportunities to use the assets for other purposes to realise
synergies and share costs. For example sharing a location means sharing the
costs of building maintenance and upkeep, ensuring compliance with the
Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and health and safety legislation, security and
facilities management and IT and telecommunications networks and equipment.
A joined-up approach can also assist with issues such as fraud prevention, data
protection and social inclusion.
• Sharing common assets can also lead to “cross fertilisation” between services.
The main barriers for customers accessing our services are lack of information
and inconvenience. Co-located services in convenient locations can therefore be
expected to result in a significant up-take of services.
• We should consider if it is appropriate to use, or act as, an intermediary. The
move to joined up services and seamless service delivery leads us to expect that
intermediaries will play an increasingly important role. An “intermediary” can be
defined as a third party service delivery provider (or even a different directorate).
For example, a council may provide services on behalf of a voluntary sector
organisation, or one directorate may provide services on behalf of another. The
question to be addressed is whether an intermediary can provide improved
customer service and value for money for the services being delivered, based on
an understanding of the customers’ needs.
• We should consider how our assets can help us deliver corporate priorities
such as strong community leadership and regeneration.
• We need to recognise that many assets require ongoing funding, development
and support. Otherwise they can turn from an asset into a liability.
7D.4 Revenue
All investment should have associated revenue implications clearly documented
and understood to enable effective revenue management by all parties.
However, this is not always the case, particularly with historic investments.
A recharge model is required to ensure that the ongoing revenue costs are fairly
and transparently allocated to the appropriate services. All parties must have a
clear understanding of what is being delivered. When all factors are taken into
consideration, the economies of scale and synergies from working together to
provide a joined up integrated service will clearly outweigh the alternatives of
continuing “silo” provision.
However, it should be noted that there may be a time-lag between additional
costs being incurred and the accrual of benefits. For example, a directorate may
not be able to fully reconfigure the way they provide services until the network of
Primary Customer Service Centres is in place.
7D.5 Framework for delivering value for money
A framework and mechanisms must be in place to drive out efficiencies and
ensure that value for money is delivered.
Some of the key components are:
• Strong customer-focused leadership and governance – to identify synergies,
priorities, opportunities and drive out efficiencies.
• Effective programme and project management – to ensure that progress is
made and interdependencies are managed.
• Cost and benefits management – to control costs and ensure that benefits are
delivered.
• Risk and issues management – to anticipate and manage risks and quickly
resolve issues.
• Quality management – to ensure that quality is not compromised.
7E Ensuring alignment
We must ensure our Customer Service Strategy supports national, local and
council initiatives. There are a number of ways in which we can ensure
alignment:
• Recognising strategies, project and initiatives which have some relevance to
our customer service strategy.
• Identifying whether there are some potential synergies or opportunities and
taking appropriate action to maximise mutual benefits.
• Providing input from a customer service perspective if this is lacking.
• Identifying and addressing inconsistencies and potential conflicts.
This will be a continual ongoing analysis. Please refer to the table on the next
page for an example list. This is not an exhaustive list.
Strategy / project / Alignment / synergies /
initiative
opportunities
Newcastle Plan
Partnership working and
consultation consistent with
customer service approach.
• Transport &
access
Citywide network of Primary and
Satellite Customer Service
Centres reduces need to travel
and congestion.
Locations selected with
consideration to parking and traffic
flows.
Contact Centre removes need to
travel to access services.
• Children & young Partnership working with libraries,
Connexions etc.
people
• Community
safety & crime
Customer Service Centres
designed to provide safe
environments for customers and
staff.
• Creativity &
culture
Inclusion of arts within Customer
Service Centres.
Joint working with libraries.
• Environment
Customer Service Centres
designed to support environmental
sustainability, and neighbourhood
locations reduce pollution from
travel.
• Health & social
care
Partnership working with health
authorities to provide joined up
services.
• Homes
Partnership working with Your
Homes Newcastle to provide
joined up services.
• Learning
Partnership working with learning
providers.
• Prosperity
Partnership working with Job
Centre Plus.
Community leadership provided
Nonalignment /
inconsistencies / conflicts
through Customer Service
Centres to become a focal point
for regeneration.
Social inclusion
Wide ranging consultation
strategy.
Delivery channels and enabling
technology designed to maximise
opportunities for access for all
customers.
Freedom of
Information
Corporate knowledge engine will
facilitate enquiries.
Consistent approach to dealing
with enquiries required.
Data Protection Act Consistent approach to dealing
with enquiries required.
Disability
Discrimination Act
Customer Service Centres and
other services designed to
comply with DDA and best
practice standards.
Workstyles project
New delivery channels and
technology (e.g. Contact Centre,
DMS) enable a wider range of
workstyles.
E-government
Priority Services &
Transformation
Outcomes
Customer Service Strategy
relevant to many items – e.g.
contact centre, portal, customer
satisfaction targets, payments,
multiple delivery channels etc.
Government
Gateway
Same focus on joined up
integrated services.
Neighbourhood
initiatives
Satellite Customer Service
Centres provide services where
customers need them, and make
best use of council assets and
investments.
Joined up approach Partnership working in place (e.g.
with Citizens Advice Bureau at
to debt
Outer West Primary CSC).
management
Reinforces requirement for joined
up services, especially with Your
Homes Newcastle.
Joined up approach Partnership working in place (e.g.
to maximising
with Inland Revenue, Age
Need to balance
customer service
requirements with new
workstyles.
entitlements
Concern).
Reinforces requirement for joined
up services, especially with Your
Homes Newcastle.
Community
Consultation
Building on current framework
and providing examples of best
practice.
8 Action plan
Significant progress has been made since the Customer Service Strategy was
first produced in 2000, and a considerable amount of work is in hand.
The action plan on the next page extracts the key actions and provides details of
who is responsible for progress and the timescales.
8.1 Annual review of Customer Service Strategy
We are also proposing that this Customer Service Strategy will be reviewed
annually. A brief report will be produced summarising:
• Our performance
• Significant achievements
• Areas to address
• Dynamic analysis
• Changes (e.g. in policies, customer preferences, technology)
• New opportunities
• Revised strategy recommendations
• Updated action plan
Ref. Item
Action
Outcomes /
timescales
Responsibility
1.
Delivery
channels
Take a co-ordinated
joined up approach
to developing
delivery channels
built around
customer needs.
Synergies,
savings,
integrated joined
up services, best
use of new and
existing
investments and
assets.
All
1A. Primary
Customer
Service
Centres
Develop four Primary
Customer Service
Centres to create a
citywide network of
six – as per vision.
Kenton – summer
2005
Phasing to be
confirmed:
Benwell, Gosforth,
Shields Road –
2006/07
Customer
Services +
partners
1B. Satellite
Customer
Service
Centres
Develop a network of
Satellite Customer
Service Centres to
complement the
Primary Centres – as
per vision.
Walker – mid 2005
Phasing to be
confirmed:
High Heaton,
Fenham, Fawdon –
from 2006/07
Further Satellites –
to be confirmed.
Phased
1C. Contact Centre Develop Contact
implementation –
Centre to provide
2004/05
remote mediated
access for customers
– as per vision.
1D. Self Service
E-Government Phase
2 – improve the
quality and
accessibility of our
internet / intranet
services to
customers.
Phased
implementation –
3Q 2004 – 2005
and ongoing
1E. Mobile services Identify opportunities 2005 and ongoing
for partnership
working in relation to
mobile and outreach
services.
Customer
Services /
Libraries / Your
Homes
Newcastle
Customer
Services +
partners
IT / Customer
Service
All
Take a customer
focused approach
to the development
and use of IT
across all delivery
channels.
Improved quality
and accessibility
of services,
efficiencies,
synergies.
IT / All
2A. Customer
Relationship
Management
System
Introduce the
Customer
Relationship
Management (CRM)
system to the new
Primary Customer
Service Centres and
the Contact Centre.
As per
implementation
timetable for
Primary Customer
Service Centres
and Contact
Centre.
IT / Customer
Services
2B. Payment
engine
4Q 2004 – 2005
Implement the
payment engine
across delivery
channels to deliver a
customer focused
2.
Enabling IT
IT / Exchequer
Services /
Customer
Services
and efficient end to
end payments facility.
Service
delivery
Ensure that we
have in place the
underpinning
principles, people
and processes to
enable us to deliver
excellent services.
Improved
customer and
community
relationships,
increased
customer
satisfaction,
efficiencies, staff
satisfaction and
retention.
Customer
Services / All
3A. Staff training
and
development
Maintain momentum
and focus on
customer service
training - % of staff
trained, training
embedded into
Service Plans and
Personal
Development
Appraisals,
mandatory training
tied to posts.
20% of appropriate
staff trained
annually.
Ongoing.
Customer
Services /
Corporate
Training &
Development
4.
Efficiencies,
All
Provide efficient
quality of service.
services which
deliver value for
money by
managing and
prioritising
investments, assets
and revenue.
3.
Value for
money
4A. Revenue
Develop and
maintain recharge
model.
4Q 2004 and
ongoing
maintenance
Finance /
Customer
Services
4B. Investment
Undertake research
into funding
opportunities and
develop process to
assess benefits,
effort, degree of
alignment etc.
2005 and ongoing
Customer
Services / All
4C. Knowledge
Ensure that best
practice is
2005 and ongoing
Finance / All
disseminated (e.g.
through creating a
repository of
business cases).
5.
Ensuring
alignment
Ensure alignment
with national, local
and council
initiatives.
All
Synergies,
opportunities,
benefits
maximised, joined
up and integrated
services.
5A. Liaison
Establish appropriate 4Q 2004 and
liaison mechanisms ongoing
to facilitate continued
strategic alignment.
All
5B. Review
2005 and ongoing
Ensure that the
Annual Review of the
Customer Service
Strategy is scheduled
to fit in with the
budgetary and
planning process.
Customer
Services