Customer First Strategy 2015
A
Customer First Strategy 2015
Customer First Strategy 2015
Customer First Strategy
B
2015
Yarra Ranges Council
yarraranges.vic.gov.au
1300 368 333
PO Box 105
Lilydale Vic 3140
1
Customer First Strategy 2015
2
2
Customer First Strategy 2015
Customer First Strategy 2015
33
Our Commitment
Yarra Ranges Council commits to placing
our customers first. We will deliver high-quality
customer experiences through understanding
local needs, continually improving our
services, and providing a positive,
solution-orientated approach.
Introduction
Our Customer First Vision
At Yarra Ranges Council our customers are our top priority. We are
committed to providing friendly, prompt and professional customer
service every time you contact us.
Our customers can contact Council anywhere,
any time and can expect their query to
be acted upon first time, every time.
This document builds upon our original Customer First Strategy and
outlines our approach for the next four years in our ongoing journey
toward delivering a great customer experience.
The Customer First Strategy outlines how, if we are to become truly
customer centric, we need to recognise that providing great customer
service is every Yarra Ranges Council employee’s responsibility, and
not only that of the dedicated Customer Service team. This means
broadening our traditional view of what constitutes a ‘customer’ to
one which encompasses every person and group that is a recipient
of our services.
Customer First Strategy 2015
4
4
Customer First Strategy 2015
About Yarra Ranges
Located on Melbourne’s eastern fringe Yarra Ranges
is home to a population of 150, 000. Yarra Ranges
covers approximately 2,500 square kilometres and
stretches from the populated outer suburbs up
into the surrounding foothills, agricultural valleys
and forested areas of the Great Dividing Ranges.
It is one of Victoria’s largest, most varied and
scenic municipalities. It is also the largest area of
any metropolitan Council. There are more than 55
suburbs, townships, small communities and rural
areas in the Yarra Ranges.
Customer First Strategy 2015
55
Customer First Strategy 2015
6
6
Customer First Strategy 2015
About Council
Vision
Customer First Strategy 2015
Related policies and plans
Yarra Ranges will be a vibrant and dynamic municipality based on strong local communities
living in a place of great natural beauty.
Yarra Ranges prides itself on its integrated planning framework.
The framework ensures Council’s plans and resources are
Our world class municipality will be sustained by a strong local economy and a rich social fabric that is
consistent with and supports its environmental values.
aligned. It provides a robust basis on which to measure and
Values
2013-17 and will inform annual department business plans.
The organisation’s values guide our behaviour and underpin everything we do. Our values help us
achieve the organisation’s vision and mission and improve the quality of the services we offer to
our community.
Honesty and trust
Customer focus
We honour our commitments and
are open and transparent in our
dealings with others.
We aim to always ensure a positive customer
experience and respond to our customers in a
timely manner.
Clear and open communication
Creativity and innovation
We will actively listen to all viewpoints
and take responsibility for sharing information,
plans and objectives.
We are open to change and embrace innovation.
improve our performance. This strategy is linked to Council Plan
77
Customer First Strategy 2015
8
8
Customer First Strategy 2015
Customer First Strategy 2015
Development and review dates
Our Customer First Vision
This Customer First Strategy is current from 2015-2018 and will
Our customers can contact Council anywhere, any time
be reviewed every 12 months to adapt to changing customer
and can expect their query to be acted upon
needs and expectations.
first time, every time.
Context, research and evidence
Strategic directions and desired outcomes
This strategy has been
developed to build on the
improvements delivered
through the Customer First
Strategy, which commenced
in 2009.
Extensive and timely research
has been conducted into best
practice customer service
throughout both private and
public sectors. The key trends
identified were:
• the emergence of self
service and new contact
methods as a preferred
option for many customers.
• the value to organisations
of shifting customer contact
preferences to these
streamlined, ‘anywhere,
anytime’ channels
• the development of
improved technologies
and systems that enable
organisations to better
understand their customers
and provide more
personalised service
• the shift towards customer
satisfaction and experience
measures replacing more
traditional contact centre
efficiency metrics
• an increased focus on
customer service as a
differentiator between
competing organisations
with direct links to overall
organisational performance
• drivers for dissatisfaction
far out weigh those driving
satisfaction – therefore it
is imperative organisations
reduce and aim to eliminate
practices which result in
customer dissatisfaction
• local government is not as
well as advanced as leading
private sector organisations
in delivering modern
innovative customer service.
In conjunction with industry
research, Yarra Ranges
Council also engaged a market
research company in late
2014 to ascertain the views
and expectations of the Yarra
Ranges community in relation
to Council contact channels
and services. A telephone
survey, utilising a structured
questionnaire developed in
conjunction with Council,
was conducted reaching 350
residents. Lines of enquiry
encompassed a range of
topics including attitudes to
Council, degree of contact
residents have with Council,
contact methods, preferences
and expectations, quality of
interactions, the webpage
and self-service, attitudes
to contact with Council and
preferences for new ways
to interact.
To complement this research
an online consultation was
also conducted in early 2015.
The findings from this research
concurred with the telephone
survey findings.
This customer research and
the identified industry trends
have been the primary
drivers in the development of
this strategy.
1.
Dealing with Council will be quick,
easy and customer-centric
2.
One customer, one Council
3.
We will improve our service
through technology
Our staff will demonstrate strong
customer focus in all they do
4.
99
Customer First Strategy 2015
10
10
Customer First Strategy 2015
Dealing with Council will be quick,
easy and customer-centric
We are committed to simplifying contact with Council and
ensuring our processes make your life easier. We aim to resolve
your enquiries the first time you contact us and to provide a
Customer First Strategy 2015
Objective
To deliver a more
efficient and effective
customer experience
through centralisation
of customer contact
through the customer
service team.
range of contact methods to suit your needs.
To increase the
proportion of enquiries
resolved at the first
point of contact.
Strategic Initiatives
You will find simple and clear contact
Promote Council’s Customer Service points for all Council enquiries
Charter listed contact channels
as the primary contact points for
enquiries through all publications and All of our contact listings in published
and online materials will be accurate
web pages
and up to date
Increase integration of customer
contact enquiries through a high
performing team of generalists
and experts
The standard of service you receive
will be more consistent across all
enquiry types, regardless of the
service you are accessing
You will have a consistent experience
regardless of the customer contact
channel you choose
Explore opportunities to centralise
customer enquiries through building
the knowledge and skills of the
Customer Service team
You will experience more enquiries
being resolved with the first person
you speak to
Increase the capacity of the
customer service team to fully
resolve customer enquiries without
referring on to departmental
specialist
You will experience less transferred
calls and having to deal with multiple
departments to handle your enquiry
Utilise new technologies to direct
enquires to the most appropriate
staff member in the first instance
To improve service
delivery through
customer centric
processes.
Customer Outcomes
Your overall contact time will be
quicker
The standard of service you receive
will be more consistent across a
range of enquiry types
Improve customer experience
and Council’s service delivery
through continued end to end
process reviews using continuous
improvement methodologies
Your experience will be improved
through more streamlined, efficient
and effective processes for handling
customer requests
Utilise customer journey mapping
to gain a clear understanding of
customers’ experiences when they
interact with Council
Your interactions with Council will be
simpler with processes designed to
make your life easier, not Council’s
Focus on customer satisfaction
measures as the primary driver of
customer service
We will measure your satisfaction
with our service and use this to drive
further improvements
Align all outgoing communications
with our customer focused values
We will communicate with you in
a more positive and open manner
to improve your relationship with
Council
11
11
Customer First Strategy 2015
12
12
Customer First Strategy 2015
One Customer, one Council
We want to build better relationships with our customers,
present a unified Council and treat our customers as individuals.
Customer First Strategy 2015
Objective
To understand and
engage with our
customers better.
We will improve our communication based on your needs and
Strategic Initiatives
Customer Outcomes
Exploit our system capabilities to
gain a single, real-time, 360 degree
view of the customer
We will have a better of
understanding of you as an individual
and will be better placed to meet
your needs accordingly
Communicate and engage with
customers more proactively
and effectively through targeted
management of customer records
preferences and be more transparent in our actions.
Use analytics and preference data
to enhance our customer profiles,
and communicate with them in
more targeted ways on the issues of
importance to them
Enable customers
to access services
whenever they choose,
through whichever
channel they choose.
We will proactively engage with you
on identified needs based on your
whole relationship with Council
We will be better placed to align our
communications with your individual
preferences and expectations
We will anticipate your needs, and
provide proactive and helpful service
Increase the availability of service
You will have a greater choice of
offerings across all Customer Service contact method for a wider range
Charter contact channels
of services
Improve and increase our suite
of online self service capabilities
ensuring mobile device compatibility
You will have anywhere, any time
access to a range of services
Improve service provisions during out
We will be better able to resolve your
of office hours to ensure customers
time dependent requests outside of
are able to effectively access
normal business hours
services, anywhere anytime
To provide greater
visibility to customers
on the progress of
their requests and past
interactions.
Proactively provide all relevant
information to customers as they
request services to ensure clear
expectations and understanding of
our processes
You will have a clear understanding
of how your request will be handled
upfront
Council will be more accountable
to deliver to agreed standards, and
will keep you informed if that is
not possible
We will keep you informed on the
progress of your requests so you
don’t have to follow up with us.
Generate meaningful and immediate
updates on request progress and
proactively communicate these to
customers via their preferred contact
channel.
Finding status updates on your
outstanding customer requests will
be easier through an improved
online interface
13
13
Customer First Strategy 2015
14
14
Customer First Strategy 2015
We will improve our service through technology
Technology has changed the way people live and work.
Customer expectations of timeliness and options are now very
Customer First Strategy 2015
Objective
Harness technology to
deliver quality and timely
customer service
different from five years ago and will continue to evolve.
Strategic Initiatives
Utilise VOIP telephony to manage
customer contacts efficiently and
effectively
Consider customer experience
in design and implementation of
systems, processes and technology
We want to harness the opportunities that technology
Customer Outcomes
You will wait less time for your calls
to be answered
You calls will be directed to an
appropriately skilled person in the
first instance
We will use systems that make your
contact with Council easier
Your requests will reach our field staff
faster and enable action sooner
presents us and provide better service and better value to
our customers.
Develop integrated mobile solutions
for customers and staff
Status updates from field staff will be
sent to you in real time
You will be able to send and receive
images to improve communication
Deliver value for money
Promote lower cost channels as
simple and convenient contact
methods
Utilise systems to manage workflows
and tasks more efficiently, eliminating
double handling or unnecessary
checks
Using online channels will reduce our
service costs
We will have extra capacity to
comprehensively manage complex
queries
We will respond to your contact
faster by having the right people in
the right place at the right time
You will be able to access a wider
range of services through our
existing Community Link offices
Promote Community Link services to
add value to local communities
Improve service delivery
through collecting and
managing data
Develop ongoing and reliable
methods of assessing customer
satisfaction
We will promote our Community Link
facilities for greater use by our local
communities
We will measure your satisfaction
with our service and use this to drive
further improvements
Ensure all complaints are managed
and recorded in line with Council’s
Complaint Policy and report on
complaint data to drive service
improvements
It will be easier for you to lodge
complaints and the process will be
more transparent
Capture and analyse data to
identify the primary drivers of
customer satisfaction and potential
efficiency gains
We will use your feedback to drive
further improvements to our service
15
15
Customer First Strategy 2015
16
16
Customer First Strategy 2015
Our staff will demonstrate strong customer focus
in all they do.
We believe that our staff are the most important factor in
delivering our commitment to better service. We will recruit,
develop and support them to provide consistent high
quality service every time you contact us.
Objective
To recruit the right
people to help
deliver our vision
To develop a
highly trained
team committed
to delivering great
service
To embed our value
of Customer Focus
throughout the
organisation
Strategic Initiatives
Customer Outcomes
Develop a recruitment strategy to
ensure selection of best available
candidates
You will be served by skilled and
professional customer service staff
Introduce succession planning to
The service you receive will be of a
allow for seamless transition of senior consistent high standard, regardless of
vacancies
our internal changes
Utilise the learning and development
framework and tools, as well as
quality programs, to ensure all team
members are trained to deliver
consistent service
The service you receive will be consistent
at all times, regardless of who you are
served by or by what contact method
you use
Improve staff engagement and
awareness of customer satisfaction
drivers
Our staff will be engaged and passionate
and will strive to assist you in the best
way possible
Provide easy access to up to date,
relevant information to support staff
deliver correct advice
We will give you the right advice everytime
you contact us
Ensuring that organisationally wide,
staff are aware of, and engaged with,
our Customer First vision
You will receive professional customer
service not only from our Customer
Service team, but from all Council staff
Provide pathways for career
progression of Customer Service
staff to other areas of Council
Skilled and professional customer
service staff will be available across
multiple Council departments, ensuring
a consistent high standard of customer
service across all areas of Council
Customer First Strategy 2015
17
17
Customer First Strategy 2015
Customer First Strategy 2015
18
18
Customer First Strategy 2015
19
19
Evaluation
The delivery of this strategy has been identified as one of thirteen
key strategic activities in the 2015-2016 Council Plan Update.
They key performance indicator for this key strategic activity
will be the delivery of 90% of the identified first year action items
from the Customer First Action Plan and results will be
published accordingly.
Our primary indicator of performance will be customer
satisfaction, measured through both newly created internal
channel measurements and through external data from the Local
Government Community Satisfaction Survey, benchmarking
surveys, and other quality framework measures.
For more information and to keep up to date on our customer
focused initiatives, please refer to :
www.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/customerfirst.