Agenda item

(Leader of the Council) To consider the attached report (C-074-2015/16).

(1)        That the recommendations made to the Council by the Customer Services Review Group (as attached at Appendix 1 of the report) be accepted in principle as a starting point for the Transformation Programme  - Customer Experience Workstream;

(2)        That, having considered the options, a centralised customer services function be agreed;

(3)        That the following steps be approved:

            (a)        the appointment of a Customer Services Manager and IT support post for the        Council, with a further report to the Cabinet on any additional resources required and         options for filling these positions;

            (b)        the Transformation Programme Board to consider the organisational structure for             the customer services function;

            (c)        the repair or replacement of the atrium windows during the 2016/17 financial         year with a further report to the Cabinet if additional resources be required;

            (d)        to undertake a full feasibility design and costing of the main reception         including its accommodation needs by October 2016;

            (e)        to seek a recommendation from Officers on a suitable Customer Relationship       Management system for the Council (formal evaluation stage to be completed by            October 2016);

            (f)        to initiate discussions with public sector partners to explore the potential for            sharing reception space and to accommodate this within any design; and

            (g)        to set targets and a timescale for the further discovery and implementation            stages from the Transformation Programme Board, including formal monitoring of customer visits.

The Leader of Council presented a report on the Customer Experience Work Stream as part of the Transformation Programme.

The Leader reported that in April 2015, as part of the Corporate Plan Action Plan for 2015/16, the Council had set a Key Action of having efficient arrangements in place to enable customers to contact the Council easily in a variety of convenient ways and, in most cases, have their service needs met effectively on first contact. The Action Plan for 2015/16 required that a multi-disciplinary Officer group be established to undertake a review and report on proposals for improving customer contact with the Council by March 2016.

The Leader stated that the review had now been undertaken and it had proposed a number of recommendations across three areas:

            (i)         proposals for a rationalised reception service and options for handling customer     contact;

            (ii)        how to develop business processes to enable channel shift to cost effective            channels; and

            (iii)       proposals for the evaluation of Customer Relationship Management (CRM)             systems.

The Cabinet was requested to accept the recommendations of the Review in principle as a starting point for transforming the Customer Experience, agree the implementation of a centralised customer services function, and progress a number of further steps including the appointment of a Customer Services Manager, investigation of potential Customer Relationship Management systems and the repair or replacement of the atrium windows.

The Cabinet welcomed the report and felt it was important to both improve services and reduce costs. The Portfolio Holder for Governance & Development Management supported the bringing together of the various customer services into one location, and the appointment of a Customer Services Manager, and suggested investigating whether the atrium windows could be removed to generate additional usable space. The Portfolio Holder for Planning Policy commented that, although methods of communication had changed drastically in recent time, residents still needed to visit the Civic Offices. Some of these visitors could be distressed and therefore it was important to deal with visitors as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Decision:

(1)        That the recommendations made to the Council by the Customer Services Review Group (as attached at Appendix 1 of the report) be accepted in principle as a starting point for the Transformation Programme  - Customer Experience Work Stream;

(2)        That, having considered the options, a centralised customer services function be agreed;

(3)        That the following steps be approved:

            (a)        the appointment of a Customer Services Manager and IT support post for the         Council, with a further report to the Cabinet on any additional resources required and          options for filling these positions;

            (b)        the Transformation Programme Board to consider the organisational structure for   the customer services function;

            (c)        the repair or replacement of the atrium windows during the 2016/17 financial           year with a further report to the Cabinet if additional resources be required;

            (d)        to undertake a full feasibility design and costing of the main reception          including its accommodation needs by October 2016;

            (e)        to seek a recommendation from Officers on a suitable Customer Relationship         Management system for the Council (formal evaluation stage to be completed by October 2016);

            (f)         to initiate discussions with public sector partners to explore the potential for             sharing reception space and to accommodate this within any design; and

            (g)        to set targets and a timescale for the further discovery and implementation  stages from the Transformation Programme Board, including formal monitoring of    customer visits.

Reasons for Decision:

The anticipated benefits of this approach would be:

•        increased accessibility to services that matched the changing needs of our aging population;

•        increased proportion of customer contacts completed at the first point of contact;

•        reduced need for customers to re-tell their stories by using a light Customer Relationship Management system;

•        increased efficiency and cost reduction, ‘nudging’ customers to complete their transactions using self-service; and

•        increased satisfaction with our customer service.

Other Options Considered and Rejected:

(i)         To not implement a combined reception area or centralised customer contact handling.

(ii)        To continue to provide services to the public in the manner currently undertaken.

(iii)       To not bring forward the required repairs to the Atrium windows to 2016/17.

(iv)       To not seek the implementation of a CRM system.