Appendix
Terms of Reference
Project Title: Customer Care – Phase 2
1. Background
Rother District Council adopted a new Corporate Plan in 2006 in which one of its Aims is to ‘Put Customers First’.
This Project seeks to build upon the work to date by carrying out a fundamental review of Rother’s customer handling and putting in place the necessary changes to enhance the customer experience and improve customer satisfaction.
A Customer Care project team was established for phase 1 of the project – that being to look at customer handling in and around the authority.
Attached to these Terms of Reference is the Phase 1 Summary Report
2. Objective
- 80% of all enquiries dealt with on first contact
- Better alignment of front/back office to achieve quality customer care
- Improve customer experience
- Increase in customer satisfaction
- RDC reputation improved year on year
3. Scope
The overall scope of this project involves significant process improvement and cultural change over a number of months, if not years. It will commence with a review of customer experience and staff knowledge of engagement with customers and to capture and continually evaluate that data in order to make future management and marketing decisions. In parallel with this work is the need to evaluate the systems and access routes for customers into Rother District Council and map out how the customer enquires are best dealt with. That work will inform the processes that require re-engineering to better align, and maximise efficiencies, between back and front office to improve the customer experience and meet the Objectives as set out above.
Phase 2 of the project now takes the phase 1 findings and sets out 3 scopes for the implementation plan towards meeting the overall project scope:
The targets and sub-scopes for this next phase (phase 2) is as follows:
Year 1 (Financial Year 07/08)
- By the end of FY 07/08, where appropriate, we will have separated out telephone calls from the CHP and have set a benchmark that 70% of all calls coming into the authority will be answered first time.
- The top 50 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) will be accessible on the web and available through the Council services
- The top 15 Frequently Requested Services (FRSs) will be accessible on the web and available through the Council services
- Service departments will have responsible Officers and systems in place to ensure customer enquiries are being answered
- A system of monitoring this to be in place and reported monthly to smt
- Customer Service Standards embedded across the organisation
Year 2 (FY 08/09)
- By the end of FY 08/09 80% of all calls coming into the authority will be answered first time
- The top 150 FAQs to be accessible on the web and available through the Council services
- The top 40 FRS to be accessible on the web and available through the Council services
- All staff trained in customer care
- Customer research findings informing SMT of management and marketing decisions
Year 3 (FY 09/10)
- Flexible working will be established and telephone calls coming into the authority capable of being answered virtually
- Customer satisfaction with overall performance of RDC up from 56% to 70%
- On-going customer care training
- Number of f2f and telephone enquiries reduced with a growing increase in website transaction
Sub-Scope 1 (Tasks 1-3)
Where appropriate, to separate the telephone enquiries from f2f enquiries, in order to meet the objectives as set out in the Terms of Reference.
This will require determining the location for the telephone answering, the infrastructure needed to make it function efficiently and effectively, a review of staff structures and resources across front and back office, to re-engineer workflow processes in line with Tasks 4-9.
To work in parallel with the sub-scopes 2 and 3 and integrate within the overall project plan scope.
Deliverables of sub-scope 1 (Tasks 1-3)
- A telephone answering point separate from f2f enquires
- New ITC to enable efficient and swift information responses and transactions at both the telephone point and CHP
- Office accommodation equipped to encourage quality customer servicing
- Staffing structures that enable good management in planning and operating the telephone point and CHP.
- Staffing structures and ICT provision to enable monitoring and measurement of the customer care objectives and customer care standards
Sub-scope 2 (Tasks 4-8)
- Devise and build frequently asked questions and answers utilising the “thin CRM” and customer services area of the website (that will be developed under the web development plan)
- Review and re-engineer customer transactions to be fit for purpose
- Report to Project Manager on the staffing implications for completing an accelerated programme of web development and business process improvement.
- Make recommendations to the Project Manager on the ICT and training resources needed to undertake the tasks
- Align the methods of collecting customer transaction intelligence utilising ”thin CRM” to operate in both the CHP and telephone handling points
- Facilitate, in conjunction with the Business Development Section, the implementation of the “thin CRM”.
Deliverables of sub-scope 2 (Tasks 4-8)
- The development of a knowledge base through the development of FAQs and FRSs for use by website users, CHP and telephone handling staff.
- Putting in place the requisite staffing, resources and ICT to facilitate re-designed business processes.
- Procedure notes including the handover points between where answers are to be provided by specialists rather than the generalist Customer Service Advisors
- Accurate and consistent answers to customer questions
- The ability to gather customer transaction intelligence enabling better customer management/service
- Increasing the range of information and services available via the website for customers to access at a time convenient to them.
Sub-scope 3 (Task 9)
- To establish an Officer in each Division empowered and accountable for ensuring the adopted Customer Service standards are met.
- Accountable Officers to discuss with their respective Heads of Service the staffing structures and resources required to support the publicised Service numbers robustly and meet the adopted Customer Care standards.
- To devise procedures and practices that embed the customer first ethos throughout the Authority, distinguishing between internal and external customers (excluding cold callers & spam).
- To define the limited circumstances in which the use of Voicemail is appropriate and set conditions of use to ensure customer standards are met.
- To determine the need for guidance notes and training to ensure that customer enquiries are handled well and recorded.
- To put in place appropriate reports in order to monitor performance and measure improvement against the baseline assessment.
Deliverables of sub-scope 3 (Task 8)
- Customer standards are met and a customer first ethos is embedded throughout the Council.
4. Constraints
- Research and ‘customer care’ skills/competencies are limited
- May require a complete reconfiguration/integration of the current ICT systems that make the project cost prohibitive or questions VFM
- May require some parallel running, as services will continue to operate during any potential change over of systems
5. Assumptions
- Customer research project delivers initial phases on time
- Council will invest in customer research, training and infrastructure
- Staff will need to become engaged in process of change in attitudes and work flows
6. Reporting
- Project Sponsor (Derek Stevens)
- Project Manager (Anthony Leonard)
- Project Team (TBD)
- Other reporting (TBD)
7. Communications
The Phase 1 and Phase 2 implementation plans held on central file accessible by the project team, HoS and SMT.
Project Manager to report via e-mail on key milestones to all staff
8. Deliverables
- Review of systems, processes and capacity for improvement in customer care and recommendations for improvement
- New systems to capture and integrate customer data for management decisions to improve customer experience and satisfaction
- New systems for monitoring and review of customer experience
- New processes for managing workflow and dealing with customer at point of contact
- Staff training and development plan for customer services, with all relevant staff trained to acceptable standards.
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cb070416 – Customer Care – Appendix