BV6 – page 8
ITEM BV6
Best Value & Audit Committee – 28 July 2004
Review Report
Customer Service in Environment & Economy
Review team members
Team Leader Paul Gerrish, Business Manager (E&E)
Member Representative Cllr Terry Joslin
Co-opted Member Geoff Jones
Other Team Members Nigel Strick, Head of Trading Standards & Registration
Colin Carritt, Area Engineer
Debbie Fox, Performance Management Officer
Karen Leverett, Performance Management Assistant
Laura Peacock, Planning Officer
Debbie Dent, Customer Services Manager (Resources)
Austen Naughten, Customer Services Officer (Resources)
Ian Tallent, Customer Services (Resources) Work Placement
Terms of Reference
The review should cover the following areas, ensuring that consistent systems and procedures are developed across the Directorate
Organisational Culture: How do current attitudes and behaviours in Environment & Economy reflect on the quality of customer service, and how can these be improved?
Service Standards: What level of customer service Environment and Economy can commit to providing that will be applicable to all areas of service and will provide a benchmark for measuring improvements in performance?
Information & Access: How can timely, accurate information can best be provided to customers in a way that customers want it to be provided. How can this information be provided to staff dealing with public queries?
Consultation: How can Environment & Economy improve the way it consults with its customers to assess their needs and improve levels of customer satisfaction?
Executive Summary
1. This is a cross-cutting review that impacts on all the services within the Directorate. As such gaining ownership of the outcome of the review across the Directorate is a key issue to be addressed.
2. The review has been externally focused, although it is anticipated that many of the principles will apply equally to internal services and customers. Undertaking the review led to the development of a vision for customer service within the Directorate and a number of proposed service improvements.
A Vision for Customer Service
3. Customer Service within the Environment & Economy means
4. Firstly, all customers:
· are able to contact the Council in any generally accepted way
· know what standard of service to expect when they contact the Council
· are treated courteously and with respect
· are able to readily access information about services
· are able to obtain information about the Council’s performance against published service standards
· understand how they can contribute to the decision making process
· understand how they can make their views known
· know that we will listen to their views, especially when received as part of consultation
5. Secondly, all staff understand:
· the importance of customer service to Environment & Economy
· the need to provide customers with information about our services
· the importance of seeking the views our customers
· the Management Team’s commitment to improving customer service
Proposed Service Improvements
6. The following broad areas of improvement have been identified:
· Promotion of a Customer Service Culture within the Directorate.
· Customer services training.
· Improve Recruitment and Induction of staff.
· Introduce a customer service performance framework.
· Improve telephone access to services and information.
· Improve the design, information and services contained on the website, including further development electronic contact or payment by customers.
· Improve the quality of consultations undertaken, initially by undertaking further research.
Customer Service Action Plan
7. Work on the Council’s Customer Services Strategy is going on in parallel to this review and each exercise is feeding the other.
Where appropriate, reference has been made to work being undertaken within the Corporate Development Team, particularly as it impacts on Environment & Economy (E&E). The current draft Strategy has a six point action plan associated with it, covering: Local Access Points, Contact Centre(s), Customer Service skills, Telephone Access, Commitment to Customers and the Website.
8. Not surprisingly, as members of the Corporate Development Team have been working on the Review, there is a significant correlation between the improvements suggested as part of the Review and the Action Plan being developed as part of the Corporate Strategy.
Action Plans from this Review
9. It is normal practice to develop action plans to implement the service improvements proposed. This has not been undertaken at this stage for three reasons: to ensure consistency with the Customer Services Strategy being developed, to involve those who will be responsible for implementation (to ensure ownership) and to ensure agreement is reached on the action plans as an aid to implementation.
10. Despite this, we need to make progress on implementing the proposed Service Improvements. It is proposed therefore, that the Committee agree the Service Improvements identified within the report and for officers to identify what actions are required to deliver the Service Improvements. Work should commence on implementing the actions where this is clearly not in conflict with the Strategy being developed.
Ensuring Implementation
11. Improving customer service is one of the Directorates priorities for the year. To ensure that action is taken following the outcome from this review, it is proposed to set up a Programme Board (with representatives from across the Directorate) to oversee the implementation and appoint to a full time post for a limited period to manage the implementation of the Service Improvements.
RECOMMENDATIONS
12. The Committee is RECOMMENDED to:
1. endorse the Customer Service in Environment & Economy report and Proposed Service Improvements; and
2. request a further report to the Committee, on 20 October 2004, identifying the actions to address the service improvements.
Introduction
13. The project brief, agreed by the Best Value Committee on 22 October 2003 proposed covering the review in four areas: Organisational Culture, Service Standards, Information & Access and Consultation, with a specific brief as follows:
14. Organisational Culture: How do current attitudes and behaviours in Environment & Economy reflect on the quality of customer service, and how can these be improved?
15. Service Standards: What level of customer service Environment and Economy can commit to providing that will be applicable to all areas of service and will provide a benchmark for measuring improvements in performance?
16. Information & Access: How can timely, accurate information can best be provided to customers in a way that customers want it to be provided. How can this information be provided to staff dealing with public queries?
17. Consultation: How can Environment & Economy improve the way it consults with its customers to assess their needs and improve levels of customer satisfaction?
18. In practice there is no clear boundary between these areas of work, for example areas of organisational culture impact on service standards and vice versa.
19. The review has been externally focused, although it is anticipated that many of the principles will apply equally to internal services and customers. In undertaking the review, the Council’s commitment to promoting equality and social inclusion has been prominent when considering how services are, or should be, provided.
Context
20. Within the past year the Council has appointed a Customer Services Manager and set up a Corporate Customer Services Development Team. Responsibility for ensuring that a Customer Services Strategy is developed has recently been given to a Customer Services Steering Group. At the time of writing a draft Strategy and action plan is expected to be considered by CCMT in July and the Executive in September. The final Strategy may not be agreed until later this year.
21. Work on the draft Strategy is going on in parallel to this review and each exercise is feeding the other. Where appropriate, reference has been made to work being undertaken within the Corporate Team, particularly as it impacts on Environment & Economy (E&E).
Description of Research
General
22. The research undertaken within the review is outlined below. In some cases the research undertaken has informed more than one area of work.
23. A common theme in obtaining information for the various areas was a desktop search of local authority and industry websites, including our own. Wherever appropriate the focus was on those authorities who had received awards (LGA 2004 awards, Chartermarks), high scores in comparative evaluations (CPA, BVPI) or have been highlighted in other best practice listings (CHIPS, Benchmarking).
Culture
24. Examples from industry and local government were identified where customer service is very obviously core to the business. Site visits were conducted and evidence collected as to what underpins the organisation’s customer service ethos.
25. Site visits were made to Age Concern (Oxfordshire), Virgin Trains (Customer Service Centre) and ASDA (Head Office). The findings from these visits identified some key elements to creating an organisational culture that will sustain high standards of customer service.
26. A comparison was drawn between the practices employed at the external organisations visited and those currently seen across the E&E Directorate.
Service Standards
27. The research included an audit of present standards, benchmarking with other authorities, companies and organisations and finding out the views of the public.
28. In order to obtain information about this Council, use was made of previous research, including the report on informal comments, complaints and compliments in E&E undertaken last year. Copies of leaflets and publications were obtained, comments and complaints were analysed and a mystery shopping exercise carried out.
29. To obtain information for benchmarking, a search was made of third party web-sites, copies of publications were obtained and external visits were made.
30. The views of the public were sought through citizens panels.
Information & Access
31. Use was made of the outcome from the brainstorming workshop involving a cross section of staff from the Directorate. The workshop considered the strengths and weaknesses of how we engage with customers and sought views on what obstacles there are to providing information. Some staff who work directly with the public were also asked to contribute to the review. Discussions were held with the Customer Services Development Team about the developments that are taking place within the Council, particularly related to the Council’s Customer Services Strategy and Implementing Electronic Government.
32. Evidence was taken from a survey of Oxfordshire residents, commissioned jointly by the County and District Council’s in Oxfordshire (the Oxfordshire IEG Group), and undertaken in the summer of 2002. The outcome of a Parish Survey in 2003 has also been used.
33. An evaluation of the use of the Public Enquiry Manager (PEM) system was undertaken. This system is used to log contact with the Highways Maintenance Teams and take and record subsequent action.
Consultation
34. An analysis of the Council’s consultation database was carried out. A series of case studies of past consultations in Environment & Economy were carried out to evaluate the different mechanisms used. The County Council’s Consultation Officer developed the methodology for the evaluation. The studies covered as far as possible the full range of work carried out by the Directorate and the full range of methodologies used in consultation.
Organisational Culture
35. How do current attitudes and behaviours in Environment & Economy reflect on the quality of customer service, and how can these be improved?
Key Findings
Staff Views
36. The Brainstorming Workshop and the desktop research into best practice identified some cultural / staffing issues. There was a perception that there is an unwillingness on the part of some individual members of staff to own enquiries / problems. The attitude of staff is sometimes poor. A solution put forward was for the Directorate to recognise the importance of recruiting the right person, training and managing them well, and tackling underperformance.
Customer Expectations
37. A number of Best Value Performance Indicators measure customer satisfaction with E&E services. Surveys are carried out every three years. Performance can be compared as follows:
Percentage of …. Satisfied with… / 2000/01 / 2003/04 PerformancePerformance / County Average / Top Quartile
Users … civic amenity sites / 74 / 75 / 77 / 84
All respondents … local provision of transport information / 46 / 43 / 49 / 49
All respondents … local bus services / 51 / 45 / 51 / 55
Planning applicants … service received / 88 / 84 / 93 / 85 E
38. Although the areas measured are limited, this indicates that, for 2000/01, customer satisfaction was generally above the average for County Council’s but below top quartile. Comparisons for 2003/04 should be available shortly.
39. The mystery shopping exercise carried out in May (see below) indicated a satisfaction level of 59% compared to 25% dissatisfied with the service.
40. If you assume satisfaction is a proxy measure for customer expectation, then the evidence is that the Directorate is above average in terms of expectation, but there is room for improvement.
41. As indicated above, site visits were made to Age Concern, Virgin Trains and Asda. All of the organisations knew the importance of being clear about what they can and cannot provide and of being clear about what the customer wants/needs. Age Concern gave the clearest examples of how these ideas were put into practice – the services they provide only takes place in response to an expressed need, users are involved in the planning and evaluation of services, special efforts are made for ethnic minority and disabled customers, great effort is put into helping users to understand the range of services available (i.e. NOT gardening services) and queries and complaints genuinely influence policies and services.
42. Prior to this review being undertaken, a review into informal comments, complaints and comments was undertaken within the Directorate. The report used evidence from internal and external sources to support changes being made to the way public comments are managed within the Directorate. This included clarifying definitions, improving management information, streamlining record keeping, customer satisfaction monitoring and better use of the Internet.
43. The report recognised that changes in processes were not sufficient and a strong management lead was needed in promoting a positive attitude to complaints. The information we receive through comments and complaints was not being used, but should be used to make our services better.
Recruitment
44. It is clear that the very nature of an organisation can influence the type of person who will apply for a position with that organisation. An organisation that is all about providing support and assistance is likely to attract those for whom direct interaction with the public is a large part of what they want from a job. Age Concern is a good example of this and a parallel can be seen in E&E with its Registration Service.