Transforming the public sector - TRANSCRIPT
Transforming the public sector - TRANSCRIPT
[Close-up of digital clock-radio. Time changes from 6:59 to 7:00. A ‘beep’ is heard then the radio comes on.]
Announcer:
BBC Radio Rummidge. It’s Monday the 20th of October 2009. The news at seven o’clock. One hour ago the Rummidge variable congestion charge came into effect.
Announcer:
The scheme designed to encourage the use of public transport charges drivers for each mile they travel with variable charges according to how easily the driver’s journey could have been completed using public transport.
[Finger presses button on remote-control shutting off radio.]
[Man shaving in front of mirror.]
[Text on screen: “Exceeding expectations”]
Woman’s voice in background:
Don’t forget you’re meeting your mother at the council today.
[Man gets dressed, goes downstairs, sits down in front of computer with a cup of tea. Mobile phone beeps. Picks up mobile. Looks at email message on phone.]
From: Rummidge City Council
Date: 20/10/09 13:34
Good morning! A quick reminder that we are trimming the trees in your street today, October 20th 2009. Please ensure that your car is not parked there between 10am and 3pm. Thank you very much Rummidge Green Streets Team
[Man drives to work., enters office, hangs up coat.]
Jan (at desk):
Morning Mr Burgess.
[Text on screen: “08:12”]
[Man sits at desk in front of computer, presses button on intercom.]
Dennis Burgess:
Morning Jan can I have a coffee please. Have we received the planning approval for the new sign yet?
Jan:
No they said that.
Dennis Burgess (interrupting):
No! These people have no idea of customer service. You know if they were a business they’d be finished by now.
[Jan nods at Mr Burgess’ rant.]
Jan:
Well they sent.
Dennis Burgess (interrupting):
Can you please get me the number for the boss of Rummidge City Council thank you.
Jan:
It’s 2 2 2 0 0 0 0.
Dennis Burgess:
Is that the number for the boss?
Jan:
No, that’s the number of the council.
Dennis Burgess:
No I want the number of someone important: a councillor, COUNCILLOR or something.
Jan:
I’m sorry but they’ve only got one number and apparently that’s the number for everything.
[Mr Burgess is shown with the phone to his ear.]
Voice on phone:
Rummidge City Council. How can I help?
Dennis Burgess:
Help, well I’m not sure if you can help. Can I speak to a councillor, please?
Telephone operator:
Oh we can certainly arrange for you to meet a councillor sir, but can I help you?
Dennis Burgess:
I really don’t think a telephone operator can help me with this.
Telephone operator:
If you can tell me what you want, I may be able to help you.
Dennis Burgess (not convinced):
Oh I’ll tell you what I want. I want to speak to a councillor.
Telephone operator:
Okay that’s fine. I’ll see when the next councillor’s clinic is in your ward. Can I have your postcode please?
Dennis Burgess:
RC11 8DA.
Telephone operator:
Councillor Mumford’s doing a clinic at the Park Road One Stop Shop today. Would that suit you, sir?
Dennis Burgess:
Well I was planning to go to the City centre One Stop Shop at 12.30. Can’t he meet me there?
Telephone operator:
Not today I’m sorry, sir. Whatever it is you are planning to do at the City Centre Shop should be possible at the Park Road Shop.
Dennis Burgess:
Are you sure?
Telephone operator:
I’m absolutely certain sir.
Dennis Burgess:
Right, in that case give me a 12 to 12.30 with a councillor.
[Mr Burgess presses a button on his intercom.]
Dennis Burgess:
Jan can you move the mother meeting to Park Road One Stop Shop?
Dennis Burgess (to telephone operator):
Right….
[Cut to next scene. The telephone operator is speaking to us.]
Telephone operator:
I must admit that when the transformation project was first announced I was really worried about it but we’ve had loads of training and the IP system really helps us. We can deal with most callers the first time they call us. We can even tell them about services they need that they didn’t know about. Our customers are gradually finding out we can give them excellent service and if they haven’t dealt with us for a while it’s just great to surprise them.
[Text on screen: “11:56.”]
[Dennis Burgess walks into the Park Road One Stop Shop.]
Dennis Burgess:
I have a meeting today with Councillor Mumford at 12 o’clock.
Receptionist:
Yes you must be Mr Burgess.
Dennis Burgess:
Yes I am.
Receptionist:
Would you like to take a seat.
[Dennis Burgess takes a seat. Electronic display flashes: Dennis Burgess Room 2. He gets up.]
Cr Mumford (to Dennis Burgess):
So what can I do for you that the service management team couldn’t do?
Dennis Burgess:
Right. Well I run Burgess Systems and I know a bit about customer service and marketing and I need a brand new sign outside my business. So I applied last week for planning permission and it has as yet not been approved so I want to know what’s going on and what you’re going to do about it.
Cr Mumford:
Okay Mr Burgess have you checked the status of the application online?
Dennis Burgess:
No.
Cr Mumford:
Do you have your application number?
Dennis Burgess:
No.
Cr Mumford:
Okay, don’t worry we’ll find it.
[Cr Mumford logs into the system and searches for recent planning applications. She finds Dennis Burgess’ application and a listing of objections to his application.]
Cr Mumford:
Okay. Well it looks like there have been a couple of objections already.
Dennis Burgess:
Haven’t these people got anything better to do, and how do they know about this anyway?
Cr Mumford:
Well after your application is filed it goes on our website.
Dennis Burgess:
So these people spend their whole time trawling through the internet looking for planning applications to object to!
Cr Mumford:
Not quite Mr Burgess. We have a scheme whereby you can receive notification whenever a planning application is filed within a certain distance of your home or business.
Dennis Burgess (sarcastically):
Great, very customer-centric! So what about my application?
Cr Mumford:
Well, we sent you a letter last week to arrange for a planning officer to come over and visit the premises, but we haven’t had a reply yet.
Dennis Burgess:
Excuse me, what letter? You spend your whole time emailing everybody but you haven’t even emailed me.
[Cr Mumford checks her computer.]
Cr Mumford:
It seems that you didn’t want to be contacted by email. Why don’t I take your email address right now?
Dennis Burgess:
Right. It’s
[Cr Mumford types his email address into the computer.]
Cr Mumford:
So, should we arrange for a planning officer to come over? How about later today … 3 o’clock?
Dennis Burgess:
3 PM? Yeah sure.
Cr Mumford:
Okay. You’ll get an email to confirm. Is there anything else I can do to help?
Dennis Burgess:
No thank you that will be fine. [Phone beeps.] Oh excuse me, that’ll be a customer.
[Checks phone. It is an email confirming the planning officer will be at his office at 3pm.]
Dennis Burgess:
Right. Right. Well I better be off, um, business beckons. Thank you.
[Cut to next scene. Cr Mumford is talking to us.]
Cr Mumford:
When the chief exec and the leader of the council set out a vision for a transformed Rummidge five years ago, one of the big drivers was improving customer service. We completely changed the way we interact with our customers: one-stop shops, one single call-centre number and online access to everything. Now as a councillor I can actually sort out problems rather than just report complaints. Basically the employees and elected members of Rummidge Council have been freed to do what they want to do: deliver quality services to the people of Rummidge.
[Text on screen: “12:06.”]
[Dennis Burgess is waiting in the One Stop Shop. His mother walks in.)
Ingrid Burgess:
Hello Dennis.
Dennis Burgess:
Mum.
Ingrid Burgess:
How are you?
Dennis Burgess:
Fine.
[They hug. Text on screen: “12:27.”]
Ingrid Burgess:
What’s this? (Fiddles with his jacket.) Isn’t it a bit cold for this jacket?
Dennis Burgess:
Mum please.
Ingrid Burgess:
Ah…sorry. Right what do we do now?
Dennis Burgess:
Right well I think the way it works is we just go to reception and they’ll tell us where we need to go. Right.
[Close up of computer screen with names and room allocations.]
Dennis Burgess:
Desk 3, here we are. [They sit down on chairs in front of a woman.] Hello Mr Burgess. My mother’s just moved back to Rummidge and I’m here to help her sort out a travel-pass and a library card.
Receptionist:
That’s okay. Welcome back to Rummidge Mrs Burgess. Can I take your first names please?
Ingrid Burgess:
Ingrid Martha. [Takes out a slip of paper and passes it to the receptionist.]
Receptionist:
Right…and you used to live at Wetherby Way - is that right?
Ingrid Burgess:
That’s right.
Receptionist:
Can you give me your new address please?
Ingrid Burgess:
It’s 50 Watts Lane BC11 5HQ.
Receptionist (holding PC monitor):
I’m going to turn this around so you can actually see what I’m doing here. [Turns the PC monitor to face Mrs Burgess.]
[We see a close-up of actions on the PC screen as the receptionist describes what she is doing.]
Receptionist:
Now I’m going to go into ‘Residence’ – ‘Rummidge Residence.’ And now we’re going to go into ‘Returning Resident’ – this is you. [Ingrid’s details appear on the screen.] So – you are looking for a travel-pass [points at screen] and a library card.
Ingrid Burgess:
Yes.
Receptionist:
That’s no problem. How about a leisure card to give you access to the museums and the sports centres in Rummidge?
Ingrid Burgess (delighted):
Oh that would be good!
Receptionist:
That’s no problem. We can do that for you. The service I would recommend is what we call our Care Line.
[Conversation fades away as the song “Keep the Customer Satisfied” starts playing in the background. Various services being offered to Mrs Burgess, and her and the receptionist happily chat away. Mrs Burgess goes away with a bundle of goodies looking very satisfied.]
[Text on screen: “15:10.” Mr Burgess is looking out the window of his office.]
Planning officer (voiceover):
Planning is an important part of a council’s responsibilities. We have to manage the expectations of a large group of people, and the decisions we make affect the environment we all live in. I’ve worked in the planning office for quite a few years, and things have certainly changed since I started. I used to spend more time handling applications but now I can spend more time on the road actually being a planning officer rather than just a paper pusher. It can be a little bit unpredictable at times but any unexpected jobs come through on my PDA electronically and then I’m always prepared. I’d say all-in-all it’s a lot more satisfying and I’m certainly more productive.
[Song “Keep the Customer Satisfied” plays as car pulls into parking space.]
[Text on screen: “19:46.” Dennis Burgess is logging into the Rummidge Council website to check the status of his planning application. Makes a VOIP call from the website. Council receptionist gets an alert: Call from website on her PC. Answers the incoming call.]
Receptionist:
Good evening Rummidge City Council.
Dennis Burgess:
Ah...good evening…um…I…
Receptionist:
You’re looking at the planning application status page on our website.
Dennis Burgess:
Yes I am.
Receptionist:
Could you please confirm your email address for me.
Dennis Burgess:
Ah yes, it’s .
Receptionist:
Thanks Mr Burgess. How can I help you?
Dennis Burgess:
Yes well I can see on the website that my planning application is ‘pending’. What does ‘pending’ mean?
Receptionist:
I can see the planning officer has taken some pictures this afternoon. I can see them here in front of me. [We see the images on her PC screen.] The next planning review meeting is this Thursday, so you’ll receive an email telling you want decision has been made and what to do next. Is there anything else I can help you with?
Dennis Burgess:
No that’s fine. Thank you.
Receptionist:
Thank you for calling Rummidge City Council.
Dennis Burgess:
OK…thank you. Good night.
Receptionist:
Good night.
Receptionist (voiceover):
I used to work fulltime at the call centre but now I work from home. Um…it’s much better particularly for the evening shift because it means I don’t have to travel late at night. We have a flexible working scheme in place where you can apply for particular shifts in advance that you want. It would have been impossible to do this a few years ago. There was so much paper and so many systems to learn, but now it’s all digitised. All of the paper scans in so I can pretty much do everything at home that I could – that I used to do – at work.