The organisation identified the challenges faced with ongoing funding cuts and changes, impacting both residents and businesses. They identified an opportunity to inject pace and focus into the Customer Services department, improve the colleague experience & enhance the customer journey to increase accessibility and meet the needs of the communities that they serve.
Challenge
- All local authorities are under significant pressure as demands for services increase, yet budgets are reduced and expectations from residents heightened in terms of what they consider to be acceptable options and standards.
- It is also important to realise that the council works with a number of partners to deliver its services, and their needs and capabilities need to be included, as often the residents do not differentiate or make allowances for this fact.
Solution
- Undertook a significant discovery process to understand insight and processes that existed, to establish baselines & metrics so we could review current services in a balanced and unbiased way.
- A series of engagement workshops held (over 40 completed during the programme), engaging and collaborating with the experts, using a set of propriety tools and approaches.
- A programme was designed, working with colleagues, partners and customers, throughout the journey to create & deliver a set of priority work-stream projects, using a consistent framework with clearly defined goals and measures.
Outcome
- The Programme delivered an improved customer experience; reduction of call waiting time by 1 minute, increased digital online usage by 40% in one service & a new Chat automated elements of service designed.
- In addition, a reduced cost to serve was achieved through Back office process re-design & change, whilst establishing efficiencies in customer channel contact.
- Change is now seen as something that can and should be done all the time against a clear service ambition and 3 year plan, rather than a big bang project.
“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Custerian Team for joining our Getting it Right journey. The staff found the journey empowering and inspirational and we brought together hidden mixed talents and levels of confidence to achieve the best" Lid, Head of Customer Services, Wirral
