Witnesses
(those present varied throughout the day):
Marie Snelling, Director of Transformation
Sue
Grizzelle, Head of Customer Services
Sarah Bogunovic, Customer Relations and Service Improvement
Manager
Louise Halloway, Web and Digital
Services Manager
Rachel Bearman, Contact Centre IT
Projects/Systems Lead
Claire Thomas, Contact Centre Social Care Operations
Manager
Rik
Jackson, Digital Project Lead, Customer Services
Dr
Lisa Bursill, Assistant Director, Early Help & Hubs,
Children’s Services
Key points
raised during the discussion:
- It
was agreed that the scope of the review should focus on future
aspirations, plans and direction of travel for Customer Services
and the Customer Experience programme, rather than usual
operational or business aspects.
- It
was emphasised that it was a review of the Customer Experience
program within Transformation, rather than the operational Customer
Service function.
- It
was clarified that the review focused on Customer Experience
through a ‘two-way’ lens: how customers interacted with
Surrey County Council through Customer Services, and the ways the
Council (including, but not limited to, by Customer Services)
interacted with residents (such as through the Residents’
Survey).
- A
former Cabinet Member indicated that his experience was that, as a
Cabinet Member, he was much more informed than as an ordinary
member. As a result, he felt that consideration should be given to
improving the general knowledge of Members; in this instance in
relation to all aspects of the Customer Experience.
- This could be achieved through Councillor Training, in
particular around the ways in which residents could interact with
the Council, but also through information sharing and more regular
formal and informal interaction with the customer Contact
Centre.
- Officers explained that learning and improvement was ongoing and
largely iterative.
- The model of customer interaction being used was considered to
be the most efficient and effective because it focused on enabling
those residents that could self-serve to do so and channelled
customer enquiries through a ‘single front door’, in
this way freeing up capacity and resources for those residents with
significant and complex needs.
- A
primary focus for the Council’s website was ease of access,
with significant work being done to test improvements and changes
with various user groups. It was suggested that Members be included
as a user group.
- Good connections with the wider business across Council
departments was central to the success of the Contact Centre and it
was worth considering the existence of any blockages and how these
might be dealt with.
- The highways digital experience, which had recently undergone a
significant re-design, was considered to be very
positive.
- Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) was being
incorporated into the single front door model, in the form of an
‘Extended Local Offer’, which would result in freeing
up capacity within the service. Lessons learned from setting up the
Children’s Single Point of Access (C-SPA) would be applied.
The possibility of Surrey Fire and Rescue Services being
incorporated into Customer Services was also being
explored.
- It
was important to take into account how a customer’s first
contact experience could shape how they view an organisation,
impacting its reputation. The single front door model was
especially effective at ensuring a high quality and consistent
customer service experience at first point of contact.
- It
was commented that the single front door model would lead to a
better experience for the customer. Members remarked that it might
be interesting to see evidence of an improved experience; for
example, whether having more services being brought into the single
front door led to a better customer experience.
- The libraries transformation project currently underway also
offered opportunities. A key question for customer engagement and
the Customer Services transformation overall was how to have more
direct presence in local communities. Local engagement with
communities based on encouraging independence and self-help were
important aspects to consider. It was felt that this type of
“culture change” could be achieved through local
community engagement, possibly leading to the development of a new
face-to-face customer service offer.
- Members present felt that the carbon reduction agenda could
suggest important lessons to be applied in changing
behaviour.
- The value of Customer Services satisfaction data was questioned.
It was, though, considered valuable because it offered a feedback
channel for disgruntled customers and could also be used to suggest
areas for training based on recurrent issues.
- Technology underpinned the success of the digital transformation
of Customer Services with the emphasis being placed on digital
interaction with customers. In relation to officer experiences with
technology, the only challenge experienced was in relation to third
party provision. In-house provision of technology was
good.
- The web and digital services approach was developed through
user-testing, and data analytics tools were used to show how people
used the website; for example, they identified where customers
dropped out of a transaction.
- Recent developments included the introduction of webchat (live
chat rather than automated chat bots) on some website pages. One of
the aims of webchat was to keep as many customers as possible in
the digital space.
- In
relation to feedback, a Councillor emphasised the importance of the
link between customer insight, customer experience, and
improvement/transformation.
- Feedback from a wide range of sources (e.g. regulators like
Ofsted), in addition to that provided directly by customers, also
provided useful feedback for Customer Services.
- There were automated customer surveys at the end of telephone
calls with customers. Customers were able to rate their interaction
and make a comment which was captured verbatim. It was noted that
there was relatively low uptake of this survey, but that it could
provide useful feedback for service areas, and be beneficial for
staff morale and training purposes.
- The possibility of using sentiment analysis tools in the future
was mentioned.
- The importance of looking at feedback together, rather than in
isolation, was also highlighted.
- Continued compliance with the Customer Excellence Standard (CSE)
was a significant achievement for the service.
- The importance of the link between Customer Services and other
departments in the Council was emphasised. Feedback and insight
could (and should) be two-way.
- The strategic value of Customer Services’ expertise for
other Council services and sharing intelligence, data and insight
gathered from interactions with customers across the organisation,
including with Members, was emphasised.
- Having regular training sessions for Members and including
demonstrations of how residents could interact digitally with the
Council would be useful, as well as sharing this information with
Members and local area committees.
- Having access to service area expertise as part of the single
front door model made a significant difference to being able to
effectively manage enquiries and requests at first point of
contact. For example, there was a social worker present in the
Children’s Request for Support Team.
- There was partnership working with Districts and Boroughs; for
example, through the Surrey Contact Group and the Surrey Web
Managers’ Group meetings, where information, challenges and
learning was shared.
- However, there was a lack of commonality with the Districts and
Boroughs, particularly with regard to systems and technology and
the nature of services being delivered, which led to limited
opportunities for joint working.
- Customer Services had benchmarked online up-take against other
councils e.g. Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Kent,
Lincolnshire, and West Sussex.
- It
was noted that interaction and joint working with partners such as
Surrey Police, Surrey Fire and Rescue Services was a key part of
the work of Customer Services.
- The model of co-location where all Contact Centre staff worked
together in the same space was important to the success of the team
and this, coupled with effective working across departments in the
Council, should be preserved as far as possible whilst still
exploring opportunities for agile working where
possible.
- It
was emphasised that all being located in the same office
(co-location) was a key part of the Customer Service team’s
strength. For example, co-location enabled instant feedback
regarding the website, and ‘live’ changes to it in
response, as well as being able to react quickly to evolving
situations through the fast sharing of information; for example,
‘huddles’ with telephone agents.
- Members asked about the potential impact of the move of Customer
Services to Leatherhead on the delivery and quality of customer
service.
- There was uncertainty regarding the impact on staff numbers and
a potential for staff attrition. It was noted that this could have
an impact on delivery of customer service due to the time required
to fully train staff (up to 8 months).
- While there was scope for some teams and staff members to work
an agile way, it was not as feasible for other parts of the service
at this time.
- There was a question about whether agile working would reduce
the benefits of co-location.
- Financial efficiencies needed to be achieved in 2020/21; the FTE
reduction based on increased digital uptake and a reduction of
calls would make this achievable.
- Members requested a detailed breakdown of finances in terms of
costs and savings against the transformation programme, including
savings commitments for this year and next. They wanted this in as
much detail as possible and wanted to be clear on any changes that
had taken place from previous commitments. They also wanted to know
if the transformation programme contained a contingency budget in
case it was needed.
- A
staff survey was currently being carried out to scope potential
attrition as a result of the impending move of Customer Services to
Leatherhead and how this might impact on overall service
delivery.
- In
relation to the move, any sudden loss of staff was a risk. Members
wanted to know what the budget contingency was for Customer
Services transformation.