Issue - meetings

Report of the Director – Finance and Corporate Services

The Communications and Customer Services Manager presented the Council’s Customer Access Strategy to the Group.

The Group was informed that the previous Customer Access Strategy had expired in 2017 and that covid-19 had brought about significant changes in resident behaviours and the Council therefore wanted to ensure that it delivered contemporary, efficient and easy to use channels for residents to access services where and when they needed them.

The Group was informed that the Strategy sought to respond to customer’s current and future needs and to identify and explore innovative digital options to meet the increased engagement with web and email services, whilst balancing with the continued need for traditional face to face and over the phone services. The Group weas informed that the Council was looking at its customer services sites and working with partners to ensure that they were accessible and were places that residents felt that they could visit.

The Communications and Customer Services Manager said that the key themes of the Strategy were to build on and explore innovation, embed further self-service, review and building on partnerships and to listening and respond to residents

In relation to the Action Plan, The Communications and Customer Services Manager ran through the key elements which were to identify and explore new contact channels, develop and embed self-services and online options, aided by free wi-fi at customer service sites, showcase digital solutions in person to customers, review existing contact point locations, use Customer Service Advisors to further shape services, signpost customers to develop their digital skills, have clear Customer Service Standards across channels and sites, review service level agreements with partners, routinely monitor customer feedback and satisfaction, evaluate systems for more responsive service and review postal communication. 

Members of the Group said that they were pleased to see that face to face and telephone services were still being offered. The Group referred to some hold messages being irritating, in particular when being constantly directed to the website.

The Communications and Customer Services Manager explained that often the answer to a customer’s query could be found on the website and so the Council would continue to signpost to it. He explained that the Council was also exploring chat bot options as an effective way of providing quick answers. He confirmed that the key aim was to provide features that helped people find information quicker, whilst noting that it would be important to find balance between options.

Councillor R Mallender understood but thought that there were times when people just wanted to speak to a human being or required help in understanding nuanced information, and so it was therefore important to continue to offer the option. The Communications and Customer Services Manager assured the Group that the Council was committed to providing the option of having someone to speak to, to meet the needs of the Borough’s demographic but that there was also need to review how it would evolve over the next three years.

The Communications and Customer Services Manager  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31