Agenda item

[Andy Moran, Director of Commercial Services, to present report]

Andy Moran, Director of Commercial Services, gave a short presentation about the performance of the customer services and the changes made to the service. The Director of Commercial Services advised the panel that Lisa Taylor, had recently been appointed to the post of Head of Customer Services as part the new strategy. The Director of Commercial Services gave an update on the proposed customer services operating model designed to respond to concerns about the performance. The Director of Commercial Services advised that the panel that the new system would categorise customer enquiries which can be fulfilled through self-service and those more complex enquiries would be dealt with separately. The panel were advised that the council receive 50,000 calls a month and that the current model was not sustainable in the long term in managing this level of customer contact.

The Director of Commercial Services advised the panel of a range of process changes made to support the new operating model, for example, re-organising the customer services team and also future changes, for example, the potential for using Skype to deal with planning enquiries more quickly.

The Director of Commercial Services advised the panel that an important part of the process is to have a single record for every customer rather than multiple records for the same person held by different service areas, relating to other enquiries.

The Director of Commercial Services commented on the technology being introduced to support this change, which would allow the customer to check progress and reduce the number of calls to the Council. The new customer system would help to avoid unnecessary duplication of similar types of enquiries and reduce the number of enquiries in the new process. The system would be provided with new functionality and supported by a reduction in the current number of 1700 web pages. The content on council web pages is being reviewed to further support this work.

The panel were advised that work is being done to get more people to deal with telephone enquiries in response to the difficulties highlighted in the report.

The panel commented that the current call back system is not working and gave examples of complaints received from residents. The Director of Commercial Services accepted the frustration experienced by customers and explained that work was being done to introduce changes from April 2019 to the telephone system which would provide a better response.

The panel criticised the poor performance of the customer services as detailed in the report in terms of the length of time taken to answer calls and the number of calls not answered. The panel commented that previous assurances given to them that planned changes would  provide a better customer service experience had not been delivered, despite considerable investment over many years.

The Director of Commercial Services accepted the criticism of the previous changes but added that it was necessary to install the base systems in order to deliver a better service that can work together more efficiently.

The panel discussed the previous performance standard that telephone calls to the Council would be answered within five rings and suggested that this should be re-introduced. The panel commented  about the lengthy wait was unacceptable for residents trying to get help with their enquiries.

The panel commented on their own experiences and those from residents of lengthy wait on the phone when trying to contact the Council and were concerned that despite previous investment that waits of 40 minutes for answer continue. The Director of Commercial Services accepted the criticism of the telephone service and commented that efforts were aimed on reducing the 50,000 calls, which are much higher level of caller volume compared to other authorities. The situation will be improved when the number of calls is reduced significantly.

The panel commented on the poor experience of the automated telephone payment system and reported advice given to a resident who was unable to use the system. The Director of Commercial Services agreed to follow up this as the information given by the adviser to the resident as a solution was incorrect.

The panel queried when a full roll out of the new system would be completed. The Director of Commercial Services advised the system would be operational from April 2019 and other features rolled out over this period.

The panel queried if there were sufficient number of customer service advisers to deal with current demand. The Director of Commercial Services advised that the numbers of advisers have not changed but  the service has  been re-organised  to respond to demands.

The panel queried current expenditure of the Council’s Digital Transformation Programme. The Director of Commercial Services advised the panel that the capital budget for the programme is £3 million.

The panel queried the feasibility of reducing operating costs by £850,000 as stated in the report and details of how this would be achieved. The Director of Commercial Services responded that technology is not well organised in the contact centre and investment in the new technology would support the delivery of the programme aims.

The panel expressed concerns about residents who either don’t have bank accounts or not comfortable with using new technology and how they will be supported. The panel wanted reassurance that the needs of specific groups would be considered, and suitable alternatives provided.

The panel discussed the level of preparedness for the exit of the UK from the

EU in March 2019 and any consideration given to the impact on the planned

introduction of the new customer services system. The Director of

Commercial Services advised the panel of the interim measures being

planned to reduce the risk of any possible disruption.

Louise Miles, Cabinet Member for Resources, accepted that the performance of the customer services was deeply unsatisfactory and when appointed to the Cabinet a commitment was made to be open about the problems with the service. The Cabinet Member commented on action taken in response to concerns expressed about the service and gave an assurance that advice given to the public about the automated payment system would not be repeated.

The Head of Customer Services advised that transfer of customer services contact centre from Wolverhampton Homes to the Council has been put on hold temporarily.

The panel thanked the Director of Commercial Services for the report and presentation.

Resolved:

1.    The panel comments on the current service performance and the proposed customer services operating model to be considered by the Head of Customer Services.

2.    The working group to be established to review progress of plans to manage simple and complex customer enquiries. A date to be agreed with members.

3.    The findings of the working group to be reported to the panel meeting on 10 April 2019.