Agenda item

Members were asked to give consideration to a report regarding the Customer First Strategy. This was introduced by Michelle Carrington, Strategic Lead - Customer First. She explained that the council faced twin pressures to continually improve the services it offers to residents, businesses and visitors whilst at the same time trying to reduce its costs as budgets become tighter. In order to do this it was proposed that two principal methods were adopted. Firstly, that the council transformed the services which dealt directly with customers so that they put the customer at the heart of everything the Council does (the “customer centric organisation”) and secondly, where appropriate, it utilised technology to improve the overall speed and accuracy of the service the customer received at a cost that was sustainable and affordable in the long term.

She added that this would be a major transformation programme and had the potential to deliver significant savings over the long term as well as greatly increase the levels of customer satisfaction with the Council. In order to go into more detail, the Strategic Lead drew Members’ attention to sections within the Executive Summary and explained the documents were also to be presented to the Prosperous Communities Committee.

There were several questions from Members of Committee and the Strategic Lead was thanked for presenting the report. There was significant discussion regarding the importance of attitudes and behaviours within the council and how these could have a positive or negative impact for customers. It was confirmed there would be a significant programme of training across the council. A Member of Committee enquired whether the training would be provided internally or by external organisations and it was explained that all management and some officers had already attended customer service training provided by the Institute of Customer Services. This had been very well received and was of a very high quality. It was acknowledged that there was a cost implication of using external organisations and the intention was to tailor more council-specific training to be rolled out to all officers via blended training. This was explained to be a combination of face-to-face sessions as well as online and ‘on the job’ training.

There was acknowledgement amongst Members that there had been a marked improvement in recent months in customer service and feedback received by Councillors from their constituents. It was also highlighted that since the establishment of the Customer Experience Officer role, there had been a significant improvement in complaints handling and communication with customers.

Members of Committee discussed the need for culture change across the council and questions as to how this would be achieved. Aside from the training programme, it was explained that the need to demonstrate the right behaviours and attitudes would be assessed from the outset of the recruitment process and the focus would not necessarily be on skills but on attitude, depending on role. The policy of recruiting to achieve certain attitudes would then filter through the appraisal system and the competency framework would be configured to promote high levels of customer service. It was also highlighted that it would be a transitionary programme and where the final goal was to be ‘one council’ there would be a period of transition where some areas may be further ahead than others.

Members of Committee expressed satisfaction with the strategy and positive feedback was given regarding the work accomplished so far. There was discussion about the configuration of the customer services area of the council building and it was confirmed this was being looked at. It also had to take into consideration the needs of the council’s partners who share the space and Members would be kept updated.

A Member of Committee enquired whether there was any plan to update Members on the progress of the strategy throughout the implementation and it was confirmed that the Strategic Lead would attend the scrutiny committee, or other committees as necessary, to ensure Members were kept informed. It was agreed with would be arranged with the Democratic and Civic Officer.

At the conclusion of discussions it was RESOLVED that:

a)    The report and strategy be supported and recommended to the Prosperous Communities Committee; and

b)    The Strategic Lead be invited to return to the Challenge and Improvement Committee to provide updates on the strategy at regular intervals throughout the implementation of the strategy.