Customer service strategy development

A customer service strategy (including a customer access strategy) is crucial for ensuring that services are delivered efficiently and effectively to customers. Many councils make the mistake of thinking that they understand their customers' needs, but they rarely do unless they have specifically researched how their customers feel about the council and its services. Councils often make the mistake of asking the wrong questions, or asking closed questions ("would you prefer face-to-face, telephone or web contact with the Council?" rather than open ("in what ways could the Council improve how it offers its services?".

In thinking about customer service and access strategies, account has to be taken of people with particular needs - people with difficulties of transport, who live in particularly rural areas, have problems of mobility, are partially sighted, have hearing impairment, or have other disability - as well as those who simply have particular preferences or reqiurements.

The Varney report was clear in its view that public services needed to be delivered in ways that suit the customer, not the provider, and that information and services should be right first time, so that people do not have to initiate contact again and again.

These ideas are now embedded in the Service Transformation Agreement. Local authorities are under pressure not only to join up their own access to service channels, but also to join up service provision with other local public, independent and voluntary sector providers. Together with active channel management, this approach enables provision of quality services, cost-effectively, at times when customers want them.

However, access and provision must be based on people's need without exclusion. For many councils the increasing number of people dependent on housing, health, social benefits and education are a resource challenge. There is a clear correlation between the socially excluded and the digitally excluded - currently the digitally excluded cannot be expcected to "self-serve" through the internet. Much emphasis therefore needs to be placed on making phone and face to face channels operate as efficiently and effectively as possible, based on a real understanding of customer needs. Services from Socitm Consulting that suport this approach include:

• Developing customer access and channel management strategies
• Facilitating remote working - getting council staff and partner organisations out there and noticed, giving them the appropriate communications and computing devices to be effective and efficient
• Developing telephone contact centres that work efficiently
• Embedding business continuity in the design of business critical service delivery channels
• Getting the website right - relevant, up to date, easy to use, comprehensive and tranactional
• Quality management and customer satisfaction surveying

Case studies (endorsed by the clients) relating to customer service or access strategies:

Antrim - Review of customer-focused ICT strategy
Berwick-upon-Tweed - Customer services transformation
Calderdale - Customer services channel review
Cornwall - Customer access strategy
Halton - Public Access review
S Northamptonshire - Customer access strategy

Other projects we have undertaken in this area include:

If you would like to discuss how we may be able to help you in this area, please call us on 0845 450 0904, or email info@socitmconsulting.co.uk