Agenda item

Report of Interim Chief Executive

Summary

To consider the findings of the Value for Money (VFM) Review report and the Customer Intelligence Improvement report, and the recommendations arising from these.

Recommendations

The Executive is recommended:

(1)               To endorse the overall conclusions of the Customer Service VFM and Customer Intelligence reports

(2)               To adopt a new vision for Customer Service to 2013/14 (as set out in Annex 1) that seeks to reduce the cost of the service, retain or improve on existing levels of satisfaction, reduce avoidable contact, manage demand and encourage greater use of online services. 

(3)               To commence a customer service transformation programme, involving all service areas, that will drive improvement in Customer Service through adopting smarter working methods to reduce avoidable contact and transactions, and through managing demand to reduce peaks and troughs in levels of transactions.

(4)               To adopt the key performance measures of speed of telephone response and call abandonment rate for the Council’s corporate score card

(5)               To establish a two-year cost savings target of £257,462 for Customer Service that addresses the high cost of the service but in a sustainable way, with minimal impact on overall service to the public, as follows;

a.      Include the elimination of all vacant posts by 2012/13, to allow time for the new payment kiosks to reduce current workload, and seek to reduce the establishment by an additional 1 FTE per annum as the transformation programme reduces overall levels of contact

b.      Note savings of £125,654 built into the 2011/12 budget as follows;

                                                              i.      Install payment kiosks (saving £65,000) as approved

                                                            ii.      Remove a vacant customer service specialist post (saving £17,000)

                                                          iii.      Remove vacant hours provision (saving £20,000)

                                                           iv.      Reduce the establishment by 1FTE (saving £23,654)

c.      Make savings of £131,808 in 2012/13 as follows;

                                                              i.      Eliminating all remaining vacant posts (saving £85,154)

                                                            ii.      Reducing the establishment by an additional 1 FTE as levels of contact decline through improved working (saving £23,654)

                                                          iii.      Reducing accommodation costs through plans to move out of Bicester Market Square in 2012/13 (saving £23,000) as part of the town centre project, with the service being required to find this saving by other means should the scheme not progress by this date.

(6)       To include discussions on the nature and number of LinkPoint offices in the council’s forthcoming work on the Medium Term Financial Strategy

Recommendations Approved

The Interim Chief Executive submitted a report which sought consideration of the findings of the Value for Money (VFM) Review report and the Customer Intelligence Improvement report, and the recommendations arising from these.

The Executive expressed their thanks to all staff in the Customer Services Team for their ongoing hard work to date in improving the service and stressed the importance of continuing to improve and develop the service to maintain the high level of service.

Resolved

(1)               That the overall conclusions of the Customer Service VFM and Customer Intelligence reports be endorsed.

(2)               That a new vision for Customer Service to 2013/14 that seeks to reduce the cost of the service, retain or improve on existing levels of satisfaction, reduce avoidable contact, manage demand and encourage greater use of online services be adopted. 

(3)               That a customer service transformation programme, involving all service areas, that will drive improvement in Customer Service through adopting smarter working methods to reduce avoidable contact and transactions, and through managing demand to reduce peaks and troughs in levels of transactions be commenced.

(4)               That the key performance measures of speed of telephone response and call abandonment rate for the Council’s corporate score card be adopted.

(5)               That a two-year cost savings target of £257,462 for Customer Service that addresses the high cost of the service but in a sustainable way, with minimal impact on overall service to the public, as follows, be established;

a.      Include the elimination of all vacant posts by 2012/13, to allow time for the new payment kiosks to reduce current workload, and seek to reduce the establishment by an additional 1 FTE per annum as the transformation programme reduces overall levels of contact

b.      Note savings of £125,654 built into the 2011/12 budget as follows;

                                                              i.      Install payment kiosks (saving £65,000) as approved

                                                            ii.      Remove a vacant customer service specialist post (saving £17,000)

                                                          iii.      Remove vacant hours provision (saving £20,000)

                                                           iv.      Reduce the establishment by 1FTE (saving £23,654)

c.      Make further savings of £131,808 in 2012/13 as follows;

                                                              i.      Eliminating all remaining vacant posts (saving £85,154)

                                                            ii.      Reducing the establishment by an additional 1 FTE as levels of contact decline through improved working (saving £23,654)

                                                          iii.      Reducing accommodation costs through plans to move out of Bicester Market Square in 2012/13 (saving £23,000) as part of the town centre project, with the service being required to find this saving by other means should the scheme not progress by this date.

(6)               That discussions on the nature and number of LinkPoint offices be included in the Council’s forthcoming work on its Medium Term Financial Strategy.

Reasons

The Council’s current Customer Service function has high levels of customer satisfaction and multiple access routes, but is expensive to provide and does not utilise customer intelligence effectively.

Best practice shows that transformation projects can significantly reduce costs and improve customer service through reducing avoidable contact, migrating contact to less expensive channels and greater use of customer intelligence

The pace and scale of savings is critical to the ability of the service to implement them in a sustainable manner that does not impact on overall levels of customer satisfaction.

The scope of savings possible may be limited while maintaining current approaches to service provision. For example, maintaining four LinkPoint Offices is known to consume a set level of staff resource (£296,000). The decision to continue to take cash also has cost implications.

Further savings may be possible through the proposed Transformation Programme and/or through joint working with South Northants.

Options