Agenda item - CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ACTION PLAN-TO FOLLOW

Agenda item

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ACTION PLAN-TO FOLLOW

Minutes:

RECEIVED a report from Kari Manovitch, Acting Director, Customer Experience & Change, setting out the progress made to date in delivering the Customer Experience programme and the future plans.

 

NOTED:

 

i)             The Customer Experience Strategy 2018-2022 was approved by Cabinet in September 2018 and sets out how the Council will deliver on its vision of a positive customer experience despite the challenging times faced by local government.

ii)            The strategy recognises that delivering a positive customer experience, the vision of the strategy, is everyone’s responsibility in the council.

iii)           The Customer Experience Programme was set up to implement the strategy and this programme is run by the Transformation Service, but every single service in the council has a vital contribution to make.

iv)           The Customer Experience Programme has initiated five workstreams and made positive progress. The five workstreams are:

·         Customer journey reviews;

·         Developing a learning, development and culture change offer;

·         Improving customer data and performance management;

·         Maximising the roles of libraries;

·         Developing an improved digital offer.

 

v)            The programme of activities completed and planned is included in Appendix A of the report. This programme is constantly being reviewed and updated as new activities are added. Examples of progress to date were also detailed in the report.

vi)           Kari said that the programme is very broad and ambitious which inevitably presents challenges. She went on to speak about some of the challenges faced in more details and the measures being taken to address these.

vii)          She added that it is important to look at what is our starting point, where we are letting customers down and pinpointing this from a factual perspective. Efforts can then be targeted to priority areas, action taken, and success measured.

viii)        The programme team are working with the senior managers responsible for the various projects to identify how the benefits for the projects can be measured, drawing on data that is included in the new dashboard under development, as well as by collecting data that is less regular and lower volume than performance statistics.

ix)           There is a small, hardworking, committed team in place chipping away at a wide range of areas. Progress is being made but the road is a long one, however the end plan is to achieve a cultural change.

x)            The programme plan will continue to be further reviewed and refined, as will the staffing resources assigned to the programme.

xi)           The Customer Experience Strategy and the activities of the programme are monitored via a monthly programme board and reported to all Council Directors monthly. It is also being communicated to staff via a variety of methods.

xii)          Kari said that progress updates can be reported to this committee on a quarterly basis.

 

Following Kari’s update the following comments/questions were made:

 

·         Concerns were raised regarding the ongoing issues within the Council’s Planning Department. Kari advised that Planning is one of the three areas that the team has chosen to focus on in this phase of the programme. The Planning Department recognises that they have a problem as they are dealing with high volumes/low capacity as well as recruitment issues. They are however doing their very best to deal with these challenges. The programme team have been looking at some ‘quick wins’ to address these issues. Work has taken place on the Council’s website to allow easier access to some Planning information. This, along with some other changes that the team have been working on will shortly be delivered and it is envisaged that positive outcomes from these changes will be seen in the very near future.

·         Discussions took place regarding the Council’s Out of Hours Service. Kari explained that this service is provided by a third-party supplier, however it is commissioned by Enfield Council. A retendering exercise has recently taken place for the Out of Hours provision and this process will be concluded shortly. Kari said that her fear is rather than the service being bad it may be that the specification is poor. However, if the Out of Hours provider cannot adhere to our customer promise then this needs to be addressed with them.

·         Members agreed that the Front of House in the reception area looks better and much more personable.

 

The Committee noted the report and the Chair thanked Kari for her interesting and informative update and was pleased to see that things were moving in the right direction.

Supporting documents: