Contact Officer: Helen Bishop, Head of Customer Services.

Tele: 01865 252233

Email: hbishop@oxford.gov.uk 

The Head of Customer Services submitted a report (previously circulated, now appended) concerning the draft Customer Contact strategy for Consultation. Helen Bishop attended the meeting to present the report and answer questions.

Questions and issues raised by the Committee

The Committee raised the following issues:-

Abandoned / “no option” calls

The Committee noted that 76,000 calls had been logged as “no option selected by the customer”; and wondered what that meant in practice. In response, it was explained that these were calls where the customer held the line and waited to speak to an advisor. A proportion of those calls would actually be for other services, but they were not shown as such.

New telephony was in the pipeline which would offer only four options and which would encourage the caller to make a more active choice.

The abandoned call rate had slipped slightly in recent weeks; possibly as a result of recent staff turnover and the need to train new people. Seven new team members had joined, and exploration of a staff retention policy was under consideration.

“Channel shift” and customer satisfaction

The Committee noted that Customer Services was seeking to find out how people wanted to do business with the Council, and what methods would best suit customers’ needs. There was a desire to find out how best to serve customer expectations and in turn make best use of Council resources. It was most cost effective for the Council to use the Internet, however, surveys had shown that customer satisfaction with this method was low, compared with other methods.

Customer satisfaction was highest with telephone contact – 91%, putting the council in the top 10 comparators in Govmetric ( a body that compares and benchmarks the Council’s performance against others).  Satisfaction level with face to face contact has increased. Staff were encouraged to maximise customer engagement when meeting face to face. It should be noted, however, that people who express unhappiness with contact with the Council may not be unhappy with the standard of service, but rather with the answers that they receive.

The Committee observed that the Council’s unit costs for each method of access were quite high when compared with the average, especially face to face contact. It noted that Oxford has two face to face enquiry centres, in the areas of greatest need, and that telephone costs are not hugely out of line with comparators. The most vulnerable people must have easy access to Council services.

The Committee also asked that the business community should be included, separately, in any consultation, as this was a key group for consultation.

A significant part of the cost is employment costs.

Benchmarks are sourced from SOCITM and PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Other means of contact

It was noted that some organisations (for example Children’s Centres)  made use of Skype sessions. This enables customers to have a virtual meeting with an advisor, but at a time and place which suits the customer. This might be something for the Council to consider.

The Committee commented that 43% of internet access was by mobile phone and mobile apps, and this level was increasing.  This was something that deserved to be explored further, provided that mobile use could be made efficient.  There was awareness that there was a digital divide on oxford, and the Committee was concerned that those without certain forms of electronic access should not be excluded.

Recommendations to CEB on 11^th September

The Committee resolved to make the following recommendations:-

(1)  That the business community should be consulted separately on the draft Customer Contact Strategy;

(2)  The costs of any options for contact should be evaluated , as the Scrutiny Committee recognises that this is a high-cost service;

(3)  Consideration should be given to holding Skype sessions in locations such as the Children’s Centres.

The Committee also congratulated Helen Bishop and Customer Services for recently gaining a Customer Excellence award.