Agenda item

Cabinet received a report which followed the development of the Strategy as a result of the Customer Experience Programme being agreed within the Medium Term Financial Strategy.

The Council’s Service Director, Adult Services and Communities, and the Social Inclusion Manager introduced the report highlighting the main issues contained within. The Strategy was the first draft and had been completed to ensure the customer was at the heart of all that the Council did.  The Strategy supported the Council’s intent to become a commissioning organisation and the Strategy would ensure all Council services adhered to the same principles. If approved, an action plan would be developed to ensure it was embedded across the organisation. 

Cabinet debated the report and key points raised and responses to questions included:

·         Customer experience was key and needed to be embedded across the Council;

·         Not all residents had access to IT solutions. It was important to ensure that these individuals were not overlooked;

·         All Partners and Contractors would follow the Council’s Customer Strategy;

·         Commissioners would need to understand the principles of the Strategy;

·         There would not be a ‘one size fits all’ solution and the more vulnerable members of the public were addressed within the Strategy;

·         The success of the Strategy would be measured on customer feedback and engagement through different partners and commissioners; 

·         If the Strategy was right, fewer people should be seen contacting customer services and officers for routine information;

·         A digital solution would provide a 24/7 contact scenario for a number of areas within the Council;

·         Training and staff development would be undertaken to ensure the high quality delivery of customer services. This should be at the heart of each staff member’s appraisal and council reports as a standard;

·         The ‘My Peterborough App’ was extremely useful. Ensuring people were aware of what support was available was a key part of the approach, and collaboration between services would be required in order to deliver a single outcome;

·         The Council’s Customer Charter and the Customer Strategy were linked, however the Customer Charter was more about individual service standards;

·         Staff retention and recruitment was an important factor, particularly during busy times. There needed to be focus on this as well as on training;

·         The Council’s Complaints Procedure had always been historically difficult to navigate but from 1 July 2015 a new streamlined procedure was being introduced;

·         The call centre had recently been through its annual customer service excellence accreditation and this had gone extremely well. Cabinet passed its congratulations on to those involved in passing the accreditation; and

·         Peaks and troughs should be addressed by providing appropriate staff coverage.

Cabinet considered the report and RESOLVED to approve the proposed Customer Strategy.

          REASONS FOR THE DECISION

          The Strategy provided a framework for ensuring the Council’s services were customer focused.

          ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED

The first option considered was to do nothing, however this may have led to the development of services and delivery of the Customer Experience Programme without an agreed strategic approach, and may not have enabled the most effective and beneficial process for customer service improvements to be achieved. 

The second option considered was to delay developing the Strategy until the Customer Experience Programme had been completed. This was rejected because the development of the Strategy and the Customer Experience programme should not be mutually exclusive.