Transcription
Customer Experience Strategy2021–24
3 Lambeth Council Customer Experience Strategy 2021–24IntroductionContentsIntroduction3Our borough, our customers4Our engagement with you5Our strategic vision and objectives6Delivering our vision7The customer experience journey9How will we know we’ve got it right?10In creating a customer experiencestrategy our motivation is simple;we want to make sure our servicesdeliver what you really want, whenyou want, and that you are ableto access those services in a waythat suits you best.The challenge for all local authorities is to provideexcellent customer service to our residents in aperiod of diminishing resources. To help us achievethis, we are introducing new customer standardswhich will clearly set out our promise to you andhow we will go about improving our services.The customer experience strategy has not beenwritten to gather dust on a virtual bookshelf, butrather has been designed to be responsive - we willcontinue to listen and work collaboratively with you,our residents, to understand the changes we needto make to improve our services and to measureour success in delivery.We love Lambeth, as you do: its vibrancy andculture, and in delivering this strategy we will makesignificant improvements to how we serve you,therefore ensuring our borough continues to thrive.Councillor Andy WilsonCabinet Member for Finance and PerformanceWe have redesigned our customer contact centre inresponse to what users of the Town Hall said wasworking, and what was not; we have also launchedour digital strategy that will enable even greateraccess to our services using modern technology,providing support for those who need it to ensurethat no one is disadvantaged. his strategy outlines the transformation we want to achieve withinTthe council. We want all customers to receive an accessible, efficientand excellent customer experience and we are committed todelivering this.”Bayo Dosunmu Strategic Director Resident Services
4 Lambeth Council Customer Experience Strategy 2021–24Our borough, our customersOur customers are anyone who needs or chooses to interact with us. This includes residents,businesses, visitors, partners, community groups and even our own staff328,0002,437145,000Over 6022,90638,0001.7 millionover 1504,15416,0009,4803,9006741.6 million232,000834,5759,14223,0004,90211,5683 millionpopulationlanguages spokenpeople registeredto voteparking permitsrenewed online(Jan 2021)planningapplicationsin 2020calls in to the callcentres (end Feb2020 – Mar 2021)households payingcouncil taxregisteredbusinesses workfrom the boroughbusiness ratepayersparks andopen spacesleaseholdpropertieshousing benefitclaimantscouncil tenanciesreceive long-termadult social caredeaths registeredover 2019/20school childrenwithin 93 schoolsettingsmarriages andcivil partnershipsover 2019/20births registeredover 2019/20visits to libraries ina typical yearwaste collectionseach monthvisits to the council’swebsite every year
5 Lambeth Council Customer Experience Strategy 2021–24Our engagement with youWe wanted to know what improvements we should prioritise, and this is what you told us Our partners want usto improve the contactchannels to accesscouncil teams.Housing partners havenoticed significantimprovements overthe last 6 monthsand feel strategicallyaligned to the council’svisions and goals.Partners often need to workwith, or alongside, otherpartners that they do nothave a relationship with.Sometimes this causesbreakdowns in the customerjourney and something weshould focus on improving.Our partners told usthey are happy with theimprovements made tothe complaints process- making it easier forthem to respond to andmanage complaints.You told us youdon’t always trustour online servicesand feel that the phonewill get you a fasterresponse to an issue.You want us toimprove our contactchannels, online andphone, making iteasier to get in touchand be keptup-to-date.We need tobecome morecollaborative acrossdepartments, takeownership of queriesand improveaccessibilityout-of-hours.You use email asan alternative to thephone when you arenot happy with howlong it takes us toanswer the phone, or ifyou can’t find the rightcontact easily.Our colleagues wouldlike more training incustomer service,accessibility, diversityand inclusion.Our colleagues wouldlike to have up-to-dateinformation of ourinternal organisationand networks.Our colleagues areproud of our schools,parks and how wecare for the vulnerable- especially over thelast 12 months.
6 Lambeth Council Customer Experience Strategy 2021–24Our strategic vision and objectivesWhy we need a strategyOur VisionWe make access to allcouncil services simple forall, ensure that we offer aquality customer-focusedservice end-to-end, andenable maximumself-service for thosethat can.Lambeth has a vibrant anddiverse population with a mix ofcustomers and communities thatneed, or want, to engage with us.We want to provide you, our customers, with thebest possible experience 24 hours a day, sevendays a week.This strategy has been developed in partnershipwith you. It outlines what we have agreedto achieve.We know that in the past we have not alwaysprovided a consistent customer experience.We want to change that.This strategy clearly sets out;StrategicObjective 1StrategicObjective 2To deliver an improvedand consistentcustomer experience. what we want to achieve;Design our services insuch a way that makesthem easy to access,whilst delivering the rightoutcomes in the mostefficient waypossible.StrategicObjective 3To invest in technologyto enable us to deliverservices in a waythat meetsyour expectations.StrategicObjective 4Create the environment,facilities and advocacyto support those thatmost need it. how we will achieve it; and how we will measure improvementsin your customer k from you Feedback from staff Feedback using dataChoice ofchannels
7 Lambeth Council Customer Experience Strategy 2021–24Delivering our affWe will apply principles thatwe designed togetherWe will live up to ourcustomer standardsWe will empowerour staff Always put you at the heart of everything we doensuring we understand what you need from us We make it easy for you to access services andto interact with us Provide our staff with the right skills, tools andtechnologies Provide a joined-up experience across ourservices so that you don’t have to tell us twice orchase us for updates We resolve our queries at the first point of contactand keep you updated if it takes longer Create a culture of customer excellence Make our services easy to use and accessible soeveryone can access them no matter your skillsor abilities Continuously review our services and seekfeedback and evidence to improve how wedo things Support our staff to provide the best possibleexperience to you, and to invest in their trainingand understanding of good customer service Invest in the right technology to meetour ambitions Provide a reliable and secure service We say sorry if we get things wrong and put itright, quickly We listen to your feedback and take it intoaccount when making improvements toour service We will only collect relevant information from you,store it safely and use it appropriately We are an accessible and transparent council Support our staff to get it right, first time Design efficient processes across all our services
8 Lambeth Council Customer Experience Strategy 2021–24Delivering our vision hoice ofchannelsWe will strengthenour partnershipsWe will introduce new andinnovative technologyWe will provide a choiceof channels Together we will deliver the objectives withinthis strategy Provide online access 24 hours a day,7 days a week Our website will be available 24 hours a day allyear round Together we will innovate and improve Provide you with a choice of channels tocontact us Our face-to-face services will be available forthose who need it Keep you updated with messages and alerts Our trained staff will be available on phone linesfor when you need to talk to us Together we will make sure we are deliveringjoined-up services Have flexible contracts to allow us to adapt tochanging demand We will make social media channels available foryou to interact with us We will make sure everybody has equal accessto services
9 Lambeth Council Customer Experience Strategy 2021–24The customer experience journeyWe will manage delivery of ourvision and objectives againstthe five levels of our customerexperience model.We recognise that true change does not happenovernight and have set ourselves a target to reachlevel 4 by 2024.At the launch of this strategy, we are moving fromlevel 1 to level 2.202120222023LEVEL 1Customerexperience isimportant to us.LEVEL 2Customerexperience is stillimportant to us.LEVEL 3Customerexperience iscritical to us.We will raiseawarenessof our visionand consumerstandards throughengagementand promotionwith our staffand range ofcustomers.We will furtherprogress ourcustomerexperience anddigital agendaacross the counciland create thelinks betweenthis strategyand others suchas the council’sborough plan,digital strategy,technologystrategy, datastrategy andmedium-termfinancial strategy.Leaders andstaff alike willunderstand andsupport thechange. There willbe a fundamentalconnectionbetweencustomerexperience andthe council’soverall goals andobjectives.20242025 LEVEL 4Customerexperience is acore part of allof our corporatestrategies.LEVEL 5Customerexperienceis part of thecouncil’s DNA.We will refreshour strategybased onmeasures andfeedback.Our customerexperiencestrategy will beat the centreand forefrontof everythingthat we and ourpartners do.
10 Lambeth Council Customer Experience Strategy 2021–24How will we know we’ve got it right?We will refresh this strategyregularly, to ensure that ourobjectives remain current, relevantand valid and to check we aremeasuring the right things.We will do this by listening to you and learning tokeep improving our services.To measure our success, we will use a mix ofmethods - gathering feedback from you and fromour staff, and analysing the information we collect.Things we measure include: How easy it is to use our website? How easy is it for you to contact us? How helpful and polite our staff are to you? How useful are the online services we provide? How quickly we resolve your issues first time? How quickly we respond when you ask for help?FEEDBACKFROM YOUFEEDBACKFROM STAFFFEEDBACKUSING DATACustomer surveysPublic consultationsCommunity groups Engagement withfocus groups Customer satisfactionresults Feedback fromcompliments andcomplaints Annual staff survey Regular mini surveys One-to-ones andappraisals Focus groups Staff forums Ideas and innovationforum Web analytics Volumes of complimentsand complaints Analysis of themesand trends Contact volumesby channel Service measures(KPIs and SLAs)
Lambeth.gov.uk @LambethCouncil @lambeth council
The customer experience strategy has not been written to gather dust on a virtual bookshelf, but . rather has been designed to be responsive - we will . borough plan, digital strategy, technology strategy, data strategy and medium-term financial strategy. 2023; LEVEL 3; Customer ; experience is critical to us.
