PAPER D

 

ENVIRONMENT AND TRANSPORT SELECT COMMITTEE- 22 SEPTEMBER 2003

 

JUBILEE STORES CALL CENTRE

 

REPORT OF THE HEAD OF ENGINEERING SERVICES

 

REASON FOR SELECT COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

 

The Select Committee requested an update on the Jubilee Stores Call Centre.

 

ACTION REQUIRED BY THE SELECT COMMITTEE

 

To note the content of the Report

 

BACKGROUND

 

In April 2002 a Call Centre was set up in Jubilee Stores to receive all highways incoming communications (telephone calls, letters, e-mails and visitors).  This has now been extended to include matters relating to waste management and contracts.

 

From July 2002 to June 2003 89,277 telephone calls were received along with approximately 15,000 letters.  Additionally around 4,000 customers were dealt with at the reception desk.

 

The Call Centre was introduced to answer criticisms at the speed of response to enquiries and to improve the service provided by Engineering Services for the public.

 

After 17 months it is an appropriate time to measure the success of the Call Centre.

 

When the Audit Commission Best Value Inspection Service re-inspected “Highways and Transportation” in August/September 2002 they found three major strengths one being “The Council has set up a call-centre that is providing a better service to the public”.  This reinspection led to the upgrading of their assessment of “Highways and Transportation” giving a “poor service that has poor prospects for improvement” (December 2001) to a “Fair service that has promising prospects for improvement”.  The BV Inspectors also commented in their report that “the call centre is a significant improvement”.

 

Engineering Services recently achieved “Investors in People” award and the assessor noted in the section on “Strengths and Areas of Good Practice “ that the level of incoming phone calls had been reduced”.  This reduction in twelve months to around 60% of original levels (shown in Appendix 1) is considered to be as a result of the Call Centre dealing efficiently with telephone communications and negating the need for customers to telephone again.  It also reflects the public’s better perception of the department and therefore less desire to complain.

 

The success of the Call Centre has also been confirmed during E-government process collection by the Organisational Development Section. They identified the following advantages:

 

  1. Significant number of highway defect reports dealt with at first point of contact.

 

  1. The speed with which highway emergency calls were dealt with.  Again at first point of contact.

 

  1. Increased efficiency of “back office” staff due to the removal of constant interruption by telephone calls.

 

  1. The ability to produce performance management statistics, such as volume of telephone calls to check whether targets were being met.

 

They also noted that considerable thought had been given to ensuring that calls to “back office” staff were quickly routed to the appropriate officer.  The Call Centre Manual being particularly important in this respect with a list of each officer’s areas of responsibility.

 

As well as the views expressed by outside agencies and other Council Departments complimentary comments have been received from the public and elected members as to the efficient service being provided by the Call Centre.  An example being a letter from an elected member received on 9 September 2003 which stated “From my perspective as Councillor and from those members of the public and staff that I have spoken to, they all believe the front line Call Centre that you have in place is second to none!”

 

Appendix 1 shows that over the last 13 months 95.7% of telephone calls were answered within 15 seconds.  When all telephone lines to the Call Centre are busy calls divert to Customer Services at County Hall. The technical limitations of the telephone system prevent the caller being advised that their call is being diverted to Customer Services because all Engineering Call Centre lines are busy. Similarly, if all Customer Services lines are busy, the diverted call does not receive an engaged tone or recorded message.  However, with around 84% of calls being answered within 4 seconds the Call Centre is providing a speedy response to our customers.

 

Finally the structure and good practices of the Jubilee Stores Call Centre are being used in planning of the Corporate Contact Centre which endorses the success of the format.

 

RELEVANT PLANS, POLICIES, STRATEGIES AND PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

 

None

 

CONSULTATION PROCESS

 

Not appropriate

 

FINANCIAL, LEGAL, CRIME AND DISORDER IMPLICATION

 

None

 

APPENDICES ATTACHED

 

1. Telephone Logging of Incoming Calls July 2002 – August 2003.

 

BACKGROUND PAPERS USED IN THE PREPARATION OF THIS REPORT

 

None

 

Contact Point :            Malcolm Smith, Policy and Strategy Manager,

F 823777, e-mail malcolmsmith@iow.gov.uk.

 

STEPHEN MATTHEWS

Head of Engineering Services

 

 

Appendix 1

 

TELEPHONE LOGGING OF INCOMING CALLS

JULY 2002 – AUGUST 2003

 

DATE

NUMBER OF CALLS ANSWERED

% CALLS ANSWERED IN 0-4 SECONDS

% CALLS ANSWERED WITHIN CORPORATE STANDARD OF 15 SECONDS

JULY 2002

12,017

75.1

94.3

AUGUST

 

10,745

75.8

95.5

SEPT

 

9,353

73.9

94.3

OCT

 

8,647

84.5

96.2

NOV

 

8,333

84.7

95.7

JAN 2003

 

7,322

85.6

96.7

FEB

 

7,061

83.4

95.1

MARCH

 

5,894*

84.6

96.2

APRIL

 

5,410*

84.9

96.2

MAY

 

5,510

86.2

96.6

JUNE

 

5,385

84.7

96.5

JULY

 

7,964

83.3

95.1

AUG

 

6,569

84.4

95.8

 

* NO FIGURES AVAILABLE FOR ONE OPERATOR