2004/05 SERVICE PLAN (Insert Name of Service) s1
Service Profile
Summary
A clear statement of the Service purpose, key procedures and relationships with contractors.Customer Services provides key interface with the Public through four Help Shops (face to face contact) Help Line (telephone contact) and Reception in the Town Hall, to deal with customer enquiries. A web-based service (Help Online) is being developed.
Aims and Objectives
A list of the main aims and objectives of the Service, including those critical to its success.Note: The Service Charter should provide a greater depth of detail.
The unit aims to deliver excellent customer service, through the provision of well trained, knowledgeable staff, and exploitation of systems and data to help customers with their enquiries about Council services. The intention is to continue with the programme of developing the service such that up to 80% of all enquiries to the Council are dealt with at the first point of contact. Development of consistent customer care standards and complaints reporting/monitoring, across the whole Council (not just in Customer Services) to deliver a joined-up service when and how the customer requires, are key tasks for the unit. The Help Shops, Help Line and Help Online are all part of this service. 2004/5 will see the amalgamation of Customer Services with Local Taxation Unit. In 2004/5 we plan to achieve renewal of the Charter Mark for Help Shops and extend it to the Help Line service.
Nature of Service
List functions and categorise under statutory or discretionary
Whilst the service as such is discretionary, it is the essential “shop window” to many of the Council’s services, which cover both statutory & discretionary functions.Contribution of Service to Corporate Plan Principal Objectives
State which principal objectives are covered by the core service
The Corporate Plan stresses the value of putting the customer first and we are driven by this value. Working with Partners (through our surgeries and services in the Help Shops) as well as Developing our Organisation (through changing the way the Council interfaces with the public) are the main objectives we address.
Staffing Levels
No of fte (establishment) = Year end 2003/4 = 29.67, Year end 2004/5 = 26.67 *No of extra fte being sought = 0
No of principal Contractors/Consultants = 0
* the financial figures refer to known sums prior to growth bids in each year, while the FTE numbers include FTE recruited as a result of a successful growth bid for 2003/4
Note: Detailed information on staffing levels is included in the Human Resources (HR) Plan. /
Service Costs
/ 2003-2004£ / 2004-2005
£
EXPENDITURE
Employees / 499,200 * / 566,400 *Running Expenses / 127,100 / 128,400
GROSS DIRECT COST / 626,300 / 694,800
INCOME / (9,000) / (200)
NET DIRECT COST / 617,300 / 694,600
Performance of Service
By functional level (e.g. legal, land charges, property) and gross budget.(a) Performance Indicators & Comparators
BVPI’s, Local indicators, QoL indicators, BVIP, Quartile and trend information
Note: Add or delete rows as required. Type key indicators in bold. / 2001/02
Actual / 2002/03
National Upper Quartile / 2002/03
Actual / 2003/04 / 2004/05 / 2005/06
Target / Actual
(projected) / Target / Target
Queries resolved within the Help Shops / N/a / N/a / 95% / 85% / Est 95% / 85% / 85%
Personal callers within Help Shops dealt with within 15 mins / N/a / N/a / N/a / 95% / Est 99% / 95% / 95%
Percentage of telephone calls answered within 15 seconds by the Help Line / N/a / N/a / N/a / 80% / Est 85% / 80% / 85%
Queries resolved in Help Line / N/a / N/a / N/a / 40% / Est 36-40% / 60%(end) / 80% (end)
(b) Volumes
Sensitivity, predictions and justifications (trend analysis)
· Calls to Help Line (including merged Advice Centre & Environmental Services calls). Forecast 2003/04 – 190,000. Expected 2004/05 – 218,000 (significant growth will be subject to organisational change and separate projects). Envisaged slow growth of call numbers through migration of calls to central number – e.g. move calls out of Help Shops, less use of direct dial etc, as well as taking on more small customer fronting services, where suitable)
· Visits to Help Shops – Forecast 2003/04 – 83,000. Expected 2004/05 – 87,000 (increase in benefit enquiries with more pensioners becoming eligible to claim pensioner credits). Also intention to attract more surgeries to service, better signage to Help Shops, partially mitigated by taking phone work out of Help Shops into Help Line
· Visits to reception – Forecast 2003/04 – 24,000. Expected 2004/05 – 24,000
· Growth in E-mail – currently running at about 5 a day, could double with launch of new internet and advertising of service in 2004/05
(c) Legislative
External drivers which change “steady state” and resources consumed as a result
Support of BVPI 157 to deliver improvement to customer service by having information available to customer when and how they want it, making best use of internet and telephone as access channels (implementing electronic government). Additional changes that may impact customer services are the changes to Liquor Licensing (small impact) and Decriminalisation of Parking Enforcement (this will have a substantial impact for payment of fines & complaints to Help Line and an extra 0.5 FTE is being recruited – not shown in figures above as cost to be recovered from SCC)
(d) Contracts
Existing commitments, timescales, including forthcoming relets and procurement exercises
None other than cleaning contracts for Help Shops
Customer Services 1
Quality of Life and Partnership InitiativesCommunity and Corporate Plan contributions
Note: QoL and Partnership not Organisational Development – EXTERNAL (i.e. customer facing only).
Requirement: (1) List under each of the seven relevant QoL and Partnership principal objectives contained within the Corporate Plan, each initiative your service is working on (e.g. Caring for the Environment/Improve cleanliness year-on-year with targeted improvements).
(2) Against each initiative, list pertinent indicators/outcomes, partners and any consultation undertaken and planned.
(3) Against each initiative, list existing commitment of resources categorised by: (i) legal commitment/formal agreement; (ii) Council resolved ‘in principle’; (iii) high level promise (BVPP, Comm/Corp. Plan, Strategy) not yet planned in detail; and (iv) additional central support required.
Note: Add or delete rows as required.
Principal
Objective/
Initiative(s) / Indicators/Outcomes / Existing Commitment of Resources / Resource Bid
Yes/No /
Partners / Category / FTE / Capital Cost / Revenue Cost /
Consultation /
Partnership working / Numbers of customers seen at Surgeries in Help Shops / Existing commitment / N/a / N/a / N/a / N/a /
In excess of 14 Surgery partners (growing all the time) /
Various links with SCC as well as other voluntary and government Organisations. Discussion with customers /
Customer Services 1
Organisational Development InitiativesNote: Programmes and Projects.
Requirement: (1) List by Programme Area each project your service is working on (e.g. Web, CPA, Single Status, Information Management) categorised under the four areas of our Organisation’s vision: (i) driven by the customer; (ii) improving our performance; (iii) learning and developing; and (iv) optimising our finances and assets.
(2) List pertinent indicators/outcomes and partners together with consultation undertaken and planned.
(3) List existing commitment of resources categorised by: (i) legal commitment/formal agreement; (ii) Council resolved ‘in principle’; (iii) high level promise (BVPP, Comm/Corp. Plan, Strategy) not yet planned in detail; and (iv) additional central support required.
Note: Add or delete rows as required.
Programme
Area/
Project(s) / Indicators/Outcomes / Existing Commitment of Resources / Resource Bid
Yes/No /
Partners / Category / FTE / Capital Cost / Revenue Cost /
Consultation /
Optimising our assets / Refurbishment of Horley and Redhill Help Shops / Supported by Executive to be agreed within Capital Programme / none / £20,000 for Horley and £10,000 p.a. ongoing / minimal / N/a /
Estates, and external building companies /
All part of an ongoing maintenance programme /
Driven by the customer / Work towards fulfilment of 80% of calls answered at first point of contact and other customer service improvements / In Corporate Plan / tba / tba / tba / No (money already allocated or in other bids) /
Key service providers in the Council (to be developed) /
To de developed /
Customer Services 1