Customer Channels
This is a project to improve the overall standard of customer's access to services in local authorities and fire and rescue services through a range of channels. Improvement will come through adopting strategic approaches, recognizing the diversity of channels used by customers, and maximizing the added value they bring. The project will examine what strategies are in place, where there are gaps, and where there is good practice.
Local authorities offer a more diverse range of communication channels than ever before to access services. Whilst telephone and face to face contact have always been made available, the newer channels such as the internet and text messaging offer considerable opportunities alongside significant challenges.
Local authorities are making considerable investments in customer contact centres, in their digital channels, and in reconfiguring their frontline services to be closer to the citizen. However, there is yet to be a deep understanding of how these investments might cut across each other, how performance can be managed, and where best practice resides. The evidence suggests there has been variable success in managing customer access channels consistently, at a time when our customers / service users need this consistency, and, perhaps more significantly, want to 'tell us once'.
In the context of sometimes anecdotal presumptions of which channels are most valuable and appropriate authorities need better methods to measure channel use and there return on investment.
This project will :
- explore the relationships between customer access channels in local authorities and with partners;
- Map partner solutions in operation now, and being developed;
- identify where good practice and standards should be applied;
... and as a consequence
- propose appropriate channel management strategies and tactics (including channel migration);
- Address how failure demand (through, for example the National Indicator 14) impacts on channel design and management.
The project will achieve this through a variety of delivery methods:
- Research, Scoping, mapping
- Practice Guides and Evaluations
- Peer networking and events
The final end stage report (February 2010) is available here
Project Contacts
Project Officer: Robbie Soppitt
Telephone: 0191 561 1468