Celia Rhodes

1
Clare Metcalf
Prepared for
Celia Rhodes OPERA Community Research
Prepared by
29 July 2005
2
Order of Presentation

• Introduction
• Background and Objectives
• Methodology
• Main Findings
• Telephone
• Face to face
• Postal
• Email (Email correspondence via webform)
• Internet (Sourcing information on the NCC
  website)
• Customer Care Standards
• Conclusions and Action Points

3
Introduction
4
Background and Objectives

•  NCC wished to carry out a comparative exercise
  to understand the impact of key customer service
  improvements introduced since the first mystery
  shopping exercise carried out by OPERA in 2003.
• OPERA were commissioned to evaluate current
  process delivery issues through selected
  Departments and Customer Information Centres
• Libraries
• Passenger Transport Unit
• Education
• Planning Transportation
• Social Services
• Trading Standards
• General Enquiries

5
Research Methodology

• Mystery shopping getting as close to the exact
  situation as is possible.
• Scenarios supplied by NCC covering typical
  enquiries across all departments.
• Existing Norfolk phone numbers and drop addresses
  used visitors to offices email contact.
• Outbound mystery shops conducted between 8 June
  and 6 July
• Inbound postal and e-mail replies lagged behind
  this.
• Complex matrix of mystery shops set up.

6
Structure reflected current contact ratio
7
Main Findings
8
Looking at the data in terms of

• Method and process of contacting the Council.
• Levels of satisfaction with the process.
• The outcomes and resolution (or otherwise) of the
  original problem.
• Staff motivation, attitude and service levels.
• Communication, signposting and publicity.
• Corporate image projection.
• Measuring performance against the corporate
  customer care standards (CCS).

9
Telephone
10
Q4a/b Did you hear the full greeting of the
call-handler, and what was it exactly?
Base 96 Telephone
11
Number of contacts
Base 96 (111) Telephone
12
Number of Contacts
Base 96 (111) Telephone
2005 (2003)
13
Call Length
Base 96 (111) Telephone
14
Q6a-d Call handler ratings Information Gathering
Base 114 (211) call handler experiences
Questioning Skills
Understanding requirements
Clear use of language
Listens and explains

15
Q6e-i Call handler ratings Information
giving/instructions/process
Base 114 (211) call handler experiences
Knowledge of issue
Explaining next steps
Clear summary of options
Clear summary of next steps
Competence/ knowledge

Significantly higher
Significantly lower
16
Q6j-m Call handler ratings Overall staff attitude
Base 114 (211) call handler experiences
Sounded enthusiastic
Sounded friendly helpful
Sounded confident
Was polite

Significantly higher
Significantly lower
17
Q6n-p Call handler ratings Overall staff attitude
Base 114 (211) call handler experiences
Used right pace
Overall level of service
Empathetic sensitive handling

Significantly higher
Significantly lower
18
Follow up action expected
Base 114 call handler experiences

19
Q14 Final response to enquiry
20
Face To Face
21
Face to face
Base 42 (37) Face to Face
22
Q1-7 Arrival
Base 42 (37) Face to Face
2005 (2003)
23
Q21 Quality of Reception Staff
Base 42 (37) Face to Face
Pleasant helpful
Well organised
Asked sufficient questions
Answered without referral
Gave info to take away
24
Q21 Quality of Reception Staff
Base 42 (37) Face to Face
Professional knowledgeable
Well turned out
Resolved query
Gave full details of other contacts
25
Q21 Quality of Reception Staff
Base 42 (37) Face to Face
Appropriate language, gestures
Went beyond basics
Professional with others
Confident to give all info needed
26
Q24 Quality of Specialist Staff Member
Base 5 (4) Face to Face
Pleasant helpful
Well organised
Answered without referral
Gave info to take away
Professional knowledgeable
Well turned out
27
Q24 Quality of Specialist Staff Member
Base 5 (4) Face to Face
Resolved query
Gave full details of other contacts
Went beyond basics
Professional with others
Confident to give info needed
28
Next steps as a result of visit
Base 42 (37) face to face experiences
29
Q28 Information Given
30
Postal
31
Postal Replies
Base 42 (15) Post
32
Q8b What was contained in the reply?
Base 40 (15) Post
33
Postal Replies Q4a Did the information
received answer your query fully?
Base 40 (15) Post
2003
2005
34
Postal Replies Q6a Did the writer give their
contact details?
Base 40 (15) Post
2003
2005
35
Q7/8 Quality of replies
Base 40 (15) Post
No name, email or postal address
Libraries
Passenger Transport Unit
Confusing
Education
Planning Transportation
Social Services
No email address
Trading Standards
General Enquiries
36
Q9 Quality of Replies
Base 40 (15) Post
Polite and helpful
Not referred elsewhere
Well organised and complete
Professional and knowledgeable
Significantly higher
Significantly lower
37
Q9 Quality of Replies
Base 40 (15) Post
Cared about my needs
Plain English
Resolved query
Went beyond basics
Layout met accessibility standards
Significantly higher
Significantly lower
38
Q10 Information provided
Base 40 (15) Post
Clarity of information on departments
Information on Services
Advice on how to contact
Availability of contact information
Clarity of language used
Significantly higher
Significantly lower
39
Q10 Overall Experience
Base 40 (15) Post
Time taken to complete process
Response time from Authority
User friendly language
Overall impression of Authority
Significantly higher
Significantly lower
40
Q11 Next Step
Base 40 (15) Post
41
Q12 Overall Comments
The info received was very helpful and restored
my query. The response time was 10 working days
to receive a letter, but I did receive 2 cards
dated 28/6 and 29/6 to my letter being looked
into. This was confusing as it gave me two names
and numbers to contact saying they were both
looking into my query Libraries
The process was quite quick, however there was
no real helpful information in the letter, which
was disappointing. There was just a name and a
number to contact, which led me to believe that
not a great deal of effort had been put into our
query Social Services
The info sent was very good, but the contact
details and reply on compliment slip was poor,
with just a hand-written named contact and phone
number only in small writing Education
Letter resulted in a visit. A calling card was
left with a small note on the back, which was
hard to read. No letter. It could've been
disturbing with no explanation. General Enquiries
42
Email
43
Email Replies
Base 35 (20) Email
44
Q4 How difficult was it to find the service?
Base 35 (20) Email
Libraries
Passenger Transport Unit
Education
Planning Transportation
45
Q4 How difficult was it to find the service?
Base 35 (20) Email
Social Services
Trading Standards
General Enquiries
46
Q4 How difficult was it to find the service?
It was not totally clear which link I needed to
use to find out about the prices of DVD's but I
chose a library services link and it turned out
to be the correct page as from there I saw a link
for library charges in Norfolk. This took me to a
list of prices for library services, which
included DVDs. Libraries
It didn't offer refuse collection dates or area
collection days General Enquiries
It clearly stated where to email to, after 1
click Trading Standards
47
Q5 How difficult was it to find the e-mail
address to send in your query?
Base 35 (20) Email
Libraries
Passenger Transport Unit
Education
Planning Transportation
48
Q5 How difficult was it to find the e-mail
function?
Base 35 (20) Email
Social Services
Trading Standards
General Enquiries
49
Q5 How difficult was it to find the e-mail
function?
'Contact Us' at bottom of each page gives
details of phone/fax/email and web
contacts. General Enquiries
There was no link to an email function but there
was a direct link to a web form which was very
easy to find and use. General Enquiries
50
Q6 Site ratings Ease of use
Base 35 (20) Email
Page Load Time
Ease of Navigation
Information on Departments
Site layout
Clarity of Language
Avoidance of jargon
Significantly higher
Significantly lower
51
Q6 Site ratings Information on website
Base 35 (20) Email
Availability of Contact Information
Information on Services
Advice on how to contact
Frequently asked questions
Significantly higher
Significantly lower
52
Q6 Site ratings Overall experience
Base 35 (20) Email
User Friendly
Quick to use
Ease of use
Time taken to use
Safety of personal information
Overall impression
Significantly higher
Significantly lower
53
Q10 Quality of E-mail Replies
Base 30 (16) Email
Polite and helpful
Not referred elsewhere
Well organised and complete
Professional and knowledgeable
54
Q10 Quality of E-mail Replies
Base 30 (16) Email
Cared about my needs
Plain English
Resolved query
Went beyond basics
55
Q14 Overall Comments
Email
The email failed, but they took the trouble to
write a letter offering various ways to help.
Nicely written. Libraries
The council's response to the email was 15
minutes. Very impressive Education
56
Internet
Looking for information available on the Norfolk
County Council website to answer a scenario
57
Internet Sample
Base 35 Web
Libraries
Passenger Transport Unit
Education
Planning Transportation
Social Services
Trading Standards
General Enquiries
58
Q4 How difficult was it to find the service?
Base 35 Web
Libraries
Passenger Transport Unit
Education
Planning Transportation
Social Services
Trading Standards
General Enquiries
59
Q4 How difficult was it to find the service?
Simply followed through waste disposal rubbish
waste and recycling household waste Broadland
District Council - Tel number listed. Planning
and Transportation
I wasn't sure which link to click so tried
several before finding correct one Trading
Standards
There are further links on this page to Public
Transport, then on the next page a link to
www.passengertransport.norfolk.gov.uk, then a
further link to Public Transport again then a
further link to Park Ride Passenger Transport
Unit
There was no reference to the Park Ride on the
public transport sector of the website. There was
just a link to Traveline website Passenger
Transport Unit
Just had what I needed right there on the
screen, easy to see. General Enquiries
60
Q5 How difficult was it to find the information
within that service?
Base 35 Web
Libraries
Passenger Transport Unit
Education
Planning Transportation
Social Services
Trading Standards
General Enquiries
61
Q5 How difficult was it to find the information
within the website
There was a referral to the NCC passenger
transport unit website, but not obvious for Park
Ride. A map was given of location, but then
separately had to find cost and opening times,
instead of clicking on Park Ride it was very
long winded to get all the information. Passenger
Transport Unit
It was very easy to find the name of the person
I needed, Mr xxxxx. There were ways to contact
him via email, web, fax, but no personal postal
address on this page. Social Services
62
Q6 Site Ratings
Base 35 Web
Ease of use
Info on web-site
63
Q6 Site Ratings
Base 35 Web
Overall Experience
64
Q14 Overall Comments
Web
The site seemed well presented - I was glad
there was an A-Z listing though as I wouldn't
know what to look under as regards department
names. General Enquiries
I would not use the website to find this
information. It took far too long as I had to
download a leaflet to find the answer to my
query. It would have been much simpler to have
made a phone call. General Enquiries
65
Customer Care Standards
66
Telephone Recorded message
Base 96 Telephone
2005
Libraries
Passenger Transport Unit
Education
Planning Transportation
Social Services
1 engaged
Trading Standards
General Enquiries
5 out of 96 initial calls answered by call
handler
Days
67
Face to face Time before acknowledged
Base 42 Face to face
68
Postal Replies
Base 39 Post
69
Email Replies Response Time (Days)
Base 30 replies Email
70
Email Replies Response Time (Minutes)
Base 28 Email responses within 1 day based on
9am to 5pm
71
Email Replies Font size
Base 31 Email responses
72
Corporate Image Projectionby Channel
73
Telephone
Base 96 (111) Telephone
Professional businesslike
Modern up to date
More interested in processes than customers
Indifferent to customer service
Significantly higher
(Absolutes)
Significantly lower
74
Telephone
Base 96 (111) Telephone
Invests in training, developing staff
Encourages excellent service
Works well in partnership with other organisations
(Absolutes)
Significantly higher
Significantly lower
75
Face to Face
Base 42 (37) Face to Face
Professional businesslike
Modern up to date
More interested in processes than customers
Indifferent to customer service
(Absolutes)
Significantly higher
Significantly lower
76
Face to Face
Base 42 (37) Face to Face
Invests in training, developing staff
Encourages excellent service
Works well in partnership with other organisations
(Absolutes)
Significantly higher
Significantly lower
77
Postal
Base 40 (15) Post
Professional
Modern
More interested in process than customers
Indifferent to customer service
(Absolutes)
78
Postal
Base 40 (15) Post
Invests in training, develops staff
Encourages excellent service
Works well in partnership
(Absolutes)
Significantly higher
Significantly lower
79
Email
Base 30 (16) Post
Professional
Modern
More interested in process than customers
Indifferent to customer service
(Absolutes)
Significantly higher
Significantly lower
80
Email
Base 30 (16) Email
Invests in training, develops staff
Encourages excellent service
Works well in partnership
(Absolutes)
Significantly higher
Significantly lower
81
Internet
Base 35 Web
Professional
Modern
More interested in process than customers
Indifferent to customer service
Invests in training, develops staff
Encourages excellent service
Works well in partnership
(Absolutes)
82
Conclusions and Action points
83
Conclusions Staff

• In context of the changes in the organisation
  2003 to 2005 this is a very encouraging set of
  findings.
• Shows widespread improvements in service levels
  across all Departments included, within all
  channels and CICs.
• Many shifts 2003 to 2005 are statistically
  significant.
• In 2003 indications that services levels amongst
  staff varied by Department contacted.
• Improvements towards consistency seen by 2005.

84
Conclusions Staff

• In 2003 recommendations on training and
  development in the context that all customer
  facing staff have an ambassadorial role for the
  Council on every customer contact occasion.
• The challenge in shifting attitudes and behaviour
  particularly amongst long serving staff.
• Positioning this cultural shift away from another
  initiative that will go away, but firmly into
  moving from process orientation to customer
  focus.

85
Conclusions Staff

• In 2005 we see more consistent responses
• We cant prove a direct correlation to customer
  service training without conducting research
  amongst the staff themselves (recommended).
• Results show significant shifts in most staff
  displaying
• Professional knowledge and expertise.
• Attitude, empathy and sensitivity.
• Strong motivation to provide customer service.
• Polite and appropriate tone and style of response.

86
Action points staff

• F2F Support signposting staff further?
  Indications that confidence levels could be
  improved. Do they have sufficient knowledge for
  their role. Are there sufficient back up
  materials and info to give out?
• Telephone Set expectations with callers on
  giving personal information. Suggest reviewing
  point at which request is made. Accept refusals.
• E mail check accessibility standards are adhered
  too.
• All channels friendly and caring tone and style
  of communication is just as important as the
  content of message in communicating corporate
  service values. Check language, especially when
  acting as signpost to 3rd party or encouraging
  the public to use the website.

87
Conclusions and Action Points Infrastructure

• Infrastructure issues
• 0844 system has started to tighten up timings on
  call handling.
• Issues remain on signage, directions and display
  of opening hours for CICs.
• The redesigned web site is relatively easy to
  navigate for those used to using the internet but
  for learners it can be difficult. (Consider
  usability research).

88
Conclusions and Action Points Corporate

• The role of corporate communications
• Continually need to address educating the public
  in
• Responsibilities of different organisations at
  every opportunity.
• How to use the website
• Opening hours and locations of CICs
• Check citizen understanding of customer care
  standards leaflet is in line with their
  experience (qualitative research).

89
Future research

• For the next wave of research consider enlarging
  sample sizes to allow more depth of analysis
• Telephone by 0844 in the service centre versus
  other entry numbers elsewhere in the
  organisation.
• Face to face by
• County Hall versus the Forum versus other CICs.
• Sufficient numbers of contacts with specialist
  staff members to give meaningful analysis.
• Also recommend 360 degree view by investing in
  parallel research with staff members, either
  through regular employee attitude survey or
  bespoke research.

90
Thank You