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Home My WebLink AboutCAO-09-031 - Corporate Customer Service Project UpdateREPORT Report To: Chair Berry Vrbanovic and Finance & Corporate Services Committee Date of Meeting: January 11, 2010 Submitted By: Jeannie Murphy, Manager, Corporate Customer Service Project Prepared By: Jeannie Murphy Ward(s) Involved: City-wide Date of Report: January 11, 2010 Report No.: CAO-09-031 Subject: CORPORATE CUSTOMER SERVICE PROJECT - UPDATE RECOMMENDATION: That the Finance and Corporate Services Committee receives CAO Report #09-031 as information. ÷ä÷ùçèóæ÷éçïïûêã In the creation of the Shared Agenda of Council and Administration, customer service was identified as one of the City of Kitchener’s top priorities. Staff was directed to review and make recommendations with respect to the following areas: Single point of contact (741-CITY) Decentralized provision of services Personalized customer service (guaranteed staff contact) Implementing a Contact Centre Developing a Customer Service Strategy involved taking the City of Kitchener’s customer service practices to the next level. There was an opportunity to not only improve the level of customer service, but to increase customer satisfaction levels and demonstrate increased value for citizens’ tax dollars. The strategy is not meant to undermine or minimize the excellent efforts of current staff in dealing with customer service in their existing roles. The goal of this project is to make staff effective customer advocates by providing them with a structure, consistency, and the tools or foundation required being more effective. Historically, governments have based their customer service practices on what they saw as important – an “inside- out” approach. There has been a transition in the last decade to an “outside-in” approach based on what is important to citizens. The customer service strategy was developed with the principle that service delivery must be based on citizens’ needs and expectations. ì ó ï To date, the City of Kitchener has made strides in meeting council’s agenda by moving forward with the customer service strategy. The remainder of the report will provide an update on: A review of the project to date A general overview of Phase 1, 2 and 3 of the Corporate Contact Centre (CCC) Welcome Centre Next Steps úûùñõêíçîø In May 2003 a report to Council introduced a vision for “enhanced customer service.” This vision included a single point of contact, and identified the need to “bridge the gap” between what our citizens expectations were for services or information and how our staff was delivering these services. A Contact Centre feasibility study was then completed to investigate the value of implementing a centralized single point of contact citizen service centre. The findings of the study indicated that customer service was more of a “peripheral function” instead of a “core” activity within each division. Like many pubic sector organizations, the City of Kitchener has experienced, and will continue to experience, demand for fast, convenient access to the City and its services. Citizens First 5, a national survey of citizen expectations, satisfaction levels, and priorities, identified a link between service quality and citizens confidence in government. Taxpayers judge local government and municipal performance based in part on the delivery of service. When municipal service does not meet taxpayer expectations, citizens may feel resistance to accepting tax increases for any new initiatives or municipal endeavours as recommended by its local City Council. In 2005 a survey of Kitchener citizens was undertaken to determine their experiences and expectations with the City’s current customer service standards. On average, participants reported being satisfied with the amount of time it took for them to get what they needed, the accessibility of the service, and their overall experience with the City. However, nearly half of the participants said they experienced difficulties when they tried to get in touch with the City. Citizens said that they would like the City to enhance staff training to improve knowledge and customer service skills, and most importantly, when they do call the City they want a live voice answering the call. While the City is doing well in many instances, our goal is to refine and implement a customer service strategy that will meet the needs of our citizen’s expectations more consistently. ùÓÈÓÂ×ÎöÓÊÉÈéÇÊÆ×Ãê×ÉÇÐÈÉ The ‘Citizen First 5’ survey, completed in 2008 by the Institute for Citizen-Centred Service, identified the five primary responsible drivers of customer satisfaction as: øÊÓÆ×ÊÉåÔÛÈÈÔÓÉÏ×ÛÎÉÈÍùÓÈÓÂ×ÎÉ Timeliness The single most important driver across all services, all levels of government StaffCritical dimensions are knowledgeable staff who treat customers fairly and “go the extra mile,” make that effort Positive Outcome “I got what I needed” Ease of Access How easy was it to get the information/assistance Citizens’ recent experiences Was I treated fairly, and did I get the information I needed ì ó î ê÷ìíêè The following is a check list of what elements of the strategy have been completed to date, what is in progress, and what is still outstanding. ìÊÍÒ×ÙÈùÔ×ÙÑðÓÉÈ¦ùÇÉÈÍÏ×Êé×ÊÆÓÙ×éÈÊÛÈ×ÕÃ èûéñéèûèçé î×ÅéÓÕÎÛÕ×ùÓÈÃôÛÐÐùíïìð÷è÷ è×Ð×ÌÔÍÎ×úÐÇ×ìÛÕ×ÉÉÓÏÌÐÓÖÓ×Øùíïìð÷è÷øûîîçûððã î×Åå×ÐÙÍÏ×ù×ÎÈÊ×óïìð÷ï÷îè÷ø¦ê×ÖÓÎ×Ï×ÎÈÉÍÎÕÍÓÎÕ èÍÍÐÉöûëªÉìÔÍÎ×çÌÕÊÛØ×Éûùêóïìð÷ï÷îè÷ø å×ÚÉÓÈ×ê×Ø×Æ×ÐÍÌÏ×ÎÈóîìêíõê÷éé ùÇÉÈÍÏ×Êé×ÊÆÓÙ×ìÔÓÐÍÉÍÌÔÃùÇÉÈÍÏ×Êé×ÊÆÓÙ×ìôûé÷ ¦ÎÍÈÃ×ÈÉÈÛÊÈ×Ø ïÛÎÛÕ×Êú×ÎÙÔÏÛÊÑÓÎÕö××ØÚÛÙÑéÈÊÛÈ×ÕÃïÇÐÈÓ ÐÓÎÕÇÛÐé×ÊÆÓÙ×ø×ÐÓÆ×ÊÃ ùÇÉÈÍÏ×Êé×ÊÆÓÙ×ïÛÎÇÛÐÛÎØéÈÛÎØÛÊØÉùíïìð÷è÷ ùùù¦ìÔÛÉ×ñçð×Õé×ÊÆíÌÉúÃÐÛÅè×ÄÈÎ×Èóïìð÷ï÷îè÷ø¦ÓÏÌÊÍÆ×Ï×ÎÈÉÍÎÕÍÓÎÕ ûùê ùùù¦ìÔÛÉ× îíèã÷èéèûêè÷ø ÙÓÈÃÌÔÍÎ×ÎÇÏÚ×Ê ùùù¦ìÔÛÉ× ×ÄÛÏÓÎ×Ö×ÛÉÓÚÓÐÓÈÃÍÖ×ÄÌÛÎØÓÎÕîíèã÷èéèûêè÷ø ÌÛÃÏ×ÎÈÛÎØÓÎËÇÓÊÃÉ×ÊÆÓÙ×ÉÈÍÉÛÈ×ÐÐÓÈ×ÐÍÙÛÈÓÍÎÉ ìÔÛÉ×¦ùÍÊÌÍÊÛÈ×ùÍÎÈÛÙÈù×ÎÈÊ× Service activities to be delivered by the Contact Centre were proposed to be based on the following: (1) the customer’s desire for easier, more convenient and seamless access to government services; (2) the City’s capability to provide a single accurate response; and (3) goal to provide the most cost effective means for providing a response. In June 2007 the recommendation to Council to implement a Corporate Contact Centre (CCC) by expanding the Kitchener Utility’s model, was approved. In October 2007 the Corporate Contact Centre Strategy was presented to Council and approved, and in June 2008 the CCC went live. The benefits to the City by expanding the utilities dispatch centre was based in part on the efficiencies the corporation would gain from expanding a model that had much of the infrastructure and procedures in place to improve our service levels. The benefits of the proposed CCC to citizens were to effectively manage increased demands from citizens by implementing a single point of contact. The primary benefit of a CCC is being able to provide better customer service to our citizens. While the intention of using an existing model had its benefits for both citizens and the corporation, and the CCC has been working well and exceeded our expectations with respect to call statistics, a thorough review of the last six months clearly showed that there are elements of this model that need to be addressed: Skill set of a dispatcher vs. a customer service representative Regulatory and public safety issues with respect to utility functions (this was confirmed through the gas consultant Hetek Consultants, and most recently with our internal auditor) Training (increased need) Unbalanced staff compliment of full time vs. part time Performance factors – below national standards ì ó í The intention of Phase 1 was to have it operate for a year or so and then make adjustments to the model based on what went well and what needed to be improved upon. As stated above, the objective of implementing a CCC in any municipal environment is to improve service levels for citizens. Based on the combined model of a dispatch centre and a corporate contact centre, it is clear that this model is not serving the needs of the utilities operations staff and that more expertise is required to fulfill regulatory requirements as municipal owners of a natural gas distribution centre. Kitchener Utilities Acting Director, Barry Nash, had hired Barry Smith of Hetek Consultants to update staff on "Emergency Response.” It was an exercise to see if utility staff is ready to respond to Emergency calls. Mr. Smith has expressed concern over the high call volumes coming into the CCC from citizens for non-emergency calls. Mr. Smith felt this could potentially be a public safety concern as the technical expertise of staff did not meet TSSA standards for handling gas emergency calls. As a municipal owner of a natural gas distribution centre, there must be a dedicated technical dispatch centre operating 24/7. Now that the KU dispatch centre has expanded to include non- emergency gas calls as well as general calls, operations and bylaw calls, the focus has shifted. The CCC is also monitoring all city alarms and dispatching after hours for the City of Waterloo. Mr. Smith’s concerns were also recently confirmed in conjunction with the findings from an internal audit requested by the current Kitchener Utilities Director, Wally Malcolm. As stated, a dispatch centre is an operational function and therefore requires its dispatchers to have a very technical skill set, as opposed to the more general but broader knowledge base of a customer service representative. The recommendation to continue on with the contact centre separate from the dispatch function is vital to meet regulatory requirements under the TSSA (Technical Standards and Safety Authority, responsible for the safety inspection of fuels, pressure vessels and boilers) to ensure the safety of our citizens and the success of Phase 2 of the CCC. Therefore, separation of these functions is highly recommended and is now being explored. In addition, based on call patterns going back to 2005, it is clear that we can still successfully meet the needs of our citizens by operating a contact centre using extended working hours as opposed to 24/7, while still having the advantage of using the 24/7 dispatch centre to take calls after hours as they currently do for the City of Waterloo, and weekend hours for Bylaw Enforcement. See attachment A for call patterns from 2005 – present. ùÛÐÐæÍÐÇÏ×ÉÖÍÊÈÔ×ùùù¦ Call volumes for the CCC exceeded original estimates by 30% which indicates that citizens are using the CCC to get the information they require. However, because call volumes for the CCC exceeded original estimates by 30% and we were not prepared for this high volume. Overall, there has been a 31% increase in call volumes from 2008 to 2009. As a result of this unexpected call volume, staffing levels were not at times adequate to meet the demands; therefore the abandonment rates are much higher than national standards. However, there was an expectation that Phase 1 would be reviewed and adjustments made in order to meet the call volumes of our citizens. A grand total of Incoming Calls for 2009 was 143,282!!! These numbers will steadily increase as citizens begin to trust that the information or service that they receive is timely and accurate. ì ó ì øÓÆÓÉÓÍÎ KU Main 61,001 60,013 KU DID 4,867 5,397 KU Dispatch 6,209 10,609 KU Gas Emergency 2,115 3,812 Legislative Services (General line) 14,916 24,143 Marriage 760 848 Ops - Parks 2,745 3,754 Ops - Roads 5,971 6,506 Ops - Sewers 1,713 2,032 Ops - Traffic 181 195 Bylaw 7,414 23,917 Waterloo 1,651 2,056 èíèûð öÓÎÛÎÙÓÛÐóÏÌÐÓÙÛÈÓÍÎÉ Phase 1 of implementing a CCC involved transitioning existing decentralized call centres into a centralized function. The following four divisions (including Kitchener Utilities) began to merge in June 2008: Operations – June 2/08 Legislative Services – June 16/08; and Bylaw – August 18/08. Citizens continue to call existing phone numbers for the various divisions; however, the phone calls would be answered 24/7 by a live voice. With respect to staffing levels, the intention was to transfer funding for the CCC staff from the divisions which were integrating into the CCC thereby minimizing the financial impact of this initiative. Thus far, the funding transfers have been has follows: èÊÛÎÉÖ×ÊñÓÈÙÔ×Î×Êð×ÕÓÉÐÛÈÓÆ×íÌ×ÊÛÈÓÍÎÉé×Å×ÊúÃÐÛÅ öÇÎØÓÎÕçÈÓÐÓÈÓ×Éé×ÊÆÓÙ×É 2008 $506,336 0 $21,513 $77,978 0 2009 $480,835 $60,856 $82,368 $78,540 0 2010 (proposed) $577,791 $63,047 $94,684 $38,202 $167,025 There was a commitment to manage the budget target through a transfer of FTEs – one FTE from Legislative Services became redundant (birth registration went back to the province); one FTE came from Operations, and additional operating funds from Bylaw in 2010. The capital costs were funded by the existing Customer Service capital account. ùùùúÇØÕ×È ÍÉ×ØùùùúÇØÕ×È Phase 1 of implementing a CCC involved transitioning existing decentralized call centres into a centralized function. The following four divisions (including Kitchener Utilities) began to merge in June 2008: Operations – June 2/08 Legislative Services – June 16/08; and Bylaw – August 18/08. Citizens continue to call existing phone numbers for the various divisions; however, the phone calls would be answered 24/7 by a live voice. With respect to staffing levels, the intention was to transfer funding for the CCC staff from the divisions which were integrating into the CCC thereby minimizing the financial impact of this initiative. ì ó ë Throughout 2009, it was noted that overall call volumes were higher than originally anticipated. The 2010 budget was based on similar call volumes as were experienced in 2009. ùíîèûùèù÷îèê÷ úÇØÕ×È úÇØÕ×È Internal Recoveries (1,128,354) (815,506) External Recoveries (City of Waterloo) (22,279) (22,279) Total Revenue (1,150,633) (837,785) Salaries & Benefits 122,747 57,838 Wages & Benefits 990,733 766,886 Training 4,090 3,090 Software 2,627 2,627 Miscellaneous Expense 1,545 1,545 Internal Charges 5,030 0 Telephone and Computer Reserve Charges 23,861 5,799 èÍÈÛÐ÷ÄÌ×ÎÉ× î÷è As noted above, Salaries and benefits have increased substantially from the previous year’s budget. The 2010 budget includes 50% of the Supervisor of Support Services, as well as a small portion of the salary for a data entry clerk, whereas the 2009 budget includes only the Welcome Centre associate’s salary and benefits. This was done to more accurately reflect the true cost of the Call Centre. The Wages and benefits have also increased substantially over the 2009 budget. The Call Centre has now experienced a full year of operations and higher than originally anticipated call volumes during that time. Therefore, the 2010 budget includes more part time hours in order to have enough staff on hand to meet the increased demand. Telephone and computer reserve charges have increased to more accurately reflect the telephone and computer services provided to the Call Centre. Based on call volumes for each area, the following table shows the allocation of the Contact Centre costs in 2010, as compared to 2009. ø÷ìûêèï÷îèûðûððíùûèóíîé úÇØÕ×È úÇØÕ×È Utilities (Gas and Water) 577,791 480,835 Operations 94,684 82,368 Sewer 38,202 78,540 Clerks 63,047 60,856 General Expense 186,985 97,635 Bylaw Enforcement 167,645 0 Recoverable from City of Waterloo 22,279 22,279 Facilities Management 010,181 Community Services Admin 05,091 èíèûðûððíùûèóíî In the previous year, amounts were allocated to Facilities Management and Community Services Admin - these amounts are now included in the General Expense allocation (which includes the cost of “cold transfers”) as no calls have been separately identified for these areas in the call tracking software. Bylaw Enforcement is now being allocated a portion of the Call Centre costs. This allocation is based on call volumes as tabulated by the call tracking software. ì ó ê ûùê¦ûÙÈÓÆ×ùÇÉÈÍÏ×Êê×ÉÌÍÎÉ×ÉÃÉÈ×Ï Another big step toward improving service levels for our citizens and customers is to improve upon the technology currently in use in the CCC. Every day at the start of every shift, each CCC staff person must open 12 applications: 1.ACR 2.USS – Utility Scheduling System 3.CIS 4.On-Call 5.City Works 6.On Point 7.Scotland Yard 8.Pagemaster 9.Laserfische 10.Outlook 11.Contact Centre Google 12.CCC Quick Reference This is not only time consuming but makes training any new staff very overwhelming. The goal is to integrate as many of these applications as possible with ACR. This would mean that CCC staff would only have to open ACR plus perhaps two to three other applications – this not only makes it manageable but lessens the time staff has to spend getting organized before going live on the phone. In order to accomplish this task IT would have to dedicate staff to this project, and at this time staff resources are not available. Once initiated, a possible time frame would be 3 months from the start date. Also, IT is currently working on improving the look and usability of the call tracker screen. In order to get the best use out of ACR in terms of tracking customer response inquiries and resolution time frames, all areas in the city should move toward using this system for citizen inquiries requiring action. Various reports can be created to track progress of inquiries, and reports can be specific to issues, events, seasons, divisions, wards, etc… These reports are very useful for things like benchmarking and budgeting, and allow us to really understand what kinds of issues are important to our citizens. Currently, the following divisions have ACR capability to tract citizen inquiries. They are: Kitchener Utilities Bylaw Enforcement Legislative Services Operations The following 3 divisions are currently in the process of exploring the possible implementation of ACR: CAO’s office Office of Mayor & Council Communications ì ó é ú×ÎÙÔÏÛÊÑÓÎÕ While the CCC has exceeded expectations in terms of the enormity of the task they were handed with little training, the centre is not meeting average municipal standards with respect to call handling, with the exception of Average Talk Time. Having said that, these standards do not include the responsibilities associated with a dispatch centre so in fact this centre is unique and therefore comparing these standards is not an accurate representation. However, for the purposes of this report I will use the national standards. With improvements to technology and on-going training, I believe the CCC can meet and exceed these standards and we will strive to do so. ñçøÓÉÌÛÈÙÔ ùùù ùùù ïÇÎÓÙÓÌÛÐùùù éÈÛÎØÛÊØ 5% 10.27% 13.57% 10% ÍÖûÚÛÎØÍÎ×ØùÛÐÐÉ 15 sec 36 sec 65 sec 30 sec ûÆ×ÊÛÕ×éÌ××ØÍÖûÎÉÅ×Ê 125 sec 132 sec 130 sec 150 sec ûÆ×ÊÛÕ×èÛÐÑèÓÏ× å×ÐÙÍÏ×ù×ÎÈÊ× The Welcome Centre has been a huge success and we are now in the process of reviewing current services to see where improvements can be made. The Welcome Centre, as outlined in the Business Case presented to Council in September 2007, was to be a central focal point for citizens and visitors to approach when entering City Hall. Since its inception, Visitor Information Services (VIS) has been added to the Welcome Centre, providing a higher level of service to citizens and visitors. å×ÐÙÍÏ×ù×ÎÈÊ×éÈÛÈÓÉÈÓÙÉïÛÃø×Ù×ÏÚ×Ê õÍÆÈæóéïÓÉÙèÍÈÛÐ May 245 58 201 26530 June 498 137 204 36875 July 505 124 243 36908 August 330 114 323 49816 September 405 165 225 55850 October 364 200 188 66818 November 307 141 147 71666 December 257 115 96 35503 èíèûð å×ÐÙÍÏ×ù×ÎÈÊ×éÈÛÈÓÉÈÓÙÉ ùóèãõíæèïóéùæóéèÍÈÛÐ January 278 134 68 30 510 February 276 119 87 29 511 March 393 239 57 152 841 April 205 103 35 200 543 May 415 186 44 144 789 Jun 382 169 29 250 830 Jul 442 186 62 298 988 Aug 362 146 54 208 770 Sep 360 183 55 139 737 Oct 363 143 61 154 721 Nov 301 145 31 85 562 Dec 219 73 40 92 424 Grand Total 3996 18266231781 8226 ì ó è ìÔÛÉ× Phase 2 of our corporate contact centre strategy will be to expand the centre by incorporating all remaining front line areas with a goal of being able to consistently answer 80% of the calls on first contact. The goal is also to have one City phone number for all non-emergency municipal services, and to thereby eliminate most existing direct-dial-in (DID) numbers. Progress to Phase 2 has been delayed for several reasons Operational refinements are required prior to additional services being transitioned, particularly the effective use of ACR new development of dispatch vs. contact centre function budget restrictions re-organization of Kitchener Utilities Ê×ÌÍÊÈÈÍùÍÇÎÙÓÐö×ÚÊÇÛÊÃ While the implementation of Phase 2 in its entirety has been delayed, appropriate refinements are underway including the exploration and possible expansion of ACR in other areas of the organization ìÔÛÉ× This phase will be a review of all existing satellite locations (auditoriums, community centres, pools), to examine the feasibility of expanding payment and inquiry services to provide citizens with more options for face-to-face inquiries with the City. Until such time as the Phases 1 and 2 are fully operational, work on Phase 3 will not be initiated. ùÇÊÊ×ÎÈíÊÕÛÎÓÂÛÈÓÍÎùÔÛÊÈ See Attachment B. ùÓÈÃÍÖåÛÈ×ÊÐÍÍ¦ê×ÙÍÆ×ÊÃûÐÐÍÙÛÈÓÍÎ The City of Kitchener has been providing after hours and weekend emergency dispatch for the City of Waterloo since 1998. The City of Waterloo is currently on a two year contract, renewal date July 1, 2011. In 2009, the revenue generated from this contract was $20,000 for the year’s service. A 3% increase is added annually to the contract. Total calls for the last two years were as follows: 2008 1,651 2009 2056 This represents approximately 2% of inbound calls coming into centre. My understanding is that the concept of this agreement was to supplement the centre's budget, not to make a profit. î×ÄÈéÈ×ÌÉ Improvements to Phase 1, including possible separation of dispatch and contact centre functions, improved use of technology – particularly ACR, increased training, and call quality monitoring. Once improvements to Phase 1 are complete, work towards Phase 2 will be initiated. ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Carla Ladd, Chief Administrative Officer ì ó ç Call Volumes 2005 - 2009 Time2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 01:00 153 165 225 285 387 02:00 83103 177 202 241 03:00 5986144 166 215 04:00 8484110 149 152 05:00 6799167 186 158 06:00 306 297 425 427 445 07:00 724 665 964 978 998 08:00 1290 1401 1884 2182 2238 09:00 3669 3777 4732 6139 7024 10:00 4888 5254 6087 9281 11521 11:00 4549 4967 5754 9089 11764 12:00 4240 4545 5323 8517 11118 13:00 3683 3981 4634 7349 9527 14:00 3889 4157 4979 7522 9769 15:00 3643 3967 4610 7228 9454 16:00 4019 4152 4876 7337 9300 17:00 4117 4406 4875 6267 7766 18:00 1892 2065 2476 3072 3620 19:00 1505 1556 1940 2423 2800 20:00 1198 1308 1622 2016 2310 21:00 987 1043 1293 1716 1919 22:00 782 802 950 1245 1459 23:00 458 498 646 721 1022 24:00 0161712 Attachment A ì ó ïð ì ó ïï ì ó ïî ì ó ïí ì ó ïì ì ó ïë ì ó ïê ì ó ïé ì ó ïè ì ó ïç ì ó îð ì ó îï ì ó îî ì ó îí ì ó îì ì ó îë ì ó îê ì ó îé ì ó îè ì ó îç ì ó íð ì ó íï Calls/Counter ì ó íî Counter ì ó íí ì ó íì ì ó íë ì ó íê ì ó íé ì ó íè ì ó íç