For local government, transforming customer services and saving money are always on the agenda.
Local authorities are continuously transforming the way they provide services and interact with their citizens. Many are looking for new ways to provide exceptional customer service through efficient, effective service provision, greater convenience for citizens, more engagement with the local community and a personalised customer experience, without extra cost to the taxpayer. With the introduction of the NI14 initiative, local authorities have to consider reducing ‘avoidable contact’ with citizens in order to unlock huge cost savings. The site is an online one-stop-shop for citizens to engage with council services, local information and resources and includes an interactive knowledge base, community-focused forums and blogs, enquiry tracking, service request forms and online payments. Citizens can use the online services for anything from paying their council tax to requesting bulky waste removal services or reporting graffiti.
“The key aim of service transformation is to reduce the number of unnecessary contacts that people need to have with government.”
Service Transformation Agreement, October 2007 example 1
Business Web Software is committed to working with local authorities to achieve their ambition of delivering exceptional, world-class citizen services while reducing costs.
ConnectedCustomer is highly configurable, can integrate with existing business systems, provides a personalised citizen experience and connects citizens with the community and their council. ConnectedCustomer delivers: A simpler, easier and faster way for citizens to find and request information and receive a response Less costly service delivery for the council and ultimately the taxpayer Greater community involvement and interaction between council and citizens Help with fulfilling the NI14 indicator ConnectedCustomer drives the delivery of better services and better value to the citizen.
ConnectedCustomer
ConnectedCustomer is a self-service site that enables councils to deliver exceptional, cost-effective services to citizens and reduce costs at the same time. ConnectedCustomer provides both web-enabled services and greater collaboration between councils and their customers. It offers a new way for councils to provide online services and for citizens to access them. Local authorities can enjoy a more open dialogue with citizens and canvass opinion on anything from local events to improving service provision.
“Public services should be delivered in the ways and at the times that people now expect them; the public service should get it right first time so that people do not have to initiate contact again and again; and rather than expecting people to ‘join up’ government for themselves it should be done for them.”
Service Transformation Agreement, October 2007
The citizen experience
ConnectedCustomer provides citizens with a highly personalised, joined-up, more convenient and engaging experience than going through assisted channels. Self-service information and services Citizens can use ConnectedCustomer to find information any time of the day. ConnectedCustomer sites make the right information and services easily available to citizens. It is about making this information available immediately, presented in a way that is easy to find, understand and use. Citizens can find as much or as little information as they want as well as get involved with other community areas. The site offers access to local information and news, topical debates, further information and services from the council A connected and personalised experience ConnectedCustomer connects citizens with their council, with others in their community and to services from across the council through one central site.
Efficiency gains and NI14
ConnectedCustomer helps councils to drive the transformation agenda by delivering exceptional citizen services and driving down costs. ConnectedCustomer also helps fulfil the NI14 indicator; one of the new national indicators for English local authorities and local area partnerships. The NI14 indicator is about providing cost-effective and efficient services by: Reducing ‘avoidable contact’ with citizens Resolving enquiries on one contact Making the web the primary access point for information and service requests.
It has been identified that face to face interactions with customers cost around £9 per enquiry, telephone interactions cost £5 and web interactions just 12p. In line with the objectives detailed in the NI14 indicator councils will be expected to halve ‘avoidable contact’ with citizens by 2011 and simplify lengthy, complicated processes, whilst reducing costs. An average Local Authority that has 180,000 face to face interactions in a year could make a saving of approximately £799,200 if this number is halved to 90,000 (based on real figures). With Connected Customer, citizens can find information quickly and easily and request services from the council without ever picking up the phone. By handling more enquiries more efficiently through the web, enquiries that must go through assisted channels also receive a greater level of customer service as customer service agents spend less time dealing with simple requests.
Use it for…
Your ConnectedCustomer site could include: Council tax payments Bin collection timetables Electoral roll details Application processes for licences/permits and tracking Online complaints with progress tracking Street Scene reporting ‘Road works in my area’ with GIS mapping Citizen surveys and consultations Making and tracking housing repairs appointments Rent Payments, balances and statements Local Events Leisure facilities, local schools and other local amenities Blogs from the Chief Executive and Mayor ‘Planning applications in my area’ with GIS mapping
Identity to service mapping
To gain access to new services, the citizen must signify they want the new service and provide verification identifiers.
Validation officers check information provided by citizens look-up additional identifiers automated and manual
Once validated, the citizen is notified that their profile is updated.
“Customers’ expectations of government are changing … The three key elements that citizens demand are: easy and appropriate access; encouragement for the individual to use and shape services in a way that suits; and active seeking to learn from public involvement.”
Service transformation: A better service for citizens and businesses, a better deal for the taxpayer, Sir David Varney, December 2006
Technical Overview
ConnectedCustomer comprises a number of highly configurable site components, available through a single, simple interface. Site components include: FAQs Important information can be displayed in the form of FAQs (Question and Answer) or service information pages. Citizens can submit new enquiries by creating new questions. New questions are routed to the correct internal personnel department for answering and can be added as external-facing FAQs if required. This easy maintenance system means that FAQs stay up to date, driven by a self-evolving information base. Documents and resources Documents and resources can be made available on the ConnectedCustomer document repository. Online forms and processes Forms on the site could include licence application forms, online payments, or service requests. Support ticket System Citizens can view and track the status of their applications and enquiries. Blogs Blogs include search facilities, moderation and individual user profiles. Blogs can be restricted to certain user groups as required. Forums Citizens and council members can discuss and comment on topical issues through online forums. Forums can be restricted to certain user groups as required. Data replication ConnectedCustomer can be integrated with third-party system such as CRM, CMS and authentication systems to ensure consistency of information, joined up back office systems and a single deposit of customer information. Identity to service mapping ConnectedCustomer supports multiple authentication protocols and methods for managing user identity. Different services may require different levels of citizen identification for security purposes. This information is maintained centrally and where further identification is required, citizens are given clear instructions on how to verify their ID.
example 2
Philips House Cambridge Business Park Cambridge CB4 0WZ
Phone: +44 (0) 845 467 2971 US and Canada: 1 800 822 4043 Email: enquiries@businesswebsoftware.com Web: www.businesswebsoftware.com