Service Strategy for Customers

Our vision is to ensure service users are at the heart of how we work and we will do all we can to provide services that generate very high levels of satisfaction.

We want the whole Council, with relevant external contractors, to operate together as one team, from first contact to service resolution. We want any liaisons between different parts of the delivery chain to be seamless. We will develop processes so that managers are always in touch with how their services are being delivered to customers, with good knowledge of any negative customer experiences. We aim for clarity around responsibility and accountability for service delivery within the management structure. We want to create a culture where everyone feels empowered to make this vision a reality. 

Services will be systematically redesigned so that we prioritise doing the things that add value for the service user. We aim to design systems with inherent quality so that they maximise accuracy and minimise the impact of fraud and error. This will include utilising the potential of existing and new technology and building new strategic relationships with key suppliers in order to deliver the best possible solutions. We will always work to improve productivity in delivering customer journeys by:

• promoting and marketing digital access/transactions
• reducing staff processing times
• removing waste from processes
• supporting vulnerable people to live more independently

We will continue developing our knowledge of the communities we serve, while appreciating the different groups within it. Understanding the behaviours of how and why people access our services, and those of our partners, will help us to design services that are more personalised and will better serve the needs of individuals.

Our immediate goal is to meet each unique demand both efficiently and with emphasis on being right first time every time to create great user experiences. We will empower our staff to challenge the way we do things if those standards are not being achieved. However, we want to go further than this and in the future we will:

• strive to be more proactive with vulnerable people
• identify and commission relevant related services over and above what might be the single issue presented to us

This will require excellent levels of collaboration across the whole Council structure, and with partners.