Customer Services - Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council

Annual Report 2012-13
Standards You Can Expect
Quality
We aim to:
• Be professional, polite and friendly
• Ensure that you are treated fairly
• Make our services easily accessible
• Complete enquiries at the first point of contact
• When we are unable to help you, find out who can
• Ask for your views and comments
• Deal with problems fully and learn from any mistakes
• Protect your privacy
• Provide clean and comfortable facilities
• Help you if you have difficulty communicating with us
• Ensure everyone receives fair access to services
• Maintain customer satisfaction above 75%
Timeliness
We aim to:
• Answer 90% of telephone calls in the Contact Centre at
first point of contact
• Answer 90% of calls to our main switchboard within 20
seconds
• Answer Contact Centre telephone calls within 3
minutes of waiting in a queue
• Telephone you back within 1 working day if you call us
and leave a message
• Reply fully to your emails and letters within 10 working
days
• Attend to you when you visit us within 10 minutes of
your arrival
• Investigate and deal with your complaints and concerns
within 10 working days
Success of 2012 — 13
• Maintained <strong>Customer</strong> Service Excellence
accreditation — this is a certification launched by the
Government as part of its drive to improve customer
service in the public sector. The criteria assessed
includes information and access to services and
timeliness and quality of the services provided. Each
year the Council undergoes an assessment to ensure
compliance against the standards. During 2013/14
there will be a comprehensive assessment to gain
full re-accreditation. This takes place every three
years.
• Maintained accreditation of ISO9001:2008 — this
certification addresses various aspects of a quality
management system and is based on a number of
criteria including strong customer focus and
continuous improvement. The certification helps
ensure that customers receive consistent, good
quality products and services.
• Streamlined the Blue Badge application procedure
to improve processing times and quality of service.
• Enhanced Contact Centre technology and improved
self-service facilities on both the Council’s website
and the self-service kiosk in the <strong>Stockton</strong> <strong>Customer</strong>
<strong>Services</strong> Centre.
• Answered 92% of calls at first point of contact.
• Answered over 204,000 telephone calls in our
Contact Centre.
• Dealt with over 97,000 face to face enquiries at our
<strong>Customer</strong> <strong>Services</strong> Centres.
• Responded to around 20,000 emails.
• Processed over 2,000 telephone enrolments for Tees
Achieve courses.
Coming Soon! Billingham <strong>Customer</strong> <strong>Services</strong> Centre
The new <strong>Customer</strong> <strong>Services</strong> Centre will be built on the
grounds of the former Billingham Art Gallery and Council
Offices. The one-stop-shop style facility will provide
customer services for both <strong>Stockton</strong> Council and Tristar
Homes, a cash office, public library and Billingham Town
Council will also have office space.
<strong>Customer</strong> <strong>Services</strong> Centres are already open within both
<strong>Stockton</strong> and Thornaby Central Libraries.
Opening hours are as follows:
Monday to Thursday — 8.30am to 5.00pm
Friday — 8.30am to 4.30pm
Saturday — 9.30am to 12.30pm
The Centre will provide facilities including customer
service desks and a private room where residents can talk
face to face with highly skilled staff and self-service
technology which can be used to request services, search
for information, report issues and make payments.
The Centre is in the initial design stages and should be
ready to open by the end of 2014.
2