Issue - meetings

To consider the report of the Director of Housing and Inclusion.

Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Housing and Inclusion as contained on pages 155 to 159 of the Book of Reports which provided feedback regarding the Contact Centres call handling performance targets.

The Deputy Director Housing and Inclusion attended the meeting and gave an update in respect of Customer Contact Performance, particularly in relation to WL108 average answered time for callers wait time and WL90 the percentage of calls offered that are answered.  Comments and questions were raised in respect of;

·         Total of 136,968 enquiries 2018/19

·         Covering a wide range of services resolved at first point of contact, including bulky household waste collections, pest control appointments, request for replacement bins and housing repairs to Council properties

·         Face to face services at two Customer Service Points 16%

·         Response to web/email enquiries 14%

·         Telephone Interactions 70%

·         Currently 11.7 (FTE) staff

·         On average 8 (FTE) staff handle calls on a daily basis during periods of normal call volumes

·         Financial and Resource implications required to answer calls within 30 seconds

·         SORP restructure within Customer Services to come into effect from 1 April 2021

·         Business Support Officer roles to assist teams with peaks in demand

·         Additional resources from Agency staff utilised during peak periods

·         Staffing arranged to reflect call patterns

·         Levels of calls increased during the introduction of brown bins

·         Majority of calls received between 9.00am and 11.30am

·         Improvements to digital technology

·         Interactive Voice Response (IVR) facility, encouraging customers to access on line services instead of waiting to speak to an advisor

·         41% of households signed up to Customer Portal since launch in March 2019

·         Key Initiatives with CAB and CVS and Sheltered Housing Schemes to support customers to access on line

RESOLVED:             That the content of the report be noted.