(Confidential until ratification by Strategic Board)

Scrutiny Report

Customer Service and Access.

Prepared by Customer Scrutiny Panel

Date of issue: November 2013.

Homes for Northumberland Scrutiny Review

1Acknowledgements, page 2

2Introduction, page 3

3Background, page 3

4Methodology, page 4

5Recommendations, pages 5 – 9,

6Approach to Scrutiny Review, pages 10 – 11

7Findings and recommendations, pages 12 – 18

8Conclusion and next steps, page 18

9Appendices, pages 19 - 32

Customer Scrutiny Panel Members:-

Lillian Clark

Peter Davison

Ian McLeman

Mary Moore

Dawn Pearson

**Dave Vinten** no longer a Scrutiny Panel member

Thanks to:-

Homes for Northumberland Customer Inspection Team

Gillian Blackett, Customer Services Centre Manager, Homes for Northumberland

Customer Services Officers, Homes for Northumberland

Gillian McLaren, TPAS Consultancy Manager Northern

Julie Turner, Customer Insight Officer, Homes for Northumberland

Michelle Mordue, Performance Officer, Homes for Northumberland

All Homes for Northumberland customers who offered their opinions and views

Introduction

  • For its test case the Customer Scrutiny Panel (CSP), decided to review the contact centre specifically looking into the service standard around call handling time
  • The test case ran from July 2013 until November 2013
  • All evidence collected as part of this review is contained in the Scrutiny Panel’s evidence file.
  • This report has been put together by the Customer Scrutiny Panel with the support of Homes for Northumberland.

2.1 How we chose the contact centre as our test case

  • We reviewed HfN Performance Management quarterly reports and the Performance Report and Service Standard report
  • The CSP received an internal request for a scrutiny review from Susan Ogle, Transformation Team Leader (prior to Better Business Manager)
  • The CSP, after reviewing all performance information agreed to carry out the above review as the issues raised could have a major impact on all tenants who use the HfN contact centre

2.2 How we carried out the scrutiny

We are an independent group of tenants who carry out Customer-Led Scrutiny on behalf of HfN. We had access to any information we needed to carry out the scrutiny (except certain confidential and protected information) and to all staff from HfN.

We met regularly to discuss the project and we used the following methods to carry out this scrutiny exercise:

  • Presentations by service specific managers
  • Reading key documents
  • Discussion groups, observations and interviews with staff
  • Benchmarking with other Housing organisations
  • Customer Inspectors telephone survey

Our scrutiny is a snapshot in time, and some of our recommendations may be overtaken by events. However, the recommendations remain the same, and we expect them to be applied to any reviews that are undertaken.

2.3. How to read this report

  • This report is designed to be read by key staff and Strategic Board Members. Once this report has been agreed by the Strategic Board a summary report will be made available to all.
  • We begin the report with a summary in which we have highlighted our key recommendations, which are set out in table below. There are six of them and we have grouped them by themes.

Theme 1 – Training

Theme 2 – Communication

Theme 3 – Procedures

Theme 4 – Targets

Theme 5 – Staff Views

Theme 6 – Customers views

2.4 Summary Table of Recommendations

Recommendation / Cost Implications / Outcomes / Changes for HfN as a result
Theme One:- Training
  1. There needs to be a more formalised mentoring programme for new staff to ensure they are picking up good working practices
/ Staff time / A more effective contact centre with staff who feel confident to answer queries
  1. All contact centre staff need to have the opportunity to have full team training to ensure consistency across the team
/ No / To be able to share experiences, what’s working well, and what is not and to develop a more ‘team approach’ to this process
  1. Investigate having a bank of trained staff from each department to provide cover for the contact centre staff. This would also release the contact centre staff into having team meetings etc.
/ Staff Time / To enable more staff to have a good understanding of the workings of the contact centre
To enable staff to have a better understanding of HfN customers
  1. Investigate a ‘back to the floor’ development programme for managers throughout the organisation within the contact centre. This would enable managers to understand more fully the pressures on staff.
/ Management Time / HfN managers would gain a much better understanding of the workings and daily routine of the contact centre and to more fully understand the pressures on the staff.
  1. To investigate the use of recording calls – that can be used by the manager in one to ones to identify any training areas for improvement for individual staff or to share good practice by staff member with other staff.
/ No / All staff will have a similar approach to customers and share good practice.
The contact centre manager will have a greater awareness of any training needs etc.
  1. Introduction of a “jargon buster” manual for new members of staff and prospective bank staff members to ensure a consistent approach to repair logging is undertaken.
/ No / All staff will use the same terminology to ensure repairs are logged effectively.
Theme 2 - Communication / Cost Implications / Outcomes/changes to HfN as a result
  1. Need to establish a formalised procedure when the contact centre staff are required to be involved in a large mail shot to ensure adequate staff cover.
/ No / A more coordinated approach to mail shots to ensure staff are aware and prepared for an increase in queries/calls.
  1. Need to investigate whether staff from other departments could be utilised to help with large scale mail shots
/ Staff time / This would increase staff awareness regarding the impact large mail shots have on the company and its day to day running.
  1. Need for all staff to formally communicate with the contact centre if a mail shot will increase the number of calls to the contact centre.
/ No / Staff would be prepared for an increase in queries/calls.
  1. Investigate whether direct numbers for staff should be put on mail shots rather than general contact centre number.
/ No / The customer can deal with the member of staff in question and ensure that the time taken to deal with their query is swift.
  1. To ensure that all HfN staff keep their electronic diaries up to date as this has an impact on the effectiveness of the contact centre.
/ No / Calls dealt with more effectively and with more efficiency as operatives can see at a glance where any member of staff is at any time.
  1. More publicity about what NCC deals with and what is dealt with by HfN to try to reduce calls that can only be dealt with by NCC.
/ No / Increased customer awareness of service provision. Reduction in volume of calls to HfN.
  1. Explore the possibility of utilising recorded message/waiting time to inform customers about the difference between NCC and HfN services.
/ No / Customers given a greater awareness of services provided by NCC and HfN. Less waiting time.
Theme Three:- procedures / Cost implications / Outcomes/changes for HfN as a result
  1. Need to investigate the way in which calls are recorded – currently if the contact centre cannot deal with a call at first point of contact and have to pass it on – this is recorded as a ‘Failed call’.
There is the need to look at changing the terminology regarding the following:-
  • Abandoned calls
  • Referred calls (currently failed calls) when they have to go to another member of staff.
  • Call handling time etc
To do this would ensure that referred calls and all other calls would be classed as first point of contact. / No / Staff will have a more positive outlook on their work and a change in terminology will produce more positive results.
  1. To enable the contact centre to work in an effective and efficient way – a CRM system should be seen as a priority for the organisation. This would streamline the system for the staff and enable them to deal with calls much more effectively.
/ Yes – major financial implication. / CRM system will improve efficiency due to information available on one system, rather than using several systems to deal with customer queries.
  1. Monitor calls that are referred to other departments to show up any trends or training needs for contact centre staff. If calls are being referred to one department it might be there is a need for training or understanding the processes better.
/ No / Contact centre staff have a greater awareness of call handling within other departments. In-house training can be provided to ensure all HfN staff are confident in their abilities when dealing with customers. This will lead to greater customer satisfaction.
Theme Four - Targets / Cost implications / Outcomes/changes for HfN as a result
  1. Investigate the reasons behind the current target to get consistency between HfN (20 secs) and NCC (40secs)
/ No / Increased satisfaction for the customer and consistency between HfN and NCC.
  1. Hold discussions with NCC about their 0844 number (very expensive) people phone HfN number which is a reduced rate and can then be transferred by HfN on the lower tariff to NCC – direct to the person rather than going through the NCC switch board.
/ No / Better/more cost effective service for customers.
  1. Consider the results of the customer satisfaction survey carried out by the Customer Inspectors which indicated that customers would rather have their query dealt with to their full satisfaction even though their call may not be answered within 20 seconds.
/ No / Increased customer satisfaction.
  1. Although ultimately EMT agree targets for each department – it might be worth investigating how the wider staff from these departments can be involved in this process.
/ No / Staff feel empowered by offering their views and opinions.
Theme Five – Staff Views / Cost implications / Outcomes/changes for HfN as a result
  1. There is a need to establish a more realistic rota for cover at the reception desk over lunch times. This could include all staff having a ‘go’.
/ Staff time / Staff development with all staff gaining a better understanding of HfN customers and day to day business on reception.
  1. Investigate the possibility of increasing the number of staff allowing for the possibility of a rota system to ensure busy/emergency periods are covered.
/ Yes – financial implication. / Adequate staffing levels during busy periods or inclement weather.
Theme Six – Tenants Views / Cost implications / Outcomes/changes for HfN as a result
Results from the Customer Inspectors survey indicated that HfN customers would rather have their query dealt with to their full satisfaction even though their call may not be answered within 20 seconds (question 9 Customer Satisfaction survey). This needs to be investigated further. / No / Greater customer satisfaction and improvement in performance.

4Approach to the Scrutiny Review

Scrutiny of the contact centre entailed an overview of current service delivery, performance and customer feedback and staff feedback and observations to explore what currently works well, identify where improvements could be made and recommend actions to implement these changes.

The project commenced in June 2013 with the group meeting frequently to complete the process with a lot of the work being completed out of the formalised meetings and in sub groups to ensure good effective working.

4.1Stage 1 - Fact Finding – Desk top research

  • Customer Services standards
  • Service Standards booklet
  • Call information broken down on a monthly basis
  • Information regarding the Service from the Website
  • Copies of articles from the magazine (Your News)
  • Additional information requested by the group – number of refusals
  • Corporate KPI’S
  • Profile of the types of calls
  • Number and nature of the calls
  • Satisfaction information
  • Complaints information
  • Record of Contact documents

Further Evidence gathering

  • Contact centre staff interviews were carried out by CSP members with two call centre staff 7 Aug.
  • Observation of contact centre staff working by CSP 5 April.
  • Written replies to CSP questions by Gillian Blackett 23 July
  • Viewing Annual Tenants Report 2011 / 2013 - looking at past targets and

achievements for all departments including the contact centre.

  • Viewing Service Cluster Reports for HfN (organisational summary) April and

May 2013

  • Website comparisons of comparable sized Housing Associations and ALMO’s (where possible)
  • Service Cluster Report for Performance Scorecard ( organisational summary

March 2013).

  • HfN Customer Access Strategy 2010 / 2013.
  • HfN Guide to Customer Service Charter, see page 2..."Our Promise"

(contact centre)

  • Information provided to Scrutiny Panel 20th June "Performance Scorecard

Format” April 2013

  • A document/extract from"Tenant Involvement and Empowerment" showinga matrix ofcontact centre targets and achievements and overall ratings for the years 2010/11 2011/12 and 2012/13.
  • A document from the Service Cluster Report for Performance Scorecard (Organisational summary) Mar 2013...... First Point of contact and percentage of Calls answered within target.
  • Customer Inspectorstelephone survey of the contact centre with collated results.
  • Projected annual cost of re-directing calls from HfN ( Oct 14th ) Michelle Mordue

4.2 Stage 2 - Compare and Challenge

Initial scoping of the project resulted in the identification of six key areas of focus:

Theme 1 – Training

Theme 2 – Communication

Theme 3 – Procedures

Theme 4 – Targets

Theme 5 – Staff Views

Theme 6 – Customer views

Three main activities were then utilised to facilitate further exploration of the service in more detail. These included the following:

  1. Literature Review and Benchmarking – Documentation considered included, policy, service leaflets, newsletters, suite of letters, website appraisal and benchmarking with other organisations
  2. Customer Views – Customer Inspectors carried out a telephone survey on behalf of Scrutiny Panel – The telephone survey was carried out with customers who had recently contacted the contact centre
  3. Staff Audit – CSP members carried out observations in the contact centre and one to one interviews with staff

4.3 Stage 3 - Analysis and Recommendations

The CSP worked in smaller sub groups to undertake all of the work that was required. All findings from the Scrutiny sub groups were shared together and recommendations were then formulated for the service. All members of the CSP influenced and prepared the finalised report

4.4 Stage 4 - Implementation

The Report will be shared with HfN’s Executive Team. Any comments will be fed back through to the CSP. The report will then be presented to the HfN Strategic Board by the Scrutiny members resulting in an agreed action plan for improvement.

5.Findings and Recommendations

5.1 Quick Wins

Theme 2, Communication

2.3 Need for all staff to formally communicate with the contact centre if a mail shot will increase the number of calls to the contact centre.

2.4 Investigate whether direct numbers for staff should be used on mail shots rather than the general contact centre number.

2.5 To ensure that all HfN staff keep their electronic diaries up to date as this has an impact on the effectiveness of the contact centre.

5.2 What Worked Well

What Worked Well

  1. In September issue of 'Your News' page 13 the latest Performance Indicators for Customer Services shows an improvement in the percentage of abandoned calls.
  2. Staff are always polite when commencing and ending calls (observed by CSP).
  3. Staff worked well together. (CSP).
  4. They deal with 75-80% of calls themselves. (CSP)
  5. Phones appeared to be answered immediately (CSP).
  6. 1 to 1 meetings with Gillian Blackett work well. Staff are able to discuss individual issues /concerns/ problems and also put forward any good ideas they may have (obtained from staff interviews and Gillian Blackett).
  7. Staff have regular breaks covering for each other. (CSP).
  8. Theydo get compliments from customers. They have a compliments board in the office which is a good morale booster (supplied from staff and Gillian Blackett). This, to a degree, can be verified from the information gathered from the Customer telephone interview carried out by the Customer Inspectors.
  9. Flexi or overtime, when required, is paid e.g. if there is a "rush" due to inclement weather needing them to stay behind (staff interview)
  10. Equal sharing out of calls and emails between staff (CSP)
  11. The results from the Customer Inspectors telephone survey showed very positive reactions re contact centre staff handling of their queries.
  12. Staff are committed to their work. (staff views and observations)

6Theme One – Training

What evidence do we have?

Recommendation 1.1 – 1.5; evidence obtained during interviews with staff and management.

Theme One – Recommendations

  1. There needs to be a more formalised mentoring programme for new staff to ensure they are picking up good working practices

  1. All contact centre staff need to have the opportunity to have full team training to ensure consistency across the team

  1. Investigate having a bank of trained staff from each department to provide cover for the contact centre staff. This would also release the contact centre staff into having team meetings etc.

  1. Investigate the ‘back to the floor’ development programme for managers throughout the organisation within the contact centre. This would enable managers to understand more fully the pressures on staff.

  1. To investigate the use of recording calls – that can be used by the manager in one to ones to identify any training areas for improvement for individual staff or to share good practice by staff members with other staff.

  1. Introduction of a “jargon buster” manual for new members of staff and prospective bank staff to ensure a consistent approach to repair logging is undertaken.

Theme Two – Communication