Improving frontline services was a key element when Corby Borough Council decided to develop its new "One Corby" approach. The strategic purpose was to bring all frontline services under one roof, and to deal with as many customers as possible through one point.
Services offered in the new one stop shop include council payments, housing, benefits, planning, environment and tourism. In the long term, the council plans to open a new mutli-agency one stop shop/civic hub offering the services of key partners such as the police and the library services. In the meantime, a brand new Customer First centre was opened in July 2006.
Fresh approach
"An integral part of the development of our one stop shop was the need to introduce a managed queuing system," said Tim Marren, Head of Service at Customer First.
"Previously the council's experience was dominated by a dated manual system. Working closely with Q-Matic we have taken a fresh approach to customer flow management," he said.
98% customer satisfaction
"The primary targets within Customer First were to train frontline staff on new technology – such as Q-Matic – and deal with 70 per cent of all customer queries at first point of contact," said Tim Marren.
Since opening, many of the council's targets have been met and even exceeded; key figures including:
- 98% customer satisfaction levels
- 95% resolution of customer queries at fist point of contact
- 100% staff coverage on key systems
Councillor Bob Scott, Lead Member for Customer Services at Corby Borough Council noted: "With the help of Q-Matic we have made considerable strides in the development of our approach to customer services, recognised by the interest we have received from private and public sector bodies alike. We have an ambitious programme of IT exploitation and development, telephony enhancement, staff training and professionalism and efficiencies."
According to Tim Marren, the outcome of the new customer flow management approach has:
- Allowed the council to deal with customers in a businesslike manner;
- Enabled customers to determine how they interact with the council;
- Provided invaluable management information on performance and customer requirements
National lead in efficiencies
Corby has already obtained a national lead in efficiencies by achieving a higher level of ongoing efficiencies over 2004-2005 than any other council in the country. The total sum saved amounts to £1.156 million – equivalent to 12.3 percent of the net revenue budget, far in excess of central government targets. Central to this are two elements: 1. Investment in new technology such as Lagan CRM and Electronic Document Management. 2. The council is also committed to a service improvement programme of seeking efficiencies (of up to £500,000 by 2009) as back office activities are migrated to the front office.
"We have not been operating in isolation," said Tim Marren. "Key to our rapid development has been working in partnership with other public sector organisations, including one stop shops similar to ours, and the development of a CRM consortium amongst other things," he said.