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AFundamentalRethinkingofCustomerServiceinLocalGovernmente-businessandbestpracticescombinetodeliveradvancedcustomercaresolutionsthatimproverelationshipswithCityHallByJ.
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AFundamentalRethinkingofCustomerServiceinLocalGovernment1AFundamentalRethinkingofCustomerServiceinLocalGovernment"Therearethreetypesofpeopleinthisworld,thosethatmakethingshappen,thosethatwatchthingshappen,andthosethatwonderwhathappened.
"-anonymousWouldn'tyouliketobeabletoreducethetaxesinyourjurisdiction,whileatthesametimeincreasingservices,andcustomersatisfactionUsingacombinationofacustomerfocusedstrategyandleadingedgetechnology,thisgoalisnowachievable.
Inthepast,governmentsrarelythoughtoftheircitizensascustomers.
Indeed,literatureonthetopicofpublicaffairspublishedbefore1990rarelyusedtheterm.
However,sincethattime,therehasbeenadramaticshifttowardsthisview.
BookssuchasReinventingGovernment,BanishingBureau-cracy,andTheDigitalEconomyrefertocitizensalmostexclusivelyascustomers.
Thispaperoutlinesthereasonsforestablishingacustomerbasedcitizenservicestrategy,looksatsomebestpracticesinusetoday,anddiscussesthetoolsandtechnologiesrequiredtobecomemorecustomerfocused.
ReasonsforaCustomerFocusedStrategyinLocalGovernmentAsatisfiedandloyalcustomerisacontentandhappyciti-zen,orbusiness.
Havingcontentandhappycitizensisoneofthemanygoalsofeverylocalgovernment.
Oncewefocusonthecitizenasacustomer,wecanbegintobringtolocalgovernmentsmanyofthemeasuresthathavebeenusedbyexcellentcustomerserviceorganizationsintheprivatesec-tor.
Measuressuchasresponsiveness,consistentservicedelivery,andexcellentrelationshipsresultinloyalcustom-ers.
Butfirst,itisimportanttodefinea"customer"inthelocalgovernmentenvironment.
2WhatisacustomerWhatdoesthetermactuallymeanIntheretailworld,itmeanssomeonewhofrequentsyourestablishment,andpurchasesgoodsorservices.
Itisaper-sonthatisdirectlyservedbytheoutputofyourorganiza-tion.
Governmentsserveanumberofconstituents,allofthemarearguablycustomers,buttheymaynotalwaysbeoperatinginthatrole.
Inordertoeffectivelydesignacus-tomerbasedstrategy,itisfirstimportanttounderstandwhoyourcustomersare,whytheyutilizeyourservice,andwhattheirexpectationsareabouthowyourorganizationshoulddeliverit.
OsborneandPlastrik5providethefollowingdefinitionsofentitiesservedbygovernmentalorganizations:DefinitionofalocalgovernmentcustomerPrimaryCustomers-Theindividualorgroupyourworkisprimarilydesignedtoassist.
SecondaryCustomers-Otherindividualsorgroupsyourworkisdesignedtobenefit-butlessdirectlythanyourpri-marycustomers.
Compliers-Thosewhomustcomplywithlawsandregula-tions:forexample,taxpayersinrelationtotheInternalRev-enueService;developersinrelationtoapermittingagency;ordriversinrelationtothepolice.
Theyarenotcustomers.
Stakeholders-Individualsorgroupswhohaveaninterestintheperformanceofapublicsystemororganization.
Forexample,teachersinthepublicschools,orunionsandbusi-nessgroupsinrelationtoaworkplacesafetyagency.
Someorallstakeholdersmaybecustomers.
Itisimportanttonotethatoneindividualorgroupmayhaveseveralroles.
Forexample,apropertyownerisacom-plierinrelationtothepropertytaxdepartment,butisanoverallcustomerofthecity.
AFundamentalRethinkingofCustomerServiceinLocalGovernment3CostReductionArecomplaintsagoodthingorabadthingCertainly,foralongtime,customerservicedepartmentshavemeasuredtheirsuccessbyareductioninthenumberofcomplaintsorbyareductionincalltimes.
Obviously,ifpeoplearespend-inglesstimeonthephonewitheachcustomer,ortherearefewercomplaints,thencomplaintsarecostingless,atleastfromthecallcenter'sperspective.
However,doesthisresultinanetsavingfortheorganizationConsiderthefollowingexample.
Acustomercall–the"brushoff"Acustomercallsthemainnumberforacity,withacom-plaintthattheirbrushwasnotpickedupasexpected.
Thecallcenterrepresentativereadsthemthepolicyregardingbrushpickup,andrefersthemtotheoperationsdepart-ment,withaphonenumber.
Thecallcenterrepresentativehascompletedthetaskquicklyandefficiently,andtheircallhandlingstatisticsappearexcellent,buttheproblemper-sists.
Thecustomerthencallstheoperationsdepartment.
Theyareinformedthattheschedulechangedlastseason,andtheyareverysorry,butthecustomer'srequestcannotbehandledtomeetthecustomerexpectation.
Thepersononthephonehasnopowertomakereparations,andcanonlycommunicatethebadnewstothecustomer.
Again,theyhavedonetheirjob,andcommunicatedtheorganizationalpolicytothecustomer,butthecustomerisnotsatisfied.
Infacttheyarestartingtogetfrustrated.
Notsatisfiedwiththeresponsethatwasgiven,thecustomerthencallsalocalelectedrepresentativetocomplainaboutthesituation,whoagreesthatthecommunicationofthechangeinthebrushpickupschedulewasinadequate,andpromisestoresolvethesituation.
Thenextdaythecitymanageriscontacted,andrequestedtolookintothesitua-tion.
4Thecitymanagerthencontactstheoperationsmanagertofindoutwhatcanbedone,whointurncontactsthelinemanager.
Thelinemanagerthendetermineswhentogetatrucktothecustomer'slocation,andschedulesit.
Thecom-municationthenfollowsinthereversedirectionbacktotheelectedofficial,whointurncontactsthecustomerwiththeinformationthattheirissuewillberesolved.
Figure1:TraditionalCommunicationFlowAteachstageofthisprocess,theemployeeshaveperformedtheirdutiesperfectly.
Theproblemisthatthefocuswasoninternalproceduresandrequirements,andnotonthecus-tomer.
Thecustomerdidn'tcarethattheschedulehadchanged,orthattheemployeecouldn'tdoanythingaboutit,onlythattheproblemwasn'tbeingsolved.
Theemploy-eesverylikelywantedtohelp,butwerepreventedfromdoingsobybureaucracy.
Contrastthissituationwithacitythathasundertakenacustomerfocusedcomplainthandlingstrategy:AbetterwayInthiscase,thecallcomesintothecustomercarecenter.
Thecustomercarerepresentative(CCR)looksupthebrushpickupscheduleonline,andcheckstoseeifthereareanyexceptionsforthiscustomer.
TheCCRisempoweredtoresolveissuesforthecustomer,andtheydeterminethatapickupisnecessary,sotheissueisassigneddirectlytothelinemanager,andtheoperationsmanageriscopiedontheinformation.
Thelinemanagerthendispatchesaworkcrew,andthecustomerisnotifieddirectlyofwhenthebrushwillbepickedup.
CustomerElectedRepresen-tativeCityManagerLineManagerOperationsManagerAFundamentalRethinkingofCustomerServiceinLocalGovernment5Figure2:CommunicationFlowusingaCustomerServicemethodologyBenefitsAlthoughtheendresultisthesameinbothscenarios,thereisamajordifferencetoapproach,whichwillresultinamajordifferenceincustomersatisfaction,aswellascost.
Usingthecustomerfocusedapproach,weareconcernedwithwhatmatterstothecustomer,asopposedtointernalpolicies,procedure,andchainofcommand.
Inthefirstexample,theissuewashandledmymultiplepeople,andtheonuswasonthecustomertoachieveresolution.
Inthesec-ondexample,theowneroftheissuebecomesthecus-tomer'sadvocate.
Thisistakingaproactive,versusareactive,approach.
Oneofthemoreinterestingpointsthatemergesfromtheaboveexampleisthatfocusingonthecustomerinsteadofinternalrequirementsresultsnotonlyinincreasedcus-tomersatisfaction,whichmaybeexpected,butisoftensig-nificantlycheaperfortheorganization.
ThishaspromptedmanylargeorganizationssuchasIBMandRitz-CarletonHotelstoempowertheirfrontlineemployeestokeepcus-tomershappy.
InthecaseoftheRitz-CarletonHotelchain,everyemployeehasadiscretionaryspendinglimitof$2000thattheycanusetoremediateasituationwhereacustomerhasbecomedispleased.
Withinoneyearofintroducingthisreform,thechainfoundthatitsspendingoncustomersatisfactionhadfallentohalfofwhatithadbeen.
CustomerCCRLineManager6EconomicDevelopmentConsiderthefollowinghypotheticalscenario:ACEOisconsideringexpandingherbusinessintoanewcity.
Shecanchoosebetweentwofairlyidenticalcities,theCityofBuenaVistaandtheCityofHillview,indifferentpartsofthestate.
Theweatheristhesame,thepriceoflaborissimilar,andtheresourcesandtaxratesarecomparable.
Shedecidestovisiteachcityandspeakwiththeeconomicdevelopmentstafftoseewhattheycandoforhercompany.
EconomicdevelopmentcanincreasedirectlyastheresultofacustomerfocusedstrategyDuringtheflighttoHillview,shestrikesupaconversationwithherseatmate.
Theconversationproceedstoaquestionaboutwhatshewillbedoingintown.
Whensheinformsthemthatshewillbemeetingwithcityofficials,thecom-ment"Oh,thecitygovernment.
Goodluckgettingany-thingoutofthem.
I'mstillwaitingforthemtochangethestreetlightinfrontofmyhouse".
Sheshrugsitofftostan-dardgovernmentcynicism.
Themeetingswitheconomicdevelopmentgowell,andthenextdaysheleavesforBuenaVista.
OnherwayfromtheairporttoBuenaVista,sheasksthecabdriverhowhelikeslivingthere.
Hebeamswithcivicpride,ashetellsherallofthewonderfulthingsthatthenewadministrationhasdone.
Hetalksabouthowtheparkshaveimproved,crimeisdown,andhowthingsseemtobemov-ingmuchmoreefficiently.
Healsotellsheraboutarecentexperiencethathehadwhenhiscabwasgivenaparkingticketinerror.
"Itwasreallyneat",hesays,"Icalledinaroundnoon,andthepersononthephonetoldmethenameofthepersonwhowouldbegettingbacktome.
WhenIgothome,Iactuallyfoundane-mailtellingmethatithadbeentakencareof".
ThismakesanimpressiononherassheheadsintoanuneventfulmeetingwiththeBuenaVistaEconomicDevelopmentofficer.
AFundamentalRethinkingofCustomerServiceinLocalGovernment7Uponreturntoheroffice,shehasafewunansweredques-tions.
Shedecidestocallthecitiesdirectlytogettheanswers.
WhenshecallstheCityofHillview,sheisgiventhephonenumberofadifferentdepartment.
Shethencallsthatdepartment,andwindsupinavoicemailbox.
Shecallsbackandspeakswiththedepartment'sreceptionist,whofinallyfindssomeonewhocanspeaktoher.
Heanswersherquestiontohersatisfaction,andthensheaskshernextone.
Unfortunately,hecan'tanswerthatone,butknowsthatsomeonefromplanningcould.
WherewouldyouratherliveShethencallstheCityofBuenaVistaandspeakswithaCCR.
Sheaskstherepresentativewhocouldanswerherquestion,andissomewhatsurprisedtohearthatshedoesn'tneedtobetransferredanywhere,theCCRsimplylooksupthequestionandinformsheroftheanswer.
Impressed,theCEOthankstheCCR,whosays:"Oh,it'snoproblem,youcanevenlookitupforyourselfifyoulikeonourWebsite".
Insteadofaskinganyfurtherquestions,thecustomervisitsthewebsiteformoreanswerslaterinthedaywhenitismoreconvenientforher.
Giventhatthetwocompetingcitieshaverelativelysimilarofferings,whichcommunityistheCEOgoingtoselectforherbusiness,ortoliveinHillview,withitsfocusoninter-nalprocedures,orBuenaVista,withastrongcustomerfocus.
Theanswerisobvious.
Achangeinphilosophy,com-binedwiththeappropriatetools,canmakeahugediffer-enceforlocalgovernments.
Intheaboveexample,iftheCEO'scompanywasgoingtoemploy1000people,thatmeansliterallymillionsofdollarsindirectcommercialtaxrevenue,indirectrevenuefrompropertytaxofemployees,employeesspending,andinincreasedtraffictothecity.
8LiabilityLiabilitycanbereducedastheresultofacustomerfocusedstrategyInarecentcaseinFlorida,threeplaintiffssuccessfullysuedalocalgovernmentfordamageincurredwhentheysufferedinjuriesinatrafficaccidentatanintersection.
Thethreewereintwodifferentvehicleswhentheycollidedattheintersection.
Thereasonforthesuitwasthatthestopsignsweremissingfromtheroad,anditwastheCity'sresponsi-bilitytoensurethattheywerethere.
Thecityknewaboutthemissingstopsignfromacustomercomplaint.
However,ithadfailedtoreplaceitinatimelyfashion.
Thislackofresponsewasakeyfactorinthejudge-mentagainstthecity.
InansimilarcaseinOhioin1997involvingacollisionasaresultofmissingstopsign,anappellatecourtupheldadeci-sionagainstthelocaltownshipandcountyforthesamerea-sons.
Again,akeyfactorwasthefactthatthetownshipwasawareofthemissingstopsign,buthadfailedtorespondappropriately.
Theseexamplesdemonstratethatfocusingonthecustomermaynotonlybegoodbusiness,butinsomecasesmayalsorepresentasignificantcostsavingsinlegalfees.
LegislativeIn1991,theBritishgovernmentintroducedtheCitizen'sCharter.
TheCharterisaprogramaimedspecificallyatmakinggovernmentmoreefficientandimprovingcus-tomersatisfaction.
Essentially,eachpublicsectororganiza-tionhadtoestablishcustomerservicestandards,withinputfromtheircustomers,publishthem,andmeetthem.
Iftheydidso,theywouldreceivea"chartermark",anindicatorofcustomerservice.
Themarkwouldbere-evaluatedeverythreeyearsbasedoncontinuousimprovement.
AFundamentalRethinkingofCustomerServiceinLocalGovernment9Thechartercentersonsixkeyprinciples,servicesthat"everycitizenisentitledtoexpect".
Thesesixelementsarestandardsofservice,informationandopenness,choiceandconsultation,courtesyandhelpfulness,havingthingsputright,andvalueformoney.
By1995,thefollowingareafewoftheimprovementsthattheCitizen'sCharterwasbeingcreditedwith:KKKKTheNationalHealthServicehadreducedwaitingtimesthathadoncebeenaslongastwohourstoamaximumof30minutes.
Ithadalsoreducedwaitingtimesforelectivesurgery.
InMarch,1990,morethan200,000patientshadbeenwaitingformorethanayearforhos-pitaladmission;byMarch1995thenumberwasdownto32,000Providingexcellentcustomerserviceisnolongeramatterof"if",nowit'samatterof"how"and"when".
KKKKBritishRailhadimprovedserviceonmanylines.
Ononeline,itraisedthepercentageoftrainsarrivingwithin10minutesoftheirscheduledtimefrom78%in1991to88%bytheendof1994.
In1993-94,BritishRailhadtopay4.
7millionincompensationtopassengersand2.
4millionindiscountstoseasonticketholders(excludingstrikecompensation);In1994-95BRgotthenumbersdownto3.
5millionand0.
2millionKKKKThePassportOfficehadloweredthetimeittooktogetapassportfromupto95daystoamaximumof15work-ingdaysKKKKTheRoyalMailraisedthepercentageoffirstclasslettersdeliveredintheU.
K.
bythenextworkdayfrom85.
5%in1990-91to92%in1994-95.
Ina1993Citizen'sChar-tersurvey,91%ofthosesurveyedsaidpostalserviceshadimprovedorwereatleastasgoodastheywereinthepreviousyearKKKKTheDrivingStandardsAgencytookthewaitingtimefora"largegoods"vehicledrivingtestdownfromfourweeksin1990-91tooneweekin1994-95KKKKTheDriverandVehicleLicensingAgencyprocessed90%ofapplicationswithin16daysin1991-92.
By1994-95,itwasprocessing95%within10workingdays10KKKKCustomersatisfactionwithlocalgovernmentservicesincreasedfrom51%in1991to61%in1995,onaNationalConsumerCouncilsurvey.
Thesemandatedcustomerserviceprogramshaven'tbeenrestrictedtoGreatBritain.
SimilarprogramshaveemergedinCanada,France,Belgium,Australia,andItaly.
In1993,ontherecommendationoftheNationalPerformanceReview,PresidentClintonissuedanexecutiveordersimilartotheCitizen'sCharterproclaimingthat"thestandardsofqualityforserviceprovidedtothepublicshallbe:Customerserviceequaltothebestinbusiness".
By1995,215federalagencieshadestablishedcustomerservicestandards5.
TheBritishCitizen'sCharterappliestoallgovernmentalagenciesinGreatBritain,includinglocalgovernments.
Todate,PresidentClinton'sorderappliesonlytothefederalgovernment,butitisnotoutofthequestionthatcustomerservicestandardsmaybeforceduponlocalgovernmentsatsomepointinthefuture.
e-BusinessEnablesCustomerSelfServiceInternetandWebtechnologiescanbeagreatcustomerservicetool.
Withschedulesbusierthanever,moredualincomeandsin-gleworkingparentfamilies,andWebavailabilitygrowingtoover50%penetrationinsomecities,manycustomersareprofessingastrongpreferencetodobusinesstheirownway,ontheirownschedules.
Manyprivatesectorcompaniesareadoptingmeasurestoaccommodatethisnewrequirement,andutilizingtechnologytoadopttheirserviceofferingstoeachandeverycustomer,somethingthatwastechnologi-callyimpossibleuntilrecently2.
AFundamentalRethinkingofCustomerServiceinLocalGovernment11Manycitiesarebecomingmoreandmorefamiliarwiththeconceptofoutsourcing.
Thereasonsfordoingsoarefairlywellestablished.
Essentially,ifthereisataskthatneedstobeperformed,itwillbemuchmoreefficienttoallowanorga-nizationthatspecializesinthisservicetoperformit.
Thisisincontrasttothecityperformingtheservice,ordevelopingthecompetencytoperformtheservicein-house.
Theeffi-ciencyincreasewillmorethanmakeupforthepremiumpaidtotheprovideroftheservice,resultingincostsavingsandahigherqualityofservice.
Customersoftenknowwhattheywantfromtheircity,theyjustdon'tknowhowtogetit.
Puttingthetoolsintotheirhandsisbetterforthecustomerandcheaperforthecity.
WhathappenswhenyoutakethisconceptandextendittoyourcustomersIfitismoreefficientforbothyouandyourcustomerstoallowyourcustomerstoservethemselves,wouldn'tyoudosoInacustomerservicescenario,custom-ersknowswhattheirquestionsareorwhatthey'relookingfor,andacertainpercentageofcustomersreallydon'twanttoexplainittoaCCRanyway.
Theyknowtheirpersonaldetails,anditismoreefficienttohavethementerthisinfor-mationdirectlythantohavethemexplainingthingstoaCCR.
Untilrecently,technologydidn'treallyprovidethisability.
TheadventoftheWorldWideWebhaschangedthis.
WiththeWeb,customerscanpotentiallyaccessanyoftheinformationsystemsthatyouchoosemakeavailabletothem.
Thisconceptisn'tnew.
BanksintroducedAutomatedTellerMachines(ATMs)inthemid1980's,whichessentiallyout-sourcedtransactionprocessingdirectlytothecustomer.
Oncecustomersbecameawareofthisnewwayofinteract-ingwiththebank,demandforATMsskyrocketed.
Itwasallthatthebankscoulddotogetthemouttherefastenough.
Thenetresulthasbeenanincreaseincustomersatisfaction,asconvenienceforthecustomerhasincreaseddramaticallyandloweredcoststothebanks.
What'sinitforthecustomerVerysimply-convenience.
ThemajorityofpeoplewhohaveaccesstotheWeb(andthatnumberisconstantlyincreasing,withpenetrationratescurrentlybetween25%and75%dependingonlocation)preferdoingbusinesswiththismedium.
12Customerself-serviceisnotrestrictedtoWeb-enabledcustomersInfact,forcustomerswhodon'thaveaccesstotheWebthemselves,governmentkiosksinmallshaveprovenincred-iblysuccessful,asintheIBM-OntarioGovernmentinitia-tiveknownasServiceOntariointheprovinceofOntario,Canada.
ServiceOntarioisamulti-ministryprojectledbytheOntarioMinistryofTransportationandinvolvingtheMinistriesofHealth,NaturalResources,ConsumerandCommercialRelations,andtheManagementBoardSecre-tariat.
ServiceOntario'skiosksallowcustomerstoservethemselvesforsuchpreviouslytimeconsumingtasksaslicenseplaterenewal,Healthcardupdates,andhuntinglicenseapplicationsinsuchplacesasmallsandgrocerystores.
MoreinformationaboutServiceOntarioisavailableathttp://www.
mto.
gov.
on.
ca/english/kiosk/.
FederalExpresswasoneoftheearliercompaniestoexposeitsinformationsystemstotheWeb.
TheytooktheirexistingpackagetrackingapplicationandadaptedsomeinterfacesthatwouldworkontheWeb.
Aftersomeinitialcustomerfeedback,theyrecognizeditsvalue,andwithinoneyearitwasconsideredoneoftheirchiefdifferentiatingfactors.
Accesstorealtimeinformation"amazedcustomersandactuallyenhancedtheirbeliefinFederalExpress'corevaluepropositionsofdependableandreliableservice.
Customersfoundgettinginformationon-lineeasierthancallingFed-eralExpress,waitingonhold,andthenspeakingtoanoper-atorwhowasdoinglittlemorethanrepeatingthecontentsofadatabase2".
UsingtheWeb,andaccessingtheinformationresourcesofacitydirectlyisinherentlymoreefficientforcustomers.
TheWebisavailable24hoursaday,and,ifacustomerisalreadyon-line,theCity'sWebsiteisonlyafewmouseclicksaway.
Andifitiseasiertogivefeedback,anotherneteffectisthatcustomersaremorelikelytodoso.
Inadditiontodeliveringcustomerserviceandanetcostsavings,providingself-serviceontheWebwillactuallyencouragecomplaints.
IsthisagoodthingTheknee-jerkreactionis"ofcoursenot",butwhenwestarttoviewcom-plaintsasvaluablecustomerfeedbackmechanisms,thisperceptionquicklychanges.
AFundamentalRethinkingofCustomerServiceinLocalGovernment13ContinuousImprovement1in27unsatisfiedcustomersactuallycomplain,Ifcomplaintsareresolved,96%willremainascustomers.
Ifcomplaintsareunresolved,anunsatisfiedcustomerwilltell9-10people.
13%ofunsatisfiedcustomerswilltellasmanyas20people.
Acustomerwhosecomplaintwasresolvedwilltell5-6peopleabouttheirpositiveexperienceComplaintsareanorganization'smostcommoninteractionwithcustomers–but,whatisacomplaintAccordingtoBarlowandMoller1,acomplaintisastatementoffactaboutexpectationsthathavenotbeenmet.
Inessence,thecustomeristellingyouhowtoimproveyourserviceoffer-ing.
Oftenorganizationssurveytheircustomerbasetohelpthemwiththeirstrategyandtodeterminecustomeratti-tudes.
Theproblemwiththisapproachisthatitisonlysur-veyingexistingcustomersandsomissesthereasonswhypeoplestopbeingyourcustomers.
Lookedatthisway,acomplaintcanbeoneofthebiggestbargainsinmarketresearch.
Unfortunately,thepeopleinchargeofeconomicdevelopmentdon'toftenaskthecus-tomercaredepartmentwhatitistheyshoulddotoattractnewbusiness,andretainexistingbusiness.
Thisisashame,becauseoftenthesearethepeoplewhoknow.
Whencustomerscomplain,theyaregoingoutoftheirwaytotellyouwhatitisthatyouaredoingwrong,orhowyoucanimprove.
Atleastacomplainingcustomerisstillacus-tomer.
ArecentreportbyIBM3showsthatonly1in27cus-tomerswillactuallycomplainwhentheyareunsatisfied.
Itisveryimportanttolistentotheirfeedbackforanumberofreasons.
KKKKWhencustomerscomplains,theyaretellingyouwhatyouneedtoknowordotomakethemhappy.
Theyaretakingtimeandeffortoutoftheirdaytoprovideyouwiththisinformation.
Theydosobecausetheybelievethatit'syourorganization'sresponsibilitytosolvetheproblem,andtheyaregivingyouanopportunitytodoso.
Thepeoplewhocomplainalsotendtobethemostloyal,andthisisreflectedinthefactthatifacomplaintisresolvedpromptly,customerswillreturn96%ofthetime3.
14BadnewstravelstwiceasfastasgoodnewsKKKKCustomerswhocomplainarealsolikelytobeveryvocalinanysituation.
Iftheircomplaintsareresolvedpromptlyandtotheirsatisfaction,theywilltell,onaverage,5-6otherpeopleabouttheirgoodexperience.
Ifitisn't,however,onaveragetheywilltell9-10people,andsomewilltellasmanyas20.
Theywillgooutoftheirwaytocommunicatetheirbadexperience.
WhyisitimportanttohaveloyalcustomersThecostofretaininganexistingcustomerisonly5%thatofacquiringanewone7.
Reichheld,inhisgroundbreakingbook,TheLoyaltyEffect,demonstrateshowloyaltycanpermeatetheentireorganization,makingitmoreefficient,moreeffec-tive,andmoresuccessful.
Ofcourse,governmentsaredifferentfrombusinesses,rightYoumaywonderwhyloyaltyisimportant;citizenshavetraditionallybeenconsideredonlyratepayers.
Butgov-ernmentandbusinessaremoresimilarthanitmayappearonthesurface.
Themajordifferencesarethattransactionswithcustomersarelessdirect(thecustomerpaysafee–atax,andreceivesaservice–useofapark),andtheconse-quencesofbadservicearelessimmediate.
Considertheconsequencesofabadcustomerserviceexpe-rienceinvolvingadecisionmakerata1,000employeeorga-nization.
Intoday'scompetitiveenvironment,localgovernmentsarealwaystryingtoattractnewbusinesses.
IftheCEOaboveisanunhappycustomerofthecity,thiswilllikelyinfluencethedecisiontoexpandorwheretobuildthat"nextplant".
Insomecasesitmaybethedecidingfac-tor.
Movingthecompanyorbuildingelsewherecouldhaveamajorimpactonthecity,bothdirectly,throughlostcom-mercialtaxrevenue,andindirectly,fromthelostrevenuefromthemoneyspentelsewherebytheemployees,theirfamilies,andthecompanyitself.
Thecostscouldeasilytallyintothemillionsofdollarsonanannualbasis.
AFundamentalRethinkingofCustomerServiceinLocalGovernment15Intheeconomiesofthelate20thearly21stcenturies,citycustomerswillhavemorechoicesaboutwheretheywishtoliveandwork;andtheyneednotbethesameplace.
Tele-commutingiscertainlyontherise,whichmeansthatpeo-plecanworkwheneverandwherevertheywish.
Havingsomeoneemployedbyacompanylocatedinyourcityisnolongeraguaranteethattheywillbeacustomerofyourcity.
e-BusinessImplicationsandFuturesButitdoesn'tstopthere.
ForanyorganizationthathasatrueWebstrategy,thenameofthegameistodrivetraffictotheirWebsite.
WhyshouldacitybeanydifferentPartoftheanswerisWeb-enablementofservicesprovidedbythecity.
Acity'sWebsiteisit's"Virtual"presence.
AhighlyvisibleWebsiteensuresahighlyvisiblecity.
Forthevastmajorityofcities,theircorebusinessapplica-tionsarenotWeb-enabled.
Theseincludeapplicationssuchastaxorutilitybilling,parksandrecreation,financials,humanresources,buildingpermitsandlicensing.
However,inthecomingyearstheseapplicationswillbeweb-enabled,inpartduetocustomerdemand,andinpartbasedona"builditandtheywillcome"approach.
Whatisalsoimportanttorecognizeisthatamajortrans-formationinstaffingandcustomerinteractionwilloccurastheveryparadigmofthecity-customerrelationshiprede-finesitself.
Additionally,theapplicationsthatweretradi-tionallymaintainedandsupportedin-houselendthemselvestobeingrentedfromthenewlyemergingAppli-cationSoftwareProviders(ASPs).
ASPsalloworganizationstoget"bestofbreed"solutionsonapay-for-what-you-usebasis.
Thebottomlineisthatanythingtodrivetraffictoyourcity'sWebsiteshouldbeimplementedforcitiestrulyinter-estedintransformingthemselvestoe-business.
16ADecisionSupportSystemHowofteniscustomerresearchperformedBothpoliticalpartiesandgovernmentsperformpollinginordertodeter-minethewillofthepeople.
Intheprivatesectorcompaniesconductcustomersurveystodeterminethewilloftheircustomers.
Effectively,thereisnodifferencebetweenthetwo.
Asmentionedabove,focusingonyourcustomersatalltimes,notonlywhenyouareinterestedinlisteningtothem,helpstogiveyouafarmoreaccuratepictureofwhattheywant.
Trackingtheircomplaints,suggestions,andrequestsforserviceisanexcellentwaytoaccomplishthisasyouwillbeabletospottrendsastheyareoccurring.
Asmoreissuesarisewithsimilarfeatures,wemaybeabletospotcommonalitiesbetweenthem.
Thesecommonalitiesareknownastherootcauses.
Rootcauseanalysiscanhelptoeliminatecustomerconcernsbeforetheyarise,andallowsyoutodevelopamoreefficientandcoordinatedresponse.
Inaddition,itmayhelptopointoutareaswherespecialfundingisneeded.
Monitoringcomplaintshelpstospotprospectiveproblemsbeforetheyoccur.
Forexample,whiletrackingcustomercomplaints,youmaydiscoverthatadisproportionatenumberofcomplaintsaboutgraffitiarecomingfromaparticularstreet.
Forexample,thisinformationcouldbeusedtoreallocatepolice,hirean"anti-graffitisquad"tohelpdealwiththeproblemorinvolvecustomersinacommunitygrouptohelpdealwiththisissue.
AFundamentalRethinkingofCustomerServiceinLocalGovernment17EfficiencyThefollowingexampleisdrawnfromobservationsofrealcitygovernmentsituations,butdoesn'tpertaintoanypar-ticularcity.
ConsiderthemanwhocallsCityHallwithaproblemanddoesn'tfeelthatheisbeingwelltreated(oratthelevelheexpected),hewillcallagainandagainattempt-ingtogetsatisfaction.
HowmuchdoesefficientcustomerservicesaveEachcallcostsmoney.
Whatitcostsaparticularcityisafunctionofitscoststructure,butforillustrativepurposes,let'sassumethattheaveragefulltimeequivalent(FTE)sal-ary,benefitsandotheroverhead,acrossallpersonnelintheorganizationis$40perhour.
Assumetheinitialcustomercalltakes15minutes,that's$10.
00.
Assumetherewillbesubsequentcallstodifferentdepartments,includingcustomerventingtimewhichwilltakeapproximately5minuteseachor$3.
33each.
Iftheaverageunsatisfiedcustomercallsback4times,thatamountsto$13.
32.
Sothetotal,perproblemcall,is$23.
32.
Notmuch,orisitWhiletherehaven'tbeenanysubstantialsurveysonthetopic,observationsofrealityinanumberofdifferentcitieswouldtendtosuggestthattherewillbethreeproblemissuesper10,000peopleperdayattheaveragecity.
Foracityof100,000,thatequatesto30problemcallsperday,whichisequivalentto7,800peryear,representinganannualcostof$182,000.
If,however,callsarehandledproperlyinthefirstplace,supportedbytheappropriateinformationtechnologyandapplicationsoftware,thecostperproblemcanbereducedtooneincidentor$3.
33.
Thisequatestoatotalcostof$13.
33percall,andassuming260businessdays,resultsinasavingsof$78,000annuallyforacityof100,00people.
And,thisdoesnottakeintoaccountthenon-monetarybenefitsofhavingmoresatisfiedcitizens.
18CustomerFocusinLocalGovernmentTodayBackgroundtoMarketSurveyVectorConceptsInc.
conductedatelephonesurveyof428U.
S.
citiestobetterunderstandattitudesandadoptionratesofcomputerizedcitizenservicesystems.
ThesurveywasconductedbetweenJuneandAugust1999.
Responseswereprovidedby395cities,ranginginsizefrom20,000to150,000peopleandwerelocatedinoneofthefollowingstates:NewJersey,Maryland,Virginia,NorthCarolina,Georgia,Florida,Alabama,Texas,TennesseeorCalifornia.
Ifyouwouldlikeadditionalinformationaboutthesurvey,pleasecontacttheauthors.
ThecontactprofileforeachcitywastheCityManagerwithalternatesbeingAssistantCityManagerorCustomerCareSupervisor.
In35%ofthecases,CityManagersreferredsur-veypersonneltooneofthetwoalternatesattheoutset,butinallcaseswerereceptivetothesubjectareaandwillingtoassist.
HighlightsoftheSurveyFromthehighresponseratetothesurveyyoucanconcludethatthesubjectofcomputerizedcitizenserviceisverytopi-calattheseniorexecutivelevel.
Itisalsoclearthatthereisnodominantstandardforcomputerizedcustomerserviceprovision;theredoesn'tappeartobearealproductleaderinthemarketplaceandalmost2/3ofthecitiessurveyedeitherhaveasystem,haveasystemthattheyplantoreplaceorwouldliketoinstalltheirfirstsystem.
Somekeypointsofthesurveyaresummarizedasfollows:KKKKOver99%ofcitiessurveyedviewthecitizenasacus-tomer;KKKKOver50%ofcitiessurveyedbelievetheyaregrowingquickly;KKKK85%ofcitiessurveyedareaggressivelypursingeco-nomicdevelopmentofwhichover2/3believethatqual-ityofservicedeliveryiskeytogrowthplans;AFundamentalRethinkingofCustomerServiceinLocalGovernment19KKKKOver50%believethat24x7citizenself-serviceovertheWebwouldimproveresponsiveness;KKKK95%ofproblemcallsareescalatedtothemayororotherpolitician;KKKK94%ofthepoliticianstakecallsathome,30%often;KKKKOver64%ofcitiessurveyedsaidtheyarelookingforbetterwaystotrackcitizencalls;KKKK30%ofcitiessurveyedusesomeformofautomationtohandlecitizencalls;andKKKKOfthosecitieswithasystem,thereisnoclearstandardonhowtheyorganizecitizencare.
SurveyResultsComplaintsandCitizenIssues*SubsetofpreviousgroupQuestionPercentofRespondentsViewtaxpayerascustomer99UsesomeformofautomationtotrackcomplaintsandIssuesincludingwordprocessor,e-mailorapplication32Complaintsgettingmoredifficulttotrack31Callsincreasingorexpectingtoincrease19Customersgetdifferentanswersdependingonwhichdepartmenttheycall41Difficulttotrackstatusofaninquiryorcomplaint35Logcallsmanually95-canescalateproblemstoothers*94-differingproblemescalationrulesdependingontypeofproblem*86Politiciansthatwanttoviewcallsbyward52Departmentheadsthatwantbetterinformationaboutnumbersandtypesofcallsaswellasservicedeliverylevelsprovidedtocustomer6220CityGrowthandUrbanDevelopment*SubsetofpreviousgroupInquiryProfiles*SubsetofpreviousgroupQuestionPercentofRespondentsCommunitiesviewedasgrowingquickly54Activelypursuingindustrialandbusinessdevelopment85-viewqualityofservicesissuesasamajorissueinattractingnewbusiness*68ViewCityHall'sabilitytoprovidequickconsistentinformationisbecomingapoliti-calissue29ViewofCityHall'sabilitytoprovidequickconsistentinformationisbecominganoperationalissue17Haveneverhadliabilityconcernsresultingfromunresolvedissues10-viewthisasaconcernduetogrowth*0Have911emergencysysteminplacetoday97QuestionPercentofRespondentsProvideliveafterhourscustomerservice30-wouldliketostartprovidingliveafter-hourscustomerservice*5Politicianstakingcallsathome94-frequentlytakecallsathome*30Politiciansthatbelievetheircitizenswouldbeinterestedloggingtheirissuesdirectlyviaawebsite57Problemcallsthatgetescalatedtomayororotherelectedofficial95-havedifficultyfiguringoutexactlywhathashappenedandhowcallwashandled*25Lookingforbetterwaystotrackcitizencalls64AFundamentalRethinkingofCustomerServiceinLocalGovernment21ProfilesofCitiesUsingaCustomerServiceSystem*SubsetofpreviousgroupQuestionPercentofRespondentHaveasystemunderonemanager44Havecallshandledbyeachdepartmentindependently32Haveacentralsystemstaffedineachdepartment24Systemnotintegratedwithfinancialand/orcustomerdatabases51-thoseplanningtointegratewithfinancialorcustomerdatabases*26Thosethatwishthatexistingsystemhadadditionalfeatures33Thosewillingtolookatalternativesolutionsatthisstage72Thoseplanningtoreplaceexistingsystems52-havebeguntoassessotheroptions*81Thoselookingforasystemthatintegratesfinancialorcustomerdatabases7722WhatisinUseTodayTotal122citieshaveasystemofoneformoranother,ofatotalof395citiessurveyedProductNameNumberofRespondentsHomegrown35Nameunknown23HTE17CiviCall11Handledbyworkordersystem5ActionCenter4CivicTracker4CCAR3Teleworks2Trackwise2Accessdatabase1Ctrack1CitizensComplaints1CityServe1Correspond1CreativeComputerSolutions1Groupwise1HMS1IMS1Incode1NewWorld1Pentamation1SCI1SCT1Suntrack1TS20001Total122AFundamentalRethinkingofCustomerServiceinLocalGovernment23CaseStudies:CustomerServiceintheRealWorldTheCityofWestPalmBeach,Florida,USATheCityofWestPalmBeachwasinthemiddleofamajorurbanrenewalprogramin1997,whenitdecidedtoadoptacustomercentriccomplaintmanagementsystem.
Beforethis,customersdidnotalwaysknowwhotocallatthecityfortheservicetheywerelookingfor,andoftenwoundupgettingdifferent,evenconflicting,answers.
-LargestmunicipalityinthePalmBeachCounty-Populationof80,000-EmploytheCentralizedModelMayorNancyGraham(nowretiredfrompolitics)decidedthatthebestapproachwouldbetoadoptacentralizedcallcentermodel.
TheMayor'sResponseTeam(MRT)wasformedtoacceptanyissuesorcomplaintsthatwerebroughttothecity'sattention,andwouldberesponsibleforensuringthattheywerefollowedup.
Theteamwasalsoresponsibleforcommunicatingtheresultsoftheinquirybacktothecustomer.
Inordertodothis,theteamwasgrantedcross-departmentalauthorityforissueresolution.
Initially,ateamof3peoplewashired.
Theyusedapapertrailwhiletheysearchedforthemostappropriatesoftwaresolution.
WhenJCChandler,headoftheMRTlookedatJPHInternational'sSuiteResponseCRMproduct,basedonLotusDomino,sheknewshehadfoundwhatshehadbeenseekingwiththeServicemodule.
ServicewasinstalledinWestPalmBeachinthespringof1997.
Usingthecentralizedmodel,ServicewasconfiguredinsuchawaythatonlymembersoftheMRTcouldenterorupdateissues.
Theissues"belong"totheteamatalltimes,althoughtheresolutionnormallyrequirestheactionofotherdepartments.
Tothisend,Servicewasconfiguredtonotifytheactiontakers(assignees)viae-mail,andtheywouldinturnreplybacktotheMRTviae-mail,whereoneoftherepresentativeswouldentertheresults,usuallythee-mailmessageitself,intotheissuehistory.
24Figure3:CallFlowatWestPalmBeachAhurricaneisoneofthemostdisruptivenaturaleventsthatcanhappentoacity.
Its'effectiswidespreadanditcanhampernotonlycustomers,butalsothecity'sabilitytorespond.
Thecleanupeffortcantakeweeks,evenmonthstocomplete,butmostofthecleanuprequestscomeinwithinashortperiodoftime.
LocatedontheEastcoastofFlorida,WestPalmBeachisinprimehurricanecountry.
Aboutoneyearafterits'initialimplementationofServicetheydecidedtouseitfortheirEmergencyResponseTeam(ERT).
AseparateinstanceofServicewassetupinahurricane-proofbuilding,andtheERTstaffweretrainedonhowtouseit.
Thestaffthenenteredinallofthestandardhurricanerelatedissuetypeinformation,withrealisticresponseandresolutiongoals.
Inthismodel,manyoftheissuesarerelatedtodamagecleanupsuchastreetrimmingandroadclearing.
Infact,ahighpercentageoftheissueswerecreatedbyWestPamBeachstaff,inmanycasesinadvanceofthecustomercon-tactingtheERT.
CentralizedCallCenterCustomerDepartmentalProxyAssigneeWestPalmBeach,FLLegendCustomerContactNotificationMessagesRealmofResponsibilityIssueAssignmentandFlowAFundamentalRethinkingofCustomerServiceinLocalGovernment25Asidefromthetechnologyusedtoenhancecustomerser-vice,theveryfactthattheCityproactivelyestablishedsuchasystemwithastandardnumbertocall,increasesthecom-fortlevelofits'citizenswhenitcomestotheCity'swilling-nesstoassistthemduringsuchextremeevents.
Figure4:CallFlowatWestPalmBeach(EmergencyResponse)ThemodelwassomewhatalteredfromtheoneinusebytheMRT,inthatassigneesintheERTwereempoweredtoclosetheirownissues.
UsingServicefortheERTallowsWestPalmBeachtorespondtocustomersinaconsistentway,andtosettheirexpectationsappropriately.
Inaddition,throughrootcauseanalysis,ithelpstopreventduplicationofeffortwhenanumberofpeoplecallregardingthesameissueandwithstaffproactivelyloggingissues,itismuchmorereassuringtocitizenswhentheyhear,"ourstaffhavealreadyloggedthatissueanditisscheduledtobecompletedwithintheweek".
EmergencyResponseTeamCustomerDepartmentalProxyAssigneeWestPalmBeach,FLEmergencyResponseLegendCustomerContactNotificationMessagesRealmofResponsibilityIssueAssignmentandFlow26TheCityofRoanoke,Virginia,USATheCityCouncilofRoanoke,afivetimewinneroftheAllAmericanCityAward,madeadecisionin1997tobecomea"communityofexcellence".
Oneofthekeyfactorsneededtoachievethisgoalwasanimprovementincustomerrespon-siveness.
Tothatendthecitybegantakingagoodlookathowithandledcallsandrequestsforservice.
-InthecenterofVirginia'slargestmetropolitanregion-Processupto300callsperday-EmploytheDepartmentalmodelTheyhiredaconsultanttoanalyzetheircallpatternsanddeterminewhatcustomercallshadincommonandwheretheydiffered.
Amajoreffortwasalsoundertakentodeter-minewhichareasoftheorganizationwereresponsibleforwhichissues.
Thisactuallypromptedsomechangesintheorganizationalstructure,astheyfoundsomeoverlapinresponsibility,whichwaspartlytoblameforinconsistentservicedeliverytocustomers.
Theydecidednottofundamentallychangethewaythatcomplaintswerehandled,buttheysetorganizationaltar-gets,andstandardsaroundtheircustomerservicedelivery.
Callscouldstillcomeintoanydepartment,butinsteadofthecustomerbeingroutedaroundtheorganization,thestaffmemberonthephonewouldseetoitthattheissuewasfollowedupon.
Thecityserviceswerequitedistributed,andthisaddedtothealreadycomplexrequirementsforasoftwaresystemtohelpthecitydeliverthismodel.
Thesystemhadtobesecureandinformative,withtheabilitytoquicklyinformapublicworkssupervisoraboutupcomingevents.
Thesystem'scommunicationsneededtobeverystrong,gettingassign-mentsouttotheassigneespromptly.
ThecityselectedJPHInternational'SuiteResponseCRM,whichincludesServiceandAdvisor(theknowledgeman-agementmodule),tofulfillitsneeds.
Servicewasconfiguredtoallowanyoneinthecitytocreateissuesonbehalfofacustomer,andtheAdvisorwouldhelptheservicerepresen-tativedecidewhotheissueshouldbeassignedto.
Oncetheissuewasassigned,theassigneewastheonlyoneallowedtomodifytheactionhistory.
AFundamentalRethinkingofCustomerServiceinLocalGovernment27Service'sNagEnginewasenabled,preventinganyissuesfromslippingthroughthecracks.
RoanokechosetouseDepartmentalnotificationfortheseremindernotices.
Inthismodel,thedecisionastowhoshouldbenotifiedthatanissueisoverdueforactionismadebythedepartmentinsteadofinthecentralizedcallcenter.
Iftheengineeringdepartmenthasdefinedescalatingoverduenotificationstooccurat4,8,and12hours,theappropriate,pre-definedindividualsinthedepartmentarenotifiedwhentheissuesbecome4,8,and12hoursoverduerespectively.
Figure5:CallFlowatRoanokeOneofthemoreinterestingobservationsthatthecitymadewasthatthecustomercarestaffalwaysachievedahigherlevelofcustomersatisfactionthantheindividualdepart-ments.
ThiswasattributedtotheiruseoftheAdvisormod-ule,aswellastheirspecializedtrainingincustomerservice.
Thatpromptedthecitytomovetoamorecentralizedmodel,wherecallscomein,almostexclusively,throughthecustomercarecenter,althoughthedispositionofissuesandnotificationofthecustomersstillrestswiththeassigneeresponsible.
CustomerDepartmentalProxyAssigneeRoanoke,VACentralizedCallCenterCustomercallseithertheCallCenterortheDepartmentLegendCustomerContactNotificationMessagesRealmofResponsibilityIssueAssignmentandFlow28Roanokecurrentlyservicesapopulationofapproximately100,000customerswithapproximately800staff.
Thecus-tomercarecenteriscomprisedof2customerservicerepre-sentatives,andonaveragetheydealwith250issuesperday.
TheCityofMississauga,Ontario,CanadaTheCityofMississauga,incorporatedin1974,isafastgrowingcommunityofover580,000locatedwestofTor-ontoandisCanada'ssixthlargestCity.
With29ofthetop500Canadiancompanies,theCityisservicedbyPearsonInternationalAirport,Canada'slargestairport,andsevenmajorhighways.
TheCityischaracterizedbyastrong,diverse,competitivebusinesscommunitywithexcellentamenitiesforitscitizensandbusinesses.
-Canada'ssixthlargestcity-Populationof585,000-CCRsuse"Advisor"toproactivelyanswerquestions-UsestheEnterprisemodelDrivenbytheEconomicDevelopmentdepartment,theCityhasaphilosophytoprovideinformationtoanycitizenorcaller,regardlessofthejurisdictiontowhichitapplies.
Aflexible,usermaintainableknowledgemanagementsolu-tion,combinedwithanissuesmanagementsystemwasneededtoallowtheCity'sInquiryOfficers,andcity'sstaffingeneral,toprovideinformationabouttheservicesofmunicipal,regional,provincial,andfederalgovernments,aswellasotheragencieswithinthearea.
UsingAdvisorandServicefromtheJPHI'sSuiteResponseCRMsuite,theCitysetaboutconstructingacustomercarecenterof6stafftofulfilltheirgoal.
Servicewasconfiguredtohaveallcalls,notjustcomplaintsorrequestsforservice,comeinthroughthecentralcustomercaredepartment.
Ifarequestisthesimplematterofacalltransfer,Servicepre-sentstheoperatorwithalistofnames,andthetransferisloggedforfuturereporting.
Ifthecustomerisrequestingprintedinformation,Serviceexpeditesthatprocess.
Ifthecustomerhasaninformationalquestion,theCCRtriestoanswerthecitizen'squestionasfaraspossibleusingAdvisor.
Advisorcontainsamyriadofinformationaboutthecityanditsenvirons.
ItactuallycontainsthecontentsofseveralregionalWebsites,suchasthepolicedepartment,andthelocalschoolboardthatareuptodateandfullysearchableandareautomaticallyupdatedonadailybasis.
AFundamentalRethinkingofCustomerServiceinLocalGovernment29Ifthecustomerhasarequestforserviceorthequestionrequiresfollow-up(thecity'stargetis85%closureofinitialcalls),Servicecreatesanissue,andAdvisorprovidesassis-tancetohelpdecidewheretheassignmentgoes.
Onceassigned,theassigneehasownershipoftheissue,andanyinterestedparties,includingthecustomerviatheinternet,areautomaticallynotifiedofanychangestothestatusoftheissue.
Figure6:CallFlowatMississaugaMississaugausesdepartmentalnotification,whichmeansthateachdepartmentisresponsiblefortheresolutionoftheirrespectiveissues.
Iftheassigneedoesnotattendtotheissuewithintheorganizationaltargets,theNagEnginewillnotifypre-definedindividualsdependingonhowoverduetheissueis,accordingtothedepartmentscallresolutiongoals.
InMississauga,SuiteResponseCRMwasintegratedwithsev-eraloftheirexistinginformationsystems.
Usingthecon-nectivityprovidedwithLotusDomino,theirOraclebasedpropertytaxsystemisusedtoprovideServicewiththeCity'spropertytaxcustomerlistofover220,000customers.
Aswell,thesystemisintegratedwiththeirexistingPeople-SoftHumanResourceSystemtohelpAdvisorprovidestaffandexpertiseinformation.
CentralizedCustomerCareCenterCustomerAssigneeMississauga,ONDepartmentalProxyLegendCustomerContactNotificationMessagesRealmofResponsibilityIssueAssignmentandFlow30Thecustomercarecenterdealswith500issues,onaverage,perday.
MississaugaopenedSuiteResponseAdvisortotheircorporateIntranet,sotheinformationisavailablenotonlytotheCCRswhoacceptissuesdirectly,butalsotoanyinter-estedstaffmembers.
Atthepresenttime,theyareconsider-ingprovidingAdvisortothegeneralpublicovertheWebinordertoenablecustomerself-service.
TheCityofLynchburg,Virginia,USALynchburgisnestledinthevalleyoftheJamesRiverinthecenterofVirginiaalongsoutheasternslopesoftheBlueRidgeMountains.
KnownastheCityofSevenHills,theLynchburgcommunityof69,000isapproximately180milessouthwestofWashington,D.
C.
-Populationof69,000-Provide24X7accesstocityhall-EmploytheEnterprisemodelTheCity'sVisionforthenewMillennium"Lynchburg2020"states:"Workingtogether,wewillbeaprogressivecommunityshapedbynewideasandsolutions,askilledworkforce,andcitizenleadership-alldistinguishedbyresponsibleandtraditionalvalues,involvement,education,newtechnology,andqualitycitizenservices.
"TheCitybeganitscustomerserviceinitiativewhenitreal-izedthatitneededasolutiontoassistitinmanagingcodeenforcementissues.
CourtcaseswerebeingdismissedduetoalackofcoordinatedresponsesfromCityHalldepart-ments.
AcustomerservicesolutionwasneededtoimprovethecommunicationbetweenCitydepartmentsandelimi-natethe"bureaucraticrunaround".
TheCityviewsexcellenceincustomerserviceasoneofthecriticalelementsinattractingnewbusinesses.
Accesstocus-tomerserviceinformationona24x7basisandcomplaintloggingviatheCity'sWebsite(http://www.
ci.
lynch-burg.
va.
us)wasviewedasakeycomponenttoprovidingincreasedresponsiveness.
Lynchburgstudiedthecallsthattheywerereceiving,typi-fiedthemandrecordedasmuchorganizationalknowledgeaboutthemaspossible.
Theyputtogetheracustomerresponseteamofthreeindividuals,andensuredthattherewasconsistentparticipationfromalldepartmentsinvolved.
AFundamentalRethinkingofCustomerServiceinLocalGovernment31Anenterprisesolution,likeachain,isonlyasgoodasitsweakestlink.
Theysoonrealizedthatastate-of-the-artinformationsystemwouldbeneededtofulfilltheirvision.
ThecitythenlookedfarandwideforasoftwaretooltohelpthemandselectedJPHI'sSuiteResponseCRMServicemod-ulewithWebintegration.
Theprojectwasnamed"CitizensFirst".
Thecitythendecidedtopublishandpromotethecustomerservicedepartment.
Theylaunchedasignificantmediaadvertisingcampaignaroundthisprogram,thatwasnamed"CitizensFirst".
Customerswereencouragedtocallthecus-tomerserviceorganizationwithanycomplaints,questionsorsuggestions,andwereabletoexpectaspeedy,andcoor-dinatedresponse.
Servicewasconfiguredtoaccepttheseissues,andallowtheCCRstoassignthemtotheappropriateindividuals.
Onceassigned,theseindividualsareresponsibleforactinguponandclosingtheirownissues.
LynchburgconfiguredServicetotheorganizationalmodel,sothatfailurestomeetserviceleveltargetsresultsinnotificationstopre-definedindividu-als,startingwithinthecustomerserviceorganization.
Theseindividualsremainthesameregardlessoftheissuetypeorresponsibledepartment.
Atthesametime,thecitydecidedthatinordertobetrulycustomerfocused,theyneededtoallowtheircustomerstoparticipatedirectly.
Aselfservicemodelappealstoawidevarietyofpeople,soLynchburgdecidedtoimplementSer-vice'sWebcapabilities.
Customerscangotothecity'sWebpage,clickontheCitizen'sFirstlink,andenteranissuedirectly.
Thisissuefollowsthesamepathasanyother,withtheexceptionthatitisfirstroutedthroughaCCRforverifi-cationandassignment.
32Figure7:CallFlowatLynchburg.
VAIfthecustomerentershise-mailaddresswiththeissue,hecanbenotifiedwheneveractionistakenontheissue,when,andif,itisreassigned,andwhenitisclosed.
Thisisalevelofcustomerservicepreviouslyunexperiencedbytheciti-zensofLynchburg.
Inmanycases,customersprefertointeractwiththecityinthismanner,whetherbecauseofthe24hour/7daysaweekaccess,increasedservicelevels,orsimplybecausetheyfinditeasieraccesstoinformation.
OnecustomerwhoenteredanewissueinthesystemovertheWebfromherofficeonthedaythesystemwentlive,returnedhometofindthatherissuehadbeenresolved.
Thenextday,shee-mailedthecitystating;Averyhappycustomer"Thankyouforyourveryquickresponsetomybrushpickup.
BrushwasremovedbythetimeIreturnedhomefromworktoday.
InadditionIwanttopraisethisalternativetocallingyourofficeduringtheday-sometimesitisdifficultforsomeofustogettoaphoneatwork.
Thismakescom-municationavailableforthosetimes.
Thanksagain!
"Lynchburg,VACentralizedCallCenterCustomerAssigneeLegendCustomerContactNotificationMessagesRealmofResponsibilityIssueAssignmentandFlowAFundamentalRethinkingofCustomerServiceinLocalGovernment33ThiswaspresentedtoCitycouncilthenextdayandalladministrativestaffandelectedofficialscomplimentedeachotherontheirnewsystem.
Inadditiontoprovidingasuperiorlevelofcustomerser-vice,Lynchburghasfoundthatallowingcustomerstointer-actwiththeCityusingtheWebalsohelpstoeasetheburdenonthecallcenter,eventhoughthevolumeofissuesisincreasing.
Inthefuture,LynchburgintendstoenabletheWebcapabilitiesofAdvisor,whichwillhelpcustomersresearch,andhopefullyanswer,theirownquestionsbythemselves.
AsDownesandMuipointoutintheirbook,UnleashingtheKillerApp,2"humansmakeverypoorcom-puterinterfaces".
Giventheopportunity,mostpeoplewouldratherlookthingsupforthemselves,asopposedtohavingsomeonelookitupforthemandreadbacktheresults,whichistheclassiccallcentermodel.
CNBCprofiledTheCityofLynchburgandtheirsolutionon"TechnologyWeekinReview"andamultimediapresen-tationisavailableathttp://www.
twir.
com/real.
htmlunderSuiteResponseJPHInternational.
34BestPractices–TheIdealSystemDifferentorganizationsusedifferentmethodologiesandmodelstohandlecustomerserviceissues.
Thevariabilitygoesfromacompletelylaissez-faireapproachwhereeachdepartmentdetermineshowtheyhandletheirowninquir-ies,toatotallystructuredapproachwithcrossdepartmen-talauthoritytoensurethatalloftheissuesgetresolved.
Customersdon'tviewthecityasagroupofdepartments,butasasingleentity.
Theyexpectaconsistentresponse.
Whenacustomercalls,hehasaninquiry,andhedoesn'treallycarehowitgetsresolved.
Thecustomerviewsthecityasoneentity,sostatementslike"that'snotmydepartment"and"you'llhavetocalltheworksyard"donotservicethecustomer.
Thecustomerexpectsservice,answers,andarea-sonablyconsistentdeliverymodelacrosstheorganization.
Thismeansthatservicedeliverymusttrulybeenterprisewide,cuttingacrossdepartmentalbarriers.
Anidealenterprisesystemmeansthatallofthestakehold-ers,includingcustomers,areinvolvedindecidingwhattheservicedeliverygoalsoftheorganizationaretobe.
Allmembersoftheorganizationalsoneedtoworktogethertoestablishaknowledgebasewhichcontainsallofthecollec-tiveknowledgeoftheorganization.
Thisrequiresthattheycollectasmuchofthetacitknowledge,whichisthecollec-tiveknow-howoftheorganizationthatisnotorganized,andmakeitexplicit,sothatitcanbesharedbyeveryoneintheorganization.
Thegoalisforanyoneintheorganizationtobeabletoprovideinformedanswersorinitiateaction,nomatterwhatthetopic.
Theidealsystemincludessomeformofknowledgeman-agementtool.
Itisobviouslyunrealistictoexpecteveryemployeeinthecitytoknowhowtodealwitheverything.
However,ifwecangetthecollectivewisdomoftheorgani-zationintosomeformofknowledgebase,suchastheSuite-Response:CRMAdvisormodule,itisnotunrealistictoexpectemployeestobeabletofindoutwhattheyneedtoknowquicklyandaccurately.
AFundamentalRethinkingofCustomerServiceinLocalGovernment35Inthecaseofasimplequestion,Advisorwillhelptheemployeeprovidethecorrectanswer.
Ifthequestionismorecomplex,Advisorcanhelpguidetheemployeethroughtheprocessofdeterminingthecorrectanswer.
Andifthequestionrequiressomeformofactionorfollow-up,Advisorwillhelpdeterminethecorrectdepartmentorindi-vidualtodealwiththesituation.
HowdoweknowwhatweknowSinceaknowledgemanagementtooliseffectivelythesumoftheorganization'sknowledge,itneedstobeabletoacceptinput,anddealwithchangingcircumstances.
Inessence,itneedstobearepositoryforsemi-static,semi-structuredinformation.
Thismeansthattheinformationissubjecttochange,butchangemusthappeninacontrolledmanner.
Forexample,thecitypurchasingdepartmentdecidestochangethewaythattheRFPprocessishandled.
Anapprovedknowledgeauthorentersthechanges,whichflowthroughanapprovalcycle.
Onceapproved,thedocu-mentbecomesofficialpolicy,andiswhatpeopleseewhentheylookupRFPprocedures.
Thisinformationremainsstaticuntileitherapredeterminedexpirydateoruntilthecityagaindecidestochangeitsprocedures.
Alternatively,theinformationcouldbeevenmoredynamic.
Takeforexamplethecaseoftrashpickup.
Astrashiscol-lected,thedriverscancommunicatebacktodispatchanyexceptions,suchasmissedtrashpickups,thattheymayencounter.
Theseexceptionscanbeenteredintotheknowl-edgebase,sothatifacustomercallsabouttheirtrashpickup,anyoneinthecitycandeliveraninformedresponse,informingthecustomerthatthetrashwasnotatthecurb,avehiclewasintheway,orwhateverthecasemayhavebeen.
Theknowledgewilldifferonadailybasis.
36Oneofthemorecounter-intuitivenotionsaboutprovidingexcellentcustomerserviceisthattimespentwithacus-tomershouldbeencouraged,notdiscouraged.
Classiccallcenterorganizationsmeasurecallcenteremployeesbyhowlongtheyspendonthephonewithacustomer,withtheaimtodecreasethattime.
Thelogichereisunderstandablefromaninternalcostcenterstandpoint-ifyoureducethetimespentwithacustomer,thesamerepresentativecandealwithmorecustomers,andbemoreefficient,therebyreduc-ingcosts.
Thislogicfallsdownwhenyoutakeacustomercentricapproach.
Insteadofacostcenter,yourcustomercarecen-tershouldbetreatedlikeasalesdepartment.
Oneofthelargestfactorsinfosteringcustomerloyaltyisestablishingarelationshipwiththecustomer.
Whenthecustomercalls,theydon'tcarethatthey'respeakingtothecustomercarecenterinsteadofsales,theyjustknowthatthey'respeakingwiththeorganization,andtheyexpectaconsistentlevelofservice.
Nobodywouldsuggestthatasalesrepresentativeshouldminimizethetimespentwithacustomer,sowhyshouldthatbetrueofaCCRInacustomerfocusedmodel,CCRsshouldberewardedforinvestingextratimewithacustomertosatisfyhisorherrequest,notpenalized.
Theageoldsaying"Youonlyhaveonechancetomakeafirstimpression",shouldbethemissionstatementofeverycustomercaredepartmentAknowledgemanagementtoolalsohelpstoprovideacon-sistentandaccuratemessageandaconsistentservicedeliv-erymodeltothecustomerbase.
Atotallyenterprisebasedapproachiskeytomaximizingthesebenefits.
Customersshouldreceivethesameanswerregardlessofwhethertheycalltheclerk'soffice,theworksyard,thetaxdepartment,theCitymanager,ortheirelectedpolitician.
AFundamentalRethinkingofCustomerServiceinLocalGovernment37Customersexpectnotjustaction,butpromptaction.
Thatmeansthattheorganizationneedstodetermineobjectiveresponsegoals(thetimebywhichthepersonresponsibleforresolvingtheissuetakesthefirstaction),andresolutiongoals(thetimebywhichthepersonresponsibleforresolv-ingtheIssuecompletelyresolvestheissue).
ThetimethatittakestoresolveIssuesisofsignificantrelevance.
Someorga-nizationsaremoreconcernedwiththefrequencytowhichIssuesareattended.
Thesegoalsshouldbeusednotonlyforreporting,orinareactivefashion,butalsotomakesurethatissuesarebeingattendedtoinaproactivefashion.
Infact,intheidealscenario,bothstaffandcontractorscouldhaveperformancebonusestiedtotheachievementofthesegoals.
Onceyoumakeapromise,peopleexpectyoutomeetit.
ProductslikeJPHInternational'sSuiteResponseCRMServiceutilizeacentralized"NagEngine".
Bysettinggoals,Servicecalculatesduedatesandthusgivesyoutheabilitytotrackissuesthatarenotbeinghandledinatimelymanner.
Theduedateisusedtoinformtheassignee,and/oranotherpredeterminedperson,whenanissuebecomesoverdue.
Todothis,Servicesendse-mailtotheresponsiblepartyusingtheNagEngine.
TheNagEngineissimilarinconcepttoa"tickler"system,withoneveryimportantdifference.
Atick-lerisusedtonotifysomeoneofanupcomingevent,whereastheNagEngineisusedtonotifypeoplewhenthingsarehappeningoutsideofestablishedorganizationalgoals.
Goalsaresetbecause,ingeneral,whatgetswatchedgetsdone.
Escalatingoverduecallsanddeliveringremindernoticesrequiresanadvancedworkflowsystemwithaneas-ilyconfigurableworkflowserveragent.
Theworkflowserveragentmustbeconfiguredbyissuetypes(groupingsofissueswithsimilarcharacteristics)suchthatamessagingsystemcandeliveraremindertotheappropriateassigneeandhersupervisorwhenthingsaren'tgettingdone.
Thisapproachhasprovensoeffectiveinworkingenvironmentsthatsubstantialstaffbehaviorchangeshavebeenobservedinaslittleastwoweeks.
Themaincautionistoensurethatotherdutiesthatfalloutsideoftherealmofcitizenservicecontinuetobeperformed.
38Inotherwords,theNagEngineensuresthatyoudowhatyousayyouaregoingtodo,whenyousayyouaregoingtodoit.
Itletsyou,andeveryonerelatedtotheissueknowassoonasyouaren'tmeetingyourcommitments.
ThesimplestwaytodescribethebehavioroftheSuiteRe-sponseCRM'sNagEngineisbyexample.
Considerthefol-lowingscenario:ACCRcreatesaparkingsignissueat8:00AMthatbelongstotheTrafficdepartmentandithasaresponsegoalof1hour.
IntheTrafficdepartmentprofile,theLevel1Notificationissetto2hours.
TheNotificationLevelinformationcontainsavalueindicatingthenumberofhoursbeforewhichtheNagEngineshouldsendanotificationemail,andthenameoftheperson(usuallyamanagerordepartmenthead)whoshouldreceivethenotificationmessage.
TheLevel2Notificationissetto4hours,andtheLevel3Notificationissetto6hours.
ServicecalculatestheDueDate/TimebyaddingthecurrentdateandtimetotheResponseGoal(Serviceautomaticallycalculatesandcompensatesforthenumberofworkinghoursinabusinessday).
ThereforetheDueDate/Timeis9:00AMonthesameday.
IftheIssueremainsuntouched(notrespondedto)at9AM,theIssuebecomesoverdue,butServiceperformsnoaction.
WhentheIssueistwohours(thenumberstoredintheLevel1Notificationfieldforthetrafficdepartment)pasttheDueDate/Time(whichis11:00AM),Service'sNagEnginesendsit'sfirstnotificationmessage.
ThemessageindicatestotheAssignee,andtothepersonidentifiedintheLevelOneNoti-ficationfield,thattheIssueisnowOverdue.
TheNagEngineinServicesendstwomoree-mailnotificationsifnoonetakesactionontheIssue.
Thenexte-mailissenttotherecipient(s)identifiedintheLevel2Notificationfieldat4hourspasttheDueDate/Time(thenumberstoredintheLevel2Timefield)whichisat1:00PM.
Thehighestprioritymessageissentat6hourspasttheDueDate/Time(thenumberstoredintheLevel3Timefield)whichwouldbeat3:00PM.
Afterthatpoint,noticeissenthourlyuntiltheissueisdealtwith.
AFundamentalRethinkingofCustomerServiceinLocalGovernment39Figure8:IssueNotificationTimingToensurethatIssuesarenotforgotten,Servicerestartscount-ingtheelapsedtimeeachtimeanactionistakenregardingtheIssue.
ThatmeanstheNagEnginestartsthenotificationprocessatthebeginning(restartingthenotificationprocesswithLevelOne)eachtimeanactionispostedtotheIssue.
Thusfar,wehavefocusedonwhathappenswhenacus-tomertelephonesinwithanissueorcomplaint.
However,thisissimplythetraditionalmodel.
Ifacityistobetrulycustomerfocused,theymustprovidealternatemeansofinteractionwiththecustomer.
Accordingtorecentestimates4,thereareover60millionhouseholdsintheU.
S.
connectedtotheinternet.
Thereisalsoastrongrelationshipbetweenincomeand/oreducationlevel,andconnectivity.
InCanada,68.
1%ofhouseholdswheretheheadofthehouseholdhadauniversitydegreewereconnected8,anditalsovariesregionally.
TheCityofBerkeleyrecentlyquotedaWebpenetrationfigureof75%.
Complaintscomefromavarietyofsources.
Thismeansthattheidealsystemmustbeavailableontheinternet.
Acustomershouldnotonlybeabletoregisterherinquiryon-line,buttheidealsystemshouldbeabletoinformherofanyprogressmadeonherinquiry.
Servicedoesthisbyautomaticallynotifyingthecustomerviaemailwheneveranyactionistakenonthecomplaint,orwheneveritsstatuschanges.
CSRcreatesaNewIssueAssigneeNotifiedIssuenowDue2HourspastDueLevel1notification(Supervisor)4hourspastDueLevel2notification(DepartmentHead)6hourspastDueLevel3notification(CAO)12109876543211140Ofcourse,noteverycustomerisconnectedtotheinternet,andsomepreferolder,nonverbaltypesofcommunication,suchaslettersorfaxes.
Tobecompletelycustomerfocused,theseinterfacesmustbeseamless.
Thatmeansthatifsome-onemailedinacomplaint,anyonewithinthecitythatlooksattheissueshouldbeabletoviewthatletteronline,atthetouchofabutton.
Indeed,everycustomercommunicationorcontact,needstobetracked,sothatwhoeverisdealingwiththecustomerissuewillbecompletelyinformedofthehistoryoftheissueatanygiventime.
Intheend,theidealsystemmustbeenterprisewide,mustbeWebenabledandmustnotonlyhavereactivereportingcapabilities,butmustproactivelynotifytheappropriatepeopleofanyfailuresinthedeliverymodel.
Itmustgiveeveryoneamaximumofinformationtohelpthemsolvecustomerconcerns,andmustbeabletoaccuratelytrackanycommunicationwiththecustomer.
Theidealsystemnotonlyhelpsthecitydeterminehowtosetservicedeliveryexpectations,buthelpsthemensurethattheyaremet.
Thingswillbedonewhenthecitysaystheywillbedone.
Tothisend,itisimportanttorecognizethefactthattherearemanyestablishedproceduresandtools(mostlyfromthecallcenterworld)thathelpanorganizationdetermineappropriatetimestoclosure.
However,inordertobetrulycustomerfocused,theorganizationneedstobeawarenotonlyofexpectedclosuretimes,butthatactionisbeingtakenonanissuethatwillleadtoclosure.
InSuiteResponseCRM,theseitemsaretrackedseparatelyasResponse,andResolutiontimes,andfailurestoattendtotheissueresultsinnotification.
AcustomerfocusisthemainstayofCustomerRelationshipManagement(CRM).
CRMisaboutthemanagementoftherelationshipwiththecustomerthrougheveryphaseofthecustomerlifecycle,frompre-acquisitiontopost-departure.
Essentially,usingaCRMsystem,anemployeecangainaccesstoallrelevantinformationaboutacustomer,nomatterwheretheyare(athome,ontheroad,intheoffice),orwhentheywantit.
AFundamentalRethinkingofCustomerServiceinLocalGovernment41Obviouslythen,anyCRMsystemshouldbeenterprisewideordertoachievethatgoal.
Notonlymusteveryemployeeutilizeit,butitmustalsobeawareofeverycontact,withthecustomer.
Forexample,whenthemayorreceivesacallathomeintheeveningfromaconcernedcustomer,sheshouldquicklybeabletofindoutwhatpromisesweremadetothatcustomer.
Sheshouldalsobeabletoseeinformationthathasgoneoutto,orcomeinfrom,thecustomer,whetherthatinformationbepaperbased(fax,letter),elec-tronic(e-mail,fileattachments)voiceorface-to-face.
42TechnologyConsiderationsAnenterpriseapplication,simplybyvirtueofbeingenter-prisewidehasseveralimplicationsforanytechnicalsolu-tion,suchasscalability,distributedoperations,mobileoperationandreliability.
Addtothesetherequirementsforagoodcustomerserviceapplication,suchasexcellentcom-munications,multipleclientplatformsupport,excellentintegrationwithoutsideapplications,anddocumentman-agementcapabilitiesandthetechnicalrequirementsbecomerathercomplex.
ScalabilityEnterprisescomeinmanydifferentsizes.
Asmoreandmorepeopleparticipateinthesystem,thetechnicalrequirementschangeinordertomaintaintheperformancetargets.
Anyapplicationneedstobeveryresponsiveinordertobesuc-cessful,asitshouldn'tfrustrateusersorslowthemdownintheirtasks.
Converselytherequirementsshouldnotbesocumbersomeandcostlyastopreventsmallenterprises,orpilotprojectsfromusingtheapplication.
Thesolutionshouldthereforebecapableofoperatingonsystemsrangingfromentrylevelservers,sometimescoexistingwithotherapplications,aswellasondedicated,highperformancesystems.
DistributedOperationMostenterprises,particularlycitygovernmentsaredistrib-utedinnature.
Mostconsistofseverallocations,withmanypeopleoutinthefield.
Customerserviceinquiriesrequirepromptresponses,andthereforethetechnologymustbeabletogettheinformationouttotheassignee,theissuecannotalwayswaitfortheassigneetocometoit.
Inotherwords,thetechnologymustconsistnotonlyof"pull"tech-nology,but"push"aswell.
Thesystemmustbeabletoexistinseveraldifferentloca-tionswithouttherequirementforpeopletobeconstantlyconnected.
AFundamentalRethinkingofCustomerServiceinLocalGovernment43MobileOperationPeoplearen'talwaysattheirworkstations,orattheoffice.
However,thatdoesn'tmeanthattheyareunabletoperformtheirtasks.
Becauseofthis,thetechnologymustsupportmobileoperations.
Simplyput,mobileoperationmeansthatapersonshouldbeabletotaketheissuesassignedtothemwiththemontheroad,andoperateonthemwithoutbeingconstantlyconnectedtothehostserver.
ReliabilityAnyenterpriseapplication,onceinoperation,ismissioncritical.
Missioncriticalisnolongerthepurviewoffinan-cialsystems,butisanysystemputinplacetohelptheorga-nizationaccomplishitsmission.
Theprimarymissionofmostcitygovernmentsistoservethepublic,sowhatcouldpossiblybemoremissioncriticalthanacustomerserviceapplicationMissioncriticalmeansthattheinformationneedstobetherewhenitisneeded,unscheduleddowntimecannotbetolerated.
Thetechnologytosupportacustomerserviceapplicationneedstobetotallyreliable,andhighlyavailable.
CommunicationsCommunicationsarecriticaltoexcellentcustomerservice.
Assigneesneedtoknowwhatisexpectedofthem,andwhen.
CCRsneedtoknowwhentasksareassigned,whentaskshavebeencompleted,oriftheyarenotbeingcom-pletedandcustomersneedtoknowthestatusoftheirissues.
Itisunreasonabletoexpectalloftheuserstocon-stantlycometothesystemtocheckthestatus,sosomeformofnotificationiscritical.
E-mailhasbecomethepreferredmethodofnotificationforbusiness,andisquicklybecomingpreferredforprivateusageaswell.
Therefore,thesystemmustattheveryleastbeintegratedwithe-mail,andideallyshouldcontainallofthecomponentsofane-mailsystem.
44Inaddition,notallcommunicationsarevoiceorelectroni-callybased.
Paperstillformsahighpercentageofcommu-nications,sothesystemneedstobeabletoincorporatepaperbasedcommunicationmediaaswell,whetheritbelettersorfaxes.
MultipleClientAcrosstheenterpriseyouwillfindmanydifferentusers,oftenonverydifferentplatformsoroperatingsystems.
Inaddition,differenttypesofusershavedifferenttypesofrequirements.
Althoughmostorganizationshavestandard-izedaroundWindows32bitoperatingsystems,nativeWin-dowsapplicationsmaybeill-suitedtorsomeusers.
Manyorganizationsarefindingthatbrowserbasedapplica-tionsarerelativelysimpleandcheaptodeploy,andarethereforedemandingbrowserbasedapplicationsfordeploymentontheircorporateIntranets.
Infact,someusersmaynotuseWindowsatall,butmayprefertointeractwiththesystemusingahandhelddevice,orevenapagerorfaxmachine.
Thesystemmustbeaccessi-blefromavarietyofclients.
ExcellentIntegrationRelevantinformationcomesfromavarietyofsources.
Itmaybethatyourcustomerinformationiscontainedinyourpropertysystem,locationdetailsinaGeographicInformationSystem(GIS),employeeinformationinahumanresourcessystemorserviceinformationonyourWebsite,etc.
Thesystemmustnotonlyembrace,andintegrateseamlesslywiththeseapplications,butshouldalsobeabletoworkwithotherinformationsources,suchasdocumentmanagementsystems,faxes,phoneswitches,etc.
AFundamentalRethinkingofCustomerServiceinLocalGovernment45UserInterfaceMorethanmostsystems,ahighlyefficientuserinterfaceiscriticalforcustomerservice.
Thelastthingacustomeronthephonewantstohearis"I'mjustwaitingformycom-puter….
".
Inefficientuserinterfacesalsofrustrateusersofthesystem,whowilldevisewaystogetaroundthesystem,potentiallydoomingittofailure.
Agooduserinterfaceencompassesexcellentdesigntechniqueswithflexibletech-nology.
CCRswilllikelyhavedifferentrequirementsthantheirmanager,departmentsheads,casualmembersofstaff,ormembersofthepublic.
Eachwillperformdifferenttasksandrequiredifferentinformationmoreorlessfrequently.
Forthatreason,ultimatelythetechnologyshouldsupportavarietyofcustomizable,taskorientedinterfaces.
RecommendedTechnologyTheonlytechnologythatanswersallofthetechnicalrequirementsonitsownistheLotusDominoserver.
Dominocontainsadistributeddatabase,acommunicationsubsystem,aninternetmailserver,adirectory,asecuritysystem,anapplicationdevelopmentenvironment,docu-mentmanagement,aWebserver,andanumberofothertechnologiestohelpsupportcustomerservice.
DominooperatesonavarietyofplatformsrangingfromWindowsNT,throughLinux,SunSolarisforbothIntelandSPARC,HP/UX,AIX,OS/2,toIBMAS/400andSystem/390systems.
Additionally,SuiteResponseCRMhasbeencertifiedonmostoftheseplatforms.
Dominoistrulyscalable.
Theabilitytooperateonuppertieroperatingsystemshelpstoensurescalabilityandreliability,butthroughitscluster-ingandreplicationtechnology,Dominocanvirtuallyensure100%availabilityonpracticallyanyplatform.
46TheDominodatabaseinherentlysupportsreplication,whichisatechnologythatallowsforexcellentdistributabil-ityandmobileoperation.
Multipleserverscanbeplacedwherevertheusersare,andtheycanusereplicationtech-nologytostaysynchronizedoverlowbandwidthcommuni-cationchannels.
Portablecomputersandremoteworkstationsalsousereplicationtoallowcomplete,and/orpartialdatasetstobeavailablelocallyorontheroad.
Throughreplication,itispossibleforanassigneetogoontheroadandworkonhisissuesonanairplane.
CommunicationshavealwaysbeenamainstayofDomino.
Ithasalwaysbeentheleadinggroupwareserver,andgroup-wareisfoundedoncommunicationbetweenpeople.
Thisappliesatboththetechnicallevelallowingconnectionsbetweendifferenttypesofnetworks,ormodems,andtheapplicationlevel.
Dominoistheindustry'sleadinge-mailserver,withover40millione-mailclientscurrentlyinstalled.
AccesstoDominocanbeprovidedtoaverywidevarietyofclients,includingbothWindowsandMacintoshPCusers,Webbrowsers,PersonalDigitalAssistants(PDAs)likethePalmConnectedOrganizers,topagers,andeventele-phones.
UserscaninteractwithDominobasedapplicationsusingwhatevermethodmakesthemostsenseforthem.
ERPsystems,orotherlegacyapplicationscanbeaccessedwithrelativeeaseusingDomino.
Dominoshipswithcon-nectorstoalloftheleadingdatabases,aswellasmanylead-ingERPsystems.
UsingDomino,themostdifficultintegrationtask,providingdatabaseconnectivity,ispro-vided"outofthebox".
Finally,Domino'ssecurityanddirectory,combinedwithitsapplicationdevelopmenttoolsallowforapplicationtailor-ingbasedonusername,roleorotherparameters.
Theusercanutilizedifferentclients,whichinturnallowtheservertobeawareoftheuser'sidentity.
Thisallowstheinterfacetobecustomizedonauserbyuserbasis.
Thissortofcustomi-zationleadstoahighlyefficientuserinterface,andthere-foreanefficientapplication.
AFundamentalRethinkingofCustomerServiceinLocalGovernment47Forallofthesereasons,JPHInternationaldecidedtobuilditsSuiteResponseCRMproductsuitewithinLotusDominotechnology.
ThishasallowedJPHInternationaltoconcen-trateonbuildingbestofbreedcustomercareapplications,ratherthanreinventingthewheeltryingtoprovidecoretechnologiesalreadyavailableelsewhere.
48ConclusionThispaperdiscussedhowe-businessandbestbusinesspractices,employedbyprogressivecities,canprovidearoadmaptoaidotherlocalgovernment'stransitionfrominternallyfocusedmodelsofpolicyenforcement,toexter-nal,customerfocused,models.
Manylocalgovernmentagenciesarenowtreatingeachcitizenasacustomerandadaptingthebestcustomerfocusedapproachesofthepri-vatesectortosuittheirownneeds.
Acustomerfocusedstrategyresultsinawin-winscenarioforboththelocalgov-ernmentandtheircitizens.
Localgovernmentscanrealizecostreductionsthroughincreasedefficiency,reducedliabil-ityandimprovedeconomicdevelopment.
Citizenscanben-efitthroughimprovedandmoreeffectivecustomerservicethatmeets,orexceeds,theirexpectations,resultinginhighersatisfactionlevelswithcityhall.
Manycitiesarerealizingthesefacts,andareadoptingnewproceduresandsystemstodealwithcustomerinquiries.
Theidealsystemempowersallcitystafftodealwithcus-tomersinaknowledgeable,consistentandresponsiveman-ner.
Firstgenerationcustomerservicesystemsprovidedlimitedcapabilitiestosolvedepartmentalproblems.
Today,localgovernmentsendeavourtoachievetheirgoalofexcellenceincustomerservicethroughcosteffectiveandpowerfulenterprise-widesolutions.
Suchsolutionsshouldintegrateandleveragecorporatedatasources,extendtheaccessibilityandreachofCityHalltoitscustomersviatheInternetandintegrateadvancedcapabilitiessuchasdocumentmanage-ment.
Withtheconvergenceofmanynewtechnologies,thefutureisnow.
AFundamentalRethinkingofCustomerServiceinLocalGovernment49AbouttheAuthors:JohnWhiteMr.
WhiteistheChiefApplicationArchitectatJPHInterna-tionalInc.
fortheSuiteResponseCRMproductlineandleadsthefirm'sCRMProductTeam.
Mr.
WhiteholdsaBachelorofEngineeringfromRyersonPolytechnicandaMasterofSci-enceinEngineeringfromtheUniversityofGuelph.
Mr.
Whitehasovertenyearsofdataprocessingexperience,fiveofwhichhavebeendedicatedtotheareaofCustomerRelation-shipManagement(CRM)andsupportingtechnology.
HeregularlyspeaksatindustryconferencesonthesubjectareaandisJPHI'smemberoftheLotusDevelopmentCorpora-tion'sDomino.
Docexternalsteeringcommittee.
Mr.
WhitehascontributedarticlesandhasbeenquotednumeroustimesinmanyindustrytradepublicationsonthesubjectofCRManddocumentmanagementandispresentlyresearch-ingtherequirementsofusingCRMconceptstoenhancee-businessopportunities.
J.
PaulHaynesMr.
HaynesisthePresidentandaBoardMemberofJPHInternationalInc.
andisresponsibleforoverallstrategyanddirectionofthefirm,comprisedof67staff.
Mr.
HaynesholdsBachelorandMasterofScienceinEngineeringfromtheUni-versityofGuelphandisaProfessionalEngineer.
Mr.
Hayneshasover15yearsofdataprocessingexperiencerangingfromlowlevelprogrammingofcontrolsystemstodesignanddevelopmentofcomplexbusinessapplicationssuchasbill-ing,customerservice,expertsystemsanddatawarehousing.
Mr.
HaynescameupwiththeoriginalideaforJPHInterna-tional'sCustomerRelationshipManagementsysteminlate1993andremainsanactivecontributortotheproduct'sfuturedirection.
Mr.
Haynesregularlypresentsatindustryconferences,isquotedintradepublicationsandappearsintelevisioninterviews.
Mr.
Haynes'visionofthefutureandlongtermstrategyplaninvolvesalargeemphasisonbrowser50basedtechnologywhichincludesthinclients,networkcom-putersandJavabasedsystems.
AFundamentalRethinkingofCustomerServiceinLocalGovernment51GlossaryAdvisorasectionofanIssueTypethatcontainsinformationintendedtoassist(advise)CSRsinhandlingcallsApplicationSoftwareProvideraservicethatallowsclientstoaccessapplictionsoftwarefromacentrallocationontheInternetASPApplicationSoftwareProviderseeApplicationSoftwareProviderAssigneethepersonresponsibleforrespondingtoIssuesCCRCustomerCareRepresentativeseeCustomerServiceRepresentativeContactapersonmakingasuggestion,comment,complaint,concernorreportingaproblemCSRseeCustomerServiceRepresentativeCentralizedModelaconfigurationmethodofServiceinwhichacentralgroupofCCRsareresponsiblefortheresolutionofallissueswithintheorganizationCustomerseeContactCustomerServiceRepresentativeapersonresponsiblefortakingcallsfromcustomersandassistingtheminresolvingproblemsorconcernsDepartmentawayinwhichissuesaregroupedwithinServiceDepartmentstypicallycorrelatewiththedepartmentswithinyourorganization.
DepartmentalmodelaconfigurationmethodwithinServiceinwhicheachdepartmentisresponsiblefortheresolutionoftheirrespectiveissuesDominothesoftwarethatServicecommunicateswithonyournetworkserverDueDatethedateandtimebeforewhichanissuemustbeacteduponTheDueDateisthedateandtimethattheIssueiscreatedplusthe52numberofhoursindicatedintheResponseGoalfield.
EscalationtheactofredirectinganissuebasedonitsstatusbecomingincrementallyoverdueGoalsaresimilartobudgetsinthattheyallowyoutotracktheperformanceofAssigneesHourstoRespondthenumberofhoursthatelapsebetweenthecreationofanIssueandthefirsttimetheAssigneeviewstheIssueIssueGoalsseeGoalsIssueMetricsseeMetricsIssueTypesthewaythatServiceefficientlygroupsIssueswithlikecharacteristicsIssuesconcerns,suggestions,requests,etc.
thatareraisedbyyourcustomersthathavebeenloggedinServiceLotusNotesthesoftwareplatformwrittenbyLotusonwhichServiceoperatesMetricsstatisticalreportsorviewsthatallowyoutoevaluateifagivenIssuewasdealtwithinthebudgetedtimeframeNagEnginetheportionofServicethattracksIssuesandsendsemailnoticestoindividualswhentheybecomeoverdueOverdueanindicatorthatidentifiesIssuesthathavepassedtheirResolutionGoaldateandtimeResolutionGoalseeGoalsResponseGoalseeGoalsRootCauseawayofgroupingIssueswithsimilarcharacteristicsServiceacomponentofJPHInternational'sSuiteResponseCRMproductStatusseeIssueStatusSuiteResponseasuiteofcustomer-centricproductivitysoftwarewrittenbyJPHInternationalInc.
TypeseeIssueTypeAFundamentalRethinkingofCustomerServiceinLocalGovernment53UserNamethenameofauserasitexistsinService'sNameAndAddressBook54SourcesandReferences1Barlow,JanelleandClausMoller.
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