Lagan’s Frontline CRM solution will act as a front-end interface for Richmond’s existing information systems, and will create one single point of contact for the Council’s 174,000 citizens. Through joined-up service delivery Frontline is hoped by Richmond to enable it to achieve one of its main objectives, to answer 80% of incoming calls at first point of contact. The first phase of the implementation is now complete.
IT systems are one thing, but it’s the people behind the services which matter when it comes to being citizen-focussed, and many councils have a great distance to go on this - Richmond has some good service streams and others which don’t like listening to citizens one little bit. As PublicTechnology.net is based in Richmond, we’ll be watching this project very carefully indeed, to see whether it really does deliver the results expected.
Richmond’s existing customer contact centre received on average 600 calls a day, of which, in the past, a high percentage would be abandoned due to the lack of integration with and access to the relevant information source or the inability to speak to a knowledgeable agent in a short space of time. With the integrated approach between Lagan’s CRM system and back-office systems including UNI-form from CAPS Solutions, Richmond will now be able to provide its waste, recycling, parks, trees and planning services via one single contact, initially face-to-face or by telephone but moving forward also electronically and therefore achieve a higher level of service and greater first-call resolution.
For parents in the area, it is a great shame that Children’s services are not included – as the system would be very beneficial to Richmond’s drive to join-up its social services, LEA and health to move away from the current state to citizen-focussed service delivery.
Lorna Gill, Principal Consultant in the Business Consultancy Unit at Richmond-upon-Thames Borough Council, commented, “It is evident that for the foreseeable future, the preferred method of contact will be via telephone, so we were keen to address this and ensure that our citizens’ experience was improved and standardised across the Council. By empowering the customer facing contact centre agents with a 360 degree view of each citizen’s contact history with the Council and the information required to answer the full range of enquiries, Frontline will allow the team to take full ownership of customer issues, improving the customer experience.”
She continues, “When we were going through the selection process it became clear very quickly that Lagan was the company that could provide us with a system rich in functionality and lead us into a successful, phased approach to citizen relationship management. CRM is an integral element to the delivery of both the Customer First and Civic Pride agendas focused on putting the customer at the centre of everything we do and moving the Council forward.”
Having now completed the first phase of implementation the next step will be to drive the email integration with Frontline and promote self-service which will provide citizens with instant access to information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week removing the dependency upon the contact centre. The integrated solution will also enable Richmond to start considering sharing the delivery of certain services with other local councils, as well as achieving other efficiencies and service improvements.
Quelle/Source: Publictechnology, 12.05.2006
