To consider a report from the Leader and the Corporate Director of Strategy and Resources.

The Corporate Director of Strategy and Resources introduced the report and apologised for the delay in bringing the report to the Committee, as it had originally been scheduled for the January meeting. The Committee were asked to note that the report did not include contacts for Amey as those went through a separate service.

The Head of Customer Service, Libraries, and Culture spoke of the various ways people could contact the Contact Centre, which supported 17 areas across the Council. The Report also listed the services which were not taken within the Contact Centre. The slide on performance provided an overview and compared pre, during, and post covid pandemic figures. The Committee were asked to note the large reduction of phone calls in 2019, which was in large part down to the Council not chasing for council tax. The volumes of calls had not reached the same levels as pre-pandemic, but the length of calls had increased by 10%. There were a number of contacts that the service could not help with, but they could signpost residents to the correct contact. In total the service received roughly 7000 emails per year.

The Head of Customer Service, Libraries and Culture informed the Committee of the work that the service did to support vulnerable residents. The Committee were asked to note that while Amey contacts were separate the One Trafford CRM sat with the Council and they were able to see the volumes of contacts through self-service and One Trafford portals. The Head of Customer Service, Libraries and Culture concluded the overview by informing the Committee that the Council were currently going through a procurement exercise for a new CRM system.

Following the Overview Councillor Walsh noted that the CRM was frustrating to use and that the new system would not be ready until 2024. The Councillor then asked if there were any quick fixes that could be implemented to improve the current CRM before the new one came online. The Head of Customer Service, Libraries and Culture responded that it was unfortunately not possible to make any further adjustments to the CRM as it was passed its support period.

Councillor Procter noted that many of the calls that came through the Contact Centre were for other departments. Councillor Procter asked whether there was an issue around the information available to the public and whether there was a way people could be directed to the correct service directly. The Head of Customer Service, Libraries and Culture assured the Committee that the service was aware of the issue and there were possible solutions, but it required further work with teams across the council to implement them successfully. The Corporate Director of Strategy and Resources added that it was a priority to deal with this issue and that the new CRM along with an upgrade of the telephony system would go a long way to addressing the current problems. 

Councillor Winstanley noted the call answering levels and asked what the targets were. The Head of Customer Service, Libraries and Culture responded that the goal was to answer 95% of all calls and for 70% of all calls to be answered within 30 seconds, which the Council was not achieving. The Committee were informed that small changes delivered a large impact and currently there were not enough members of staff available to be able to answer the volume of calls received, which lead to further problems.

Councillor Winstanley noted the issues and asked what Councillors could say to residents who contacted them who were unable to get through to the Council. The Corporate Director of Strategy and Resources drew the Committees attention to the increased length of calls which reflected the increased complexity of the contacts the team were having. While the service recognised the issues around calls not being answered they were committed to providing quality support to those who did get through to the service. The Corporate Director of Strategy and Resources assured the Committee that solutions were being sought and that the CRM and telephony service upgrades would improve residents’ experience. Councillor Winstanley noted that the options Councillors could tell residents were to either contact their ward Councillor, to use the Council’s online portal, or to keep trying the Contact Centre.

Councillor Carter asked whether the automated response to pothole queries could be adjusted. The Executive Member for Environment and Paid Services responded that the system was outdated and that he was not sure how much could be changed but he would take it up with the Corporate Director of Place to see what was possible.

Councillor Frass noted that licensing was not listed within the numbers and asked whether it was included within any of the figures. The Head of Customer Service, Libraries and Culture answered that it was not captured within the data apart from when someone rang the Contact Centre asking them to connect them to licensing.

Councillor Frass shared an email from a resident expressing their dismay in trying to contact a team within the Council. The Corporate Director of Strategy and Resource asked Councillor Frass to forward on that email and she would ensure it was addressed.

Councillor Axford asked whether webchat could be used by the Council. In response the Corporate Director of Strategy and Resource informed the Committee that the Council was looking to add that feature as part of the update of the Council’s systems.

The Chair asked whether the Welfare Rights team were coping. The Corporate Director of Strategy and Resource responded that the number of calls had increased from just over 60 to over 100 and she would get back to the Committee with the number of staff within the team.

Councillor Butt asked how many of the team worked from home and whether it impacted their performance The Head of Customer Service, Libraries and Culture answered that 75% of the team were in office and the other 25% worked from home. All members of the team had access to the same equipment when at home as when in the office and so it did not impact their efficiency.

The Chair thanked the officers for the update and for attending the meeting.

RESOLVED:

1)    That the update be noted.

2)    That Councillor Frass share the email from a resident with the Corporate Director of Strategy and Resources

3)    That the Corporate Director of Strategy and Resources provide the Committee with the number of staff within the welfare rights team.