Council and democracy

Category: Customer Service Excellence Team Awards

Winning Team - The Benefits Visiting Team - Finance & Resources

This team's role is to visit residents to ensure full entitlement to Housing and Council tax benefit payments is accurate, that queries are quickly resolved and by working with the Pension Service to make sure other welfare benefit take up is maximised.

The team has achieved an excellent CPA rating of 4 out of 4 in the last two years, helped colleagues to secure the Plain English standard on all benefit forms, and achieved a customer satisfaction rating of nearly 80%. Home visits have increased by 20% in the last year and the number of successful first visits rose by over 50% in 12 months. This is a result of reviewing procedures and using data from the Department of Work and Pensions to target customers with a higher probability of changing circumstances. All this occurred against the background of new back office benefit systems and becoming familiar with new mobile technology.

The team have received many compliments for this key customer interface work. One example formed part of this nomination. Fifty vulnerable hostel residents were visited. They were helped to complete the necessary forms to transfer their benefit from Lambeth to Croydon Council when the hostel moved to a new site. The charity concerned, United St Saviours, were extremely impressed at the service given, and the speed with which the claims were efficiently processed. The elderly residents found it really helped them identify what was needed and they were reassured by being in the home setting. The contribution made by the team definitely enhanced the Council's image - one sentence sums this up 'we have had contact with Southwark and Lambeth Housing Benefit Teams in the past, and were very pleasantly surprised at how much easier the process has been because of your team and their quality of service.

Finalists - The Contact Centre Housing Specialist Team with two colleagues from the Professional Development Team in Customer Services Division
Policy & Corporate Services

This was a great example of what can be achieved by everyone THINKING Customer and pulling together to make a big difference to customers and enhance the Council's reputation.

Croydon was asked to help London Councils by providing a customer advice line for up to 114,000 people who were to get a letter telling them that various housing schemes previously run by 'Move Uk' were being suspended. The approach came late on Thursday evening and go live was to be Monday morning. Capgemini arranged a separate number to go on the letters, the development team juggled diaries, designed and delivered training to the specialist advisers so they could offer options where possible, and could handle breaking the bad news where not. Shifts were reworked and other advisers were also prepared to take additional calls, call routing was reviewed and measures were put in place to monitor very carefully our own service delivery standards to ensure adverse impacts on our customers were minimised.

The contact centre was ready to go to schedule, a terrific achievement. The calls started only a few days later as London Councils needed more time to get the letters out. Some additional revenue was generated for Croydon. London Councils and the Department for Communities and Local Government were very impressed by the team's professional response and call handling, and many very disappointed and upset people received the information they needed, in a supportive way, at what was a difficult time.

Finalists - The Croydon Crematorium Team - Environment, Culture & Public Protection

The present team has only worked together since late 2005 when 3 of the 4 staff were new to the service.

They work to exacting professional standards, and pay considerable attention to detail, treating each funeral as if it is the only service that day, always conscious that funerals and bereavement are a very difficult time for all. The funeral directors who regularly work with the team compliment the professionalism of the service and the helpfulness of the staff saying they prefer to come to Croydon Crematorium….. another example of enhancing the Council's image.

During the year as a result of seeking and listening to customer feedback several changes have been introduced.

Saturday morning cremations were trialled for six months in response particularly to demands from the Hindhu and Sikh communities. This has received very positive feedback and has now been introduced as a permanent feature, bringing in additional income.

The team now offer customers a spoken a non-religious service during the scattering or burial of cremated remains. This has been welcomed by families who are not particularly religious, but who wish a simple ceremony

The biggest change is now being adopted as a best practice by other Councils. The team now work a two shift system. This has meant two cremators can be made instead of four, bringing efficiencies and a reduction in gas used by an estimated 50% ….. good financially and environmentally.

Contact Details

Contact name

Customer service development team

Telephone

020 8604 7124

Email

service.review@croydon.gov.uk

Address

5th Floor Taberner House,
Park Lane,
Croydon, CR9 3JS