Issue - meetings

AGREED that Cabinet:

(a)       approve, in principle and subject to consultation, the Customer Experience Strategy and Customer Promise; and

(b)       approve the proposed pilot (as detailed in Paragraph 2.3 of the report).

The Leader and Portfolio Holder for Strategy, Performance & Finance presented a report which set out a proposed Customer Experience Strategy and the Customer Promise, which, subject to approval, would go out for public consultation before being finalised and used to shape all Council delivery.

In the 2022 residents survey, a key area identified for improvement was Council communication. As a result of this the Policy & Performance Improvement Committee set up a working group to develop a Customer Experience Strategy to improve the quality and consistency of customer experience. The working group also developed the Customer Promise which set out behaviours to follow when interacting with customers.

The proposal for the 12 week pilot was for additional opening hours (8am-9am) on a Monday which was the busiest day for customers. The Cabinet welcomed the report and the work of the Policy & Performance Improvement Committee in bringing forward the Strategy.

AGREED      (unanimously) that Cabinet:

a)            approve, in principle and subject to consultation, the Customer Experience Strategy and Customer Promise; and

b)            approve the proposed pilot (as detailed in Paragraph 2.3 of the report).

Reasons for Decision:

The Council does not currently have a Customer Experience Strategy, this is a document which sets out our key principles to guide all customer interactions. Whilst the Customer Experience Strategy and Customer Promise do not directly link to the Community Plan, it relates to every service, as it outlines the behaviours all Council employees and representatives will embody when interacting with customers. The Customer Experience Strategy and Customer Promise are important as they shape the quality of our customer interactions.

Options Considered:

Continue with no Council wide strategy and see no improvements.