Driving digital transformation in Local Government
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minute read
The Challenge
In common with most councils, complaints about waste services, such as missed bins, form a major proportion of all Broxbourne’s customer interactions. Around 30% of queries with councils and councillors are related to waste, so this was a top priority
for improving customer experience.
And improvement was certainly needed. The historic process for Broxbourne residents to report a missed bin was clunky, inefficient and a huge source of frustration for both customers and employees alike.
Local people were only able to report a missed bin by telephoning the Council. Added to this, staff could only log those reports after 4pm, meaning the common response for customers was ‘please call back later’, wasting precious time for all.
What we did
Sopra Steria implemented a clever, real-time, automated waste management solution which would remove these challenges overnight.
Intelligent new software was employed which allows customers to report a missed bin 24/7 online.
The system means that rather than reports going to the Council staff, they are flagged immediately to the relevant waste freighter team. If this team is still out, they can detour to pick up the missed bin or arrange an alternative time for collection.
This automated process means customers receive a response and resolution within two minutes of reporting online. It also cuts out any need for call centre and Waste Admin colleagues to be involved in the process.
The results
- The customer journey is now completely online and response time is usually less than two minutes • Political pain has been removed, freeing up councillors to focus on other priority case work
The customer experience is now at the heart of the interaction with the Council.
- 100% reduction in paper and queueing on the phone
- 66% reduction in staff effort to resolve
It's so exciting to see the complete change in the way that we work. The whole Council is so different to the organisation it was this time last year. I can’t praise this transformation programme enough, particularly in our waste management services.
People can now access us 24/7 online in a completely automated process. It’s fantastic. Sandra Beck, Director of Finance at Broxbourne Borough Council
Download the full case study here