Agenda item

(To receive a report which provides an update of Serco's performance against contractual Key Performance Indicators specified in the Corporate Support Services Contract between June 2017 and August 2017 along with an update on progress made on key transformation projects being undertaken by Serco)

The Board considered a report which provided an update of Serco's performance against Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) specified in the Corporate Services Contract between June 2017 and August 2017.

Officers took Members through the tables featured in the report which illustrated a general improvement in performance during July, August and September of 2017.

Serco had experienced high volumes of payroll contacts, as a result of issues with the system, which had been well documented in the press.  The number of payroll contacts had been steadily falling through June, July and August, as the system improved and issues were dealt with.

IMT (Information Management Technology) had not been performing well with only seven out of twelve KPI's achieved in August 2017.  It was explained this was mainly due to a serious hardware failure which resulted in multiple system failures, across the entire Council, for several days.

It was noted Adult Care Finance had met all its targets during July and August with no red or amber KPIs.  Also, the Mosaic rollout had secured some additional development.

Financial Administration had seen all its KPIs in green since June 2017.  One to highlight in particular was KPI 1 (paying invoices on time), which had been red or amber for a long time, however was now green due to the target being reduced slightly by agreement of SERCO and LCC to make it easier to measure.

The Board was keen to scrutinise the performance statistics for the Customer Service Centre (CSC).  During the discussion of these figures, the following was noted:

·         There had been improvements in the performance of the CSC, however despite incremental improvements over the summer months, it was still failing to meet the KPI for abandoned calls;

·         Serco representatives offered an invitation to the Board to visit the CSC and see it in action.  The Head of Democratic Services and Statutory Scrutiny Officer would arrange the visit;

·         Issues were raised regarding differences in service received by Councillors when they had made calls to the CSC.  One Councillor had a very positive experience where their handler had done everything they could to help, however another had been told incorrect information.  It was confirmed that call handlers had various scripts to follow to answer technical questions, and if these were not followed, it made for an inconsistent service.  Regular training to ensure handlers' knowledge of Council services was given;

·         In relation to data showing average weekly call volumes in the report, Members queried whether the CSC operated at weekends.  Officers confirmed that it did operate out of hours, however, they were unable to provide details on weekend activity with the current telephony system;

·         In relation to abandoned calls; there had been 4.8% overall performance in October, which was an improvement on previous months and put the KPI into green.  Officers wanted to ensure this improvement was consistent;

·         Digital channels for self-help needed to be improved, which would in turn reduce the number of calls to the CSC, which was considered to be a last resort if a customer had not found an answer themselves;

·         With the current service model using a number of call centres, it was not possible to track caller history to see what advice they had been given previously.  Having one local call centre would improve this aspect of service, which was something officers were working towards;

·         There was discussion about the CSC queuing system and the merits of informing customers what number they were in the queue.  Officers explained that within the industry there was much difference in opinion regarding this.  Its success depended on how many operators were answering calls at any given time.  If the queue was big with only a handful of operators, being told which position in the queue you were would not do much to reduce the frustration of waiting and could lead to abandoned calls.  However, Councillors felt the caller could make that decision themselves based on how quickly they moved up the queue.  Members considered that this could be explored further and it was suggested that it could be part of the member input into the development of the Customer Service Engagement Strategy in collaboration with SERCO.  Members agreed that their input into the Strategy would be helpful and this would be facilitated by Democratic Services.

It was noted that the next update on contract performance to be Board be brought forward from 25 January 2018 to 21 December 2017.

RESOLVED

1.    That the information presented on the performance of the Corporate Support Services Contract be noted;

2.    That a visit be arranged for interested members of the board to the Customer Service Centre;

3.    That input be provided on the developing Customer Service Engagement Strategy, particularly in relation to consideration of the Board's comments on call centre queuing arrangements;