Customer Service
|
Source: BFI inspection assessment
For an explanation about how to read this radar chart see Strategic management.
3.1 Customer service is important. Local authorities should aim to:
- deliver modern, efficient, secure customer focused public services and empower individuals to influence them
- reduce barriers to work, particularly in relation to benefit and rent policy
- support vulnerable people and tackle all forms of social exclusion, including bad housing, homelessness, poverty, crime and poor health.
Clear, simple, accessible claim forms
3.2 This section is about getting it right first time. Clear HB and CTB claim forms can help reduce the need for requests for further information from the customer and reduce the risk of customer confusion or fraud. Clear advice at the time of the claim can reinforce messages about the need to provide evidence of identity and income, and resolve concerns of those with limited documentation.
3.3 Rhondda Cynon Taf was not at Standard because its claim forms:
- were not available at all council enquiry points
- are in not in line with BFI model claim form.
3.4 Claim forms were available at Bronwydd House in Porth and the 7 District Housing Offices, but not at other council enquiry points, such as libraries. Supplies of claim forms have been provided to Registered Social Landlords as specified in the service level agreement.
3.5 In September 2002, Rhondda Cynon Taf had 4 application or claim forms. With the introduction of the new document image processing system, the forms were being re-designed to create one combined claim form which will be benchmarked against the new BFI model claim form.
We recommend that Rhondda Cynon Taf: |
|
|
Timely, helpful response to public enquiries
3.6 This section is concerned with quantitative measures, such as opening hours and speed of response, and the quality of service that is provided.
3.7 We found the following:
- customers have access to Bronwydd House via a dedicated telephone call centre. Call centre staff were able to deal with all but the most complex queries they receive
- Bronwydd House reception and the 7 District Housing Offices provided a wide range of access points for customers
- private interview room facilities were available and advertised
- performance in answering correspondence was good. Rhondda Cynon Taf’s monitoring system showed that the response time was 5.2 working days to reply. This compares well against the corporate target of 15 days and the Performance Standard of 14 days
- ultra violet scanners were used to verify the authenticity of documents
- the results of customer surveys have been fed back to staff and senior managers.
3.8 For Rhondda Cynon Taf to fully meet the Standard it should:
- analyse telephone answering and customer waiting times
- ensure the stocks of benefit information leaflets and posters at enquiry offices are complete and up-to-date
- allow District Housing Offices to have access to the IT systems to enable them to answer customers’ queries.
Telephone service
3.9 The telephone call centre for the Benefits service is open from 09.00 – 17.00, Monday to Friday (40 hours per week). The call centre staff have been trained to deal with the majority of benefits enquiries and also answer calls about Council Tax and business rates. Complex or lengthy calls are transferred to the appropriate section to answer. A new telephone system, with more sophisticated reporting, was due to be installed in October 2002.
3.10 The current telephone system can identify, through monthly management reports:
- the number of lost calls
- the average time to answer a call
- call volumes.
3.11 The reports show the average time taken to answer calls for the last 3 months prior to our being on site was 4.1 seconds. This compares favourably against the Standard’s target of 15 seconds. However, the caller is then held in a queue, waiting for a staff member to become available to speak to them. The system cannot report how long a caller was kept in the queue, nor can it report how long the call took to complete.
3.12 A supervisor is able to check, at any time, how many calls are waiting. But there was no record of how often this facility was accessed, and it was not used to manage the call centre.
3.13 We rang the call centre 3 times and found that 2 calls were held in the queue for 3 minutes after which we abandoned the call. The third call was answered after being in the queue for 2 minutes.
3.14 From our discussions with staff and senior managers, we were told that the service had reduced in its effectiveness since the introduction of document image processing because staff were being diverted from the telephone section to assist with the implementation of document image processing. We were told that customers had commented on the length of time they had to wait. The number dialled is not a free phone number, so the customer is paying for the call whilst they wait in the queue.
We recommend that Rhondda Cynon Taf: |
|
Customer reception points - Bronwydd House
3.15 We visited Bronwydd House and 2 District Housing Offices, Tonypandy and Aberdare.
3.16 The reception at Bronwydd House and the 7 District Housing Offices are open from 09.00 – 17.00 Monday to Friday. This is four hours longer than the Standard of 36 hours. A ticket-based system is used so that customers are seen in order. The time of arrival is not printed on the ticket and no manual record is kept to enable management information to be gathered about the average time it takes for someone to be seen. If the customer has a pre-booked appointment they are seen immediately after announcing themselves to a member of staff. Our observation at Bronwydd House confirmed the managers’ belief that customers did not wait in excess of 15 minutes.
3.17 A number of leaflets concerning housing and other benefits were available in the waiting area but many were out of date and several dispensers were empty of the leaflets they were supposed to contain.
3.18 There is one private interview room at Bronwydd House and there is a notice at each enquiry counter that the room is available, if required. Customers can also request a private interview by telephone and can set an appointment to see a member of staff.
3.19 All Customer service staff have access to the benefits IT system to enable them to answer any customer queries immediately.
Customer reception points - District Housing Offices
3.20 We visited Aberdare and Tonypandy District Housing Offices. Tonypandy is a small office located in a shopping parade. Aberdare is a large council building with a number of different council departments. We had great difficulty locating the Housing Office because there were no signs to indicate where it is.
3.21 Both offices have private rooms and their availability is advertised. There were no details about the level of service a customer can expect and there was no measurement and monitoring of customer waiting times.
3.22 District Housing Office staff did not have access to the document image processing system and only view-only access to the benefits IT system via the notebook facility. The only way they can help customers is to contact Bronwydd House by telephone, but staff told us they have great difficulty getting through. There was no dedicated telephone number in use. Senior management is aware of these problems and is looking at the feasibility of introducing full access to the benefit IT and document image processing systems to some of the District Housing Offices.
3.23 There were no HB and CTB leaflets or posters on display at either Aberdare or Tonypandy.
3.24 All offices have ultra violet document scanners and provide an on-the-spot facility for document verification, claim receipt, and identity verification. We found that staff understood the need to verify the National Insurance Number and have been trained to do so.
We recommend that Rhondda Cynon Taf: |
|
|
|
|
Dealing with correspondence
3.25 Rhondda Cynon Taf has a corporate target to answer correspondence in 15 working days. Only substantive replies are sent as Rhondda Cynon Taf did not use holding replies. The average turnaround for the Benefits service was 5.2 days which has been consistently achieved since January 2002.
We recommend that Rhondda Cynon Taf: |
|
3.26 Rhondda Cynon Taf undertook a series of customer focus groups to find out what customers want as part of an E-government exercise in February 2002. We did find that the Audit Commission for Wales user satisfaction survey, covered by Welsh Assembly Government Performance Indicator 80, had been completed in 2000/01. A summary of the results had been included in the Best Value Performance Plan which showed a ‘…positive indication of service delivery’ but which also showed scope for improvement.
Effective training and development for customer service
3.27 This section covers:
- training and development that allows staff to respond to enquiries, getting it right first time
- effective management of staff to deliver a continuing high standard of customer service.
3.28 The Corporate Services Department has the Investors in People award and is committed to developing staff within their jobs. The Best Value review indicated that the Benefits service as a whole was motivated and satisfied with the level of training provided.
3.29 Rhondda Cynon Taf told us that it provides sufficient refresher training to ensure that its benefits staff are kept up-to-date. As an example, it has recently used an external trainer to provide benefits training. But we saw no evidence of a consistent ongoing refresher-training programme. A Senior Benefits Officer was recruited by Rhondda Cynon Taf during August 2002 and was allocated responsibility for managing the training programme.
3.30 We found that Rhondda Cynon Taf had not met the Standard for this element because:
- although some training has been undertaken, it has not been recorded and evaluated. Some groups had no training, such as the Customer Service team. Staff in the District Housing Offices had no training in benefit issues in the18 months preceding our on-site visit
- there was not a consistent continuing refresher training programme
- individual staff personal development plans were out of date and contained no specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-based objectives.
3.31 We were concerned that the training records, staff personal development plans and our discussions with staff, showed that the Customer service team’s training had not been kept up-to-date. We examined the training records and found that over half the staff had not received any training in the last 2 years, and that 14 staff did not have a personal development plan.
3.32 Customer service staff told us that there had been little or no training in the past 18 months and the District Housing Office staff told us that they had received no HB and CTB training in this period. This is very worrying as District Housing Office staff carry out vital verification work. XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XX We have made general recommendations about training in Strategic management.
We recommend that Rhondda Cynon Taf: |
|
|
|
Clear, informative decision letters
3.33 Letters to customers and other affected persons need to inform them clearly about decisions made, and explain the decision clearly enough for them to decide whether they might have grounds for appeal.
3.34 Rhondda Cynon Taf was not at Standard in this element as its decision notices do not comply with Schedule 6 of the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987 and the similar provisions in the Council Tax Benefit (General) Regulations 1992 in the following regard. They do not state:
- that the overpayment is recoverable
- why it is recoverable
- how the overpayment is recoverable.
3.35 Rhondda Cynon Taf was aware of this issue and confident that it will be resolved once the new benefits IT system has been installed in 2003. An analysis of the current decision notices is shown in Appendix B.
|
We recommend that Rhondda Cynon Taf: |
|
Accessible, quality service for claimants with specific needs
3.36 It is important that eligible claimants are not deterred from claiming because the Benefits service does not address their specific needs.
3.37 Services need to be accessible to people with disabilities, people for whom English or Welsh is a foreign language, people with communication or learning difficulties and other people who are vulnerable because of their age or physical or mental health problems.
3.38 We found Rhondda Cynon Taf was close to being at Standard for this element as it had met the following criteria:
- disability access surveys have been undertaken for all council sites
- comprehensive facilities for customers with specific needs are provided, including text-phones, and the loop system and Braille for the visually impaired. Two staff can use sign language and the Language Line translation service is offered
- home visits are offered to assist customers where required
- local transport and accessibility for customers have been reviewed
- some customer surveys have been undertaken to establish local needs
- strong local relationships exist with groups such as Citizens Advice Cymru, Shelter Cymru and Help the Aged.
3.39 To be at standard Rhondda Cynon Taf needs to:
- supply large print forms and leaflets for visually impaired customers
- confirm the availability of text-phones, Braille, and other facilities for those with specific needs
- review services offered to ethnic minority groups.
Disability
3.40 The Disability Discrimination Act requires public buildings to be accessible to all members of the public. Rhondda Cynon Taf completed a disability access survey at Bronwydd House in September 2001, which found that the site was accessible for people with disabilities. Surveys have also been undertaken on a corporate level in all Rhondda Cynon Taf’s offices, including District Housing Offices.
3.41 The Disability Discrimination Act also provides guidelines about the media available to communicate with people who have reduced sight and hearing. We were told that the availability of aids would be included in letters and leaflets when they are reprinted.
3.42 For people who require assistance Rhondda Cynon Taf offers:
- home visits to anyone who requests them. These can be arranged at short notice
- talking decision notices, letters on audio cassettes and Braille versions are provided on request, but large print documents are not available
- a loop system in the customer
reception area at Bronwydd House and
text-phones are available on request for those customers with speech and hearing difficulties - 2 members of staff at Bronwydd House are qualified to use British Sign Language, one to an advanced level, the other to a basic level.
We recommend that Rhondda Cynon Taf: |
|
|
Accessibility
3.43 Rhondda Cynon Taf reviewed the effectiveness of the local public transport as part of its Best Value review, finding that the provision of local public transport was acceptable, with regular bus and rail services connecting the main towns within the authority.
3.44 To make it easier for customers to deal with the Benefits service, documents can be handed in at Bronwydd House and the District Housing Offices, and a daily courier service operates between Bronwydd House and the District Housing Offices. These offices offer a service to people who are unable to get to Bronwydd House, although they are hampered by limited access to IT systems and the lack of a dedicated telephone link to Bronwydd House.
3.45 Rhondda Cynon Taf offers home visits, on request, to assist in completing forms and to resolve queries. These visits can be arranged at short notice, but there are no set criteria. Staff treat each case on its merits.
|
We recommend that Rhondda Cynon Taf: |
|
People whose language is not English or Welsh
3.46 Ethnic minority groups represent 1.8% of the population. Rhondda Cynon Taf did not know how many of its customers who receive HB and CTB are from ethnic minority groups or whether these groups have any particular needs of the service. However, the Language Line facility is available, and interviews can usually be arranged at short notice.
We recommend that Rhondda Cynon Taf: |
|
Accessible, quality service for those in work
3.47 Working people may have limited opportunities to contact the local authority. It is important that authorities provide accessible quality services for those in work. Working people may have particularly complex claims, for instance if their earnings fluctuate from week to week, or if they take temporary work interspersed by short periods of unemployment.
3.48 Rhondda Cynon Taf had not achieved the Standard for this element because it told us that no:
- review has been undertaken to establish if the service offered meets the needs of claimants in work
- procedure exists to act on information received from Jobcentre Plus to make extended payments or fast-track claims.
3.49 However, we did find that good use was made of the certificate of earnings contained in the authority’s application or claim forms.
3.50 Standards state that a certificate of earnings should be used where appropriate. We found that the certificate of earnings form is an integral part of the authority’s application form, and was used to assist in processing claims more rapidly. We were told that:
- the certificate is only used where the customer is unable to provide payslips or evidence of salary
- only certificates that are stamped and signed by the employer and returned by them are accepted for verifying income and are confirmed by a telephone call.
We recommend that Rhondda Cynon Taf: |
|
Encouraging benefit take-up, reducing poverty
3.51 Local authority Benefits staff have a role in encouraging take-up of other benefits. This work may be most effective as part of a wider anti-poverty strategy.
3.52 Rhondda Cynon Taf had satisfied the following levels of performance for this element:
- establishment of a working party to create a Social Inclusion Strategy. The Revenues Manager is a member. At the time of our inspection, the final strategy had not been formulated but this is a promising development
- effective relationships with groups such as Citizens Advice Cymru, Help the Aged and Shelter Cymru
- sending leaflets about HB and CTB to all new tenants and enclosing them with Council Tax bills
- working with Jobcentre Plus, such as the ‘Better Living For Elderly People’ campaign
- advice to customers and a handy ready reckoner giving the likely benefit rate at any income level is also available.
3.53 It failed to fully achieve the Standard for this element because:
- no strategies exist to go beyond the general raising of benefits awareness
- specific groups had not been targeted to increase benefit take-up
- there was a lack of posters and information displayed at council offices aimed at tenants on low incomes, who might be able to claim HB and CTB.
We recommend that Rhondda Cynon Taf: |
|
Working with third parties
3.54 Rhondda Cynon Taf has participated in awareness campaigns with Jobcentre Plus, such as ‘Better Living For Older People’ in 2001. No records have been kept to identify its effectiveness. It also holds quarterly meetings with Citizens Advice Cymru, Help the Aged, Shelter Cymru, and Jobcentre Plus. Items discussed include:
- joint work on take-up of welfare benefits
- joint training with Citizens Advice staff.
3.55 We also saw letters from representatives of the above organisations expressing thanks to the Rhondda Cynon Taf Benefits service for its help.
Promoting take-up
3.56 Leaflets explaining how to apply for HB and CTB are sent with tenancy details to new council tenants and to all Council Tax payers.
3.57 Rhondda Cynon Taf staff advise those considering starting work, about their entitlement to HB and provide a ready reckoner which shows customers’ likely level of HB and CTB at any income level.
Addressing complaints about the service effectively
3.58 It is important complaints are dealt with promptly, and the complainant is given an explanation, information, an apology and rectification if appropriate.
3.59 Rhondda Cynon Taf had achieved this element of Standards in full, because:
- procedures and targets for the handling of complaints exist
- the type of complaint, the reasons for them and whether they were upheld are all analysed and held on a database
- response times are monitored and the reasons for complaints analysed. The average time to respond in writing to a formal complaint was 8.1 days against the 21-day target.
3.60 Targets are revised, for example, at the time of our visit Rhondda Cynon Taf was implementing a revised corporate complaints procedure that includes the following targets:
- a holding response to be issued within 3 days
- a full response within 10 days
- 7 days to provide an initial response for an informal complaint
- 21 days to provide a written response to a formal complaint.
3.61 Customer leaflets about how to complain are being produced, and will be available at all council offices.
Dealing effectively with requests for reconsideration and appeals
3.62 This section is about:
- ensuring that disputes are resolved as quickly as possible
- monitoring cases, to inform the effectiveness of the local authority’s handling of disputes and appeals
- analysing to ensure that any wider or common failures they indicate are addressed.
3.63 Rhondda Cynon Taf was very close to being at Standard for this element, strengths are that:
- appeals are managed via a spreadsheet
- the decision notices notify claimants of their rights to reconsideration and appeal
- 4 experienced staff deal with reconsiderations and appeals and present cases at tribunals
- checks ensure appeal submissions are correct in law and in the correct format
- appeal decisions are implemented quickly.
3.64 However, requests for reconsiderations are not recorded on a spreadsheet, so they can not be tracked or monitored.
3.65 A Senior Benefits Officer is responsible for handling all queries, disputes, requests for reconsideration and appeals, customers’ rights of appeal and reconsideration in accordance with the HB and CTB (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 2001. Procedural guidance notes issued by the Appeals Service are used when preparing a case for submission.
3.66 Before a case is sent to the Appeals Service it is reviewed by the Principal Benefits Officer (Technical) to ensure the presentation is correct in terms of its format and legality.
3.67 The appeals procedure covers all requirements contained in the Department’s Circular A18/2001 and was updated in July 2001.
3.68 Appeals are managed by using a spreadsheet. We analysed the spreadsheet and found that the information it contains complies with the process as laid down in the Department’s Circular A11/2001.
3.69 Rhondda Cynon Taf should speed up the submission of cases, to the Appeals Service. Of the 15 appeals submitted from July 2001 we found the following 3 had considerable delays:
- Case received 6 September 2001 – submitted 9 August 2002
- Case received 31 December 2001 – submitted 9 September 2002
- Case received 29 November 2001 – submitted 6 August 2002
3.70 There is no specific time limit laid down in the regulations to submit an appeal to the Appeals Service. But it is unreasonable for a customer to wait nearly 11 months.
We recommend that Rhondda Cynon Taf: |
|