Agenda item

The Commission considered a report of the Director of Corporate Resources, the purpose of which was to advise of progress in delivering the Customer Experience Strategy and on overall customer experience performance across the Council.  A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda item 13’ is filed with these minutes.

Arising from discussion, the following points were made:

(i)           Members welcomed improvements in the Customer Service Centre, noting that responses to councillors appeared to be quicker and that performance had improved. However, members continued to raise concerns about the Council’s website, particularly the ease with which residents could find information and complete tasks online.

(ii)         Members noted that an artificial intelligence chatbot was being tested internally and in selected service areas, including the Customer Service Centre and service desk. The technology had been effective in helping staff access information quickly and had supported call handling in sensitive circumstances.  The Director confirmed that permission would shortly be sought to make the chatbot live for public use, following consideration by relevant customer and internal panels. The initial purpose would be to help residents locate information on the website more easily. Further development could include enabling the system to assist residents in completing actions, rather than simply directing them to forms.

(iii)        Members emphasised the need for proper safeguards around the use of artificial intelligence. Officers explained that the Council’s approach was based on ensuring that decisions remained traceable, accountable and transparent, and that artificial intelligence should not make decisions affecting residents without human oversight.  A Member suggested that involving councillors in testing improvements to the website and chatbot would be beneficial as they often had to support residents with this.  The Director undertook to arrange a briefing for all members and to seek feedback.

(iv)       Members raised the potential for artificial intelligence to be considered as a separate scrutiny item or through a member working group, including its wider opportunities, risks and implications for the workforce. The Lead Member agreed that officers should consider how members could be involved in this area of work and the Director undertook to consider this further.

(v)         In response to concerns regarding the impact local government reorganisation could have on customer access, it was noted that work was taking place with district councils to better understand the services they currently provided to support the future design of customer services under whichever structure was ultimately adopted. The Director reported that learning from authorities that had already undergone similar reorganisations would form part of this work. The Commission noted that customer protection would be a key area of work during any transition.

(vi)       It was noted that overall call volumes included calls made directly to officers as well as those handled by the Customer Service Centre. Calls handled by the Customer Service Centre had higher answer rates. Resource planning was undertaken, and in some circumstances, such as times of severe weather, call volumes could increase significantly, and priorities would need to be managed to accommodate this. Self-service options and a call-back facility were also being explored.

(vii)      Members asked about follow-up processes where residents needed to query a response. The Director advised that there were processes to enable customers to get back to the relevant adviser, usually through a contact number and reference number. It was noted that, in some Highways cases, more than one reference number might be used, although either should allow officers to locate the original enquiry.

(viii)    Members noted a reduction in visits to County Hall and were advised that visits were monitored and the fall in numbers could be for a wide range of reasons. It was suggested that improved online access would have contributed to reduced face-to-face demand, although fluctuations during the year were also likely.

(ix)       Members welcomed the reduction in complaints and the overall improvements achieved since the Strategy had been introduced.

RESOLVED:

(a)  That the update on progress in delivering the Customer Experience Strategy and overall customer experience performance across the Council be noted and welcomed;

(b)  That the Director be requested to enable members to preview and test the website improvements and the proposed use of an artificial intelligence chatbot, with feedback to be sought from members;

(c)   That the Director be requested to give further consideration to scrutiny involvement in the Council’s use of artificial intelligence.