In 1998, Medway became one of the largest unitary authorities in England due to local government reorganization that united the previously separate administrative areas of the City of Rochester and the boroughs of Gillingham and Chatham. Under the Customer First program, Medway reviewed the range of existing technologies and divergent processes and realized the need to upgrade and consolidate inherited working practices and systems to maximize customer experience.
 
Medway, a government in the making, invested in a join-up approach to deliver improved services. Situated in north Kent in the southeast of England, it is a unique urban area in the heart of the Thames Gateway, a national priority for regeneration and growth. Being a unitary authority, Medway Council provides the full range of local government services, including education, environment, social care, housing, planning, and much more. It serves a population of a quarter of a million people across the towns of Rochester, Strood, Chatham, Gillingham and Rainham and more rural areas including the Hoo Peninsula, providing high quality, value for money services with one of the lowest council tax levels in the UK.
 
Putting the Customer First
 
Under the banner of "Customer First" Medway set out to provide easier access to Council services via CRM software. Medway upgraded from Onyx eShop to Onyx OneServe 5.0, as the platform on which to build a purpose driven call center that delivers consistent, high quality and efficient service. The center provided the first point of contact via different methods, such as phone, email, or the web, for an increasing range of council services including street scene and environmental services, council tax, housing benefit and social care inquiries. The technology combined with an overall approach of customer first focus, promoted alignment of the services provided within and across various departments.
 
The upgrade from eShop to Onyx OneServe 5.0, "Went very smoothly with the Onyx professional services working effectively with the council. The new system was very well received by staff with the automation of previously manual process steps making the system easier to navigate and learn to use." comments Ashley Bryant, Customer First Business Development Manager.
 
Integrated Tools Help Provide the Right Service at the Right Time
 
The Contact Center provides a seamless gateway into the council with the right service at the right time. The Onyx OneServe 5.0 portal integrates supporting technologies such as electronic document management, back-office systems, and payment management. "The case-based reasoning (scripting) tool has been especially useful," said Martin Garlick, Head of Customer First. "We’re now using this tool to help our Customer Service Officers arrive at the right solution for the customer, ensuring the right and more importantly – relevant question, is asked at the correct time and we are consistently achieving our 80% ‘One and Done’ target."
 
Getting it done with Results
 
The upgrade and other developments under the Customer First umbrella have been financed by the council on an invest to save basis with borrowing being repaid from a targeted efficiency return of $1,500,000 over 5 years (2006/2010).
 
Besides sound financing, the Customer First program has since received several "Excellence in Customer Service" awards. The 2007 customer service award from the Public Private Partnerships Programme, a local government procurement expert, acknowledges the achievements of local authorities and their partners in investing in their communities through improved infrastructure delivering transformation for enhancing services for customers. As well as their most recent award, the prestigious Charter Mark, representing more than winning a trophy since a change of culture is achieved with continuously striving for change and improvement. Complaints, compliments and suggestions from the customer and staff are seen as an opportunity to improve service. "This was a culture shift," said Martin "with a new focus on customer service and the customer experience."
 
Return on Investment at a Glance
 
Implementing Onyx OneServe 5.0 as component of the overall Customer First program has realized the following benefits:

• An efficiency return equal to $1,500,000 over 5 years.
• A Complete contact center centralization.
• A single holistic view of the citizen (or business, where appropriate).
• A true shared services platform to support county and district, as well as agency-partner configurations.
• Processes driven by industry deliver services across departments.
• Providing management capabilities to monitor more effectively.
• World-class analytics supports operational and strategic decision-making that to help anticipate citizens’ future requirements.
   
  
• Citizens’ perception of service level and responsiveness has dramatically improved.