By providing high quality customer service yields, the Shire of Busselton is experiencing positive results for both Council and the community. The Shire of Busselton in Western Australia has a population of about 20,500, and is believed to be the fastest growing municipality in the State. Council’s management of customer service needed to accommodate its growing population.
“It started in 1998 with staff being challenged to come together to develop a series of customer service charters,” said Council’s Executive Director, Julie Rawlings. “These would set out the minimum standards of service that our customers could expect from us, and provide staff with clear objectives to focus on.”
Training and guidance was provided to team leaders, who were encouraged to review the processes and seek innovative ways of improving customer service. The result was the development of a set of 17 workable and customer friendly charters.
Examples of the Charters include the following.
- Provide honest, efficient and reliable service in a timely and professional manner.
- Invite and evaluate feedback to continually improve services to the community.
The Charters were launched in conjunction with the opening of Council’s new Customer Service Centre in January 2001. With the implementation of the Charters, unanswered incoming calls decreased in 2002 to 0.47 per cent, from 10.78 per cent. The amount of time taken to respond to written enquiries has also been greatly reduced.
“The process has brought staff together and given them an understanding and appreciation of the role others play and the problems they face,” Julie Rawlings said. “As a result, a culture change has taken place throughout the organisation. It has had a major impact on service delivery to customers: no longer is the customer perceived to be a hindrance to staff. Staff have embraced their partnership with the community and strive for excellence both as individuals and as an organisation.
For further information, contact Julie Rawlings, telephone (08) 9781 0446.
