Kempsey Shire Council’s newly developed Knowledge Management System provides a wide range of information at your fingertips, and the ability to answer those often asked questions quickly in the customer service environment.
Council decided to open a one stop customer service centre in 2005. This provided an opportunity to analyse, improve and formalise the processes and procedures involved in providing a consistent level of service to both internal and external customers. Budgetary constraints meant that this review, and the development of a user friendly system to provide staff with easy access to the information, would have to be undertaken in house. Kempsey’s General Manager, Allan Burgess, said that a staff member from each of Council’s three departments was nominated to research and build the system based on a model provided by Queensland’s Pine Rivers Council.
“The process took almost five months and the three staff involved were relentless in their quest to consult with internal and external customers to capture all the pertinent information, identify possible questions and answers, create new electronic forms and provide links to legislation, policies and websites of interest,” he said.
When interfaced with Council’s internet sites, intranet sites and CivicView – Kempsey’s integrated Local Government software package, the new system provides a single product that takes customer service to a new and very professional level. These system marriages ensure a quick response to customer enquiries and importantly, Council’s records are kept up to date and relevant.
With its web enabling functions, Microsoft Word is used to administer the Knowledge Management System.
“In the month of January 2006, just three months after opening, the Customer First Centre handled 6,070 enquiries with a resolution rate of 87 per cent at the first point of contact to agreed levels of service,” Allan Burgess said. “This is a wonderfully motivating result for staff and a service boost for customers as the figure has exceeded the Centre’s target of 60 per cent resolution at first point of contact.”
The Knowledge Management System is a work in progress. Ongoing monitoring is being undertaken and changes will be made when required.
Customer First staff members have taken ownership of the system and continuously look for ways of improving processes and procedures with the understanding that the system will be modified if a better way is found.
For further information contact Kempsey’s Manager Customer First, Margaret Mottee, on (02) 6566 3200.
