An update of the Channel Shift Project will be presented to the Panel and will include information on why Channel Shift is important and details of the current and future work planned. Demonstrations will also be made during the meeting.
Minutes:
The Panel welcomed Corporate
Director, Mr. Ian Harrison, to the meeting who introduced Mr. Nick Harding,
Head of IT and Facilities, Mr. Seamus McAlister, IT Change Manager, Mr. James Duggin, Contracts Manager and Mr. Philip Roberts, System
Administrator.
Mr. Harrison reminded the Panel
of the importance of channel shift and the six principles that have been followed. Members were informed
that progress had been made since the previous update and a number of
departments within the Council had started to carry out their business in a
different way. The programme of current and future work was shared, which
encouraged a discussion on payment shift; this was described as a mature aspect
of the project, an example of success being the number of Council Tax payments
made by direct debit, which had increased every year since 2012. It was noted that direct debit payments carried the lowest
possible transaction costs.
Reference was
made to the Council’s webpage that displayed details on how residents
could pay their council tax bill. The demonstration showed the Panel that most
references to ‘cash’ as a payment option had been removed
from key communications. The website offered a number of other channels, such
as, the facilities to set up direct debits online, a 24 hour
payment line and information on other locations in the Borough where residents
would be able to make a payment to the Council. It was
noticed by Members that while a number of new channels had become
available, no older channels had been removed. This showed the Panel that
people were shifting their own behaviours, as opposed to being
forced to channel shift due to a payment method no longer being offered.
The Panel were
shown the Customer Service Unit’s service platform that is used to
ensure a customer sees the right member of staff, the system then prints out a
ticket for the customer and logs the queries received by the reception desk.
Another demonstration included
the self-service platform that was in the process of being trialled before
going live. This facility would enable customers to set up their own account
and access council tax and rubbish collection information as well as arranging
a bulky waste collection. The self-service platform would be available to
residents 24/7 and be accessible on mobile or tablet devices as well as
computers. The Panel showed an interest in trialling the service themselves.
During a previous update, the
Members received an explanation of the bulky waste processes followed at the
time. Collections could only be arranged over the phone and the processes were
admin heavy and involved a lot of paper being passed between a number of different people. The new booking system required
customers to answer a number of questions on the items to be collected. This
enabled the system to calculate the total cost of the collection, it was also noted that any residents receiving welfare benefits
would also receive a discount on the overall cost. Once a collection date had been chosen, customers would receive a confirmation of
booking email. The booking could then be accessed by the
contractors through their tablet device. This would allow them to record and confirm collections and report any issues.
The final demonstration involved
showing how the CEOs were able to use mobile devices to carry out their work.
The system allowed them to use their devices to search a vehicle registration
number, access permit information and, via a wireless connection, print a
penalty charge notice. Residents would then have the opportunity to pay their
charge online. It was noted that this example of
channel shift reduced the amount CEOs had to carry round with them and enabled
information to be sent to the Council Offices instantly; staff were adapting to
the new system well.
To conclude, Mr. Harrison
confirmed that the removal of old systems and the replacement of the improved
systems had been a success. It was also noted that
future work was underway.
The Panel NOTED the presentation.