Review of contact with the public
This web page will provide you with information on the
performance of the Council's one stop shops, Helpline and
switchboard. Information is also provided on the press office
and the website.
One stop shops
Enquiries
Overall, the number of enquiries taken in the one stop shops
between the third quarter of 2006/07 and the third quarter of
2007/08 decreased from 14,202 to 11,872. The largest decrease is in
leisure enquiries and bookings, mainly for this quarter as a result
of some shows shown in the previous quarter's figures. Two
youth events were cancelled which reduced booking figures.
Payments
Cash taken across all three one stop shops was £2,038,983 in the
third quarter of 2006/07, compared with £2,235,922 in 2007/08. This
represents an 10 per cent increase across all of the shops and
includes increases of £102,041 (13 per cent) in the Hoddesdon one
stop shop, £62,409 (10 per cent) in Waltham Cross and £32,489 (five
per cent) in Wolsey Hall.
Service developments
Surgeries continue to be held by external partners namely the
police and the CAB, as well as internal partners, such as the
planning and benefits section of the Council.
Service Perception
If you have any comments on the service provided at the one stop
shops please contact us by completing our online feedback
form. You can also telephone the Helpline on 01992 785577 or
visit your local one stop shop .
Comments on customer services
Up to February 2008 we received:
Five written compliments
Two written complaints
Complaint 1 - one stop shop closing early
Action taken: all shops to close using time on PC, this time is
standard throughout the Council.
Complaint 2 - slow telephone response time
Action taken: switchboard response times monitored by Council
call logger and mystery shopping exercise.
Helpline and switchboard
A total of 13,086 calls went through the Helpline in the third
quarter of 2007/08, compared with 14,037 in the third quarter of
the previous year. In the course of this third quarter, the
Helpline expanded its brief and began taking calls on the purple
sack scheme. These calls have required explanations which
lengthened the average response time. In addition, the calls taken
as part of the partnership with building control require details to
be taken down and arrangements made for site visits. These two
factors have contributed to the helpline increase in response time
which was seven seconds in 2006 and rose to 11 seconds over the
same period in 2007, just short of the ten second target.
The switchboard took 46,603 calls in the third quarter of
2006/07, compared with 41,096 calls in the third quarter of
2007/08, a reduction of 12 per cent. The average response time for
the third quarter of 2006/07 and 2007/08 was ten seconds, an
improvement of one second on the previous quarter. The switchboard
staff also provide the 'meet and greet' service in reception for
visitors to Bishops' College. Visitor figures dropped from 8,529 in
2006 to 6,435 in 2007 and show a less significant drop of 1,065 (14
per cent) from the second quarter of 2007.
Website
Visitor numbers for the website have increased by an average
of 74 per cent in the second and third quarters of
2007/08 compared to the same period in 2006/07.
The website refresh project (WRP) is looking at the current
website and includes an ongoing plan to ensure that the content is
up to date and relevant. Immediacy has been chosen as the new
content management system supplier, as a result of the tender
process. Consultation has taken place with residents, staff and
members to seek their opinions about the Council's current website,
taking into consideration the look and feel, navigation, content
and ease of use to shape the development of the new website.
Consultation will be conducted again six months after
implementation of the new website.
Press office
During the
third quarter of 2007/08, departments either met or exceeded their
targets with the exception of resources. The Council produced 160
press releases compared to the target figure of 150.
If you need to contact the press office, please e-mail press@broxbourne.gov.uk.
Responses to your comments
In addition to responding to your comments, we will use this
space to update you on service improvements resulting from
your comments.
Key Council documents including business plans are available in
the Council's bibliography, for more details e-mail press@broxbourne.gov.uk.