city of philadelphia customer service officers program manual

Rosetta Carrington Lue

Chief Customer Service Officer

City of Philadelphia

May 2012

THE APPROACH TO BUILDING A CULTURE OF

CUSTOMER SERVICE EXCELLENCE

Office of the Managing Director

Rosetta C. Lue, Chief Customer Service Officer DRAFT Version 1.1. 2

Customer Service Support Plan

Overview

OBJECTIVE The intent of the Customer Service Strategy Support plan is to

outline recommendations to assist the important Administrative

Departments to achieve their respective customer service

goals and performance objectives:

Create and maintain a culture of customer service

excellence through a formalized program

Drive results which exceed customer expectations

Link Customer Satisfaction survey ratings directly to

employee performance

OBSERVATIONS & FINDINGS

While the elements of good customer service have either

been in place in some of the Administrative Departments or

have recently been developed, there is no formalized strategy

that pulls them together and places each element of the

Department’s customer service into the larger context of

customer service.

Internal

Different customer service cultures within each department

Low customer focus, limited understanding of how

individual functions related to customer delivery

No common performance metrics or performance linkage

to employee’s annual review

External

Customer Service reputation not strong

Inconsistent “look and feel” and customer experience

across customer touch points

Timeliness and extra mile needed special attention in City

of Philadelphia

Lack of vision failed to communicate a service focused

organization with a single vision focused on Customer

Service excellence

EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW

The Office of the Managing Director,

on behalf of the City of Philadelphia,

strives to achieve customer service

excellence for high quality,

responsiveness and cost effective

public services through an innovate

Customer Service plan and renewed

focus on customer service across

vital agencies.

Through its Service Framework, the

Office of the Managing Director

recognizes the need for enterprise

management of end-to-end service

delivery across an integrated

network of service channels. The

linkage between employee

engagement, performance

management and customer

satisfaction is critical to the Service

Framework.

RECOMMENDATION

Select and appoint the Office of

the Managing Director Chief

Customer Service Officer

Create a 5-point Administrative

Customer Service Support Plan

Appoint Senior Team Customer

Service Officers

Create Customer Service

Management Advisory Council


“Customer service is

meeting the needs and

exceeding the

expectations of the

Customer as defined by

the Customer.”

— Richard Negrin, City of

Philadelphia Managing Director

Customer Service Performance

Management Support Plan

While the elements of good customer service have either been

in place in some of the Administrative Departments or have

recently been developed, there is no formalized strategy that

pulls them together and places each element of the

Department’s customer service in the larger context of

customer service.

The intent of the Customer Service Performance Management

Support program is to outline a plan of support to the individual

departments within the Office of the Managing Director to help

them achieve their customer service goals and performance

objectives.

This Customer Service Support Plan will focus on the following

Office the Managing Director Administrative Departments:

Department of Technology

Human Resources

Records

Public Property

Procurement

Fleet Management

311 Contact Center


Customer Service Performance

Management Support Plan

GOALS

Successful implementation of the Customer Service support

program requires the Administrative Departments work towards

creating a department specific Customer Service Plan:

1. Implement a Customer Experience Management Strategy

2. Expand the Customer Service Leadership Academy Training

Program

3. Create a “Voice of the Customer Program” process to identify

and prioritize customers' needs and wants to improve service

quality.

4. Enhance the Ease by which a Customer Contact and Interact

With the Department

5. Communicate Service Standards and Performance Results

ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMENT CUSTOMER SERVICE PLAN

For each of the five goals set out in the previous section, a

Customer Service Plan must be created and utilized by each

Department to achieve each goal.

Implement a Customer Experience Management

Strategy

The Administrative Departments must move towards creating a

“Culture of Customer Service.” They must clearly define what their

goals and expectations are around delivering world-class

customer service. Senior management must set the overall vision of

what constitutes excellent customer service.

Develop a Customer Skills Training Program – Customer

Service Leadership Academy

It is critical for a department to provide training for the skills

necessary to enhance and increase the efficiency and

effectiveness of the leadership and front-line staff with their

customers. An on-going customer service training program,

housed under the Customer Service Leadership Academy, aims to

enhance the performance of the customer organizational staff as

they provide the highest level of customer service delivery to both

internal and external customers.

OBJECTIVE

Support the Administrative

Departments within the Office

of the Managing Director to

create and maintain a culture

of customer service excellence

and to drive results, which

exceeds customer

expectations.

“Customer Service is

not a Department, it’s

an attitude! Unless you

have 100% customer

satisfaction…you must

improve. ”

— Rosetta Carrington Lue

City of Philadelphia Chief

Customer Officer

.”


Create a Voice of the Customer Program

Customer feedback and monitoring should sit at the core of

the department customer service strategy. It involves the

ongoing process of:

Setting standards through customer service charter(s);

Communicating these to the customers;

Capturing customer feedback through the various

systems;

Reviewing performance; and

Using the outcome of this review process to revise the

customer service standards contained in the customer

service charter to ensure continuous improvement.

Making It Easy For the Customer to Contact and

Interact With the Department – Service Delivery

Framework

It is not always easy for customers to communicate with a

department or have access to senior management. Each

Department should investigate ways to improve the

various customer contact channels which include

telephone, letter, e-mail, face-to-face and website.

Communication of Service Standards and

Performance Results Clear and concise goals must be established for all

Administrative Departments. Every employee, from executive

management to front-line, must be committed to this new

direction, and all must be given the necessary support to

achieve these goals.

Customer Service Officers and Customer Service

Management Advisory Council Programs

With a new focus on customer service, it is important to

implement a customer satisfaction survey program and

expand the current customer service metrics. Both results will

be reviewed by the Customer Service Officers and Customer

Service Management Advisory Council. The survey results can

be used to develop customer service goals on both

Departmental and Divisional levels.

VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER PROGRAM


Customer Service Officers (CSO) Program

TEAM STRUCTURE

The Department Customer Service

Officers will be selected and

appointed by the Department

Commissioner or Director and will be

a member of the Senior

Management team for the

Department.

The Customer Service Officer (CSO)

will be appointed from the following

Office of Managing Director

Administrative Departments:

Division of Technology

Human Resources

Records

Public Property

Procurement

Fleet Management

PURPOSE

To assist and support the Administrative Departments achieve

their respective customer service goals and performance

objectives, a Customer Service Officer (CSO) program will be

launched to further refine and develop the leadership and

customer experience management skills within each

respective Department.

The Customer Service Officer also supports the PhillyStat

program as the Department’s Senior Leader Customer Service

subject matter expert during PhillyStat sessions.

Key Profile Selection Characteristics:

Positive Attitude

Adaptable and Patient

Change Agent Professional

Commitment to Customer Satisfaction

Requirements & Expectations

An ideal Customer Service Officer will be able to commit to

this position for a minimum of one year in addition to their

current job title within their respective Admin Department

Availability is an absolute necessity if considering this role

A minimum of five (5) hours weekly should be allotted for

training during the first 90 days and then ONE Service

Management Advisory Council

Training would consist of in-class formal and informal

instructor based training on various Customer Service

Management courses (include homework assignments)

CSOs will attend PhillyStat sessions as the Senior Customer

Service subject matter expert who reports on key Customer

Service metrics and drive improved results

CSOs could act in a Train-the-Trainer role for each

Department

There is no additional financial compensation for this

position

MEETINGS

The Customer Service Management Advisory Council will

administer monthly review meetings with the Customer Service

Officers to discuss service updates, ongoing projects

specifically targeted towards improvement of customer

service and appropriate actions arising from discussions.


Customer Service Management Advisory Council

A Customer Service Management Advisory Council will be created, consisting of:

Chief Customer Service Officer

Labor Relations Director

Department Customer Service Officers

Division of Technology

Human Resources

Records

Public Property

Procurement

Fleet Management

Customer Service Subject Matter Experts

Plus, other appropriate members of the senior

management staff or other designated

external stakeholders.

The Customer Service Management Advisory

Council should hold monthly review meetings

to discuss service updates, ongoing projects

specifically targeted towards improvement of

customer service and appropriate actions

arising from discussions.

The Customer Service Advisory Management

Council will brief the Managing Director on a

quarterly basis.

PURPOSE

Proactively promote an environment that exceeds

customer expectations and responds to challenging

situations with practical yet efficient solutions to ensure

customer service excellence.

RECOMMENDATION

It is recommended the Managing Director institute a

governance structure which includes the creation of

an Internal Customer Service Management Advisory

Council. The Council will function as a Standing

Committee to provide technical assistance and

advisory support to the Administrative Departments to

achieve their customer service performance standards

and related strategy goals outlined in this document.

QUALIFICATIONS CRITERIA

To ensure an effective and functional team, the

subject matter experts on the Council should be skilled

communicators and should bring a unique perspective

to the every-day challenges the Department Customer

Service Officers are facing.

Review the Administrative Department Customer

Satisfaction Survey Results

Review of the Administrative Department’s customer

feedback process

Review of the Administrative Department’s action

plans to create and maintain a Culture of Customer

Service Excellence environment

Advise on the expertise and resources required to

achieve success

Review the effectiveness of the Office of the

Managing Director Customer Service Academy

customer service training program

Rosetta C. Lue, 311 Contact Center Director DRAFT Version 1.1. 8

Customer Service Support Services Milestones

Drive to Customer Service Excellence Strategic Plan

Milestones Estimated Completion

“Drive to Customer Service Excellence” Program Customer

Service Communications Approved June 3, 2012

Appointment of the Department Customer Service Officers June 15, 2012

Customer Service Officers - Orientation August 17, 2012

“Drive to Customer Service Excellence” Workshop #1

Topic: Defining the End-User Customer September 14, 2012


Topic: Customer Feedback: Real or Fiction September 21, 2012


Topic: Creating A Culture of Excellence September 28, 2012

PhillyStat Performance Team Workshop #1

Topic: Designing Customer Satisfaction Survey Methodology October 5, 2012


Topic: Customer Service Satisfaction Survey Review October 12, 2012


Customer Service Satisfaction Survey Program Completed and

Baseline Results Communicated

October 19, 2012


PhillyStat Customer Service Metrics Design Workshops October 26, 2012

Appointment of Customer Service Management Advisory

Council Month of October 2012

PhillyStat Performance Team

Expanded customer service metrics approved Month of November 2012

Departmental Customer Service Officers & Customer Service

Management Council monthly meetings Month of January 2012

city of philadelphia customer service officers program manual

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