Issue - meetings

Cabinet Member: Cabinet Member for Community and Corporate Services

Forward Plan Ref: 2024/029

Contact: Mark Haynes, Director of Customer and Cultural Services (Mark.Haynes@oxfordshire.gov.uk), Susmita Dave, National Management Trainee (Susmita.Dave@oxfordshire.gov.uk)

Report by Executive Director: People  (CA9)

Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

a)    approve the council’s new Customer Experience Strategy.

b)   endorse that the annual update of the strategy and the action plan should be overseen by the Performance and Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Recommendations approved.

Cabinet had before it a report on the proposed Customer Experience Strategy. Improving customer experience was a key area of focus for the organisation. A wide-ranging programme of work was in place to ensure that interactions with customers were of a consistently high standard and a customer-first approach was at the heart of everything the council does. 

The strategy set the direction for how the council wanted its employees to interact with customers and colleagues as well as emphasising the importance of council values and behaviours.

The aim of the strategy was to demonstrate to customers that the council was putting them first and to ensure everyone across the council understood the importance of good and consistent customer service regardless of their role. The strategy would apply to all council employees and not only the Customer Service Centre.  

Councillor Neil Fawcett, Cabinet Member for Community and Corporate Services, presented the report and referred to an amendment to the introduction to the strategy which clarified its purpose to support customers, residents, local businesses, and community groups.

The Director of Customer and Culture referred to the feedback from customers and internal colleagues which had helped to shape the strategy presented to the Cabinet.  He outlined the main elements of the strategy and emphasised the importance of the core values set out in the document.

During discussion members referred to the ongoing impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on the Council’s services.

Councillor Fawcett moved and Councillor Sudbury seconded the recommendations, and they were approved.

RESOLVED to:

a)    approve the council’s new Customer Experience Strategy.

b)   endorse that the annual update of the strategy and the action plan

should be overseen by the Performance and Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee.