Call Centers
National Customer Service Week: Day Two
A brief recap from yesterday’s great presentation from the General Manager at The Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia, Darryll Adams:
There were a lot of takeaways from Adams’ presentation, but perhaps the most valuable element he brought was opening up the floor for questions and comments. For City workers, having an opportunity to ask a question to an expert outside of the public sector is incredibly valuable. Granted, not everything relates between the two, but the fundamental principles of customer service are universal. Adams pointed out that his employees—no matter if they are on or off the clock—are instilled with a customer-centered attitude. Even when we are not at work our friends, family, and neighbors know that we are city employees, therefore, our actions and attitude should reflect that in our day-to-day lives.
For many departments, customer service is not the highest priority, and that’s why workshops like Darryll’s are important; they are geared towards training and development of the every day heroes. These City employees came out to discuss the importance of quality customer service because they believe in their calling. Getting employees invested in your mission is directly connected to your efficiency. In a cyclical way, when your employees are invested and believe in what they are doing they provide better services and the customer satisfaction rate increases dramatically.
In the private sector, companies compete for customers. The choice of service provider helps keep companies working to improve their services. The customers of the City have their families here. People who choose to work for local government have decided to participate in the civic responsibilities of this city. That is an admirable commitment. Our motivations in the public sector are driven, not by competition, but by the desire to help build a better city for all of us. We want our customers to keep coming back to Philadelphia. As a place to live, start a new business, or to visit and enjoy.
Philly311 named a 2015 United Nations Public Service Award Finalist
I am honored and excited that the City of Philadelphia Philly311 Contact Center was named a finalist for the 2015 United Nations Public Service Award in the category of “Improving the Delivery of Public Services.”
We have grown so much from our days as a startup organization serving 1.5 million residents, businesses, and visitors. The journey has had its challenges, but every step of the way we have learned something valuable about our operations. Today we have revolutionized the traditional 311 operations through a customer centric model. We are changing the culture of city government to be more collaborative, connected, and welcoming.
Philly311 knows that to deliver impeccable services we must meet our customers where they are. Knowing this, we have modernized our system through a new customer relationship management solution, and have taken large strides in connecting with our customers through social media and visual messaging.
In addition to a wide variety of community engagement initiatives we are very proud of our efforts seen through the 311 Neighborhood Liaison program, which has expanded and doubled within the last few years. Philly311 is also the first in the nation to have a mobile app with dynamic language capabilities accessible in 17 different languages.
Hats off to the leadership that provided guidance through our journey, and the United Nations Committee of Experts in Public Administration. And of course, we can’t go without thanking our customers, partners, vendors, staff, and city administration for their ongoing support. We see your support everyday when you connect with us through social media, on our world-class mobile app, and through our many other platforms.
For more information see http://www.unpan.org
Addressing Unexpected Problems on the Road to Progress
My team and I have been working on procuring and implementing a new city wide CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system for nearly two years now. The system will improve the City’s ability to communicate with citizens and internal departments, as well as, create a social platform around 311. The CRM will facilitate collaborations between neighbors and stakeholders encourage them to share practices, and organize events to better their communities.
Like any project, we have experienced ups and downs. I would be lying if I said that the journey hasn’t had unanticipated hiccups. Inevitably with a project of this magnitude, there are bumps in the road. Some of these challenges are foreseeable, and accounted for in the very beginning, and others reveal themselves in the process.
In February 2014 we kicked off our CRM implementation and a new era of citizen engagement in Philadelphia. Before we were able to introduce the project throughout the City, we spent months planning, collecting data, and journey-mapping to ensure that the customers’ needs would be met and their expectations exceeded. Yet in that mission there were some obvious challenges. Anytime you, or a company, are implementing new technology, training your internal customers has to be a high priority. However, who needs to be trained, and when they need to be trained, often fluxes in relation to a number of factors. When schedules, resources, and strategies change in the process, you have to remember to be proactive and not reactive.
Embrace and face change. This isn’t to say that you should spend all your time planning for the unexpected, but to rely on your greater objective as a source to keep from getting discouraged. Part of being a project executive means establishing a strategy to confront the unexpected opposed to simply reacting to them as they come along. Don’t spend too much time planning for what cannot be planned.
The procurement and implementation journey has been long, but certainly worthwhile. With every mention of the new CRM I can’t help but to thank the people who have supported this process. A big thank you to Mayor Nutter, Executive Sponsor and City Managing Director Richard Negrin, Chief Innovation Officer Adel Ebeid, Philly311 staff and our internal and external partners.
Regardless of the inevitable challenges we’ve faced, the ultimate outcome: a transparent government that prioritizes its citizens, is what makes bumps in the road, simply that.
Stay tuned for news of our PhillyInnovates summit on February 18, 2015 with our partners at Salesforce. This will be a huge opportunity for the community to learn about the whos, whats, whys, and hows behind how the City of Philadelphia is connecting with its customers.
Photo by Pulpolux
10 Things Revolutionizing the Customer Experience in City Government in 2015
As the year inches towards a closing, I can’t help but to reflect on all that the City of Philadelphia has accomplished in the past year. With the implementation of a new customer relationship management system, new partnerships, and program expansion, it has been a long year. It has also been a year that has brought us at 311 closer to fully realizing our big goals. We are on the cusp of a movement. We are aggressively steering away from what traditional government has been, revamping our customer service strategy, and leading the nation with an innovative approach. By incorporating private sector methods, and platforms, to better our customer experience, we have been working to revolutionize the way government operates. Here are a few things that are changing city government, and in a very big way.
1. The Customer. Understanding that the citizen is our customer, and using those terms as synonyms, has reoriented our general framework. Our customers are unique because they are citizens! The citizens’ customer experience expands beyond providing city services. Every improvement we make for our customer affects their quality of life.
2. Executive sponsorship from Mayor Nutter and his cabinet. Having people who share your desire to create a city environment of customer excellence, has been imperative to the process.
3. Managing Director, Richard Negrin, follows suit in understanding and supporting our movement towards a progressive and transparent city government. Support from Mayor Nutter, Mayor Nutter’s cabinet, and the Managing Director, influences and facilitates change in every step of the journey. These folks are more than okaying improvements, they are standing by them, and pushing them to the next level.
4. The Mayor’s Goal Five: “Government Efficiency and Effectiveness.” A focus on efficiency and effectiveness is imperative for city government, and the Mayor’s goal five is a constant reminder of what type of experience we should be crafting for our customers. Keeping this in mind, sets a mindset of progress.
5. The Innovation Lab. The Innovation Lab encourages creativity and gives us a designated space for our citizens to generate new ideas. The Lab is another extension of how the city is bringing the customer further into the conversation, and also helping them lead the conversation.
6. The Neighborhood Liaison Program. NLP is just one example of programming that we have implemented to give our customs self sustainable tools. In the last year the program has doubled in size from 600 to 1,200 contributors. This increase demonstrates an increase in trust towards city government. Citizens are seeing results and relying on us more and more.
7. Having a Staff that Cares. Our staff at 311 is always there for the citizens, and realize that they are a direct reflection of the city they work for and love. Understanding our common objective, fosters a motivated and caring internal environment.
8. Customer Service Officers. 311 is no longer limited to City Hall. With people like Customer Service Officers, we are out in the communities and impacting people where it counts.
9. Partnering In and outside of the City. Especially with the implementation of the new customer management system, our partners have played a significant role in helping us move towards our goals this year.
10. Taking Notes from business and tech communities. Paying attention to what private sector companies are doing, and translating them into our own practices, sets us a head of the curve.
The list could easily go on, and will as 2015 unfolds. We are excited about the future and so are the citizens of Philadelphia. Tell me what’s changing your industry and what you look forward to in the New Year.
Stay on the loop. A Customer Service Leadership Must
Keeping current on the latest approaches, strategies, and general news, within your field, is imperative. If you work in the music industry you pay attention to what artists are played on the radio and what labels those artists are affiliated with. As a journalist you read popular publications, and blogs, that respond to your beat. In this sense, customer service is no different than any other field. I follow leaders in customer service on social media, attend and participate in conferences, and read a number of publications to stay current.
Finding information on any field is not difficult! Simply Google “customer service,” and a list of helpful articles from Forbes, or independent blogs, like my own, comes up. Soon, those of us who stay tuned in, develop a relationship with our selected outlets. We determine which sources are reliable, and find a voice that aligns with our values. However, when there is a constant influx of information at your finger tips, it is important to keep in mind what’s pertinent and what you need to keep an eye on; trends become an important factor.
Determining the prevailing tendencies for your customers early-on is the key to success. A few years after 311’s launch, we launched the Philly311 mobile application. The City recognized that “going digital” was more than a wave that government was jumping on, but an approach that we had to adapt to. Making products accessible via smart phones was a no-brainer for private sector businesses, yet the public sector remained several steps behind. As people became increasingly mobile reliant, so did the need for us to be at the forefront of that transition as a municipal agency. Like I told Philadelphia Social Innovations Journal in 2013, we “wanted to bring the 311 service to those who had adapted a mobile lifestyle as well as those living on the other side of the digital divide…The capability to enter service requests from any smart phone was a monumental step forward for the City’s customer service operation, but the mobile app also proved to be a vehicle for a more instantaneous and versatile government.” Creating a tool that lived on the platform our customers were using, connected citizens on a new and better level.
Trends don’t always have to be actions. Often trends are topics of conversation that lead to actions. I recently read an article from The Atlantic, “A New Business Strategy: Treating Employees Well.” The article discussed how more businesses were focusing on their internal customers, and used King Arthur Flours’ bakery’s call center as an example of a business that was excelling in this trend. For me, this is always a topic I am constantly discussing. Programs like the upcoming 311 Customer Service Winter Series–a free event for City of Philadelphia employees, and geared towards internal supervisors–emphasis the need to engage and educate our internal customers. Reading about other business that are discussing similar topics, and successfully acting on them, becomes inspirational and validating.
At times keeping current may seem overwhelming. It is both a pro and a con that we operate in a world where information is readily available, and where global communication occurs in real-time. It is nearly impossible to tab every single article that files into your twitter feed, and more impossible to have time to read every one of them, but regardless, it is a must. If you are not in the loop, you are out of it. There are “must-reads” in every profession, and finding relevant sources is now a part of the job.
Photo by Jennifer Conley
Eliminating the Black Binders and Building Communities
Before the Neighborhood Liaison program I would attend community meeting after community meeting where I would run into the same types of members. Members who were frustrated, who’d been long established fixtures in their neighborhoods, and were seeking answers and change from the City. More than a few times I was presented with big black binders full of personal reports and general community issues. Sitting down, listening to citizen’s frustrations, and flipping through these binders, we became frustrated. Behind every concerned was a community member who was ready to transform their neighborhood into a better place, and we needed to make that a possibility.
At some point everyone in customer service experiences a situation when they have to ask themselves, “what can we do to better the service we are providing?” Sometimes the answer is not as hands-on as we would like it to be. I always think of the Maimonides quote, “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you feed a man for a lifetime.” In this particular scenario the answer was to create a platform for change and provide those who wanted to create that change with the tools to do so. This is how the Neighborhood Liaison Program came to fruition.
The program was created to eliminate the middle man, and have stand-out community leaders bring their neighbors’ concerns straight to Philly311. In short, a Neighborhood Liaison is someone who records items discussed during community meetings and contacts Philly 311 for action and answers. Today we have a system in play that:`
- Provides assurance that an issue was addressed and action is being taken!
- Makes it easy for citizens to use Philly311.
- Centralizes all concerns, and issues of the community, by creating an account for any neighborhood to get action taken
- Provides access to status of issues or concerns at any time by checking the status of the issue through the Philly311 website or contacting or by contacting a local Neighborhood Liaison
- Builds the community by getting people involved
I’m happy to report that I have not been faced with a black binder since we launched the Neighborhood Liaison Program in 2010. The program is self-sustainable in many ways that other government services are not. After training, community members are equipped with the necessary tools to create the change they desire. I like to think that the amount of growth we have seen in the program is indicative of the its success. Last year alone the program doubled from 600 participants to over 1,200. People will fight for positive transformation and it is our job to fight along with them.
Photo by: jkfid’s
#Crisis: How Government Uses Social Media in Emergencies
Hurricane Sandy’s path of destruction affected 24 states, and cost the U.S a total of $65 billion in damages. Nicknamed “Superstorm Sandy,” the hurricane quickly became the most cataclysmic hurricane of 2012. In Philadelphia, public transportation was shut down, Philadelphia International airport suspended flights, and all major highways were closed during the hurricane.
Catastrophes like Hurricane Sandy pose a unique challenge for 311 centers. Every day we at Philly 311 have a duty to provide citizens with factual information and critical answers about City services, but when the City is facing a crisis, the importance of that information is magnified. Citizens look to the City for guidance, and we provide it. One of the most efficient ways to do this is through our social media channels. Here are a few tips I’ve learned through the experience.
Prepare Ahead of Time
Like the hurricane itself, the best way to handle an emergency is to prepare for it ahead of time. During Hurricane Sandy this meant, using our resources and collecting data before the panic, and staying up to date on the storm’s progress.
Have a Practice in Place
In order to be affective during a crisis you have to have a strategy in place. Social media strategies are not born over night, and they certainly are not created on-the-fly during emergencies. Strategies take time and practice to develop. Know your company or departments goals, identity, objectives, and customers before jumping into an all around high-risk situation.
Keep Your Message Consistent
When people are panicked there tends to be a lot of miscommunication and inaccurate information circulating. As a source of data and a connection to City services, we can’t risk pumping out false information. False information during times of crisis can lead to people getting hurt. Refrain from reposting information from unknown sources.
Stay Calm
It is easy to get overwhelmed during a crisis, especially when you have an influx of people contacting you and reporting the same issues. However panicking doesn’t help anyone. Find effective ways to save time, don’t let customers get lost in the shuffle, and treat everyone with care and consideration. Customer service should not get lost during these moments, it should shine!
Our social media platforms were crucial in handling Hurricane Sandy and helped extended the City’s reach. During the storm our followers nearly doubled, demonstrating how citizens were collecting information, and connecting with the City of Philadelphia. People use the internet to connect with social media not to search for information. We provide people with a single, real time, and responsive platform to receive the information that they needed most in order to guarantee their safety.
Photo by: MattysFlicks
Philly 311 Empowers the Community with Multichannel Service
Customer Experience Excellence Best Practices
2013 Global Contact Center Awards finalist Philly 311 empowers the Philadelphia community by providing quality multichannel customer service. Watch the video for a behind the scenes look at how they do it.
See on www.icmi.com
5 Things to Think About When Creating a Social Media Content Strategy
An article discussing five things to think about when creating a social media content strategy.
See on www.socialmediopolis.com
Keep Customers Coming Back with Social Media Customer Service
Social media is continuing to grow as a customer service channel, but is unlike any of its predecessors.
Very interesting article. Plan to incorporate some of these practices into the contact center operations.
See on sococare.com
Innovative Customer Service Leadership Strategies 