Dover District Council

Outcome of Expression of Interest: Not shortlisted

Dover District Council wants to improve ways for residents to access Council services.  In particular, we want to make it easier for people to connect with us online. We want to investigate and understand better why citizens are choosing to call for common enquiries when a more efficient solution is available online.   The continued reliance on telephone based enquiries is creating inefficiencies and increasing costs for both the Council and the citizen.

A review of the statistics from our Contact Centre shows an increase in the number of calls received across all of the Council’s services,  relating to basic service delivery questions, such as “When is my bin collected?”, “Do I need a parking permit?” etc.  These low level calls are diverting resources away from more complex customer enquiries, resulting in longer call wait times.  There is evidence that customers are making repeat phone calls to check on the status of their existing enquiry.

Looking at the experience of other authorities in achieving efficiencies in customer contact.  Many have used AI as an effective way to resolve customer enquiries. It can add value to the customer experience through automation, standardisation, and better data to improve decision making.

  • Digital and agile awareness
  • Introduction to user research
  • Introduction to service design
  • Introduction to digital business analysis

Other training requests

Possible software specific training and development.