HomeMy WebLinkAboutSBStat 2022 - Customer Service Q2SBStat | Customer Service
2 0 2 2 Q u a r t e r 2 | J u l y 1 2 , 2 0 2 2
C i t y o f S o u t h B e n d
Citywide Performance
Management
departmentsEmpower
servicesDesign dataFocus on
1
4
2 3
1.Make the basics easy
2.Deliver good government
3.Invest in people and places
Our Process:
Our Goals:
residents’ livesImprove
This SB Stat Meeting
In the administration In the community
EXCELLENCE
For each major area of service delivery, establish South Bend as the best in the state, and/or in the top
25% nationally, measuring and reporting progress.
Establish a path for major indicators of resident well-being to reach the status of best-in-state or top-25%
nationally, including the means to measure progress.
ACCOUNTABILITY
Put residents first always, offering services at the greatest value to the taxpayer, with clear and transparent indications of how the government is
using public resources.
Promote a culture of civic engagement in which we hold one another to a high standard of respect, stewardship,
and support for our shared community.
INNOVATION
Deliver better services more efficiently by introducing creative approaches to government operations, questioning habit and using evidence to
continually improve.
Foster a culture of innovation in South Bend’s social and private sectors, seeking and developing the best ideas
and practices from within and beyond our city limits.
INCLUSION
Ensure the city administration, as an employer and as
a purchaser, reflects the community it serves and includes diverse voices in our decision-making and
actions.
Develop a community in which everyone has an equal
opportunity to thrive by expanding access and participation to all, incorporating diverse voices
throughout the city.
EMPOWERMENT
Establish a work environment that enables
employees to contribute richly to the administration and the community, taking pride and ownership in
our work.
Support the ability of all residents to live a safe, healthy, meaningful life in South Bend, contributing as they are able and benefiting from all that our community offers.
SBStat 2022
Customer Service Portfolio Summary
SBStat projects in the queue for 2022
Project Brief Description Status
Leverage delinquency and code data to find best eviction prevention intervention window
Predictive analysis project informing a 311/EEE pilot In-progress
More generous, efficient "shut-off"
process
New shut-off process map; preliminary
analysis of process In-progress
Improve Solid waste missed pick-up and EPU policies Cost-benefit analysis + new policy recs Not started
Improve pothole response time SLA analysis; Design and conduct pilot with
streets; deliver pilot results Not started
Improve customer interactions with
frontline Utility Staff
Analysis of post-call surveys; proposed
scripts/processes for identified pain points In-progress
Plan for the "One Stop Shop" for
Customer Service at new City Hall
Best practices from similar set-ups in other
cities and the private sector; Proposed Plan
for new South Bend City Hall
Not started
SBStat 2022
Today’s Agenda
1.Data overview from previous Stat meeting
•Reviewing Customer Service KPIs
2.Deep-dive analysis & discussion
•Reviewing data from the 311 after call survey + proposed changes
•Augmenting 311 Utilization in the City of South Bend
•Reviewing results from the in-person utility survey
3.Celebrating our values
SBStat 2022
Data overview from previous
Stat meeting
Summarizing data points and statistics from the past quarter related to core operations
SBStat 2022
Customer Service KPIs
Customer Service KPIs 2021 Q1 2021 Q2 2022 Q1 2022 Q2
Calls 30,872 29,477 21,895 26,395
% Transferred calls 11.96%8.00%8.27%8.77%
% Calls result in service
request 14.21%19.72%17.16%20.66%
Service requests per
capita 0.05 0.06 0.05 0.06
% Service requests from
portal *new*3.00%3.74%17.31%5.11%
SBStat 2021
Top Calls
Team Call Topic
2021
Q1
2021
Q2
2022
Q1
2022
Q2
Solid Waste Request an Extra Trash Pickup 3010 4064 2379 3630
Utilities Account Balance & Due Date 3111 1884 1304 1143
311 311 Customer Service Survey 1457
Top Service Requests
Team Article linked to service request 2021 Q1 2021 Q2 2022 Q1 2022 Q2
Utilities Update Utility Account Information 916 490 333 381
Neighborhood Services & Enforcement Litter Neighborhood Services & Enforcement Violation 289 382 273 415
Solid Waste Customer Disputes 148 251 230 276
SBStat 2022
Observations Actions
% Service requests from portal decreased
from 17.31% in Q1 to 5.11% in Q2
•Top request was Christmas Tree
Pickup Requests in Q1 (12%, 576)
and decreased in Q2 (.01%, 1)
•2021 –Solid Waste picked up 1228
trees
•2022 –Solid Waste picked up 1062
trees
•2022 –We converted from Microsoft
Form to public Service Portal form
Idea:Increase portal service requests by:
•Creating public Service Portal forms
for high-call topics
•Request an Extra Trash Pickup
•Account Balance and Due Date
Idea: Increase portal service requests by:
•Converting other existing Microsoft
Forms to public Service Portal forms
SBStat 2022
Deep-dive analysis & discussion
Diving deep into a few key initiatives being undertaken to improve city performance
SBStat 2022
Reviewing data from the 311
after call survey + proposed
changes
SBStat 2022
Background
•Start date: April 27, 2022
•Current phone lines:
•311
•Utilities
•Morris Performing Arts Center Box Office (in-progress)
Outcome
Improve customer service phone interactions
Goal
Understand resident sentiment on: Customer Satisfaction,
Friendliness, Knowledge, Timeliness, Resolution, Transfer call
SBStat 2022
Survey prompt
Thank you for participating in our survey.
Please rate your experience for each
question on a scale of 1 to 5 by pressing
the number on your keypad, with 1 being
very dissatisfied and 5 being very
satisfied.
SBStat 2022
Questions
Q1 Customer
Satisfaction
•311 -How would you rate your satisfaction with your 311 call today?
•Utilities -How would you rate your satisfaction with your call with the
City of South Bend Utility today?
•Non-call queue -How would you rate your satisfaction with your call to
a City department?
Q2 Friendliness How would you rate your satisfaction with the friendliness of the agent who
handled your call?
Q3 Knowledge How would you rate your satisfaction with the knowledge of the agent who
handled your call?
Q4 Timeliness How would you rate your satisfaction with your call’s wait time?
Q5 Resolution Was your request resolved today? Press 1 for Yes and 2 for No
Q6 Resolution Is this your first time calling about this request? Press 1 for Yes and 2 for No
Q7 For non-311
survey lines only
Was your call transferred to X department from the City’s 311 Center? Press
1 for Yes and 2 for No.
SBStat 2022
Responses on 311 line
SBStat 2022
Responses on 311 line
SBStat 2022
Observations
No complete responses on the
utilities line
Investigate this further with
utilities team
Current reports don’t give
additional call information (i.e.
agent name, call time, call topic,
etc.)
Access after call survey data
through direct database access
The lowest satisfaction rating is
with Timeliness
17% of calls aren’t resolved the
first time and 31% of calls are
callbacks
Investigate this further after
getting more data from direct
database access
Actions
SBStat 2022
Discussion
•Are you interested in improving any specific metrics? (ex: timeliness, resolving calls the first time, etc.)
•Do you want to see additional data related to the 311 after call survey?
SBStat 2022
Augmenting 311 Utilization in
the City of South Bend
Juliahna Green
Master of Public Policy graduate ‘22
Harvard Kennedy School of Government
Previous Experience
BOSTON, MA
Digital Services
MANCHESTER, UK
Homelessness
CAMBRIDGE, MA
Waste Reduction
CLEARWATER, FL
Low-Income Communities
BIRMINGHAM, AL
Police Reform
SOUTH BEND, IN
Social Assistance
Inspiration
SB311|City of South Bend
Focus groups with
36 South Bend
residents
Interviews with
3 South Bend
community
groups
13 interviews with
6 members of city
staff
Interviews with
5 other cities
Data collected
from 14 other
cities.
SB311|City of South Bend
Methodology
311 Utilization in South Bend
•In 2020, South Bend had 0.155 requests per capita
•Similarly sized cities ranged from 0.072 to 1.323requests per capita
•Cambridge, MA: 0.175
•Gary, IN: 0.072
•Grand Rapids, MI: 0.406
•Hampton, VA: 0.392
•McAllen, TX: 0.835
•Newport News, VA: 0.267
•Revere, MA: 0.130
•Somerville, MA: 1.323
SB311|City of South Bend
Challenge
•In focus groups with South Bend residents, the majority of participants either hadn’t heard of 311 or had concerns about the service preventing them from using 311.
•33%of focus group participants had never heard of 311
•25%of focus group participants said they weren’t confident that the city would address their concern if they called 311
SB311|City of South Bend
Why does this matter?
“The biggest problems cities face are not efficiency problems. They’re participatory problems. They’re democracy problems.” -Mitch Weiss
•As the city of New Orleans has identified, every time a resident uses 311 is a “moment that matters.”
•If many residents haven’t even heard of 311, how are they contacting the city?
•Operationally vital feedback
Recommendations
Service
Delivery Time
Audit
SB311 Block
Ambassador
Program
Service
Completion
Notifications
Updated
Social Media
Strategy
Updated
SB311
Dashboard
SB311
Updates in
Quarterly
Meetings
Non-
traditional
advertising
locations
Expand SB311
Outreach
Budget
SB311|City of South Bend
Recommendation #1: SB311 Block Ambassador
Program
“311 needs to act like its running for office. I want a 311 month where I see flyers for 311 everywhere I go, advertisements all over social media, and someone comes knocking on my door to tell me more.”
•25% of participants said they weren’t confident that the city would address their concern if they called 311
•39%of focus group participants said the best way to reach more people in their neighborhood about 311 is by word-of-mouth.
•Other cities employing resident-led community engagement strategies:
•Chicago Community Roundtable Series
•Austin Zero Waste Block Leaders Program
•San Jose Community Messengers Program
SB311|City of South Bend
Recommendation #1: SB311 Block Ambassador
Program
“There’s always those neighborhood people who know absolutely everyone. They’re super spreaders but for information.”
•Assisting other community members in making 311 reports
•Making SB311 presentations at neighborhood association meetings, churches, schools, and other community groups
•Leading community members in walking audits
•Door-to-door canvassing with information on 311 and other relevant city services
•Create relevant social media content
•Table at relevant community events
SB311|City of South Bend
Recommendation #1: SB311 Block Ambassador
Program
•This program will be particularly effective at reaching traditionally hard-to-reach groups:
•“Word-of-mouth is the best way to reach the black community. We won’t read mail but we’ll listen to people we trust.”
•“My friends and family are primarily Spanish speakers. We work in fields and factories. None of the city’s advertising ever reaches us. How would we have known that 311 has a Spanish speaking help line?”
•“I’ve never used 311 because I thought they didn’t have accommodations for hearing impaired people. Now that I know I can use the 311 website, I will definitely use the service and show others in the hearing-impaired community how to do it.”
SB311|City of South Bend
Recommendation #2: Update the SB311 social
media strategy
•In 2021, the city only made one post about SB311 on Facebook, although this post lead to an appreciable increase in 311 requests.
•In focus groups, 22% of participants hadn’t used 311 because they weren’t sure which city services they could request using 311
•Potential strategies to rectify this:
•Highlight a different city service that can be requested through SB311 every month
•Share success stories from users
•Showcase trends in 311 data
•Highlight different methods for submitting a 311 request
•Clarify distinctions between 311 and other services
•Use paid social media advertising for SB311
SB311|City of South Bend
Recommendation #2: Update the SB311 social
media strategy
•“On a whim, I
called about a
hanging wire. Who
knew you could
call 311 for
something like
that?”
•22% of participants
hadn’t used 311
because they
weren’t sure which
city services they
could request using
311
SB311|City of South Bend
Recommendation #2: Update the SB311 social
media strategy
•“When you advertise,
include statistics to
prove the worth of the
service.”
•13% of participants
mentioned publicizing
311 data as an effective
way to reach people in
their neighborhood
about SB311
SB311|City of South Bend
Recommendation #2: Update the SB311 social
media strategy
•“I’m up on technology stuff
and I had no idea that 311
had a website… Here’s this
website with such great
infrastructure and I never
knew about it. At the end of
311 calls, maybe you can
also let people know about
the 311 website.”
•13% of participants who
hadn’t used 311 previously
said that the reason was that
they didn’t know there were
online and voicemail options
for requesting services.
SB311|City of South Bend
Recommendation #3: Utilize non-traditional
advertising locations
“Water bill ads only reach people who are already engaged with the city and are going to take the time to read extra information.”
•Schools
•“I don’t check my mail for a week at a time, but I never miss the flyers that come home with my kids.”
•Libraries
•“So many people are used to going to librarians for services, why not train librarians on how to help people with 311? Librarians could even give out 311 bookmarks.”
•Churches
•“If you want to reach the Spanish speaking population, you need to go to the churches.”
•Buses and bus stops
•“I’m just sitting there anyways, you might as well use the opportunity to show me an ad about 311.”
•City vehicles
SB311|City of South Bend
Recommendation #4: Increase SB311’s
community engagement budget
•Currently, the city allocates $5,000 annually for advertising 311, less than 1% of its overall budget for 311.
•If the city is going to reach residents that haven’t heard of SB311 yet, it will need to not only reallocate its existing marketing budget to the community engagement strategies above, but also significantly expand that budget.
SB311|City of South Bend
Recommendation #5: Audit service delivery time
“I always ask myself ‘is this a fight worth fighting’ before I call the city because they never help me with my requests and I know I’ll have to call several more times to get anything done.”
•South Bend residents are concerned that service requests would not be met or would be met but at differing levels of speed and quality between neighborhoods.
•SLAs can’t always be measured
•No widely adopted protocol for closing out service requests makes it impossible to measure service delivery
•Makes it difficult to audit whether services are being delivered equitably
•Service ex.
SB311|City of South Bend
Recommendation #6: Provide service completion
notifications
“I felt like I got the runaround when I called. No one ever followed up with me and my issue was never addressed so I’ve never called them again.”
•In focus groups with South Bend residents, nearly all participants that identified as having a negative experience with SB311 said that the cause of their negative experience was not receiving follow-up on their service request and/or not having their service request completed.
•However, the city of South Bend does not have a clear, standardized protocol for notifying residents when their service requests have been completed.
SB311|City of South Bend
Recommendation #7: Update the SB311 data
dashboard
“Launch a campaign all about the data on 311. If not enough people are using the service or if some neighborhoods need to use it more, you should make the data available.”
•13% of participants mentioned publicizing 311 data as an effective way to reach people in their neighborhood about SB311
SB311|City of South Bend
Recommendation #7: Update the SB311 data
dashboard
SB311|City of South Bend
Recommendation #8: Incorporate SB311 updates into
quarterly NeighborhoodStat meetings
SB311|City of South Bend
•Last quarter was the first time that a discussion of SB311 data was incorporated into a NeighborhoodStatmeeting.
•Other cities, such as Baltimore, Somerville, New York City, have shown that performance management around service delivery yields significant benefits:
•more equitable and efficient delivery of services
•increased accountability amongst city departments
Recommendations
Service
Delivery Time
Audit
SB311 Block
Ambassador
Program
Service
Completion
Notifications
Updated
Social Media
Strategy
Updated
SB311
Dashboard
SB311
Updates in
Quarterly
Meetings
Non-
traditional
advertising
locations
Expand SB311
Outreach
Budget
SB311|City of South Bend
SBStat 2021
Service Delivery Time
Audit
SB311 Block Ambassador Program
Service
Completion Notifications
Updated Social Media Strategy
Updated SB311
Dashboard
SB311 Updates in
Quarterly
Meetings
Non-
traditional
advertising
locations
Expand SB311
Outreach
Budget
ImpactEffortRecommendations
SBStat 2021
Do it now Do it next
Do it when there’s time Do it if there’s time
Service
Delivery Time Audit
SB311 Block
Ambassador
Program
Service
Completion
Notifications
Updated
Social Media Strategy
Updated
SB311 Dashboard
SB311
Updates in
Quarterly
Meetings
Non-
traditional advertising locations
Expand
SB311 Outreach Budget
Recommendations
Resident Feedback
•“I never knew that this service existed but now you’ve really made a disciple out of me. I’ve got a lot of things I can report and starting tomorrow the city will be hearing from me.”
•“After this, I want to help spread the word about 311. I could even advertise the service in my salon.”
•“I’d love to be almost like a representative for the program. Each of us can call at least four people after this.”
•“I now consider myself the 311-point-person for the neighborhood. I’ll help others in my community.”
•“We need to see the city at more events like this and we need to learn to use 311 more.”
SB311|City of South Bend
SBStat 2022
Questions?
SBStat 2022
Reviewing results from the in-
person utility survey
SBStat 2022
Utility pay survey background
Some residents prefer paying their utility bill at the utilities office. After discussing different payment options at Q4 stat, we wanted to understand:
•Why residents prefer to pay in person vs. other options
•If they pay other non-City bills in person
•Customer priorities for a better payment experience
Start date: March 2, 2022
End date: June 7, 2022
SBStat 2022
Survey updates
•Randomized survey multiple choice to reduce first-and last-choice bias
•Added Office and Drive thru on surveys to more accurately track source
•Updated second question to Do you pay your other bills online (for example: rent, electricity, phone, etc.)?
Survey limitations
•Low engagement from non-English speakers (1 response from a Spanish speaker)
•Didn’t ask people about non-payment visits to the utilities office
SBStat 2022
Results
Summary
•Top reason for in-person payments: Habit and Trust
•Other reasons:
•Cash
•Customer service
•Drive Thru
•Majority have low online payment engagement for other bills.
•Payment priorities:
•Online experience
•Consistency
•Physical access
•Feeling heard
SBStat 2022
Results
Detailed summary
Survey goal #1: Why
do residents prefer in-
person payments?
•Top 4 reasons why people pay in person:
•Habit
•Trust
•Cash
•Customer Service
•79% (27) of survey responses came through the drive-thru.
Survey goal #2: Do
residents pay other
non-City bills in
person?
•62% (21) people who pay in-person do not pay other bills online.
Survey goal #3: What
do customers want to
improve about
payments?
•People want to improve the payment experience by:
•Making online payments easier
•Keeping things consistent
•Improving physical access
•Listening to us
SBStat 2022
Connecting feedback to a roadmap for improving the utility payment experience
Outcome
Make it easier to pay a utility bill and get answers to
questions outside of the utilities office
Goal
Increase use of existing payment options
outside of the utilities office
Goal
Provide alternative payment options to
the utilities office that still emphasize:
•Trust, Cash, Customer Service, Drive
Thru, Non-online payments
Initiatives
•Improve online utilities payment
experience
•Improve access to online utilities
information on 311 Service Portal
Initiatives
•Future City hall one-stop shop
•Drug store partnerships
•Kiosks
SBStat 2022
Discussion
•Which initiatives do we want to move forward with now? Later?
•Should we explore any issues further?
SBStat 2022
Results
Survey Sources
Drive thru,
27, 79%
Office, 6,
18%
Mail, 1,
3%Drive thru 27
Office 6
Mail*1
Grand Total 34
*One respondent mailed
back their survey to the
utility office
SBStat 2022
Results
Q1 -Why do you pay your utility bill in person?* (Check all that apply)
1
1
1
1
3
7
9
14
14
Count of Online - I don't feel comfortable paying online
Count of Drive thru - I like the drive thru
Count of Downtown - I was in the area
Count of Other ways -I don’t know other ways to pay
Count of Cash - Cash is the only way to pay my bill
Count of Customer service - I want to talk to someone
Count of Cash - I just prefer paying in cash
Count of Trust - I want to make sure my bill is paid
Count of Habit -I’m used to paying in person
Why do you pay your utility bill in person?
SBStat 2022
Results
Q2 –New Do you pay your other bills online (for example: rent, electricity, phone, etc.)?
No 21
Yes 10
Blank 3
Grand Total 34
Yes, 10, 29%
No, 21, 62%
Blank, 3, 9%
SBStat 2022
Results
Q3 -How can we make paying your utility bill easier?
Make online
payments easier
•? trying to do more online, no time
•Easier format to do autopay or just to jump online to pay bill!
Keep things
consistent
•Keep drive through open please
•Stop changing due dates
•Paying in person is a way to speak with customer service. It is a pleasure to the bill to speak with a person and not a machine
Improve physical
access
•bigger parking lot
•It's far
Listen to us •change my due slate; when aid stops; I'll be past due each month. Really listen to us before money is spent and plans are set in
stone. Please
SBStat 2022
Celebrating our values
This section highlights exemplary work happening in the City to improve performance that may otherwise go unnoticed
SBStat 2022
Increased UAP enrollment from increased outreach
May outreach efforts
•Outreach team passed out 1290 flyers
•In the first 2 weeks of May, called residents with delinquent bills who received a flyer to help sign up for UAP
•Ran Facebook ads
•Attended neighborhood association meetings to talk about UAP
!