Date: 18 August 2006 17:18

CARING FOR THE CUSTOMER - IN RECORD TIME

Thousands of callers to the Cambridgeshire County Council contact centre are 
now having their enquiries dealt with in record time, the latest statistic 
show.

In June more than 40,000 people contacted the Centre in St Ives to request 
help or information on a range of services provided by the County Council 
and relevant partner agencies. The number of calls was 26% higher than for 
the same month in 2005.

In total 98% of calls were answered by Contact Centre staff at the first 
time of asking, 84% of them within 20 seconds, which was well in excess of 
the 80% target. Cambridgeshire Direct also handles enquiries on behalf of 
South Cambridgeshire District Council and in June 87% of their calls were 
answered within 10 seconds against a target of 80%.

Calls relating to Libraries, Blue Badge parking permits, waste management, 
highway and footway repairs, traffic signals and Social Services for 
children and adults and services provided by South Cambridgeshire District 
Council are all in a days work for the Cambridgeshire Direct Team who work 
8.00am to 8.00 pm, six days a week, Monday to Saturday.

County Councillor John Reynolds, Lead portfolio holder for Environment & 
Community Services, said: "Cambridgeshire Direct has been very successful 
since it opened in 2003 and demand for information, support and services has 
consistently exceeded expectations and I am delighted that our staff have also 
performed so well to meet the needs of the Cambridgeshire public.

"The Contact Centre is a good example of the Council's commitment to 
customer care which includes services and information provided outside of 
traditional office hours and the ability to find information and access 
services via the internet."

New and existing Contact Centre staff participate in ongoing training to 
hone their skills and equip them with the knowledge needed to give an 
informed and expert response to callers and more than 80% of calls are 
resolved by Cambridgeshire Direct staff in the first instance without the 
need to refer the caller on.

Call handlers employed by Huntingdonshire District Council share the 
buildings and telephony systems which are managed and maintained by the 
County Council.

The Contact Centre is part of the County Council's commitment to make 
services and information available to the public for extended hours out of 
the normal working day.

From the start the County Council adopted a partnership approach and worked 
with other local authorities in Cambridgeshire to provide seamless access to 
services wherever possible.

 The telephone contact centre service also frees up other council officers 
to concentrate on delivering front-line services to the community.

John Reynolds