5 Responses

1. David Freemantle’s Model
   Hi Nick
   Have you come across David Freemantle’s work? I created a model using his concept about the most important element to providing a real customer focus was helping customers to like you and your service. This could be influence by the way you demonstrate connection, integrity and creativity. When working with managers I use the model to help them look at how they create an environment that allows these relationships to develop and what they do that can get in the way of this. I have got some notes on it if you want them.
   Enjoy the challenge!
   Christine

2. Customer service
   Nick
   There are some useful ideas and materials at:
   http://www.customerservicemanager.com/
   though not specifically local government related.
   Graham

3. Customer Services Management – Local Government
   Amazingly we had to find an external trainer with a local government focus. He used BEST VALUE benchmarks-the 4’cs and then created 4 E’s and 4’Ds for equality and diversity. He then used transferable customer service learning points from the external world,eg tourism council linked to local government services,and achieved the joined up thinking service by service,dept by dept which is part of Best Value.And the icing on the cake were the performance indicators from the Audit Commission and other external scrutiny agencies,coupled with the las own service delivery agreements in the Corporate Plan. All this led to further joined up training for the new teams,but not new to local government,being redeployed into a one stop shop customer service contact point. A really good approach which I am sure you will be able to emulate against the backcloth of the useful generic material so far suggested by other correspondents.

   Best Wishes

   Jennifer

4. Managing Customer Focus
   I use a model I call “ISA” – you can tell managers it can also lead to savings!
   I – Involve: what is our purpose with customer focus? who are our customers? what are their priorities? how can we best involve them? etc
   S- Sustain: how will we maintain customer focus and integrate with our operations? what will it take to keep customers involved? what plans will we need to make? resources needed etc
   A- Achieve: what are the results we want to get from customer focus? Again, do they match with customer expectations/priorities? How can we acheive some early successes to demonstrate the value of customer focus?
   This is a condensed version but I hope it helps.
   Paul Woolley
   peopleShape

5. A design using Appreciative Inquiry
   Dear Nick

   I give below a link to a design for a half day customer care workshop for a local authority. http://www.nickheap.co.uk/articles.asp?ART_ID=99 This drew on ideas from appreciative inquiry http://ai.cwru.edu It worked well.

   The design includes people thinking about examples of excellent customer service and building a shared vision of what would be happening if excellence was the norm. They then work out what they need to do and the strengths they have to deliver it.

   I hope this helps.

   Best wishes

   Nick