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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - November 13, 2018 SSLODI CITY COUNCIL SHIRTSLEEVE SESSION CARNEGIE FORUM, 305 WEST PINE STREET TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2018 A. Roll Call by City Clerk An Informal Informational Meeting ("Shirtsleeve" Session) of the Lodi City Council was held Tuesday, November 13, 2018, commencing at 7:04 a.m. Present: Council Member Chandler, Council Member Kuehne, and Mayor Nakanishi Absent: Council Member Johnson, and Mayor Pro Tempore Mounce Also Present: City Manager Schwabauer, City Attorney Magdich, and City Clerk Ferraiolo B. Topic(s) B-1 Receive Update on City of Lodi Customer Service Division (CM) Deputy City Manager Andrew Keys and Revenue Manager Tarra Sumner provided a PowerPoint presentation regarding the Customer Service Division update. Specific topics of discussion included service prioritization, customer level of effort based, get people on board, recent staffing shortages, reorganization separating Revenue and Accounting Divisions, continued evaluation of route consolidation, consideration of lock box services, new cash balancing process, process documentation, phone system upgrades, new website, online parking permits, queuing system, check scanner/printer, kiosk use, and improvement plan. Mayor Nakanishi suggested regular staff meetings to discuss customer service, to which Ms. Sumner responded staff held an all -hands meeting last Friday to discuss the importance of customer service and how to best assist customers in a timely manner, adding she too believes in the importance of continuing such meetings because Finance is the face of the City and staff should be reminded regularly of the importance of good customer service. City Manager Schwabauer stated the Customer Service Representatives are doing a fine job, adding the current phone system contributes to some of the issues and that the new phone system anticipated for next summer will be an effective tool for the Department. He reported on the difficulties in staffing Finance, including finding part-timers willing to work the necessary hours to meet high public demand times, as well as providing appropriate coverage during high -demand versus low-volume times, which change dramatically due to payment due dates. Council Member Chandler stressed the importance of ensuring staff feels it is part of the organization and asked if there was anything Council could do to assist in that regard, to which Ms. Sumner responded that employees would greatly appreciate Council stopping by to meet and speak with them. Deputy City Manager Andrew Keys reminded Council that it opted to delay the survey through the City's contractor, Great Blue, until the phone system is in place, which would be the end of 2019; however, Great Blue suggested doing a type of survey that would seek input from the public while filtering out known problematic issues - in this case, the City's phone system -- while also using it as an outreach piece to inform customers of the planned improvements to the Finance Department. He stated this item will come to Council in the near future. Council Member Chandler stated he supports the survey suggestion. C. Comments by Public on Non -Agenda Items None. 1 D. Adjournment No action was taken by the City Council. The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 a.m. ATTEST: Jennifer M. Ferraiolo City Clerk CITY OF LODI COUNCIL COMMUNICATION AGENDA ITEM AGENDA TITLE: Receive Update on the City of Lodi Customer Service Division MEETING DATE: November 13, 2018 PREPARED BY: Revenue Manager B -I RECOMMENDED ACTION: Receive an update on the City of Lodi Customer Service Division. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: The City's Customer Service (CS) Division strives to provide top of the line service. As such, the department seeks continuous improvement. This discussion continues an ongoing dialogue with the City Council on the challenges the customer service division faces that began in May of 2017. Today's presentation discusses the recent setbacks the department has faced and continues to update on progress to ensure continuous improvement in line with the People, Process, Technology framework introduced at the May 2017 Shirtsleeve, That framework is summarized here and will be used to guide the presentation. People: It is essential to have the right people, with the right training and the right mentality to succeed in all business endeavors, including the CS division. Employees must buy into the philosophy of the division and any proposed changes. Process: The appropriate business rules (policy and procedures) must be in place in order to successfully administer existing programs, provide services and implement new programs. Business rules also establish the parameters of each position's duties, responsibilities, authority level and set clear performance expectations. Technology: Technology is an essential asset to modern organizations. However technology will never overcome people and processes. Successful technology implementations are contingent on the existence of best practices that pre -date the technology and are widely known (through thorough and consistent training) by high quality employees moving in the same direction at all staff levels. FISCAL IMPACT: There is no impact from this informational presentation. FUNDING AVAILABLE: Not applicable. Andrew Keys, Deputy City Manager APPROVED: n Schwab - ter, • ity Manager Customer Service Division Update Presented By: Andrew Keys, Deputy City Manager City Council Shirtsleeve Session November 13, 2018 Agenda • Prioritization • Overview of current status — People — Process — Technology • Improvement Plan PRIORITIZATION Service Priority • Customer Level of Effort Based 1) Face to face — in person 2) Phone — live phone calls and voicemails 3) Remote/Mobile — mail, email, other web -based requests Get People on Board We found, instead, that they first got the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats. And then they figure out where to drive it. - Jim Collins, Good to Great PEOPLE People • Recent staffing shortages in 2018 — Financial Services Manager departed in March — Full Time CSR resigned in April — Full Time CSR promoted in June — Part Time CSR resigned June — UBS had approximately 3 month medical leave Jun -Sep • One CSR given opportunity to cross train as UBS during this time — Two new CSRs started July 16 and July 30 — One new PT CSR started October 17 • Reorg separating Revenue and Accounting Divisions — Recruiting was difficult — Accounting Manager started July 30 — Revenue Manager started September 10 PROCESS Processes • Continued evaluation of route consolidation — Lack of staffing resources has delayed this project • Consideration of Lock Box Services — Send out RFP • New Cash Balancing Process — Eliminated need for second person to count monies next business day • Saved up to 3 hours per day — Currency Counter • Saved 1/2 hour per employee in balancing drawers at end of day Process Documentation • Business processes and workflows are not always clearly documented or understood — Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) underway • Best practices hampered by technology limitations — Lack of investment — Significant challenges due to ineffective phone tree • Resources • Line limitations • Physical versus virtual system — Lack of customization functionality and internal knowledge of ERP system • Citywide Cash Handling Policy • FAQ development for CSR use TECHNOLOGY Technology • Phone system upgrades — Contract approved 11-7-18 for RFP management — Will provide management data to monitor customer needs and help set customer expectations • New website • Review underway to move parking permits online • Queuing system • Check scanner/printer • September 4, 2018 was the highest Kiosk use with 302 transaction collecting $73.6k — Over 10,000 total transactions and 500 labor hours redirected IMPROVEMENT PLAN Improvement Plan PEOPLE • Secure additional training on ERP system • Train in advance of all technology rollouts • Offer and encourage training — Purchase on demand customer service training • 150 courses including — Improve Customer Satisfaction — Reduce Conflict Between Coworkers — Defuse & Retain Irate Customers — Build Awareness Around Diversity, Inclusion, & Bullying • Improve and maintain positive work culture Process Improvement Plan FALL 2018/ WINTER 2019 • Customer education and outreach • New tools and improvement efforts • Get feedback on customer priorities • Contract already approved with Great Blue, but Council had timing concerns WINTER 2019 • Standard Operating Procedures (SOP's) • Lockbox RFP 2 • Bill route consolidation Process Improvement Plan IMPLEMENTED MONITORING ONGOIN • Change of cash balancing practice • New time sheet J • Develop clearly defined processing/understanding expectations for all types of services provided • Significant testing of software/hardware rollouts Technology Improvement Plan • Queuing System SPRING 2019 • Increase employee efficiency/customer satisfaction • Advertising: important news/announcements • Reporting: number of customers/CSR's total number of customers served • Web/Mobile upgrades Technology Improvement Plan SPRING/ SUMMER 2019 ONGOING • Interactive Voice Response (IVR) phone system • Set customer expectations • Provide management tools to review/manage workload in real time • Continued dispersion of internal knowledge • Creation of SOPs QUESTIONS?