Cotswold District Council has decided to permanently reduce its call center opening hours, following the success of a recent trial period.
In September of last year, the UK Council decided to cut its customer service call center hours from 9am – 5pm, down to 9am – 2pm.
Since operating under these reduced hours, the organization has seen significant CSAT improvements.
Throughout the trial, the Council has consistently ranked among the top ten for customer satisfaction in telephone service, even achieving a top three position in March 2024, its busiest month.
In discussing the success of the trial, Councilor Joe Harris, Leader of the Council, said:
We’ve also seen a reduction in average wait times during the busy lunchtime period and an overall increase in customer satisfaction.
“Additionally, outside the new telephone operation hours, our customer service staff have been able to allocate more time to high-demand areas affected by the cost-of-living crisis, such as Revenues and Benefits, and the Housing Service.”
But why did Cotswold District Council decide to take this radical approach, and how have they been supporting customers outside of the limited call center hours?
The Logic and the Execution
It will come as no surprise to hear that Cotswold District Council has been struggling financially. Like many Government-funded organizations in recent times, it has had its finances cut due to a combination of austerity, inflation, and the pandemic.
Speaking at the time the trial was first announced, Councilor Tony Dale, Cabinet Member for the Economy and Council Transformation, explained that one of the key reasons for the change was to save money and prevent the organization from going bankrupt:
We are having to make difficult decisions as the Government has cut the council’s funding by over 50% over the past 13 years and the impact of inflation continues to bite.
The other factor outlined by Dale was a clear shift in how customers were making contact, with the council having seen a 20 percent reduction in calls the previous year and an uptick in those using digital services.
With this in mind, the organization analyzed customer call volume to determine the busiest periods, discovering that customers were primarily getting in touch during the mornings and on their lunch breaks.
By reducing contact hours, the Council has been able to prioritize these busier periods by staffing them with more agents – enabling them to provide improved levels of customer service.
To offset this reduced call center schedule, the Council has spent the past few years introducing new digital services and enhancing its existing online offerings, such as reporting missed bins, managing council tax and benefits, and requesting bulky waste collections.
As a testament to the success of the shift to digital, the Council confirmed that when the garden waste service was launched online, 90% of resident interactions were conducted through the website.
In addition, the organization has continued to offer a 9am – 5pm in person service at its Cirencester and Moreton-in-Marsh offices for those wanting to speak to an agent face to face, as well as a 24/7 emergency line for critical services.
Harris was keen to emphasize that while there has been a greater focus on digital channels, Cotswold District Council is still striving to offer alternatives for all its customers: