November 13, 2003CMT Day

1Kate Johnston

Corporate Projects ConsultantHalton Region

CMT: The Halton Experience

November 13, 2003CMT Day

2Kate Johnston

Corporate Projects ConsultantHalton Region

Presentation Outline

• Halton in Context• Objectives of Study• Halton’s Approach• Benchmarking Experiences• Implications for Halton• Key Take-Aways

November 13, 2003CMT Day

3Kate Johnston

Corporate Projects ConsultantHalton Region

Halton Region

November 13, 2003CMT Day

4Kate Johnston

Corporate Projects ConsultantHalton Region

Halton In Context

• 1700 employees

• Wide range of services

• 70,000 telephone inquiries per month

• Receives inquiries on all government services

• Implementing corporate customer service transformation project

November 13, 2003CMT Day

5Kate Johnston

Corporate Projects ConsultantHalton Region

Study Objectives

• Assessment of public awareness of regional services

• Evaluation of customer service performance• Benchmark performance

– Over time– Vis-a-vis other organizations

• Determine opportunities for improvement• Assessment of citizens’ actual and preferred

communication channels

November 13, 2003CMT Day

6Kate Johnston

Corporate Projects ConsultantHalton Region

Rationale for Using CMT

• Opportunities for benchmarking

• Contribute to public sector’s knowledge base

November 13, 2003CMT Day

7Kate Johnston

Corporate Projects ConsultantHalton Region

Halton’s Approach

• Developed terms of reference (Dec ‘02)

• Hired public opinion polling firm (Feb ‘03)

• Confirmed survey methodology (Feb ‘03)

• Developed survey instrument (Mar-Apr ‘03)

November 13, 2003CMT Day

8Kate Johnston

Corporate Projects ConsultantHalton Region

Halton’s Approach (cont’d)

• Executed survey (May ’03)

• Analyzed and reported results (June-Sept ’03)

• Assessed implications to customer service strategy (July ’03)

November 13, 2003CMT Day

9Kate Johnston

Corporate Projects ConsultantHalton Region

Survey Methodology

• 15-20 minute telephone survey

• Conducted May 1-14, 2003

• 804 residents weighted by municipality

• Included six core CMT questions plus three additional CMT questions

• CMT questions directed to “users”

November 13, 2003CMT Day

10Kate Johnston

Corporate Projects ConsultantHalton Region

Survey Design

• Questions pertaining to:– Public priorities– Awareness of local service delivery– Satisfaction with quality of life– Satisfaction with Halton Region government– Satisfaction with specific services– Information sources

November 13, 2003CMT Day

11Kate Johnston

Corporate Projects ConsultantHalton Region

CMT Questions Used

• How satisfied were you with the overall quality of service delivery?

• Overall, how satisfied were you with the accessibility of the service/product?

• In the end, did you get what you needed?

November 13, 2003CMT Day

12Kate Johnston

Corporate Projects ConsultantHalton Region

CMT Questions Used (cont’d)

• I was treated fairly? (agree/disagree)

• Staff went the extra mile to make sure I got what I needed? (agree/disagree)

• Staff were knowledgeable and competent. (agree/disagree)

November 13, 2003CMT Day

13Kate Johnston

Corporate Projects ConsultantHalton Region

CMT Questions Used (cont’d)

• Staff were courteous. (agree/disagree)

• The hours of service were convenient. (agree/disagree)

• The office was conveniently located (agree/disagree)

November 13, 2003CMT Day

14Kate Johnston

Corporate Projects ConsultantHalton Region

Benchmarking Experiences

With CMT:• ICCS feedback on survey instrument is critical• Finding ‘good’ comparators today is problematic

– Different services

– Different levels of government

– Different service channels

• Comparisons still valuable• Potential for future benchmarking

November 13, 2003CMT Day

15Kate Johnston

Corporate Projects ConsultantHalton Region

Benchmarking Experiences (cont’d)

With Environics:

• Different measurement scales (4 pt vs. 5 pt)

• Finding ‘good’ comparators still problematic

November 13, 2003CMT Day

16Kate Johnston

Corporate Projects ConsultantHalton Region

Implications for Halton

• Confirms Halton’s customer service strategy

• Points to areas requiring further attention• Location

• Hours of operation

• “going the extra mile”

• Auto attendant

• Strategy enhanced to reflect findings

November 13, 2003CMT Day

17Kate Johnston

Corporate Projects ConsultantHalton Region

Key Take-Aways

• Hire reputable firm to assist

• Ensure firm is flexible

• Allow sufficient time for survey development

• Watch for ‘don’t know’ responses

November 13, 2003CMT Day

18Kate Johnston

Corporate Projects ConsultantHalton Region

Key Take-Aways(cont’d)

• CMT benchmarking opportunities may not be immediate

• Other benchmarking vehicles were problematic

• CMT tool offers best potential

November 13, 2003CMT Day

19Kate Johnston

Corporate Projects ConsultantHalton Region

Questions & Discussion