Durham One CallBy Cory Fleming, International City/County Management Association
Spencer Stern, Government Finance Officers Association
William Tharp, The Ochs Center for Metropolitan Studies
Case Study
Call 311:Linking 311/CRM Data to Performance Measurement and Budgeting
2 Case Study—Linking 311/CRM Data to Performance Measurement and Budgeting
In This Report
• CommunityandSystemProfile• BriefHistoryofDurhamOneCall• SystemCosts• Durham“AsIs”Scenario• Durham“ToBe”Scenario• Methodology
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Community and System Profile
Durham, North Carolina Durham One Call
Form of GovernmentCouncil-manager
Council Members7 members including the mayor, 3 ward-elected members, and 3 at-large elected members
Population217,847 (2007)
City’s Annual Budget$338,252,160 (FY 2008-09)
Durham One Call System Budget$661,271 (FY 2008-09)
Major Components• Physical Location: Durham City Hall• Square Footage: 1,400 square feet• Number of Phones: 13• Number of Computers: 13
Number of Staff13 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions, including 10 agents, 1 lobby representative, 1 supervisor, and 1 manager
Location within City GovernmentCity Manager’s Office, supervised by the Assistant to the City Manager
Type of SystemCustomer service request and information center with a dedicated seven-digit phone number, voicemail, online inter-face, and walk-up customer service counter in City Hall.
Unique System Features and Management Tools• Cisco 7940 phone with automatic call distribution• FeatureTel VOIP Web portal for call statistical reporting • City Works, version 4.2, which allows users to log calls
and create service requests• Crystal Reports, version 9, a software application
designed to create specialized reports• Jabra GN9120 wireless headsets• MUNIS, an enterprise resources planning (ERP) software
application
Citizen Feedback Mechanisms• Results-Based Accountability• Citizen Satisfaction Survey• Coffee with Council• Inter-Neighborhood Council• Partners Against Crime• Neighborhood Pride Alliance• ComNet
Case Study—Linking 311/CRM Data to Performance Measurement and Budgeting 3
Making the Connections: Community Engagement, Performance Measurement and Budgeting Local governments exist to serve the needs and wants of their citizens, but determining how best to serve those needs and wants involves integrating complex and challenging processes including community engagement, performance measurement, and budget-ing. Centralized customer service systems enable the collection of data that supports all three processes. Also known as constituent relationship management (CRM) systems, data from these systems can:• Support community engagement by giving citizens multiple, easy means for contacting their local government and providing
qualitative and quantitative measures of what services citizens are requesting.• Support performance measurement by monitoring and tracking executive dashboard metrics, service level agreements, time-to-
complete metrics, geographic location of service requests, and constituent satisfaction, among others.• Support budgeting by providing the means to analyze where, when, and how departments are delivering services and enabling
them to improve their operations.
Brief History of Durham One Call CommunityleadersestablishedDurhamOneCall,acentralizedcustomerservicesystem,in2004.Localleadership,includingthethen-citymanagerandagroupofcityandcountyelectedofficials,spearheadedtheimplementationofthecentralizedsystemasameansofbeingmoreresponsivetotheirconstituents.Atthetime,boththecityofDurhamandDurhamCountyhadahighnumberofcallsbeingtransferredamongdepartmentswhichresultedinmanylostcalls.Accountabilitywasaparticularconcern,andthelead-ersfeltthatthetrackingcapabilityassociatedwithacentralizedcallsystemwouldgreatlyenhancetheoverallaccountabilityoflocalgovernmentprogramsandservice.Whileoriginallyenvisionedasajointcity-countyventure,fundingobstaclesaroseforDurhamCounty,whichforceditswithdrawal.ThemissionofDurhamOneCallisto“berespon-
sivetotheneedsanddesiresofitscitizens,businessesandvisitorstoDurham.DurhamOneCallwillbeexemplaryinitsoperation,managementandprofes-sionalism.”1ThecityofDurhamalsohasanumberofothereffortsunderwaythatinfluencetheoveralleffec-tivenessofDurhamOneCall.Forinstance,thecityhasadoptedaCustomer Service Bill of Rightsthatclearlycommunicatesthelocalgovernment’scommitment“toprovideexcellentserviceatalltimesbydeterminingtheneedsofourcitizensandcustomersandsatisfyingthoseneedsbeyondtheirexpectations.”2
ThecityofDurhamhasanestablishedreputationforitsproactiveefforts,mostnotablythroughthecity’sResults-BasedAccountability(RBA)InitiativeorImagineDurham,toengagecitizensindeterminingwhatprogramsandservicestheymostneedandwant.
Theexistenceofanoverarchingcommunityengage-mentandperformancemeasurementeffort,suchastheRBAInitiative,greatlyincreasestheusefulnessofdatageneratedbytheDurhamOneCallsystemTheultimatesuccessofacentralizedcallsystem
requiresthesupportandactiveparticipationofthelocalgovernmentdepartmentsresponsibleforfulfill-ingtheservicerequestsreceivedfromthepublic.ThecityofDurhamhasthoroughlyexaminedmanyofthe“back-end”processesinmanaginginacentralizedcustomerservicesystem;itswillingnesstoshareitsfindingsaspartofthiscasestudycreatesavaluableteachingaidforothercommunitiesworkingthroughsimilarissues.
System CostsIn2002,thecityofDurhamissuedarequestforpro-posals(RFP)fortheprovisionofCRMsoftware.Threecompaniesrespondedtotherequest.ThisprocessresultedintheselectionofAzteca,whichprovidedanintegratedsoftwarepackagetothecityatapriceof$125,000.Initiallaborcostswere$450,000,whichfunded
salariesandbenefitsfortwelveFull-TimeEquivalent(FTE)positionstostaffthecallcenter.TencustomerservicerepresentativepositionswerereallocatedfromseveralcityofDurhamdepartments,includingCustomerBillingServices,SolidWasteManagement,PublicWorks,andthe911callcenter.Additionally,twomanagementpositionswerecreated.Thecitymanager’sofficealsoworkedwiththe
PublicAffairsOfficetodevelopacommunicationplanforthepromotionofDurhamOneCallthroughadvertisementsplacedincitywaterbillingstatements,
4 Case Study—Linking 311/CRM Data to Performance Measurement and Budgeting
televisionpublicserviceannouncements,andcityandDurhamChamberofCommerceWebsites.Thecostofmarketingintheinitialyearwasapproximately$5,000.Inthefirstyearofimplementation,start-upcosts
(includingyearoneoperationalcosts)wereapproxi-mately$642,000,includingcapitalpurchasesofinte-gratedsoftware,adedicatedserver,andworkstations.Theinitialoperatingcostsranapproximately$491,000forsalaries/benefits,annualmaintenance,andmarket-ing.(SeeTable1forasummaryofstart-upcostsforDurhamOneCall.)DurhamOneCall’slaborandbenefitsexpenses
inFY2008-09were$661,271,whichcoversthirteenFTEs,$20,000foranannualmaintenanceagreementforCityWorkssoftware,whichgeneratesservicerequests,and$2,000annuallyforsoftwaresupportforCintechTechnologies,whichisusedforcallstatisti-calreporting.Thecenterisopenfrom7:00a.m.ETto6:00p.m.weekdaysandusesanansweringserviceforcallsafterhoursandontheweekends.
Durham “As Is” ScenarioThecityofDurhamwantstohearfromitsconstituentsandmakesiteasyforindividualstogetinvolved.Itdeploysanimpressivenumberofcommunityengage-menteffortsasdetailedinTable2.Thewidevarietyanddifferenttypesofcommunityengagementeffortsgivecitizensarangeofwaystobecomeinvolvedandhaveasayintheservicesthecityprovides.ThecomplementofDurham’scommunityengagementeffortsallowsforminimalinvolvement,suchasmak-ingasimplephonecalltoreportaproblem,toveryhigh-endinvolvementsuitableforneighboractivists.Someoftheseeffortsprovideprimarilyqualita-
tivefeedbacktothecity,forexample,theInter-
NeighborhoodCouncilandNeighborhoodPrideAlliance,andothereffortsprovidemorequantitativeinformationsuchastheCitizenSatisfactionSurvey.Thisbalancebetweenqualitativeandquantitativeinformationprovidescityleaderswithavirtuallycom-pletepictureofwhatservicesandprogramsaremostimportanttothecitizensofDurham.AtthecenteroftheseeffortsisDurham’sResult-
BasedAccountabilityInitiative.ThroughtheRBAInitiative,thecityandDurhamCountyhavedevelopedasetofninepriorityoutcomestoimprovequalityoflifeinthelargercommunity.DurhamfirstpublishedacommunityprogressreportfortheRBAInitiativewithagrantfromtheNationalCenterforCivicInnovation(NCCI),anonprofitorganizationthatfundsprojectspromotinggoodgovernmentpractices.Durham’sRBAInitiativefostersgoodcommunica-
tionbetweenthelocalgovernmentanditsconstitu-ents.Italsoensuresthatlocalgovernmentisontherighttracktoachievingthedesiredpublicoutcomes.Citizensareengagedindevelopingavisionforthefutureofthecommunityandtheyareroutinelyinformedabouttheprogressmadetowardachievingthosegoals.Thecityandcountymakeapointoflink-ingeachoftheirprogramsandservicestoaspecificdesiredoutcome.Forexample,oneofthedesiredout-comesfortheDurhamcommunityisthat“Everyoneenjoyssustainable,thrivingneighborhoodswithanefficientandwellmaintainedinfrastructure.”3 Tomea-surethisgoal,oneoftheperformancemeasurementsisthenumberofpavedstreetsmaintainedbythecity.Anotherperformancemeasurementusedisthenum-beroforganizedactiveneighborhoodassociations.InFY2008,DurhamOneCallanswered214,286
callsandthelobbyrepresentativeassisted10,486visitorstoCityHall.Thecenteralsoprocessed24,394requestsforcityservices.Acustomerservicefollow-upsurveyindicatedthat95percentofrespondentsweresatisfiedwiththeservicereceived.Thevolumeofcontactsandoverallcitizensatisfactionratingindi-catethatthepublicvaluesDurhamOneCallandreliesheavilyonitasameansforconnectingwithlocalgovernment.WhileDurhamroutinelyreportstheresultsofthe
RBAInitiativetothecommunity,datafromDurhamOneCallhistoricallyhasnotbeenwidelyreportedtothepublic.ThenewmanagerforDurhamOneCallhasbeguntoattendneighborhoodandcommunitygroupmeetings,whichgivestheprogramgreatervisibilityandovertimewillmakeitatrustedsourceofinforma-tionontheservicesbeingprovidedbythecity.
Table 1. Durham One Call Start-up Costs
Durham One Call Implementation and Operating Budget, FY 2004–05
Labor $450,000 Integrated Software $125,000 Annual Maintenance $36,000 Workstations $20,000 Dedicated Server $6,000 Marketing $5,000
Total $642,000
Case Study—Linking 311/CRM Data to Performance Measurement and Budgeting 5
AgoodnumberofDurham’scommunityengage-menteffortsalsocontainperformancemeasurementelements.Linksbetweencommunityengagementandperformancemeasurementareimportantbecausetheyfostergreaterpublicconfidenceinlocalgovernment.Inlinkingcommunityengagementeffortstothoseinperformancemeasurement,thecitysendsanimpor-tantmessage,namely“Thisiswhatyou’vetoldusyouwant,andthisiswhatwehavedonetomeetyourrequestforthoseservices.”Inaneraofincreasinglytightandshrinkinglocalgovernmentrevenues,citi-zenswanttoknowwheretheirtaxdollarsaregoingandwhatservicestheyarereceivingforthosedollars.Durham’spracticeofreportingtothepublicthrough
theRBAInitiativedemonstratesthecity’scommitmenttoaccountabilityandtransparencyofoperations.CurrentlythecityusesDurhamOneCalldata
reportsprimarilyfortrackingandmonitoringpur-poses.Departmentmanagersreportthattheyreviewthenumberofunresolvedservicerequestsonaweeklybasis.Thispracticeisacriticalpartofperfor-mancemeasurementandindicatesthedepartments’responsivenesstorequestsforservice.TheSolidWasteDepartmentalsousesDurhamOneCalldatafordailymanagementpurposes.AsDurhamOneCallservicerequestscomein,theyarefoldedintothedepart-ment’sroutineworkflow.Ifstaffmembersnoticeagreaternumberofrequestscominginforaparticularneighborhood,amanagerwillcheckinwiththecrewontheassociatedroutetodetermineifthereareprob-lemsandprovideassistanceasneeded.DurhamOneCallhasthecapabilitytogeneratenew
datareportsthatcouldfurtherassistpartnerdepart-ments,aswellthecitygovernmentasawhole,withothermanagementchallenges,thoughatpresent,thereislittledemand.ThecityhasastrongGISprogram,butcurrently,DurhamOneCalldataarenotusedwith
theprogramonaregularbasistoproducereportsonaneighborhoodactivitywithinthecommunity.Intermsofbudgetingefforts,thecityhasfewer
linksbacktoitsstrongcommunityengagementandperformancemeasurementefforts.Durhamisintheprocessofupgradingitsenterpriseresourcesplanning(ERP)softwareapplication.Itintendstoactivelyiden-tifyandpursuelinkagesbetweenthedatacapturedinthefinancialmodulesandtheback-endperformancereportingsystems.Durham’s“CoffeewithCouncil”meetingsgivethepublicanopportunitytomeetwithmembersofthecitycouncilastheybegintocompilethenextyear’sbudget.Likewise,councilmembersreviewresultsfromtheCitizenSatisfactionSurveyandconsiderthoseinthedevelopmentofthecity’sbudget.ConsiderationofDurhamOneCalldataisnotincorpo-ratedintothecity’sbudgetprocessinaformalsense,thoughindividualdepartmentsindicatedtheyusesomeofthedatainpreparingtheirbudgetrequests.Figure1graphicallyrepresentshowthecity’scur-
renteffortsappeartobeworkingwithinthelocalgovernment.Thecity’slinksbetweenitscommunityengagementandperformancemeasurementeffortsareparticularlynoteworthy.Linksbetweenthecity’sbud-getingprocessesanditscommunityengagementandperformancemeasurementeffortsseemlesstightlyconnected.Thecityhasexcellentmeansforgather-ingandreviewingimportantqualitativedatafromitscitizens.Theuseofquantitativedata,primarilydataavailablethroughDurhamOneCall,isnotasstrong.
Durham “To Be” ScenarioThedriverandfocalpointofthecity’seffortstointe-gratecommunityengagement,performancemeasure-ment,andbudgetingprocessesresidewiththeRBAInitiative,whichestablishesthecommunity’sdesired
Table 2. Durham Efforts in Three Areas
Community Engagement Performance Measurement Budgeting
Results-Based Accountability (RBA)/Imagine Durham RBA/Imagine Durham Coffee with CouncilDurham One Call Durham One Call Citizen Satisfaction SurveyCitizen Satisfaction Survey Citizen Satisfaction SurveyComNetCoffee with CouncilInter-Neighborhood CouncilPartners Against Crime (PAC)Neighborhood Pride Alliance
6 Case Study—Linking 311/CRM Data to Performance Measurement and Budgeting
goalsandoutcomes(seeFigure3)andexaminesprog-resstowardachievingtheoutcomesthroughcarefullydefinedperformancemeasurements.SupplementingtheworkoftheRBAInitiative,DurhamOneCallcanandshouldaddconsiderablevaluebyprovidingquantitativedatatohelpcityleadersbetterunderstanddemandforlocalgovernmentservicesandprograms.ComprehensiveDurhamOneCalldatareports,
whichsummarizethevolumeandtypeofinforma-tionandservicerequestsbeingreceivedbyalldepart-ments,wouldprovidecityleaderswithdocumentationoffrequentlyrequestedservicesthroughoutthecity.Combinedwiththecity’sothercommunityengage-mentefforts,includingrequestsfromPACs,theInter-NeighborhoodCouncil,andothercommunitygroups,cityleaderscanbeconfidentthattheyhaveabroadviewoftheconstituentneedsandwants.Performancemeasurementinvolvesmuchmore
thanjustDurhamOneCalldata,butthesedatacanbeveryhelpfultopartnerdepartmentsinbettermanag-ingdailyoperations.Mappingoutwhereandwhattypeofrequestsarebeingreceivedcanalertmanagerstotheneedforoutreachandeducationinaparticularneighborhood,reallocationofdepartmentalresourcesorstaffassignmentsbasedondemand,orperhapsoutsourceparticularfunctions.Trackingandmonitor-ingfulfillmentratesbypartnerdepartmentsarealsoimportantusesofDurhamOneCalldata.
DurhamOneCalldatahasauseforbudgetingpur-poses.CombiningthisinformationwithservicerequestsfromDurhamOneCallwithdatacollectedthroughthecity’snewERPsoftwareapplicationwillenablecityleaderstobetterunderstandthecostsassociatedwithful-fillingservicesrequests.Incorporatingreal-timefinancialdataintoDurham’scomprehensiveperformanceman-agementprogramwillenhanceitseffectivenessandmostlikelyhelpindentifymorecost-efficientapproachestodeliveringprogramstoDurhamcitizens.Onarelatedfront,reviewingservicerequestsdur-
inginter-departmentalmeetingscanaidmanagersinstrategicthinkingandproblem-solving.Oneofthebig-gestadvantagesofhavingacentralizedcustomerser-vicesystemistheopportunitytodocumentandreviewlocalgovernmentbusinessprocessesandprocedures.Documentingallthebusinessprocessesgivesthelocalgovernmentanopportunitytodoathoroughreviewofthelinkagesamongprocessesandlookforexistingbottlenecksinworkflowaswellasthepossibilityofachievingnewefficienciesandcostsavings.
Study MethodologyTheauthorsconductedgroupinterviewswithdepart-mentalteamsthroughoutDurhamcitygovernmentaswellasmembersofthepublicinDecember2008.Fourseparateinterviewprotocols,eachdesignedwitha
Figure 1. Durham “As Is” Figure 2. Durham “To Be”
Case Study—Linking 311/CRM Data to Performance Measurement and Budgeting 7
KatieKalb,PublicWorksCurtisKenney,PublicWorksNancyKost,SolidWasteDonaldLong,SolidWasteWandaPage,DeputyCityManagerJayReinstein,StrategicInitiativesLorisaSeibel,ResidentCherylShifflet,ResidentConstanceStancil,NeighborhoodImprovementServices
ChristinaTookes,SolidWasteTedVoorhees,DeputyCityManagerKarmishaWallace,AssistanttotheCityManagerVickieWestbrook,WaterManagementRobertWilliams,SolidWasteRosaWilliams,WaterManagementMikeWoodard,CityCouncil
Endnotes 1 Durham One Call...Does It All! FY 2006 Summary.CityofDurham,NorthCarolina,2007.
2 “CityofDurhamCustomerServiceBillofRights.”A Guide to Durham Municipal Services. CityofDurham,NorthCarolina,2005.
3 Imagine Durham, Durham’s Annual Results Based Accountability Report.CityofDurham,NorthCarolina,Fall2007.
specificaudienceinmind,guidedthequestioning.Theauthorsusedaconversationalinterviewingtechniquetomorefullyexploretheparticipants’experiencesandperceptionsoftheDurhamOneCallprogram.Allinterviewsweretaperecordedandreviewedin
compilingnotesforthisreport.TheauthorswishtothankallthestudyparticipantsfortakingthetimetodiscusstheDurhamOneCallsystem.Theircontribu-tionstothestudywereinvaluable.
AngelaAndrews,WaterManagementMichaelBalzarano,PublicWorksRobinBibby,BudgetTerriBirth,PublicWorksTomBonfield,CityManagerJulieBrenman,StrategicInitiativesMatthewBrinkley,BudgetDavidCates,PublicWorksDianeCatotti,CityCouncilGrayDawson,NeighborhoodImprovementServicesTerriEttson,DurhamOneCallBennieFields,NeighborhoodImprovementServicesAntonioHardeman,BudgetJamesHardesty,PublicWorksDarylHedgspeth,NeighborhoodImprovementServices
Figure 3. Integrating Durham Processes
Partners Against CrimeInter-Neighborhood Council
Neighborhood Pride AllianceCom Net
Durham One CallCitizen Satisfaction Survey
Results-Based Accountability/Imagine Durham
Community Engagement
Coffee with Council
PerformanceMeasurement
Budgeting
ICMA National Study of 311 and Customer Service TechnologyIn2006,theInternationalCity/CountyManagementAssociation(ICMA)receivedfundingfromtheAlfredP.SloanFoundationtoconductthefirstnationalstudyofcentralizedcustomerservicesystemsforlocalgovernments,suchas311callcenters,constituentrelationshipmanagement(CRM)systems,andonlineservicerequestforms,amongothers.WorkingwithTheOchsCenterforMetropolitanStudiesinphasetwoofthestudy,ICMAisconductingresearchanddevelopingnewresourcesandtoolsforcommunitiesconsideringimplementationof311/CRMsystems.Suchsystemsgenerateawealthofinformationthatmaybeusedforavariety
ofpurposesincludingcommunityengagement,performancemeasurement,andbudgeting.Incorporatingthesetypesofdata—forexample,typesandnumberofcitizenrequests;compliancewithservicelevelagreements,whichdefinewhenarequestwilllikelybecompleted;andservicerequestresolutionrates,whichshowhowoftendepartmentsaremeetingtheirgoals—intosuchprocessescanbechallenging.Aspartofitsnationalstudy,ICMAbroughttogetherateamofresearchersandpractitionerstoresearchanddocumentapproachescommunitiesareusingtointegratetheseprocesses.Thisprojectwillproduceaseriesofthreecasestudiesdedicatedtothisissue.Thisreportisthefirstinthatseries.
For more information about the study, contact…
(Ms.)CoryFleming,projectdirectorPhone:207-854-1083E-mail:[email protected]
09-227
The mission of ICMA is to create excellence in local governance by developing and fostering professional local government management worldwide.
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