Customer Services/Governance. Governance and Leadership. RELATED POLICIES: Complaints Policy Internal Review of Council Decisions Policy

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1 TITLE: Request for Service Policy REFERENCE NUMBER: 13/ RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT: Customer Services/Governance APPLICABLE LEGISLATION: Local Government Act 1999 STRATEGIC PLAN: Governance and Leadership RELATED POLICIES: Complaints Policy Internal Review of Council Decisions Policy SUPPORTING PROCEDURES: Customer Service Charter Telephone Standards Charter Request for Service Procedure Complaints Procedure ENDORSED BY COUNCIL: 20 August 2012 NEXT REVIEW DATE: 20 December POLICY STATEMENT The District Council of Mount Barker is committed to the provision of quality service to customers and aims to provide services fairly and efficiently. It also monitors requests to identify ways in which it can proactively improve its services. Requests for service will be assessed in the context of the services and work provided for in the Council s annual business plan and budget and according to the conditions of externally funded programs. 2. POLICY OBJECTIVES The primary policy objectives of this Policy are to: provide guidance on what may constitute a reasonable request for a service or an improvement to a service distinguish between requests, complaints and feedback to Council and give direction on management of requests establish a standardised process for assessing and processing requests including the collation of information which can be used to directly inform service improvements Request for Service Policy Version 2 Dated 20th December 2013 Page 1 of 4

2 3. DEFINITIONS Business Day means a day when the Council is normally open for business, i.e. Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays. Contractors shall mean a company or person(s) engaged by Council to provide assets, goods, works or services. Employee: Shall mean any person engaged by Council under an employment contract. Volunteers and Work Experience Persons: shall mean individuals assisting Council in clearly defined, approved activities and who operate under Council supervision. TRIM: shall mean Total Records Information Management. This is Council s Electronic Document Records Management System. CRM: shall mean Customer Request Management. This is Council s management system for Customer Requests for service. Request for Service: shall mean an application to have Council or its representative take some form of action to provide or improve a Council service. Council also receives complaints and feedback across all areas of operations and clarification may be necessary to make the distinction for the purposes of this policy. Complaint: shall mean an expression of dissatisfaction with a service which has, or should have, been received. Council s Complaints Policy defines a complaint as: An expression of dissatisfaction with a product or service delivered by the Council or its representatives that has failed to reach the standard stated, implied or expected. This includes complaints about a service that has been, or should have been delivered. Where Council has failed to meet the normal standards for a service which has been, or should have been delivered the Complaints Policy and the associated procedures apply. Where ambiguity exists, Council will deal with a matter as a request for service, rather than a complaint, in the first instance. Feedback: shall mean - comments, both positive and negative, about services provided by Council without necessarily requiring a corrective action, change of services or formal review of a decision. Feedback may, however, influence future service reviews and delivery methods. Request for Service Policy Version 2 Dated 20th December 2013 Page 2 of 4

3 4. ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES Council: Review number of rejected requests for service in the Annual Report. Chief Executive Officer: To provide ways for request for service to be made To ensure there are various systems are available to capture these requests General Managers: To ensure response times are adhered to Others: To understand the 3 policies that address requests for service and the review of decisions To ensure timeframes are adhered to To ensure rejected requests are captured in the relevant TRIM file. 5. REQUEST FOR SERVICE POLICY INFORMATION 5.1 Reasonable Request for Service In determining how to respond to a request for service Council will consider: An assessment of risk Statutory responsibilities The content of Council s Strategic Management Plans, Annual Business Plans, annual works program and Annual Budget Relevant Council policies and codes Established service standards and response times for regular Council activities. 5.2 Processing a Request for Service In Council s experience, most requests fit within well established guidelines which will be explained to an applicant at the outset. Council aims to manage requests efficiently and effectively. Employees are provided with a level of authority to advise applicants of the likely timeframe to complete the action required. Where further evaluation is necessary before committing Council to undertake the work the applicant will be informed accordingly. If a request cannot be fulfilled in a reasonable timeframe the applicant will be advised, including an explanation of why this decision was taken. Where an applicant is not satisfied with the Council s decision, it is open to the applicant to lodge a complaint against the decision under Council s Complaints Policy. 5.3 Timeframes for Response The circumstances of individual requests for service will vary greatly. In the majority of cases requests will be processed promptly and the applicant advised verbally or by return post/ . Request for Service Policy Version 2 Dated 20th December 2013 Page 3 of 4

4 Council staff will respond to telephone messages within 24 hours (or next business day) regardless of whether the query has been resolved. (refer Customer Service Standards) Council staff will acknowledge a customer request within (2) business days. Council staff will respond within [10] business days advising of Council s intentions in regard to the request. These timeframes are not applicable to statutory timeframes which are legislated, but are complimentary. 6 Recording Requests for Service 6.1 A person can make application for a service in a number of ways: Completion of the appropriate form on Council s website Telephone Fax Letter Petition to Council Visit a Council customer service office All requests will be recorded in Council s records management system in such a way that the information can also be analysed for service improvement opportunities. This may be captured via TRIM, or via CRM. 6.2 Rejected Requests All rejected requests will be recorded and may be reconsidered at a future date, such as in conjunction with the preparation of an Annual Business Plan and associated budget. Council will receive a report on the number and nature of requests, including the percentage of rejected requests, at least once a year in the Annual Report. 7. REVIEW This Policy will be reviewed in 4 years or earlier in the event of changes to legislation or related Policies and Procedures or if deemed necessary by the Manager Community and Customer Service. 8. ACCESS TO THE POLICY The Policy is available for public inspection at the Customer Service Centre, at the Local Government Centre, 6 Dutton Road, Mount Barker, South Australia on the Council s website 9. FURTHER INFORMATION For further information on this Policy, please contact: Title: Manager, Community and Customer Service Address: PO Box 54, Mount Barker South Australia, SA, 5251 Telephone: nday@dcmtbarker.sa.gov.au Request for Service Policy Version 2 Dated 20th December 2013 Page 4 of 4

5 TITLE: REQUEST FOR SERVICE PROCEDURE REFERENCE NUMBER: 13/ RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT: Council Services APPLICABLE LEGISLATION: Local Government Act 1999 STRATEGIC PLAN: RELATED POLICIES / CORPORATE GUIDELINE: Governance and Leadership Request for Service Policy Complaints Policy Customer Service Charter APPROVED: 20 August 2012 NEXT REVIEW DATE: 20 December PURPOSE To provide guidance on what may constitute a reasonable request for a service or an improvement to a service. To distinguish between requests, complaints and feedback to Council and give direction on management of requests, and to establish a standardised process for assessing and processing requests including the collation of information which can be used to directly inform service improvements. 2. PROCEDURE Council welcomes requests for service as a way of improving its services and programs as well as fulfilling the needs of its customers. 2.1 Assisting with the lodgement requests for service No one should be excluded from lodging a request for service because of any difficulties they may have representing themselves. All staff are expected to offer assistance where appropriate and provide it on request, including assistance in documenting the request in writing when circumstances warrant. 2.2 Receiving requests for service A person can make a request in a number of ways: Completing the appropriate form on Council s website Telephone Fax Letter Visit to a Council customer service office Recording requests for service via Customer Service or telephone Record details of the request in Council s Customer Request Management System, including. Request for Service Procedure Version 2 20 December 2013 Page 1 of 3

6 Date and time of call Taken by Customer s Name Customer s address Customer s contact phone numbers and address Comprehensive information about the nature of the request Who assigned to Does the customer wish to be advised when the work is completed For assistance with CRM, visit the how to instructions on the Intranet Recording requests for service via letter, , form or fax Mail and requests for service will be captured via TRIM and the appropriate workflow, action request, timeframe and responsible officer will be allocated by Records. The register for responsible officer allocation is located in EBOX 12/044: TRIM 12/ Deciding how to respond to requests for service Each request must be assessed to determine its nature, how it should be dealt with, when it should be dealt with, and who should be involved. Experience suggests that the majority of requests can be scheduled and actioned promptly. Some will require direction from a Manager or, occasionally, a decision of Council. Most CRM s and TRIM workflows are allocated to the assigned responsible officer. It is the responsibility of the allocated responsible officer to follow up any redirection of allocated task to the most appropriate person. All staff are responsible for ensuring response, action and informing customer timeframes are achieved. Before determining Council s response it is also important to consider: Public safety and emergencies (the need and requirement of immediate action) Using Council resources efficiently and effectively The guidelines and conditions which apply to certain externally funded programs (eg. Home and Community Care) The complexity of the response by Council (does it require an integrated approach from more than one department?) Request for Service Procedure Version 2 20 December 2013 Page 2 of 3

7 More complex requests should be forwarded to the relevant Manager for determination of how to respond. Ensure that the referral occurs promptly and the customer understands the process and timeline for the next action. 2.4 Rejected requests for service Where a request cannot be accommodated it is to be identified in the database as a rejected request. The request and response informing the customer Council can not meet the request should be registered to TRIM in EBOX 12/044: UNMET REQUEST FOR SERVICE in the relevant Month heading. These requests will be captured and reported annually to Council in the Annual Report and may assist in service improvement and potential inclusion to the Annual Business Plan where identified as core business of Council and demonstrated need. 3. REVIEW This Standard Operating Procedure will be reviewed in six months or earlier in the event of changes to legislation or related Policies and Procedures or if deemed necessary by the Manager Community and Customer Services. 4. ACCESS TO THE PROCEDURE The Standard Operating Procedure is available to staff via the Policies & Operating Guidelines section of the Intranet. 6. FURTHER INFORMATION For further information on this Standard Operating Procedure, please contact: Title: Manager Community and Customer Services Extension: nday@dcmtbarker.sa.gov.au Request for Service Procedure Version 2 20 December 2013 Page 3 of 3