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Thse Canadian Champion, Friday, December 9, 2005 - B3 r I.y Il I 1~dtLUI Your Halton On Il.r 1 06 ewl ofiial trnito to new, e sie-ti.rem Ie Odss - ehlonc November 2005 Access Halton Statistics Number of telephone oeis answered by Access Halton annually: 275,740 (2005 estimate) Top three subjects of customner inquiries: " Waste management " Social & community services " Travel protection services Number of walk-in customers served to date in 2005: 50,440 Number of West Nile Virus oeis handied i 2005: 2065 Most popular publiations or documnts requested by our customiers for 2005: " Passpont Apphoicns " Ontario Parks 2005 * Lost Wailet Life E2vent Bundle Latest awad for customer service: Servie Quaty Management Groupl AmnI of Excellmo for ci centre performance in the govemment sector Favourfe -pli mefeed: Cl Hakon - they know eveg BIjggut surprise to our cutomers: Access Halton pMoid" basic kfomation on Prowial and Federal services too Award Winning Service Through Access Halton * A. Brent Marshall CHIEF ADMINISTRATIE OFFICER Access Haltan, Halton Regian's award winning cali centre, is the carnerstone of ciuality custamer service delivery ta aur residents. Even its very name, "Access" says everything about who we are and what we do. Same of the first steps we took in simplifying access ta gavernment included establishing a single contact number for Halton Region (905-825-6000), repiacing aver 30 phone numbers previously used ta reach different services. An easy ta remember taîl free line was introduced for aur long-distance residents i-866-4HALTON (1-866-442-5866). Mare trunk uines were added ta reduce busy signais and shorten response limes. Custamer service standards were implemented and "after hours" service was impraved. And the goal of "one-call-does-it-all" became a formula for success. Today. callers speak ta a Customer Service Representative (CSR) - a persan wha bas extensive knowledge of regianai programs and services. The resuit is that fewer calîs need ta be transferred, but when transfers occur there are pracesses Simply Halton: Easy Access to Government Regional service model emphasizes access, simplicity, communications and quality customer service Joyce Savoline REGIONAL CHAIRMAN Resîdents af Halton Regian are the benefîciaries af a focus an custamer service and public communications. Offerîng a single point af access for ail I gaveriment services and prograîns regardless af whether the infarimatian caisses fraîn the lederal, pravinciai. regianal or local level is truiy a custaîner service enhancemnent. Tise vision began with Haltan's Chief Administrative Officer, Brent Marshall. A 35-vear veteran ofa regianal gavernmient service, he chalienged tise arganizatian ta create a level of custaier service predicated an the anc esiap-shoppînig' inadel. Courlesy 01Haito Regýon Museum Subsequentiv, Haltan Reglaîs isade a carparate caîmitmieit ta citizen-centred service asnd fundamentally chaîsged the wav custamner service is delivered witin tise arganizatiais aisd ta tise Haitaîs camnuiity. tîstegrai ta the strategy was centralizing the custaîner service aîsd commnication (public relations) functians is a msew Cansmunîty Relations Divisioin ta alîgn the key msessages of the arganizatian wîth enhancements ta aur service delivery. This sîraîegy bas sceis a decrease is custamer cansplaitîts, raised awareness af the Regian ibrougli media and advertising, and supported and standards for efficient resalution. Access Halton responds ta 240,000 telephane inquiries per year and service is availabie 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days of the year. An Enviranics Research public opinion survey conducted in 2003 indicated that aur residents view us as "gaing that extra mile." Supporting thase findings is a 2005 survey undertaken by Service Quality Management (SQM), a renowned industry leader in service qualîty measurement. Resuits indicated that 83 per cent of Access Halton custamers are very satisfied with the service they receive. This result bas earned Haitan Regian the coveted tîtle of "Warld Class" custamer service pravider, which is achieved by only five per cent of the campanies SQM benchmarks, including banks, telecammunications campanies, utilities and retailers across North America. Over the past several years, Halton Regian bas emplayed a number of methods ta pramote an effective and accountable relatianship between regianal government and Halton citizens. We have explared new ways ta raise awareness, enhance accessibility ta services, imprave custamer relations and increase citizen invalvement. Cantinuaus impravement in customer service andl commuînications is an an-gaing pracess. Being gaod isn't good enaugh. Being better isn't being best. Daily we ask ourselves how we can serve you better. Delivering an aur vision of "one- stop-shopping for Halton residents" and making access ta gavernment simple is simply Haltan's way of doing business. efforts ta increase oppartunities for public input into decision-making. Halton's commitment to twa-way communication with residents has significantly evolved. In keeping with Halton's principles of transparency and accountability, the public has been engaged in the strategic planning pracess, the OfficiaI Plan pracess, the Comprehensive Housing Strategy and the design of a new water purification plant in Oakville, among a myriad of open houses and town hall discussions. Other new custamer service initiatives include a centralized advertising - page, web site enhancements, the establishment of a physical and virtual citizen's reference library and the creation of Council adopted, public consultation guidelines. Recently, the Customer service then and now: Region hosted a switchboard aperators in 1924; tawn hall focus Access Halton today. group an aur communication hwspractices. The feedback from residents wiil guide decisions as ta what communication channels are used miost frequenily and identify areas for impravement. Staff sviil be reporiing back Io Catincil on this in the New Year. Success with aur custamer service strategy has broughî dividends ta bath residents and staff. Recently, Halton achieved national recognition in an industry specîfîc award, as one of the highest performîng customer service cali centres in the government sectar. Achievement on this level as measured against aur peers, tells us that we are daing samething right. 1 ecemb 0 a