Delivering excellent customer service

Version 4 1/8/2018

Contents From the Chief Executive Officer 3 

Document and version control 4 

Community Strategic Plan 5

Our Values 6

Customer Service Mission 7 

Customer Service Charter 7 

1. OUR ROLE IN CUSTOMER SERVICE 7 Presentation Standards Civic Administration Centre Switchboard Messages on hold Internal staff – answering a call from your phone Customer Services Requests and Central Records Out of Office Email Out of Office Voice mail

2. COMMUNICATION 11 Communicating with staff

Communicating with residents, ratepayers and the community Communicating using online services Information screen Margaret River Office Foyer Written communications guide 12

Corporate Style Guide Email protocols Internal and External Email registration Incoming and Outgoing Internal Email structure Using To, CC, BCC, Reply to all and From fields External Business email format

Verbal communications guide 18

First impressions count Build rapport Establish the nature of the enquiry Discuss solutions Finish on a high note

Customers speaking or behaving inappropriately 19 Providing Councillor or CEO contact details Customer concerns and feedback

3. REQUESTS FOR RELEASE OF SHIRE INFORMATION 25 Information release and advertising

Owner Information Freedom of Information

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From the Chief Executive Officer

The Shire of Augusta Margaret River exists to provide services, facilities and

infrastructure to our community, our visitors and to our stakeholders. These

individuals and organisations are our customers and it is important that we not

only meet but exceed their expectations when staff are dealing with these

customers. At the end of the day our ratepayers, the users of our services and

facilities and the State and Federal Government provide the income for our Shire

to carry out services and to provide the facilities and infrastructure.

The community and our funders therefore expect value for their money and positive professional

customer service when dealing with our staff.

Everyone, whether they have a direct customer service role or whether they are supporting our

operations in a back of house role, has a responsibility to deliver excellent customer service either

to internal customers or directly to the community. It’s well known from studies that unhappy

customers tell many others if they have a bad customer experience while those who are satisfied

with the experience pass on their views to only a small handful. With Facebook, Twitter and other

social media, or through the newspapers by way of letters to the editor, the ability for bad

publicity to be distributed widely and damage the Shire’s reputation has become more available.

We need to guard against this and strive to provide the best customer service we possibly can.

Additionally, if there is an unhappy customer we need to turn that around and try to turn the

unhappy customer into a more satisfied individual.

This guide on delivering excellent customer service is a valuable resource for staff to improve the

way they deliver customer service. It can be used as a training tool, as a reference and as a guide

on what to do in providing your very best service. All staff are to familiarise themselves with the

guide and follow the sound advice provided.

Gary Evershed

Chief Executive Officer

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Document control

Strategic outcome 5.3 Effective knowledge and information management

Responsible Directorate

Corporate and Community Services

Contact officer Vicki Scott

Approved by ELT

Date 1/8/2018

Next review 1/2/2020

File number COR/162

Version control

Version Date

approved

Approved by Brief description

1.0 21/1/2010 ELT Initial release

2.0 27/2/2014 Director CCS Full review

3.0 10/11/2015 ELT Full review

4.0 1/8/2018 ELT Full review

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Alignment with Community Strategic Plan

This document relates to Key Result Area 5: Effective Leadership and Governance and Outcome

4: Community and customer focus in the Community Strategic Plan 2036.

Key Result Area 1 Valuing, protecting and enhancing the natural environment

Key Result Area 2 Welcoming, inclusive and healthy communities

Key Result Area 3 Ensuring sustainable development

Key Result Area 4 Vibrant and diverse economy

Key Result Area 5 Effective leadership and governance

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Our Values

Our four core values guide our behaviour and decision making as people and as an organisation

and in how we strive to lead and serve our community.

Councillors and staff will demonstrate their commitment to the Shire’s values by adopting the

following actions.

Honesty

Taking responsibility for the decisions we make and acting with integrity

Building trust by ensuring our words and actions are aligned in all that we do

Being truthful in our dealings with each other and our stakeholders

Commitment

Seeking the best ways to maintain standards of excellence in all that we do

Setting personal challenges and actively seeking opportunities to contribute to the Shire’s goals

and vision

Striving to communicate and support colleagues in effective and positive ways

Respect

Respecting your colleagues, councillors, and all stakeholders in the community by

treating them as you would wish to be treated

Utilise the limited resources we have at work as if they were our own

Respecting the environment in which we live and work

Respecting your own safety and that of your work mates and the community

Courage

Taking on new challenges and roles outside of your comfort zone

Behaving ethically and making decisions based on clear principles

Being flexible and adaptable in finding new and creative solutions and dealing with change

Being committed to not accepting unethical behaviour in others

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Customer Service Mission

The Shire of Augusta Margaret River (SAMR) is committed to delivering a quality service to

our customers and building long term positive relationships.

Customer Service Charter

Our Customer Service Charter sets out our commitment to our customers on the kind of service

they can expect to receive from us at the SAMR.

1. Our role in customer service The SAMR exists to provide services, facilities and infrastructure to our community and our

stakeholders – in other words, our customers. Customer service at the Shire is the backbone of

our business and the responsibility of all staff.

Everyone at the Shire has a customer whether it’s providing assistance to other staff, our ‘internal

customers’ helping them to provide an outcome or deliver services to an external customer, or

directly serving an external customer. Our customers deserve the best that we can deliver and you

can deliver excellent customer service by embracing this guide and putting words into action.

Presentation standards

When meeting people face-to-face staff are to be suitably dressed to present a professional

image. Worn or faded uniforms should be replaced. Office staff not in a front line customer service

position should wear neat and clean clothing appropriate for an office environment. Refer to

the Corporate Uniform Procedure which includes required dress Standards. There is a

subsidised Corporate Uniform allowance for certain positions in the organisation.

Staff wanting to purchase the Corporate Uniform can salary sacrifice through payroll deductions.

All staff representing the Shire in a face-to-face capacity must wear a name badge.

Food or drink, besides water, should not be consumed at desks within sight of the public.

Personal mobile phones should not be used at desks within sight of the public.

Smoking is not permitted at entries to, or inside of, Shire buildings or vehicles.

Everything in public view should be tidy, clean and professionally presented. All signs should be

typed for ease of reading with Shire branding and logos. This shows a professional image and

conveys a polite and positive message to our customers.

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Civic Administration Centre Switchboard

Customer Service Officers (CSO) will greet customers with…

‘Welcome to the Shire of Augusta Margaret River how can we help you’

CSO on the switchboard will direct calls to the most appropriate Business Unit, Team or staff

member. We may ask customers for more detailed information to assist staff when dealing with the

customers enquiry.

If customers have left a voice message, CSO will ensure the call is returned or directed to the most

appropriate officer who is responsible for responding.

When transferring calls, CSO may consult with you to advise of the customer’s name and the issue

in brief. All voice messages are required to be returned within 2 business days.

Messages on hold

When our customers are put on hold a recorded message will provide important information about

the Shire’s services and facilities. This is reviewed each year and can be updated as required, so

if you have information you believe would be of interest to our customers, forward your suggestion

to the Coordinator of Revenue and Customer Service or Customer Service Team Leader.

Internal staff - answering a call from your phone

When you answer your telephone you should include your location and Business Unit or Team name,

followed by your first name.

‘Welcome to, ‘Business Unit/Team’, this is ‘name’.

Customer Services Requests and Central Records

If staff are unavailable to take a customers call, CSO will log a Customer Request into Synergysoft

- Customer Services module. When a Customer Request is logged an email will be sent to the

responsible staff member. Staff are required to respond to Customer Requests within 5 business

days.

All staff are responsible for checking Synergysoft Central Records on a regular weekly basis to

ensure we are meeting our levels of service.

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Out of Office Email When you are out of office or not able to attend to your emails within one business day, then it is

essential you set up the following standard automated ‘Out of Office’ message.

Welcome to the Shire of Augusta Margaret River and thank you for your email. I am out of the office, returning (day and date). In my absence you can redirect your enquiry to (officer’s name) by emailing (email address). Alternatively you can contact the Shire on 08 9780 5255 or email amrshire@amrshire.wa.gov.au.

Out of Office Voice mail When you are out of the office for extended periods of time, you have a responsibility to ensure

that your phone has been diverted to another staff member or a Team workgroup number.

Setting up your voice mail messaging is done using ShoreTel Communicator Configure Call

Handling function. You can choose Out of Office or Extended Absence. Below is an example

using the Extended Absence option but the same process applies for Out of Office.

From the drop down menu choose Extended Absence or Out of Office.

Click drop down arrow again and select Configure Call Handling, the Options and Preferences box

will open.

Extended Absence will automatically be highlighted > Select the Change Destination button >

Select the name of the person or group number you are going to Forward your calls to. Press Ok.

Press Apply when finished. When you choose Extended Absence or Out of Office the destination

will stay the same until you change it.

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2. COMMUNICATION

Communicating with staff

It is recognised that an organisation’s corporate reputation is affected by the actions of all staff

from any directorate, business unit or team who come into contact with another stakeholder.

Sometimes our internal audiences can be the most important. After all, if fellow staff don’t know

what's going on, and can't accurately communicate to our customers what you are trying to

achieve, how can you expect our customers to receive good service from them?

Effective communication, between all frontline employees and staff, is fundamental for effective

customer service. Lack of communication leads to isolation, lack of direction, loss of trust, and

associated problems like reduced customer service quality, poor morale and low productivity.

Directorates need to keep frontline employees informed of broad priorities and policies and

use feedback from frontline employees to inform those priorities and policies.

Business Units need to communicate across directorate borders to ensure a coordinated

approach to customers. This can include providing updates, information availability, processes,

exchanging opinions, sharing ideas, resolving conflicts, holding regular meetings with CSO and

conveying experiences with others.

Teams need to cooperate to deliver services well, including the development of better

strategies to improve customer satisfaction and services. CSO will hold regular meetings with

Teams to ensure effective communication within the organisation is ongoing.

Frontline employees can only ensure services are delivered in effective and responsive ways

to meet customer needs when they are kept informed. When frontline staff are not

kept informed, they are the ones who bear the brunt of a customers’ dissatisfaction. Your own

frontline staff may also be affected so don’t forget to keep the lines of communication open

with the Customer Service Team customerserviceteam@amrshire.wa.gov.au.

Communicating with residents, ratepayers and the community

The Shire communicates with the community in a number of ways, including Council meetings,

community meetings, public notices, mail outs, media releases, brochures, surveys, Community

Update newsletters, Community Consultation and through the website.

Democratic governance exists when an elected Council governs for and on behalf of its

community. Good consultation aims to better understand the aspirations of communities and

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provides people with ways to have input to the processes of setting priorities and future

directions. The Community Consultation and Stakeholder Engagement Policy sets out the

principles that shall apply to Shire consultation processes.

Communicating using online services www.amrshire.wa.gov.au

The SAMR website is an important tool for communicating with residents, ratepayers and the

community and allows us to provide information on our services and activities. Advertising and

events are posted, payments can be made, application forms accessed, tenders, building

applications lodged, employment opportunities listed and feedback forms accessed.

Each Business Unit has a trained website Editor whose responsibility is to ensure that the

information for each Business Unit is up to date and relevant. If you would like something posted

on the website or you notice information that is out of date or not included, please refer to the

responsible staff member website Editor List.

Other sections of the organisation also have an online presence as listed below:

Library blog: http://amrlibraries.com/

Margaret River Recreation Centre: https://recreation.amrshire.wa.gov.au/

Margaret River Recreation Centre Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Margaret-

River-Recreation-Centre/148533051840272

Information screen Margaret River Office Foyer

An electronic information screen is located in the Customer Service foyer and is used to convey

messages and information to Customers and the general public. Generally the information is about

current events and Shire news. If your Business Unit has important information to pass on to

customers contact the Marketing and Events Officer or email media@amrshire.wa.gov.au to discuss

your needs.

Written communication guides

Corporate style guide

The Organisation’s Corporate Style Guide defines the house style of the SAMR and provides a

consistent corporate image.

When using written communication, staff are required to use standard document templates located

under the Shire Corporate Style Guide. The templates are to assist you in maintaining our Corporate

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image and include:

Shire letterhead

Fax

File Note

Form

Information Sheets

Letters

Memorandum

Policy

Procedure

Email protocols Internal and External

Stop and think – do you really need to send that email? Can you talk to the person instead? Or go

and see the person instead? If you do need to email, then please follow correct email protocol:

Do not write in CAPITAL letters or use CAPITAL letters within a sentence to make a point.

Do not use bold or underlining for emphasis or to highlight a point. If the matter is that

important perhaps you need to make arrangements to speak to the person.

Staff are not permitted to email Councillors directly unless authorised by a Director or Manager.

Do not use email to discuss confidential information.

Be concise and to the point, use proper spelling (spellcheck), grammar and punctuation.

Chain letters, virus hoaxes or reply to spam should be avoided and ICT services informed.

Sending emails that contain libellous, defamatory, offensive, racist or obscene remarks is

against our procedures and against Anti-Discrimination Legislation. Keep your language gender

neutral.

Requesting delivery and read receipts is a nuisance to the recipient….try not to use these.

Be aware of sending large files as it may not by received or sent if a size limit is imposed.

To manage your time better, consider scheduling times to check your emails e.g. 11am and

3pm and set up an automatic response to advise the sender you will respond at that time.

Remember though that this should be in-line with our standard email out of office message.

Make sure you follow the Information Systems and Mobile Phone Acceptable Use procedure on

using emails.

Email registration Incoming and Outgoing

If you are the sender or receiver of an email, then you are responsible for registering it into

Synergysoft - Central Records. Emails can be registered directly by using the Add-ins function

in word, excel or outlook. If assistance is required please contact the records team.

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There is a menu function in Outlook called ‘Cleanup’ this is located in the Outlook menu bar,

click on the drop down and choose your selection. If assistance is required please contact ICT

services.

Registration of emails in bulk can be performed using 3 different options:

o Option 1 emails in sequence. Click on the top email, press the shift key and click

on the bottom email. All emails will turn blue as highlighted. Right mouse click and

choose the Convert to Adobe PDF. Save to your X: working directory or relevant

folder. Go to Central Records create a new coversheet and attach your document;

o Option 2 emails not in sequence but about the same matter. Click on the first email,

press and hold the Ctrl button. Click on each email in the folder. Right mouse click

and choose the Convert to Adobe PDF. Save to your X: working directory. Go to

Central Records create a new coversheet and attach; or

o Option 3 emails in a folder/s, in sequence or not in sequence. The best way to

perform this is to split screens. Split Outlook to one side split the File Explorer folder

to the other side (to split screens you hold the windows key on the bottom left of

your keyboard and use the arrows keys). Simply click and drag your emails from

outlook to the X: working folder. It will create the email in msg format and include

any attachments within the email.

Internal Email structure

'All' - will send an email to all staff in the organisation. This email is only to be used by CEO,

Directors, Managers and other staff with the approval of the CEO/Director or Manager. Staff

aren’t allowed to use this group without their approval. Examples of it’s use are:

Important messages from the CEO with high priority

ICT broadcasting problems with the communication system

Emergency Services matters

HR distributing information about important procedural or training matters affecting

all staff

Director/Manager introducing a new staff member to the organisation or advising of

staff resignations

CAC-All - using this group will send an email to all staff in the Margaret River Civic Administration

Building. Examples of approved messages are:

Messages from relevant staff advising of issues relating to the building

Information from other worksites who believe it is important for all staff in the

Administration building to be aware of

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Invitations to attend staff morning tea

HR advising of information relevant to staff in the building

Any email going out through 'CAC-All' must have the approval of the Business Unit Manager.

CAC-North wing - Includes Asset Services, Building Team, Customer Service Team, Debtors,

Environmental Health Team, Legal Services, Planning and Development, Planning and

Sustainability, Records Team and Revenue.

CAC-South wing - Includes CAC-HR, CCS Directorate, Community Development, Finance

Team, Governance & Leadership, ICT Team and Ranger and Emergency Services.

Using To, CC, BCC, Reply to all and From fields

Best practice is not specific to Outlook but applies to general good email use. Knowing when to

use each field can prevent the receiver from being confused or even annoyed about your email.

In general you should consider using them in the following way:

To: Always specify this field and specify the address of the main person or

persons you are talking to.

CC: Use this field when you want to send the message to an additional

person for informational purposes. This option also notifies the person

you are sending your email to that they have been informed about the

topic.

In general, people who are specified in the CC field do not hold any actions

specified in the email and are not directly requested

to respond. When the recipient presses “Reply to All” the persons

addressed in the CC field will also receive a follow up.

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BCC: When sending out a group email that contains personal email addresses

you should use the Bcc field. This prevents the distribution of private

email addresses without permission. Specify this field when you want to

send the message to an additional person for informational purposes

but don’t want to let the person know that this person is informed about

the topic.

If you want to send the same email to a lot of people who do not know

each other and want to personally address them al l , then you should

use a mail merge. When the recipient presses “Reply to All” the persons

addressed in the BCC field will not receive a follow up.

Reply to all

Ignore:

Use ‘reply to all’ sparingly. Use Reply option instead.

If you have your email set to conversations, you can use the ‘Ignore’

button on the Home ribbon to opt out of a conversation. This will prevent

you receiving unwanted emails if the sender uses ‘reply to all’.

From

If you have an email address for your Team or Business Unit you can use

this in the From field instead of using your personal email address.

To activate first create a new email. Go to the Options Tab and press the

From button. The From option will now be available everytime you create

a new email and addresses listed to choose from.

 

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External Business email format

All business emails incoming and outgoing to staff’s personal email addresses are to be

registered in Synergysoft Central Records.

This is an example of a formal external email.

Note:

A formal email replaces a letter and casual language should not be used. Think about how you

would like your email to read in the future, particularly if it was required for an FOI request, legal

or dispute hearing.

Corporate standard email signature. Do not use any backgrounds or other logos with your email.

Formal opening Dear…… Formal closing Yours faithfully

Relevant subject line. This will also be the Short Title in the Records Coversheet.

The opening line should refer to their email.

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Verbal communications guide

First impressions count

The first five to 15 seconds are critical in establishing the tone of interaction with your

customer. Present yourself with a smile, if on the phone be happy, look the person in the eye

and give a warm, clear greeting and an immediate offer to help.

For those staff at a front counter, if you are busy on the phone or with another customer, you

can still create a positive impression by acknowledging the new customer. Make eye contact if

possible, or advise that you will attend to them as soon as possible.

Build rapport

Listen actively, with acceptance and a willingness to take responsibility for completeness.

Empathise. You don’t have to agree, but show that you understand.

Be courteous and understanding.

Show interest in what the customer is saying, use eye contact, smile and use their name.

Find a reason to show appreciation or thank the customer. ‘Thank you for the call/taking the

time’, ‘Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. Often we don’t know about an issue

until a customer alerts us’. This is an especially useful technique as the customer is expecting

you to defend, and you surprise them by thanking them. The break in the pattern that they

are expecting often reduces their emotional reaction and gains their attention.

Establish the nature of the enquiry

Listen to what the customer has to say without interruption. Frustrated / angry customers expect

you to interrupt them, so leave a pause after they speak before you begin to talk. Leaving an

obvious pause in the conversation breaks any ‘broken record’ routine. If they talk over you

when you try to speak, it may be they are not yet confident that you understand their

concerns.

If the customer cannot get past the emotion, arrange for a break. Example: tell the caller you

are going to get a document or look up a reference number and will ring them back.

Summarise the facts back to the customer to check that you have understood. Then wait for

correction or confirmation. Example: “Let me just make sure I’m on the right track…..’

If you get it right, the speaker will agree with you and you’ve made a connection. If you’ve got it

wrong, they will correct you and you have prevented solving the wrong problem. Either way,

it allows the conversation to progress.

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Discuss solutions

Find out what the customer would like to achieve

Look for win-win solutions

Think realistically. Your promises must be delivered in the appropriate timeframe and

within the resources available.

Summarise the solution. For example:

o What – action is to be taken?

o Who – will be involved?

o When – will it be done?

o Where – will it be done?

o Are all parties aware of what will happen next?

Finish on a high note

If you have promised something, do it. If you are unable to deliver the promised outcome for

whatever reason, do not wait until they contact you and are already aggrieved at the time delay.

Be proactive and make contact to explain the situation as soon as possible.

Customers speaking or behaving inappropriately

From time to time Customers will speak or behave inappropriately.

It is better to end your conversation and walk away or hang up if you feel that you maybe about to

behave inappropriately yourself. At no point is a staff member expected to tolerate ongoing poor

behaviour as part of their job and you will be supported if you are required to immediately terminate

a phone call or walk away. However, it is best to advise the customer you are about to end the

conversation before you do so. It is also recommended you make a note of the day and time and

brief notes about the conversation in case the dissatisfied customer lodges a complaint.

The Customer Service Team has available a ‘Guide to Assertive Customer Service’ which may

assist you with how to manage difficult behavior.

Providing Councillor or CEO contact details It is not good service for staff to refer an aggrieved customer directly to a Councillor or to the Chief

Executive Officer (CEO), staff should try to resolve the matter at the customer’s initial contact.

However, if a customer specifically requests to contact a Councillor, by all means provide them

with the public contact details. If a customer specifically requests to speak with the CEO, you are

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to take a message and pass this to the Executive Assistant of the CEO.

Staff are not permitted to email Councillor’s or the CEO on a customers behalf.

Customer concerns and feedback

Customers are encouraged to voice concerns and provide feedback. Advise your customer they

can do this in writing by either of the following methods:

1. Completing the Customer Feedback online form option located at

www.amrshire.wa.gov.au/services/customer-service-centre

2. Downloading and completing the Customer Feedback Form and submitting via:

Email to amrshire@amrshire.wa.gov.au; or

Posting to PO Box 61, Margaret River WA 6285; or

Dropping it into our Offices at Margaret River Civic Administration Centre, 41

Wallcliffe Rd, Margaret River or Augusta Office, 66 Allnut Tce, Augusta.

If the customer complains about having to complete a form, courteously advise them that written

complaints provide a more accurate record and provide the opportunity for the Shire to follow up

the complaint.

The Shire will review the complaint under CCSP 29 Complaint Handling Policy.

3. REQUESTS FOR RELEASE OF SHIRE INFORMATION

There are various Shire documents available to the public. These are located on the Shire’s

website under Council Publications.

Information release and advertising

It is extremely important before putting information into the public arena, via any communication

method, that you consider who in the organisation needs to know first. Is another business unit

going to be affected by what you are about to do? Should you get feedback from them first before

going out to the public? Does what you are about to tell your customers affect another business

unit’s or teams current operations?

Staff are to ensure that all advertised documents or information is ready for Customers to come

and view or collect from the counter at the MR CAC or Augusta Office. When you are advertising

please ensure that you put your contact name, contact phone number or email address so

customers can contact you or your team directly.

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Owner Information

To help you to advise customers of the correct processes for release of Shire information please

refer to the Owner Information sheet and associated forms located on the website.

Requests received are varied and may include:

Community Consultation.

Neighbours details for dividing fence or other matters.

Government Utilities Contractors for works.

Owners in specific area for a project or workshop.

Bushfire Brigade listings for information and donation collection.

The Shire does not include personal contact numbers or email addresses in any information

authorised for release by the CEO.

Freedom of Information

Information held by the Shire may not be released and will come under the Freedom of Information

Act. Records Officers are trained Freedom of Information Officers and can provide you with

guidance on customer enquiries. The Freedom of Information Statement and application form are

available on the AMRShire website http://www.amrshire.wa.gov.au/utilities/freedom-of-information.