Welwyn Hatfield Council
Date: 16th August 2006
Welwyn Hatfield Council is a local authority establishment based in Hertfordshire; the council provides a number of services to the local community and have increasingly over the years developed a strategy which reinforces the importance of having strong Customer Relations.
The authority is known for their best practice techniques which have been developed over the years and are being developed on an ongoing basis to surpass visitor expectations by providing a meaningful experience when offering help and advice to the local community.
The Situation
There was originally no system in place which regulated the flow of visitor traffic in relation to differing enquiry types. Visitors were given little indication as to their serving position and waiting times and were also engaging staff members in an open and noise surrounded environment.
Dissatisfaction echoed around the front line with unsatisfied customers claiming that there were unfair serving positions, some members of the community felt discriminated against, there were distinct barriers to communication and the whole process started to become a nightmare scenario. Not having a relaxed waiting environment lead to visitors experiencing ‘queue rage’, this in turn had a knock-on effect upon employees.
The manual system provided limited statistical information with the accuracy of data becoming mismatched as data would get lost or was not updated on a regular basis. This meant that Welwyn Hatfield Council did not have the means to provide accurate data submission for best practice achievements.
The authority is known for their best practice techniques which have been developed over the years and are being developed on an ongoing basis to surpass visitor expectations by providing a meaningful experience when offering help and advice to the local community.
The Situation
There was originally no system in place which regulated the flow of visitor traffic in relation to differing enquiry types. Visitors were given little indication as to their serving position and waiting times and were also engaging staff members in an open and noise surrounded environment.
Dissatisfaction echoed around the front line with unsatisfied customers claiming that there were unfair serving positions, some members of the community felt discriminated against, there were distinct barriers to communication and the whole process started to become a nightmare scenario. Not having a relaxed waiting environment lead to visitors experiencing ‘queue rage’, this in turn had a knock-on effect upon employees.
The manual system provided limited statistical information with the accuracy of data becoming mismatched as data would get lost or was not updated on a regular basis. This meant that Welwyn Hatfield Council did not have the means to provide accurate data submission for best practice achievements.
Why Lonsto?
Welwyn Hatfield Council were undergoing a refurbishment of the building facilities and decided that it was time to implement a solution that could help meet the needs of the organisation and those of their customers in the most cost effective manner.
Cyndy Kiernan was the Customer Services Manager at the time and came across a unique management solution which she had interacted with on a regular basis, it became clear to her that the entry level ticketing machine provided by Lonsto® at her local supermarkets was the catalyst which could provide and ideal solution for Welwyn Hatfield Councils requirements.
Having done some research into local authority best practice, Cyndy and her colleagues decided to visit Kettering Borough Council, based in Northamptonshire, to review a more sophisticated Lonsto® Q-Solution.
Spending the day at the establishment the decision became very simple, by studying and having a walk through the Kettering queue management solution; Welwyn Hatfield Council felt that a top-level solution would best meet their requirements.
Kettering Borough Council recommended Lonsto® to Welwyn Hatfield Council, who had made their decision that q-technology, was the best way forward in increasing efficiency, productivity and reducing costs, as they had seen the impact happen in a real life situation.
Mrs. Kiernan came into contact with one of Lonsto’s® most experienced Queue and Technical Consultants, George Papathomas and Earon Reid. The consultation process provided the chance for both parties to discuss the problems, solutions and processes which were to be streamlined and audited to meet best practice requirements.
Implementation
The implementation of the Queue Management System (Q.M.S)™ was straight forward as the installation was planned alongside the refurbishment of the council’s establishment. Time constraints were eliminated by working with contractors by scheduling priority installations alongside the work already being carried out.
A number of closed interview rooms which allowed face-to-face contact were introduced into the main reception area. The benefits of this included the introduction of privacy, elimination of barriers to communication and enhanced comfort through improved seating arrangements within the open plan waiting area.
Going Live
There was a natural learning curve for both office employees and customers. The old system to which customers had become so familiar with was gradually phased out, with the benefits of the new system soon becoming evident.
With the new system in place the customer now knew exactly that once they had taken a ticket they would not miss their turn and could have a chance to go away to get refreshments, run personal errands, visit the toilets etc.
Upon going live the benefits generated towards staff members and customers had created a positive environment, with such trends looking set to continue well into the future.
Immediate Benefits
A number of IT solutions were being introduced alongside the Queue Management System (Q.M.S)™. The sudden implementation within the organisation proved both an advantage and disadvantage due to employee and visitor unfamiliarity with the new processes and technologies in place.
Welwyn employees had numerous difficulties in convincing their visitors that taking a ticket would be an advantage to them, consequentially many customers neglected to take a ticket. This problem was overcome with the introduction of desk mounted ticket dispensers, whereby tickets were issued at the main reception desk.
Once the visitors became familiar with the system, it became second nature. Now visitors frequently use the self-service terminal so they also enjoy the benefits of the new system and relaxed waiting environment, knowing they will be served within a definitive waiting period.
Streamlining the process into a single contact point, where employees provided basic information to customers, monitoring and defining waiting and serving times all lead to the successful integration of the solution.
Automated statistics were cross referenced with existing manual spreadsheet data collection, proving that the existing method was inaccurate and time consuming for numerous members of the team.
2000 visitors were processed in the first week as council tax was due for payment. This proved a very effective exercise as they encountered mixed reactions from customers. However, customer throughput and reception time sharing charges for varying council services were now able to be monitored, helping Welwyn Hatfield Council to achieve ‘operational economies of scale’.
The Council now know exactly how long customers were waiting and allocate additional resources to meet the high demands of visitor influxes. The system has regulated the flow of visitors in a consistent and fair manner, and continues to do so three years after the original installation.
Welwyn Hatfield Council now operate a 12 category Queue Management System (Q.M.S)™ eliminating the need for visitors to speak with more than a single member of staff in relation to their enquiry. Less chance of mistakes happen as all data and flows are audit controlled and defined to meet the best practice standards.
An animated case study is also available on our new Interactive CD accompanied by our 1st Edition Newsletter 'The Cover Story'. So don't wait around and sign up today for a new queuing experince!
Welwyn Hatfield Council were undergoing a refurbishment of the building facilities and decided that it was time to implement a solution that could help meet the needs of the organisation and those of their customers in the most cost effective manner.
Cyndy Kiernan was the Customer Services Manager at the time and came across a unique management solution which she had interacted with on a regular basis, it became clear to her that the entry level ticketing machine provided by Lonsto® at her local supermarkets was the catalyst which could provide and ideal solution for Welwyn Hatfield Councils requirements.
Having done some research into local authority best practice, Cyndy and her colleagues decided to visit Kettering Borough Council, based in Northamptonshire, to review a more sophisticated Lonsto® Q-Solution.
Spending the day at the establishment the decision became very simple, by studying and having a walk through the Kettering queue management solution; Welwyn Hatfield Council felt that a top-level solution would best meet their requirements.
Kettering Borough Council recommended Lonsto® to Welwyn Hatfield Council, who had made their decision that q-technology, was the best way forward in increasing efficiency, productivity and reducing costs, as they had seen the impact happen in a real life situation.
Mrs. Kiernan came into contact with one of Lonsto’s® most experienced Queue and Technical Consultants, George Papathomas and Earon Reid. The consultation process provided the chance for both parties to discuss the problems, solutions and processes which were to be streamlined and audited to meet best practice requirements.
Implementation
The implementation of the Queue Management System (Q.M.S)™ was straight forward as the installation was planned alongside the refurbishment of the council’s establishment. Time constraints were eliminated by working with contractors by scheduling priority installations alongside the work already being carried out.
A number of closed interview rooms which allowed face-to-face contact were introduced into the main reception area. The benefits of this included the introduction of privacy, elimination of barriers to communication and enhanced comfort through improved seating arrangements within the open plan waiting area.
Going Live
There was a natural learning curve for both office employees and customers. The old system to which customers had become so familiar with was gradually phased out, with the benefits of the new system soon becoming evident.
With the new system in place the customer now knew exactly that once they had taken a ticket they would not miss their turn and could have a chance to go away to get refreshments, run personal errands, visit the toilets etc.
Upon going live the benefits generated towards staff members and customers had created a positive environment, with such trends looking set to continue well into the future.
Immediate Benefits
A number of IT solutions were being introduced alongside the Queue Management System (Q.M.S)™. The sudden implementation within the organisation proved both an advantage and disadvantage due to employee and visitor unfamiliarity with the new processes and technologies in place.
Welwyn employees had numerous difficulties in convincing their visitors that taking a ticket would be an advantage to them, consequentially many customers neglected to take a ticket. This problem was overcome with the introduction of desk mounted ticket dispensers, whereby tickets were issued at the main reception desk.
Once the visitors became familiar with the system, it became second nature. Now visitors frequently use the self-service terminal so they also enjoy the benefits of the new system and relaxed waiting environment, knowing they will be served within a definitive waiting period.
Streamlining the process into a single contact point, where employees provided basic information to customers, monitoring and defining waiting and serving times all lead to the successful integration of the solution.
Automated statistics were cross referenced with existing manual spreadsheet data collection, proving that the existing method was inaccurate and time consuming for numerous members of the team.
2000 visitors were processed in the first week as council tax was due for payment. This proved a very effective exercise as they encountered mixed reactions from customers. However, customer throughput and reception time sharing charges for varying council services were now able to be monitored, helping Welwyn Hatfield Council to achieve ‘operational economies of scale’.
The Council now know exactly how long customers were waiting and allocate additional resources to meet the high demands of visitor influxes. The system has regulated the flow of visitors in a consistent and fair manner, and continues to do so three years after the original installation.
Welwyn Hatfield Council now operate a 12 category Queue Management System (Q.M.S)™ eliminating the need for visitors to speak with more than a single member of staff in relation to their enquiry. Less chance of mistakes happen as all data and flows are audit controlled and defined to meet the best practice standards.
An animated case study is also available on our new Interactive CD accompanied by our 1st Edition Newsletter 'The Cover Story'. So don't wait around and sign up today for a new queuing experince!
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