HNSW to Introduce Customer Service Standards

by

Customer Service Benchmarking – Service
Delivery Solutions

Customer
Service Service Standards

Housing NSW is undertaking a new way of
ensuring the quality of service provided by the Housing Contact Centre and
local offices is of the highest possible standard. Service standards have been
developed in consultation with the Tenants Advisory Committee. An excerpt of
the Standards is below. Assessments are conducted on services provided and the
results of these assessments are compared to benchmarks to identify areas of
good services and areas for improvement. 

Accessibility of
offices

Example criteria

Publishing
of office locations
  • Office
    locations and phone numbers should be published in White Pages
  • Opening hours
    to be clearly displayed on office door

Accessibility
  • All offices
    should comply with the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA)

Privacy
  • All offices
    should have either an interview room or an area which allows visual and
    auditory privacy for clients when speaking with client service staff

Signage

Example
criteria

Office
signage
  • Adequate
    signage directing clients to reception or ticketing machine 
  • All office
    signage should have a Housing NSW or FACS logo and be compliant with
    OH&S
  • Offices should
    have signs or posters giving information on basic services for e.g. “How
    to apply for housing assistance”

Brochures,
Forms, Posters
  • Offices should
    be stocked with printed material associated with services offered
  • Posters or
    signage should provide information on where clients can obtain Fact
    Sheets (i.e. ask at counter, on web site etc)
  • Existing
    brochure holders should be clean and stocked with commonly used forms
  • All offices
    should display posters for the Rentstart service and 1300HOUSING  

Office Environment

Example
Criteria

Seating
  • Adequate
    seating should be provided

Foyer
  • Office foyer
    area should give overall impression of being cared for and maintained,
    and should be clean and tidy (with some leeway for a full day’s service)

Rentstart
kiosk
  • Written
    material should always be available – i.e. application forms, brochures,
    instruction sheets for operation of fax, and clear advice of ‘next
    steps’ once client has faxed their application
  • All hardware
    (fax and phone) should be in working order

Service Delivery

Example
Criteria

Service
wait times
  • Once a client
    has entered the office and sighted a staff person, they should be either
    –
    • Joining a
      queue within 3-5 minutes
    • Taking a
      ticket within 3-5 minutes (thus ensuring that office is aware of
      client’s presence)
    • Client should
      be attended to within 30 minutes

Staff appearance

Example
Criteria

Name
tags
  • Staff should
    wear name tags when attending the front counter or dealing with clients.
    The name tag should be the first name.

Dress
and grooming
  • All staff
    members’ appearance should be clean, neat and tidy at all times

Staff
greeting/manner

Example
Criteria

Standard
  • Staff should
    greet client warmly and offer assistance (when answering the phone,
    staff should identify themselves as well i.e.

Manner
  • Staff member
    displayed an engaging and pleasant manner

Approach
  • Staff member
    should present as friendly and approachable

Staff Communication
Skills

Example
Criteria

Style
  • Staff adapted
    their communication style to different clients and situations

Speech
  • Staff spoke
    clearly and pleasantly
  • Avoided overuse
    of jargon

Awareness/sensitivity
  • Staff should
    demonstrate awareness and sensitivity to client needs
  • Where a client
    wishes to discuss sensitive information with staff they should be
    provided with an interview room (where available) or a quiet area

CALD
and Indigenous clients
  • Staff should
    recognise the need for an interpreter and organise for the client to
    speak with one if required

 

Empathy
  • Staff should
    demonstrate empathy where appropriate (maintain a professional approach)

Enquiry resolution

Example
Criteria

Forms
  • Where a client
    is seeking information on Housing NSW products and services, staff
    should provide a range of options –
    • Offer to hand
      the client forms/fact sheets if they attend an office OR
    • Advise that
      this information can be found on our website at (give URL) OR
    • Offer to post
      this information
  • Where client
    attends an office and demonstrates that they need assistance in
    completing a form, staff should assist them to complete it

Probed
Needs
  • Staff should
    ensure they fully understand the client’s need by probing for more
    information and clarifying issues.

Product
knowledge
  • Staff should
    be able to provide clear information readily on a given product or
    service
  • If staff do
    not have this information to hand, they should be able to source it quickly

Completion
of interview
  • Staff should
    provide client with ‘next steps’ information

Source: Housing NSW Document released on 22 November 2011