HNSW to Introduce Customer Service Standards

Housing NSW's benchmark survey for Redfern & Waterloo showed high levels of dissatisfaction in public tenants dealings with Housing NSW - only half were happy with their dealings in the previous year. This is a state wide issue. On November 22 Housing NSW presented the "Customer Service Benchmarking – Service Delivery Solutions" excerpt below to a Social Housing Tenant Forum with tenants from the Public and Community Housing sectors drawn from across NSW. This is the first time that benchmarks have been publicly released for the Customer Service Standards that tenants should expect in their dealings with Housing NSW.

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