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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
4
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
5
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
6
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
7
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 [email protected].
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 [email protected].
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 [email protected] 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 [email protected]; 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.