Delivering Outstanding Service

District of Squamish staff have been working to continually improve customer service to residents and businesses. Thank you to everyone who provided feedback!

 Background:

In 2012, the District of Squamish established a Customer Service Team to review the level of service being provided to customers and to develop a program to ensure service excellence. The team began by launching a community-wide survey. Results showed 58% of respondents rated service "excellent to good" and 42% rated "average to poor".

To improve service levels, the "Delivering Outstanding Service" program was established and set benchmarks and standards for responding to customer inquiries. The program focusses on:

• Creating clear customer service policy and guidelines. (view the policy)
• Customer service training
• Increasing employee awareness and engagement
• Improving business processes

The 2014 to 2016 Service Plan, which built upon the 2010 Service Squamish initiative, outlines the District's commitment as a service-driven organization to Deliver Outstanding Service to citizens, businesses, taxpayers and other stakeholders.  

In May 2014, the District of Squamish received national recognition for its Customer Service Program from the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators (CAMA). Read the full story.

A follow-up survey was launched in the fall of 2014 to measure the program's success.  Results were generally more positive with 80% of respondents "strongly agreeing or agreeing" that staff were knowledgeable, provided accurate information, and were professional. The survey results showed room for improvements in:

• Creativity and flexibility with addressing concerns
• Staff going above and beyond expectations
• Reducing the length of time for an employee to respond

To address these issues, the Customer Service Team's 2015 efforts focussed on:

• Improving casual coverage of regular staff during days-off
• Strengthening communication between departments
• Improving sharing of information particularly with front line staff
• Improving technology challenges with locating information