The achievements and future direction of Customer First came under discussion at the Customer First conference in Edinburgh on Monday 5 October 2009.
‘Customer First ... Where to now?' brought together 145 delegates from 29 councils and partner organisations to examine what has been achieved so far, look at practical examples of Customer First in action, and open the debate on how the programme will be shaped in future.
Councillor Pat Watters, President of COSLA, opened the conference with an acknowledgement that local authorities are facing tough times financially and called for all councils to continue to work together.
The theme was continued by keynote speaker Colin Mair, Chief Executive of the Improvement Service, who argued that Customer First is more relevant than ever in the current economic climate. No authority can achieve better outcomes alone and councils need to focus on service integration and organising services around the customer, he said. He gave examples of how Customer First is helping councils achieve efficiencies before asking delegates to consider how to maintain and exploit Customer First in future.
Duncan Macniven, Registrar General, General Register Office for Scotland, spoke about the importance of collaboration in meeting efficiency targets. Archie Strang, Chief Executive, South Lanarkshire, provided an overview of the National Infrastructure and its potential for improving customer access and service. Jim Kinney, Customer First Operational Director, closed off the morning presentations with an overview of the Citizen Account.
The afternoon presentations focused on the "view from Chief Executives". Alex Linkston of West Lothian Council outlined the National CRM Programme and what it has delivered before asking where it should go next. Bob Jack, Chief Executive of Stirling Council (lead council for the OneScotland Gazetteer) spoke about the importance of geographic information in delivering services. David Dorward of Dundee City Council outlined the National Entitlement Card scheme, demonstrated its current penetration in councils and put forward some suggestions for future card services.
The day also featured a series of workshops on practical aspects of the Customer First programme. These included data sharing within the National Infrastructure; demonstrations of the Citizen Account, technology changes facing the National Entitlement Card; implementation of the OneScotland Gazetteer; and common CRM solutions.
Copies of the slides from all the presentations and a selection of the workshops, and a full delegate list are available to download from our Library. A recorded webcast can be found at www.video3uk.com/customerfirstwheretonow. Instructions on how to join and access the webcast can also be found in our Library.
