Government Technology - May 2008 - (Page 42)

e-government S TAT E | L O C A L | F E D E R A L j j Synopsis: Local governments are surveyed to determine the effectiveness of centralized calling systems. Report local government uses a centralized customer service system — sometimes called 311 — so residents can call a centralized government phone number, place requests for service and are assigned tracking numbers to monitor their requests. Though a centralized customer service system is valuable for residents, local governments benefit too. Some big cities — Baltimore, Las Vegas, Chicago, New York, Houston and Dallas — have implemented these systems to ease the burden on 911 emergency systems, and they seem to be doing the trick. The International City/County Management Association recently conducted a Local Government Customer Service Systems (311) national survey. Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the survey explored successful 311 implementations and how they’re used to respond to citizen needs and strengthen local government-constituent relationships. The311 A Centralized customer service systems provide constituents and local government a one-stop request spot. service, information, reporting and management. There are also alternatives to a 311 designation, such as an easy-to-remember, seven-digit number. Forty-three percent of respondents — the highest percentage in the survey — cited improving their service as the impetus behind system implementation. In Los Alamos County, N.M., 311 system implementation was prompted by the overwhelming number of phone calls for information after devastating wildfires, according to the Los Alamos County KanDu/311 Contact Center, one of many reports from Call 311: Connecting Citizens to Local Government Case Study Series. Public pressure was also identified as a factor, and poor results on citizen satisfaction surveys often prompt the exploration of a centralized system. Residents expect value for their tax dollars, and centralized customer service systems can show demonstrated areas of high performance and those needing improvement. Overall Usage Of 710 survey respondents, only 104 reported they use a centralized system. But the results show that not only large cities and counties are using them: Thirty-two local governments that use a centralized system have a population under 30,000. Although that number of adopters seems low, twice as many local governments are considering installing a system. For local governments that lack systems, the major concerns were cost and the process of obtaining a 311 designation. But implementation leads to demonstrable savings, such as reduced calls to 911, and improved customer Local Goverment Use of a Centralized Customer Service System The survey was sent to 2,287 local governments, and was also available for completion online. The response rate was 31 percent. Population Group Total number of respondents 24 160 456 70 710 Percent that have a centralized system 8.3 23.1 13.8 2.9 14.6 Percent that do not have a centralized system 91.7 76.9 86.2 97.1 85.4 500,000 and over 100,000 – 499,999 25,000 – 99,999 2,500 – 24,999 All respondents MAY_08 42 BY EVELINA MOULDER | CONTRIBUTING WRITER http://www.govtech.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - May 2008

Government Technology - May 2008 Contents Point of View The Last Mile Big Picture On the Scene Four Questions for … Turning Over a New Leaf Crash Diet Budget Blues? Failing Grade? Running the Numbers The 311 Report High-Tech Corrections How It Works Spectrum Two Cents Products Personal Computing Signal: Noise

Government Technology - May 2008

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