Following a 2005 study of best practice in using customer information in successful organizations this research considers the best way to develop customer satisfaction measures for local government and sets out broad recommendations looking at how best to improve local services and at how customer measures could be used as part of a future performance management system for localities.

Its findings are presented along with the views of the Local Government Association and National Consumer Council on what has been learned and how to take this forward.

The Local Government Association (LGA) and the National Consumer Council (NCC) work in partnership to enable local government to improve its understanding of its customers. The NCC has published a Playlist for public services as a guide to public service design, which, amongst other things, calls for public services to measure and report on customer satisfaction in a consistent and systematic way.

In 2005 the LGA completed a study of best practice in using customer information in successful organizations which demonstrated the value of customer information to delivering and improving services in local government.

This study has three main research phases. Tetlow Associates, working with Dr Foster Research, carried out interviews with local authorities and policy stakeholders, identified expert practice in the UK and overseas, and used feedback from the Local Government Association (LGA), the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) and National Consumer Council (NCC).

The study's findings were tested and refined through consultation with Local authority officers and councilors in the form of workshops in London and Sunderland.

This study's conclusions include first the fact that there is an opportunity for step change improvement in the way that local government collects and uses information about customers. Many of the current systems are not now fit for purpose, delivering neither systematic, high-quality customer information nor supporting local government to improve services.

Secondly, there would be significant benefits in developing a ‘bottom-up’ approach based on tools that councils could use to improve their use of customer intelligence. A common data protocol would provide a baseline of consistency in measuring customer satisfaction without restricting local authorities that wanted to do more.

Local Government Association
Phone: +(44)(0)20 7664 3131
info@lga.gov.uk

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10/01/2007

Tetlow Associates and Dr Foster Research

research

Urban Policy > Social inclusion & integration > Community development

Citizens' participation