The current Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 system was purchased and developed in 2011, which provides a basic system for recording customer contact and logging requests for service. Components of the current system used by the customer services team and supports forms on the website are no longer supported by the existing supplier which provides the associated risks:

It is no longer possible to develop the current solution to meet our changed needs as the original supplier is no longer available to carry out this work on our behalf.
Although the data is regularly back up it provides a risk
It has not been possible to capture data required to support the Council’s response to Covid-19 such as volunteer contact details, key support requirements for members of the public and food ordering and delivery information.

This project will review the current functions and services required for the future within the customer services team and provide a system that will:

Give the customer a consistent and improved quality experience regardless of the channel
Allow in-house development which will easily respond to changing demands
Enable a combined view of the customer and activity across the council’s departments and services – a ‘golden’ record
Provide monitoring and management of the contacts received from start to completion
Enable the analysis of trends and demand so that the council can be proactive in offering services and be more timely in their delivery
Provide a portal for councillors to raise and track requests on behalf of their constituents as well as access information.

To complement this work a customer service strategy will be developed to consider the future customer services offer for Herefordshire Council which will also scope the future integrations required across all directorates to improve the customer experience.

This proposal and recommendation will improve the system for the customer and staff and at this stage will replace the existing functions, further development and scoping is required for integration across other service areas.