Governance Committee

21 October 2025

Appendix 1 Customer Contact Dashboard

1.0 Dashboard: customer contact definitions and parameters

1.1 The project has focused on public facing access points for telephone calls, group email addresses, and webforms in the corporate ESCC website. The following describes more fully what is and is not included in the current dashboard development:

· All public facing telephone numbers are included only (and not personal or mobile numbers).

· All public facing group email inboxes with ESCC domain (@eastsussex.gov.uk) are included.

Webforms only from the corporate (eastsussex.gov.uk) website are included. To clarify, webforms from other microsites are not included, with the exception of webforms from eastsussexhighways.com due to the high volume of this ESCC microsite and data readily available.

· Webforms that are embedded into the corporate website that feed into other systems (e.g. case managements systems, mapping systems) are not included.

· In person visitors (e.g. The Keep, Libraries, Receptions) are not included.

· Contact via social media is not included.

2.0 Snapshots of Customer Contact Dashboard

2.1 The dashboard images at the end of this document provide the visual representation of the figures presented in the dashboard. These are:

· In order to compare like for like:

o Image 1 August 2023 – March 2024 and Image 2 August 2024 – March 2025

· In order to provide a full year of figures:

o Image 3 April 2024 – March 2025

3.0 Example of channel shifting development: Registration Service, CET

3.1 From the results of the figures in the dashboard, it was established that telephone calls were very high. The data, therefore highlighted that there were opportunities for channel shift, due to the significant high number of telephone contact to the service.

3.2 In the last year 2024/25 there were 47,626 calls in to the service an average of 3,968 per month. There were 33,391 emails averaging 2,782 a month and 6,102 bookings online average 508 a month. This shows 52% of customer contact was made over the telephone.

3.3 Customers continue to have limited options when making an enquiry or booking for a ceremony, and at present the only option is over the telephone. This limits accessibility to the service for the customer as telephone lines are open between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday.

3.4 An investigation was carried out in 2024 into how the service can increase accessibility for the customers, looking to reduce the need for the customer to avoid repeated calls after initial bookings to check on details and make changes for confirmed bookings of ceremonies. The investigation focused on the breakdown of the types of contact to the Registration Service, identifying the service offer that contributes to the highest volume of enquiry and bookings that are made over the telephone. Options were reviewed to reduce the contact over the telephone by seeking alternative options that improves accessibility for the customer, and it was concluded that use of the online bookings system needed to be increased.

3.5 The benefits for the customers in developing online self-serve option is that customers can carry out their tasks at any time without a need to wait for the telephone lines to be available, it also removes the need for customers to call back if the telephone lines are busy or require a call back from a member of the team.

3.6 The improvements being made meet all five areas of the East Sussex Way with customer focus at the heart and it supports the Council’s priority helping people help themselves and making the best use of resources now and for the future. The significant work being done supports the 2025/26 business plan priorities to channel shift within Registration and strengthens the progress towards meetings those priorities.