Telford & Wrekin Council has been recognised for their commitment to enhancing customer service, taking home the win for Best Efficiency and Transformation Initiative at the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) Awards. Their AI assistant, “Ask Tom”, has been integral to the council’s transformation, setting new benchmarks for efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Since its inception, “Ask Tom” has managed over 25,000 resident queries and achieved impressive results, including a 99.3% satisfaction rate compared to 91.2% for traditional customer services channels, operational savings due to the 24/7 AI assistant, a 69% reduction in traditional webchat and a 35% drop in call volumes, as well as reduced waiting times across all services.
The council has been able to integrate three new services due to the capacity boost from the AI assistant, amounting to nearly 4,000 calls per month, and offering a better service for those who may not be as technologically adept or lack online access.
The Council’s customer satisfaction index score of 71.2% is better than the average score for other councils (64.4%) and the customer effort score, which measures the ease of customer transactions, stood at 4.2, significantly outperforming the UK organisation average of 5.2.
As Fiona Watson, Chief Marketing Officer at ICS.AI expressed, “Telford & Wrekin Council’s proactive approach sets a standard for other councils and their AI journey has inspired many. Gemma Hancox, the Council’s Customer Contact Group Manager is a beacon of this transformation and has been sharing the Council’s success story at conferences, webinars, and forums”.
The success of “Ask Tom” has led the Council to consider additional use cases and contact channels and they continue to work with ICS.AI, developing plans to integrate voice AI directly into their phone channel, as well as reviewing the huge opportunity for innovation with generative AI to further extend the potential to improve customer service.
Telford & Wrekin Council’s success in achieving customer service excellence has been celebrated at the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) Awards, where they were awarded for Best Efficiency and Transformation Initiative. Their AI assistant, “Ask Tom”, has revolutionised local government services by managing over 25,000 resident queries, achieving an impressive 99.3% satisfaction rate, operational savings, capacity boost, and reduced waiting times across all services.
The Council’s customer satisfaction index score of 71.2% outperformed the average score for other councils (64.4%) and the customer effort score, which measures the ease of customer transactions, stood at 4.2, significantly outperforming the UK organisation average of 5.2.
Fiona Watson, Chief Marketing Officer at ICS.AI praised Telford & Wrekin Council for setting a standard for other councils and their AI journey inspiring many. Gemma Hancox, the Council’s Customer Contact Group Manager, has been sharing their success story at conferences, webinars, and forums, and their award is a well-deserved recognition of their exemplary commitment to public service.
The Council continues to work with ICS.AI, developing plans to integrate voice AI directly into their phone channel, as well as reviewing the huge potential for innovation with generative AI to further extend the potential to improve customer service. “Ask Tom” is a shining example of innovation, efficiency, and customer service excellence and can serve as a roadmap to success for other local authorities.
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