Cessnock City Council’s commitment to providing outstanding customer service and improving overall customer experiences was recognised with two Awards at the 2020 Local Government Excellence Awards.
The council walked away a winner in the Service Delivery Initiative category for their recent ePlanning transformation.
They also received a Highly Commended achievement in the category of Excellence in People and Culture for their Customer Relations Improvement Project.
Their ePlanning transformation project was all about improving the applicant’s experience in lodging development applications and post consent certificates online via the NSW Planning Portal.
Cessnock City Council’s General Manager, Lotta Jackson, said the benefits of this transformation have made planning easier, more accessible, and reduced assessment times for the applicant.
“We were the first Council in NSW to achieve a direct link between our internal planning systems and the NSW Planning Portal which is a fantastic achievement and something our team should be very proud of,” Lotta said.
Their Customer Relations Improvement Project introduced new technology to provide a renewed focus on the customer experience, demonstrating improvement in response time to customers, communication, and knowledge exchanges across Council.
“We remain committed to providing Customer Service excellence, meeting our communities needs and expectations by striving towards future innovation with the continued goal of positive customer engagement.”
“Our Customer Relations Team supported the community across several emergency events in 2019/20 and we will continue to improve on and deliver exceptional customer service to our community,” Lotta concluded.
The NSW Local Government Excellence Awards celebrate outstanding achievements; whilst promoting innovation and continuous improvement within NSW local government.
Through this Award’s platform, the excellent work being undertaken by members and NSW councils can be demonstrated in a unique showcase throughout the state and nation.
IMAGE | Cessnock City Council’s ePlanning group: Business Support Officer, Lauren Murphy, Business Support and Customer Relations Manager, Roslyn Ashton, Acting Business Support Team Leader, Sandra Richardson, and Planning Assessment Officer, Paige Hawkins (left-right).
