Open Decision Item 6
146 1
Overview and Scrutiny Panel
4
thFebruary 2015
The future delivery of Out Of Hours Call Centre Activity
SYNOPSIS
In this report Members are asked to consider the findings of the working party set up to consider alternative provision to the Out of Hours Emergency response service currently operated in house.
1. Introduction and Relevant Background Details
In September 2013 a report was presented to the One Corby Policy Committee relating to the future delivery of the supported housing service for elderly residents covering a number of topics. All options excluding the recommendation that a pilot be undertaken for switching the night shift out of hours Call Centre service and provision to an alternate call centre were approved.
Members asked that a working party be set up to review the proposal and explore alternative options. The working party was to be made up of several members from the Overview and Scrutiny Panel and Officers.
Members of the working party were given the opportunity to look in more detail at and discuss:
current budget and staffing provision rotas
management information on call number activity and the response timeframes
lone working and making effective decisions in emergency situations in a pressured environment
the challenges and the difficulties of managing and retaining a team working out of hours.
staff numbers, combating isolation and sudden illness at work situations call centre monitoring services
alternative forms of provision – merging with other organisations
partnership working with the Close Circuit Television Team (CCTV) team
A review of the actual calls received between the hours of 10-6am and the cost of staffing the call center has been undertaken. On average 30 calls are received per month after 10pm approximately 95% being repair emergencies.
The isolation and lone working does not suit all employees. Supervision is not easily achievable in the same way as employees working normal working hours. As a result of the restructure of the support services some remote support is now offered to employees out of hours by the team manager and team leaders. Support is always needed for staff to call in sick, advise of illness whilst on shift or for reasons of needing support advice or answers to unique situations or emergencies. On several occasions they have had to staff the control centre until an employee willing to work overtime is able to come into work. The team have relied heavily on goodwill and achieving a good work life balance is not always achieved. Although we have a few casual employees trained and willing to step in it is difficult to make a call on a Friday at 9pm, on a Saturday afternoon, or in the early hours of a Sunday
morning at 2am and expect casual staff to respond, be available, and be prepared to deliver a first class response service at short notice. The weekend positions have been difficult to recruit to and retaining good quality staff to theses unpopular and unsocial hours has been a challenge.
Members of the working party agreed that the current arrangements pose a health and safety concern and understood why it has been difficult to retain good quality staff. Members also recognised in order for the service to remain resilient an alternative way of providing the service is required.
2. The Report
The control centre operates 24hours 7 days a week, every day of the year. It primarily deals with services associated with the elderly or community alarm but is required to act for other council departments. The call centre is responsible for responding to tenant requests for out of hours emergency repairs. After normal working hours it receives calls and enquiries on behalf of other council departments including Homelessness and Environmental Services. Members were advised of the pros and cons of merging the out of hours with another Local Authority/Housing Association, operating out of hours from a monitoring call centre, merging with our current CCTV operations and remaining as is for out of hours services.
Options considered:
1. Merging with other authorities or organisations. This option was considered as it
would provide longer term resilience and transfer the risk of service failure, however there is little local scope as other local authorities attempt to find cheaper provision by outsourcing their call centre activities following the withdrawal of supporting people funding. Members of the working party agreed that any job opportunity should be kept local and preferably within the Borough.
Kettering Borough Council outsource their calls from the elderly out of hours and at weekends to Redditch Borough Council who also take their out of hours emergency repair calls with a response coming direct from Kettering’s Direct Labour Organisation East Northants contract Tunstall to operate as their elderly service response provision and their repairs contractor Keepmoat use Tunstall to handle emergency repair reports.
Wellingborough Homes have contracted Aims to operate as their elderly service response provision and their repairs contractor Keepmoat use Aims to handle emergency repair reports.
Market Harborough have contracted Tunstall to operate as their elderly service response provision and their repairs contractor Jeakins Weir use Tunstall to handle emergency repair calls.
Northampton Borough Council have an in-house call centre which operates in a similar fashion to Corby’s taking both the elderly services alarms calls and out of hours emergency repair reports.
The two largest Housing Associations in the Borough – Orbit and ASRA operate nationwide and have their own call centres.
2. Switching to a monitoring call centre This option was considered as it would
provide longer term resilience and transfer the risk of service failure, however despite assurances a British call centre would be a preferred option Members of the working party agreed that any job opportunity should be kept local and preferably within the Borough.
3. Merging with current CCTV operations and keeping the entire service in house
This option was considered as it would provide longer term resilience and mitigate the risk of service failure. Members agreed that this option was worth exploring further.
The prospect of retaining jobs in Corby was welcomed by Members. The current contact for CCTV Operations is due renewal in January 2016 with a procurement exercise required to begin no later than September 2015. Members were advised that there would be a potential increase in costs associated with the service in terms of salaries. Current call centre operatives are paid a higher rate that the CCTV Operators. There could also be additional costs associated with the physical build to accommodate the service in one area. Extensive training would also be required.
4. Merging out of hours call centre activities with current CCTV operations and package as one contract This option was considered as it would provide longer
term resilience and mitigate the risk of service failure. It may be possible to reduce costs If both services were to merge but would mean a number of Corby Borough Council staff could face redundancy. If this option was recommended at least 2 full time equivalent post may be lost. Extensive training and remodelling of the physical building could be required at a cost to Corby Borough Council. Members indicated they would prefer services to be delivered and controlled by Corby Borough Counciland recognised that to do this option 3 would be preferable.
5. Additional Staff Members suggested additional staff could be employed to improve
resilience and mitigate the risk of service failure, however the limited work load and costs of employing additional staff members would not prove good value for money. Members also considered the difficulty in recruiting and retaining qualify staff and the management difficulties operating an out of hours service posed.
6. Remaining as is Members agreed that a solution to the current operating model
must be found to improve resilience and mitigate the risk of service failure and remaining as is was not an option.
3. Options to be considered:
Members are being asked to consider which of the 5 options below should be pursued 1. Merge with another Local Authority/Housing Association for out of hours services 2. Switch out of hours services to a call centre monitoring provide
3. Merge the service with the current CCTV service on expiry of current contract for out of hours services and deliver a joined up service in house
4. Merge the service with the current CCTV service on expiry of current contract and procure a new service provider to deliver both elements.
5. Employ additional staff
6. Remain operating as we do currently
To summarise members did not express an outright preference other than to indicate option 6 would not be their preference. There was a strong indication that retaining job opportunities locally should be a priority.
4. Issues to be taken into account:-
Policy Priorities
Corporate Plan ‘One Corby’ Objectives
1. Community Objective 1 – Improve the well-being and quality of life of residents of the Borough
2. Leadership Objective 4 – Deliver improved quality customer-focussed services
Financial
If option 1or 2 is considered there will be negligible savings year on year but there may be costs associated with redundancy. However with a vacant post, a fixed term contract and a call centre operator wishing to opt for flexible retirement theses costs would be minimised
If option 3 or 4 is considered their may be increased costs associated with TUPE and job evaluations as call centre operatives and CCTV operatives pay scales differ.
Risk
The current service struggles to provide the first class service residents of the borough deserve out of hours. It is fortunate that until now we have been able to deal with staffing issues with the goodwill of other employees and a heavy reliance on casual staff and overtime, however the turnover of staff employed on the less popular shifts is high. There is a risk that at some time the service could fail due to staffing issues.
Performance Information
There are no National Performance indicators to consider.
Legal
Legal Services have been consulted on this proposal and have advised there are no specific implications arising from this report. Officers will be required to follow procurement and contact protocols.
Human Rights
There are no specific implications relating to the Human Rights Act in this report.
Equalities
No adverse impact has been identified in considering the recommendation.
Economic – Ensuring our services are accessible at all times without increasing the cost of
providing those services demonstrates value for money for all borough residents.
Social – Our residents expect the best services we can offer, we must ensure that all
residents have continued access to emergency out of hours services when required.
Community Safety
There are no community safety implications relating to this report.
Consultation
Consultation with tenants linked to the alarm service has been undertaken. Resident indicate they do not mind who answers a call for help but prefer the physical response to come from a current CBC employee. A further consultation with other tenants about the out of hours emergency repairs service will be undertaken when members agree which option they would prefer to pursue. If option 2 is preferred consultation and the scripting of responses to enquiries received on their behalf out of hours with colleagues in both Environmental Quality and Homelessness.
Best Value
Changing how we deliver services demonstrates that the council is striving to continuously improve by being driven by the needs of tenants and residents to deliver the best possible service..
Sustainability
The current service has been operating as is, in the same form for over 20 years. In order that we can sustain an excellent service for genuine emergency calls Members should note that many councils already uses call centre monitoring services for their entire business for practical and financial reasons and others choose to partner with bigger authorities.
5. Conclusion
Ensuring that we continue to offer a first class response service out of hours to residents and tenants that is not compromised at any time must be a priority. Consideration to the proposals in this report would ensure this happens
6. Recommendation
Members of Overview and Scrutiny Panel are asked to agree which option they prefer Officers to pursue and recommend with a view to a report being prepared to One Corby Policy Committee. Background Papers None External Consultations None List of Appendices None Officers to Contact Cath Maglone
Landlord Services Manager 01536 463174
