Development Services Review. Final Report. Zucker July 2016

III.

ISSUES FOR ALL FUNCTIONS

A. C USTOMER S ERVICE S URVEYS Customer surveys are routinely used by both public and private entities to solicit feedback from their customers on the quality of the services that are being provided. When properly designed, a survey can solicit important information that can be gathered in no other way. Frequently, it is the customer that identifies the need for the jurisdiction to offer a new service. Often this recommendation is provided because a customer has taken advantage of some service that was provided by another (competing) jurisdiction. The City of Morgan Hill does not currently have the basic type of customer service survey program that we are accustomed to seeing at nearly every development services department we have studied. Generally, we see comment cards available at multiple public counters and prominently displayed on the community’s website. One of the best practices we have seen in some progressive communities is the jurisdiction’s efforts to send customer service surveys to permit customers after their project has been completed. Some permit customers are reluctant to provide meaningful feedback while their projects are still being reviewed, asking for feedback after the project has been completed can provide insightful comments about not only interactions with staff but, also recommended changes to the process. 2. Recommendation: The City Manager should direct Departments to develop and implement a customer service survey to be available at every public counter and on the City’s website. 3. Recommendation: The Assistant City Manager for Community Development, and the City Engineer should create a program to send customer service survey forms to permit holders after their project has been completed. The use of customer service surveys generates both positive and negative results. We frequently see management focus considerable attention on addressing negative comments and virtually ignoring the opportunities that positive comments can have on an organization when those comments are shared in the proper setting. Stories of employees providing extraordinary customer service can prove inspirational to others who are asked to work in a challenging environment. 4. Recommendation : Managers should make both negative and positive feedback gathered from customer service surveys available to all levels of the organization.

Morgan Hill, California

17

Zucker Systems