Open Communication Amongst Departments
Having open communication across all agency departments is critical when jobs start to overlap. In some situations, you may need multiple agencies involved in accomplishing one job. Doing this is not always easy, but when everything is in one place, and each department can see the request, it makes it easier to coordinate.
Safety and Accountability
Sometimes complaints can quickly escalate into emergencies, and having multiple avenues for communication improves the safety of the public. It also holds government agencies accountable for completing tasks and responding to complaints in a timely manner. With each complaint comes a name and time when it was filed. From there, government leaders will be able to track how long it took them to answer all the way to the point where they marked the job complete. For you, as a leader, this factor allows you to track how well-appointed individuals are handling their position.
With current 311 and paper systems, it's easy to let something fly by because corruption is common. Someone may have a certain bias against a specific person, and they may let certain complaints go unnoticed because they want to see certain people gone.
Having a public forum where constituents voice their concerns, and everyone can see it holds the people in charge accountable, and it limits the possibilities of corruption.
Reporting and Analytics
How does your local municipality currently keep track of reports and data? Most don't have any system in place to see which complaints are coming in most often so the situation can get fixed for the future. Wouldn't it be great if you could keep track of every complaint, from every person, in each part of town so you could see if issues become a recurring problem?
With a government CRM, you can do exactly that.
CRMs like Rock Solid's OneView allow you to track data and create reports so you can identify deeper lying issues in your local area.
For example, if someone is continually filing a noise complaint every Friday night about a specific neighbor. You might want to contact the authorities and get someone over there before the problem escalates into an emergency.
If people on a certain street are always reporting that their yards flood from runoff during rainstorms, you may want to get a specific department out there. They can investigate the situation and see if there is anything you can do to help them going forward.
Without having a simple place to stack up recurring complaints, it's difficult to identify serious issues without the person calling and telling you that they've "complained about this problem for years."
Having an easy and organized way to track data shows your constituents that you run an organized agency and that you are proactive in handling their issues.
Omni-channel Engagement
Giving people multiple platforms to voice their opinions is the best way to communicate with your constituents. The younger generation of your town may prefer using a mobile app because it's easy for them to use on the go.
For example, if someone is on their way to work and they hit a big pothole in the middle of the street. They may not want to pick up the phone and call, and they might forget to do it when they get home. The individual can quickly pull over, submit a request through your app, and be on their way.
On the flip side, some of the older generations of your local area may not like the idea of a mobile app. In that case, they still have the freedom to dial 311, walk-in, or call with their issues. Their complaint will likely get handled much faster because the standard 311 line will not be as busy due to the mobile app capabilities.
Enhance Existing Systems
The best government CRM will work hand-in-hand with the processes you already have in place. It's not there to replace them completely, but instead, it exists to enhance what you're already doing right. Government CRM can also replace some of the things you might be doing wrong.
The goal is to simplify the process of constituents filing complaints and speed up the process of how your agency handles them. Simple as that.
