Collection

Contact the council

Research related to customer services.

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• Testing Hackney's resident principles

  We tested some draft resident principles with residents.

  December 2024 - January 2025

  Part of a collection for: Contact the council

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• Testing phone menus

  We wanted to understand if simplifying council phone menus helps residents to speak to the right person faster and easier.

  July 2023 - August 2023

  Part of a collection for: Contact the council

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• Hackney information requests

  Discovery project to explore how Hackney Council could provide new citizen-facing tools for it's Freedom of Information (FOI) and Subject Access Request (SAR) services.

  Phases: Discovery

  Part of a collection for: Contact the council

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• Understanding Customer Services

  A discovery to understand Customer Services as a whole. In particular, what it is, how well it works and the opportunities to improve it. The goal was to decide on opportunities to improve resident contact with Customer Services.

  Phases: Discovery

  Part of a collection for: Contact the council

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• Accessibility across customer services

  Research to understand the pain points that people with access needs experience when interacting with Customer Services (telephony, face-to-face and the website).

  June 2022 - October 2022

  Phases: Discovery

  Part of a collection for: Contact the council

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• Understanding general enquiries emails

  The info@hackney.gov.uk mailbox is meant to be used by residents who have general enquiries. The purpose of this research is to identify the problems with the current system, why residents email instead of using our online services and what (if any) are the opportunities for digital.

  Phases: Discovery

  Part of a collection for: Contact the council

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• How might we solve problems for residents?

  The goal was to decide what the Customer Experience Team should work on next. Whilst solving problems for residents and the council.

  March 2025 - April 2025

  Phases: Discovery

  Part of a collection for: Contact the council

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• Testing ways to improve how residents contact the council

  To rapidly prototype and test ways we can improve how residents contact the council. We carried out 3 design and research sprints.

  December 2024 - April 2025

  Phases: Alpha

  Part of collections for: Council websites, Contact the council

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• Can chatbots and AI help solve service design problems

  This discovery project aimed to resolve these problems by delivering; * a methodology for evaluating the suitability or otherwise of a particular application for developing into a chatbot or AI product * a research base to assist local authorities developing their individual business cases to save time and resource rather than duplicating research * a summary of the potential technology solutions that are available with their individual advantages and disadvantages of each, and their applicability to different circumstances * a set of case studies drawn from participating councils in how the framework can be applied

  February 2019 - April 2019

  Phases: Discovery

  Part of collections for: Council websites, Contact the council

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• Developing a resident focused way to measure our performance in Hackney

  Our residents should design what good customer service looks like. We conducted research with residents to help us develop something that helps us to accurately measure the service we give to make sure we deliver the service our residents expect. We're planning to validate these findings with a wider, more formal consultation with residents.

  July 2020 - September 2020

  Phases: Discovery

  Part of a collection for: Contact the council

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• Understanding the needs of new residents to Hackney

  A project to understand user needs for new residents of Hackney and whether a product that pulls together particular information and services could meet that need.

  July 2018 - September 2018

  Phases: Discovery

  Part of a collection for: Contact the council

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• Testing a chatbot for hackney.gov.uk

  We tested a chatbot idea for our website with staff and residents.

  June 2025 - August 2026

  Phases: Discovery, Alpha

  Part of collections for: Council websites, Contact the council

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• Residents providing evidence to use services

  This research focuses on a product to allow council officers to request evidence from residents securely, and for the residents to provide the evidence digitally. For example, providing a photograph of your passport so that you can use Housing services.

  October 2021 - June 2022

  Phases: None

  Part of a collection for: Contact the council

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• Improving the caller experience

  A review of what we know about calling customer services.

  Phases: Discovery

  Part of a collection for: Contact the council

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• Testing a list of services at Hackney Council

  We developed a list of services that Hackney Council provides as people visiting, living or working in the borough might know them. It was as an experiment to see if it was possible, as a list of services can help the Council see itself through the eyes of its residents and can help people to spot opportunities by looking at services together. This research tested the list of services with residents.

  September 2023 - January 2024

  Part of collections for: Council websites, Contact the council

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