Lean benefits provision

Swale Borough Council's Benefit Service used to be among the worst performing in the country. The council decided it needed to radically rethink what it was doing from a customer viewpoint.

The council wanted to look at what mattered to its customers and design its service around their demands. Not what the systems dictated.

The council regularly checks the results and looks for continual improvement. Most staff are now trained to work with a claim from beginning to end, which has improved customer and job satisfaction. Eighty-six per cent of customers are either fairly satisfied or very satisfied with staff in the office. Incredibly, all this has been achieved with the same resources. And even more remarkably, Swale is now offering advice to other organisations.

Benefits

• Council provides the service its customer expects. Claims are dealt with "on the spot" rather than take weeks or months to clear.
• Swale has shared its "way of working" with many other local authorities. They now form part of mainstream ideas that have been shared and put into practice nationally.

Find out more

Visit Swale Borough Council's website for information on a wide range of services, including benefits.