Agenda item

To scrutinise the Council’s performance against agreed performance measures.

The Board received and considered the Corporate Performance Report for Quarter 3, covering the period from 1 October to 31 December 2024. The report provided a summary of key performance indicators (KPIs), service-level updates, and challenges across the service areas Communications and Research (Strategy and Performance),  Customer Experience (Customer Services and Complaints) Human Resources and Organisational Development and IT Operations.

In respect of Communications & Research the report highlighted significant growth in social media engagement, particularly on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. A successful campaign around Oldham’s 175th birthday and festive events increased town centre footfall by 10%.. A service redesign was conducted with successful staff consultation; the new structure was to be implemented from April 2025. The service faced the challenge of maintaining service performance despite reductions in team capacity due to restructuring and voluntary redundancies. Members requested that they be sent further information on the 175^th Birthday events and other events in the District.

In respect of Customer Services, the report highlighted several performance improvements. Average call wait times reduced to 5 minutes 44 seconds (12-minute target). Call answer rate improved to 88.48%, just below the 89% target, with December’s performance exceeding 90%. Complaints response rates showed marked improvement: Adults’ services rose from 29% to 69%, and overall performance increased from 50% to 64%.

A new self-service dashboard (via Power BI) is being implemented to improve real-time complaint performance tracking. Feedback from the new central ‘Working for You’ centre at Spindles had been positive. It was noted that

complaint response rates, while improving, still fell short of the 75% target and would require ongoing attention.

In respect of Human Resources & Organisational Development (HR & OD) it was reported that sickness absence remained steady at around 5%. Induction completion for new starters reached 96.3%.  The apprenticeship levy was being increasingly to upskill staff. The recruitment freeze impacted the creation of new apprenticeship vacancies, though the council remained on track to meet its yearly target of 20. Ongoing efforts were being made to improve attendance management and absence reporting.

In respect of Information Technology (IT) it was reported that 100% uptime for all core infrastructure and critical applications had been achieved. Customer satisfaction remained high at 98.63%. First-contact resolution rate declined slightly from 82.24% to 79.35%, attributed largely to resource constraints. .

New Wi-Fi upgrades and migration to the GMOne network are progressing and on track to complete in Q4. A rise in breached IT tickets was noted, due to reduced resources and legacy hardware challenges.

In respect of Finance & Revenues it was reported that Council Tax and Business Rates collection stood at 80.44% and 80.28% respectively by the end of January 2025. Housing Benefit processing times improved significantly, with new claims averaging 7 days (target: 27 days). Council Tax Reduction claims averaged 22 days, improved from 30 days in Q2 but still above the 20-day target.

RESOLVED: That the Scrutiny Board:

1.Notes the progress in implementing business plan objectives across Council services.

2.Commends areas showing strong or improved performance.

3.Acknowledges the service challenges, especially in complaints handling and workload management.