Norfolk County Council decided to improve the service it was providing to Blue Badge applicants whilst preparing for criteria changes implemented by the DfT in 2019. This was achieved by adopting IEG4’s Blue Badge Case Management System – enabling it to manage all applications, from submission to the issuing of the badges.
Ross Cushing, Contact Centre Delivery Manager, and James Richardson, Blue Badge & Processing Team Manager explained that the council needed “a system that would work better for us and our citizens”.
Richardson says: “The IEG4 system manages our entire Blue Badge process on one single platform with APIs that link seamlessly into GOV.UK and the Government’s back-office system. This means that applications that used to take several weeks to process, can now take a matter of minutes, if all information required from the customer is provided at point of application.
We now have a single CMS for applications and assessments with automated workflows and integration, reducing administration time and making the process quicker and more efficient.”
Previously, the council had used a system developed some years ago. When applications were received, advisors would record them and any supporting documentation onto a dashboard to await assessment. If the applicant was successful, staff would then have to log into another system to manually trigger the issuing of a badge.
The system and associated processes were cumbersome, and the dashboard was becoming obsolete. Recent changes to legislation enabling those with hidden disabilities to apply to the scheme, also meant that there would be an increase in the numbers of applications.
“We knew the system we had in place wouldn’t be sufficient” says Cushing. “We also didn’t have adequate resources to handle any significant increase in applications.”
“We had to look for a more efficient and modern way to work and the IEG4 solution met our requirements. It offered us efficiency through streamlining and automating processes; as well as additional resilience, being cloud-based, and was capable of being adapted for any future changes in the scheme.”
The new system fully integrates with GOV.UK’s online application form, which now enables applicants to upload documents with their application, including proof of identity and photographs.
After applying via GOV.UK the application goes straight into the IEG4 system where it is checked, processed and assessed by the team. If the applicant is found eligible and payment has been received, then the IEG4 API automatically informs Valtech and a Blue Badge is issued.
The IEG4 system reports on progress on processing an application and flags tasks that need to be completed by staff. Meanwhile, customers can track each stage of their application, upload further information if required and make payment online. Email updates are triggered as tasks are completed and updates are sent, meaning customers are proactively kept up-to-date.
The council usually receives on average 18,000 applications a year and issues nearly 15,000 Blue Badges, but since going live – shortly after the scheme changed – Norfolk initially experienced a 30 per cent increase in applications.
“Since implementation, our rate of online applications has increased steadily and is currently 82%.” Our aim is to encourage more and more people to self-serve. This will not only give them the freedom of being able to apply and check the progress of their application at a time convenient to them, on any day of the week, but for the council it means a cheaper and a more efficient way of working,” says Richardson.
Norfolk has also seen a huge difference in the time taken to process applications since adopting the IEG4 system. By amending their ways of working, end-to-end processing times have been reduced by an average of two thirds.
According to Cushing and Richardson there was a significant paper element to the applications before “the new IEG4 and GOV.UK world”. But this has now drastically reduced, which has helped to speed up the process.
Cushing says, “Straight away we’re reducing the administration time for dealing with applications. And there’s other benefits too, as the system enables us to easily trigger requests for supportive documents from customers. Now that communication is digital, the majority of customers receive a much prompter service and can check the progress of their application online.”
They also remarked that “the Government did a lot of work and research refining the GOV.UK service to streamline the customer journey. Combined with IEG4’s dynamic solution, this has meant that most applications that we now receive are more accurate, more complete and often have the right documentation accompanying them.”
Evidence of this can be seen in the number of calls the council’s Customer Service Centre receives about Blue Badges. Despite the increase in volume of applications, there has not been a rise in the number of calls, and internal analysis shows that most calls are queries about applying, rather than queries about the service, post application.
As a result, Norfolk has changed its Interactive Voice Response (IVR) to promote online applications.
Cushing explains, “This has resulted in a decrease in the volume of calls we receive, and we have seen a significant reduction in the number of calls from customers chasing information. This is due to the new system automatically updating applicants on the progress with their application, and the removal of the delays associated with postal communication.
“We have integrated a customer satisfaction survey into the automated emails from IEG4, which has resulted in much higher volumes of feedback being received. This gives us useful insight which enables us to identify service improvements.”
Despite the move to digital by design, they appreciate that not all customers have the ability to apply online or somebody to help them do so, therefore paper applications can be collected from any of Norfolk’s libraries.
From signing the contract to go live the project took just seven weeks and Norfolk is very happy with the outcome.
Cushing concludes, “We feel that the rapid implementation time was achieved through collaborative working, vigorous testing and the prompt attention of IEG4 technical specialists. What could have been an incredibly stressful project went very smoothly.
“We have a product that works for us now, which has enhanced our customer experience and delivered efficiencies. But it also has the built-in flexibility that means we can improve and develop our service further to suit our future needs.”
