Medway Council Puts Customers First Using Onyx OneServe Employee Portal

Medway is a city in the making. Situated in north Kent in the southeast of England it is a unique urban area in the heart of the Thames Gateway, a national priority for regeneration and growth. Being a unitary authority, Medway Council provides the full range of local government services, including education, environment, social care, housing, planning, and much more. It serves a population of a quarter of a million people across the towns of Rochester, Strood, Chatham, Gillingham and Rainham and more rural areas including the Hoo Peninsula, providing high quality, value for money services with one of the lowest council tax levels in the UK.

Created in 1998 as the result of local government reorganization that pulled together the previously separate administrative areas of The City of Rochester Upon Medway and the boroughs of Gillingham and Chatham, Medway is one of the largest unitary authorities in England. As a result of this merger, Medway was heir to a range of technologies and divergent processes. The need was to review and challenge inherited working practices and systems to improve the customer experience and deliver value for money.

Under the banner of "Customer First" Medway set out to provide easier access to Council services ensuring—whatever the method of contact—a consistent, high quality and efficient service was provided. With the help of a partner, Medway chose Onyx eShop, recently upgraded to Onyx OneServe 5.0, as the platform on which to build a purpose designed Contact Centre. This opened in 2005 and it is now the first point of contact, by phone, email, and via the web, for an increasing range of council services including; street scene and environmental services, Council Tax, Housing Benefit and Social Care enquiries.