MMR - FY20 - 311 Customer Service Center

• Page Type:: Document Section
• Parent Document:: Mayor's Management Report - Fiscal Year 2020
• Content::
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    • DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION
    • TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
    • 311 CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTER Jessica S. Tisch, Commissioner
    • 311 CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTER | Page 143
    • NYC
    • WHAT WE DO
    • The 311 Customer Service Center
    • delivers fast and easy access
    • to government services and
    • information to all New Yorkers.
    • NYC 311 can be reached via the
    • call center, 311 Online, 311 Mobile
    • App, 311 Facebook, 311 on Twitter,
    • text messaging at 311-NYC (692)
    • and 311 TTY at (212) 504-4115.
    • Information and assistance are also
    • accessible by Skyping “NYC311”
    • or by using a video relay service at
    • (212) NEW-YORK (212-639-9675).
    • NYC 311’s services are available in
    • more than 180 languages, 24 hours
    • a day, seven days a week, 365 days a
    • year. In April 2020, the Department
    • of Information Technology and
    • Telecommunications (DoITT) resumed
    • management of the 311 Customer
    • Service Center.
    • FOCUS ON EQUITY
    • NYC 311 is committed to equitably serving the public interest of all New York
    • City residents, business owners and visitors. With so many New Yorkers accessing
    • government resources through 311, its work is inherently tied to fair and
    • transparent service delivery, particularly for non-English speakers, who it aims to
    • serve in their preferred language. Historically underserved communities rely on 311
    • for support and this has never been truer than during the COVID-19 pandemic.
    • Since March 2020, COVID-related inquiries to 311 (requesting meals, information
    • on medical care and small business loans, etc.) have been top drivers of its call
    • volume. To ensure that 311 provided prompt service to underserved communities
    • in a time of crisis, 311 expanded its operations with new call centers, increased
    • the number of surge call takers, prioritized hiring Spanish-speaking call takers,
    • and reorganized resources to create “express lanes” to give precedence to COVIDrelated requests.
    • OUR SERVICES AND GOALS
    • SERVICE 1 Provide public access to City government.
    • Goal 1a Increase public access to government services and information.
    • Page 144 | MAYOR’S MANAGEMENT REPORT
    • HOW WE PERFORMED IN FISCAL 2020
    • SERVICE 1 Provide public access to City government.
    • Goal 1a Increase public access to government services and information.
    • In Fiscal 2020, 311 received over 21 million calls, a more than 10
    • percent increase compared to the prior year. Spanish calls increased
    • by more than 25 percent and calls in languages other than English
    • or Spanish increased by 36 percent. Text contacts increased by 68
    • percent.
    • Much of the increase in calls was driven by the COVID-19 pandemic
    • when, at peak volume, 311 received more than 180,000 calls per day.
    • During the pandemic, the City has refocused 311 to be the first place
    • New Yorkers call for assistance with meals, access to healthcare and
    • information on returning to work and reopening small businesses.
    • Initially, this resulted in long wait times. From March 13 (when the
    • City declared an emergency) to April 16, the average wait time to
    • reach Tier 1 during peak hours was six minutes and 38 seconds
    • and during off-peak hours it was four minutes and 27 seconds.
    • The increased call volume due to the pandemic also lengthened the
    • average 311 call wait times for all of Fiscal 2020.
    • On April 17, the City placed a renewed focus on 311 operations to
    • minimize wait times and improve customer service. “Express lanes” were created for coronavirus-related calls and GetFood
    • inquiries, surge call takers were hired and staff were dedicated to these topics to shorten wait times. As a result of these
    • changes, average wait times at peak times fell to two minutes and at off-peak times to 47 seconds (measured from April
    • 17 to June 30).
    • The decrease in the number of knowledge articles accessed in Fiscal 2020 was due to two main factors: a consolidation
    • of knowledge articles to put more information in each and a gap in reporting for the first quarter of the fiscal year that
    • resulted from issues associated with transition to a new 311 customer relationship management system in June 2019. The
    • decrease in the number of online site visits was due to a change in how search engines referred people to the 311 website.
    • Performance Indicators
    • Actual Target Trend
    • FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY20 FY21 5-Year
    • Desired
    • Direction
    • « 311 calls (000) 18,799 20,540 20,618 19,541 21,515 * * Neutral *
    • 311 Spanish language calls (000) 692 698 733 714 897 * * Up *
    • 311 calls in languages other than English or Spanish (000) 72 71 65 60 81 * * Neutral *
    • 311 mobile app contacts (000) 1,010 1,365 1,829 2,234 2,201 * * Up Up
    • 311-NYC (text) contacts (000) 156 144 254 253 424 * * Up *
    • « 311 Online site visits (000) 13,018 17,246 19,345 20,185 10,553 ñ ñ Neutral Up
    • « Completed service requests (000) 2,792 2,895 3,074 3,254 2,913 * * Neutral *
    • Knowledge articles accessed (000) 18,762 22,538 24,667 24,026 12,194 * * Down *
    • « Average wait time (tier 1 calls) Peak hours (11am-3pm, M-F)
    • (minutes:seconds) 0:11 0:20 0:26 0:27 1:38 ò ò Up Down
    • « Average wait time (tier 1 calls) Off-peak hours
    • (minutes:seconds) 0:19 0:14 0:32 0:23 1:03 ò ò Up Down
    • « Critical Indicator “NA” Not Available ñò Directional Target * None
    • Calls to 311 - Monthly Average (000)
    • 0.0
    • 400.0
    • 800.0
    • 1200.0
    • 1600.0
    • 2000.0
    • FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY 20
    • 1,566.6
    • 1,718.2
    • 1,628.4 1,711.7
    • 1,792.9
    • 311 CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTER | Page 145
    • AGENCY CUSTOMER SERVICE
    • Performance Indicators Actual Target Trend
    • Customer Experience FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY20 FY21 5-Year
    • Desired
    • Direction
    • E-mails responded to in 14 days (%) 100% 96% 100% 100% 100% * * Neutral *
    • Customer satisfaction index 85 84 83 84 85 * * Neutral Up
    • « Critical Indicator “NA” Not Available ñò Directional Target * None
    • AGENCY RESOURCES
    • Resource Indicators Actual¹ Plan²
    • FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY20 FY21 5yr Trend
    • Expenditures ($000,000)³ $43.8 $44.2 $43.6 $45.7 $45.2 $44.9 $46.9 Neutral
    • Personnel 358 347 355 375 403 405 409 Up
    • Overtime paid ($000) $176 $238 $231 $252 $239 $239 $239 Up
    • ¹Actual financial amounts for the current fiscal year are not yet final. Final fiscal year actuals, from the Comptroller's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, will be reported
    • in the next PMMR. Refer to the “Indicator Definitions” at nyc.gov/mmr for details. ²Authorized Budget Level ³Expenditures include all funds “NA” - Not Available * None 4
    • The figures shown in the table above are subtotals of the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications totals that appear in the
    • DoITT chapter of this report.
    • NOTEWORTHY CHANGES, ADDITIONS OR DELETIONS !
    • • In April 2020, the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT) resumed management of
    • the 311 Customer Service Center. In December 2019, Jessica Tisch was appointed Commissioner of DoITT and oversees
    • the operations of 311.
    • • The indicators ‘Calls handled in languages other than English (%)’ and ‘Completed requests for interpretation’ were
    • removed and replaced with the numerical count indicators of ‘311 Spanish calls (000)’ and ‘311 calls in languages other
    • than English or Spanish (000)’ to give more detail.
    • • The indicators ‘Average wait time (Tier 1 calls) (mins:secs)’ and ‘Calls answered in 30 seconds (%)’ were removed and
    • replaced with separate metrics for average Tier 1 call wait times during peak and off-peak hours. These new indicators
    • provide a more complete picture of 311 operations.
    • • The indicator ‘Call takers time occupied (%)’ was removed because it only accounted for Tier 1 call takers. A significant
    • percentage of 311 call takers do not work in Tier 1.
    • • The indicator ‘Calls resolved at 311 without transfer to agency for resolution (%)’ was removed as its level was
    • consistently above 90 percent so that it did not provide useful information to improve performance.
    • • The indicator ‘Complaints about 311 per million calls’ was removed because the volumes and year-to-year changes that
    • were previously observed did not provide meaningful information to observe or improve performance.
    • • The indicator ‘Completed service requests’ was added to provide a more comprehensive measure of the volume of the
    • 311 Customer Service Center.
    • • The indicator “Knowledge articles accessed” was added to more fully measure the response to the information offered
    • on the 311 website.
    • Page 146 | MAYOR’S MANAGEMENT REPORT
    • ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
    • For additional information on items referenced in the narrative, go to:
    • • 311 Online:
    • http://www.nyc.gov/311
    • • 311 Facebook:
    • http://www.facebook.com/pages/NYC-311/84372567650
    • • 311 on Twitter:
    • https://twitter.com/nyc311
    • • 311 Mobile App:
    • http://www1.nyc.gov/connect/applications.page