North Yorkshire Council
Executive
4 November 2025
Customer Experience Strategy 2025-2030
Report of the Corporate Director Resources.
1.0 PURPOSE OF REPORT
1.1 To seek Executive approval for the North Yorkshire Council Customer Experience Strategy (CXS) 2025–2030.
2.0 SUMMARY
2.1 The Customer Experience Strategy sets out the Council’s vision and approach for putting customers at the heart of everything we do. It aims to deliver consistently high-quality, accessible, responsive, and easy-to-use services for all residents, businesses, and visitors. The strategy sets out a five-year vision to 2030, with a review scheduled after the first twelve months to ensure ongoing corporate alignment as the new organisation evolves.
2.2 The strategy is built around our customer CARE commitment - Consistent, Accessible, Responsive, and Easy and outlines five key focus areas to improve customer experience across all council services.
2.3 The strategy will guide the transformation of our service delivery, ensuring that customer feedback, digital innovation, and continuous improvement are embedded in our culture and operations.
2.4 The draft Customer Experience Strategy has been discussed and considered by Management Board, the Customer Programme Board, and the Corporate and Partnerships Overview and Scrutiny Committee. All groups have considered the strategy and formally noted its contents.
3.0 BACKGROUND
3.1 North Yorkshire Council serves over 600,000 residents and more than 25,000 businesses across a large and diverse County. Our services are delivered in a complex environment, with a mix of rural and urban communities, and a wide range of customer needs.
3.2 The Council Plan sets out a vision for thriving, sustainable, and empowered communities. Achieving this vision requires a strong focus on customer experience, ensuring that every interaction with the Council is positive and effective.
3.3 The Customer Experience Strategy has been developed in recognition of the need for more joined-up, accessible, and responsive services. This strategy provides a framework to support the customer transformation programme in delivering efficient and effective services. It will guide short, medium and long-term planning through to 2030 aligning customer excellence with the Council’s priorities and outcomes.
4.0 THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE STRATEGY 2025 - 2030
4.1 The Customer Experience Strategy’s vision:
· To put customers at the heart of everything we do, continuously improving their experience with the Council.
4.2 The strategy is structured around five key focus areas:
· Putting You First: Ensuring customer needs shape strategy, planning and embedding a customer focussed approach that empowers our staff to put the customer first.
· Listening and Understanding:Building a robust customer voice programme and improving customer data collection, feedback and insight mechanisms.
· Service Design: Redesigning services around customer needs, with flexible processes and multiple contact options.
· Digital and Technology:Investing in digital transformation, unified customer platforms, and multi-channel support.
· Continuous Improvement:Establishing frameworks for ongoing evaluation, agile improvement, and transparent reporting.
4.3 The CARE commitment underpins all activity:
· Consistent: Reliable service every time.
· Accessible: Services available to everyone, in multiple formats.
· Responsive: Prompt, helpful, and respectful support.
· Easy: Simple, clear, and user-friendly processes.
4.4 The strategy includes a delivery model with self-service, supported enquiries, intermediate, and advanced support, ensuring the right help at the right time.
4.5 Measuring for continuous Improvement:
· The Customer Experience Strategy is underpinned by a commitment to continuous improvement. Progress will be measured through a range of customer-focused metrics, including customer satisfaction scores, service response times, complaint resolution rates, and staff training completion. Regular performance monitoring and transparent reporting will ensure accountability and drive ongoing enhancements to service delivery.
5.0 CONTRIBUTION TO COUNCIL PRIORITIES
5.1 The North Yorkshire Council Plan sets out that North Yorkshire is committed to continuously improving the customer experience. This includes understanding the needs of our customers and what they value, designing our services to meet customer needs, ensuring our services are accessible to all, and enhancing our digital offer to our customers.
5.2 This enables the One Council approach, with strong local and customer-led services. The customer programme incorporates this approach by placing the customer at the heart of the organisation, listening to and understanding customer needs, and designing services to meet those needs. We are committed to improving and enhancing our digital and technology offer and ensuring continuous improvement.
5.3 The Customer Experience Strategy supports the People Strategy ensuring our values and behaviours are embedded in our council culture to deliver excellent customer service through partnership working.
5.4 The Customer Experience Strategy is a key enabler of the Target Operating Model (TOM), which outlines how the council operates. It helps eliminate duplication, supports agile working, and ensures that a customer centric approach is aligned with new service delivery models.
5.5 The Customer Experience Strategy is a key theme within the Transformation Strategy, which includes digital transformation, system redesign, and customer experience improvements. It contributes to the “Way We Work”.
5.6 The Customer Experience Strategy is aligned with the Council’s Net Zero ambitions, focusing on energy efficiency, carbon reduction, and sustainable asset use.
6.0 ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED
6.1 The option of not publishing a Customer Experience Strategy was considered and rejected, as it would risk fragmented service delivery, inconsistent customer experiences, and missed opportunities for improvement, as well as hinder our ability to become a more cost-effective and efficient Council.
7.0 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
7.1 Implementation of the strategy will require investment in digital platforms, staff training, and process redesign. These costs will be managed within existing budgets, with anticipated efficiencies and savings from improved service delivery.
8.0 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
8.1 The strategy supports compliance with statutory duties around accessibility, equality, and data protection, ensuring consistent and lawful service delivery.
9.0 EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS
9.1 The strategy is designed to ensure equitable access to services for all customers, regardless of their circumstances or abilities.
10.0 CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS
10.1 Digital transformation and smarter processes will reduce the need for travel and paper-based transactions, supporting the Council’s climate change objectives.
11.0 REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
11.1 Adopting the Customer Experience Strategy will deliver better outcomes for customers, empower staff, and support the Council’s vision for thriving communities.
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RECOMMENDATION(S)
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i) That Executive approves the North Yorkshire Council Customer Experience Strategy (CXS) 2025 to 2030.
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APPENDICES:
Appendix A – Customer Experience Strategy 2025 – 2030
Appendix B – Equality Impact Screening Assessment
Appendix C – Climate Change Impact Assessment
BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS:
N/A
Gary Fielding
Corporate Director – Resources
County Hall
Northallerton
23 October 2025
Report Author – Margaret Wallace, Assistant Director, Customer, Revenue & Benefits
Presenter of Report – Margaret Wallace, Assistant Director, Customer, Revenue & Benefits
Note: Members are invited to contact the author in advance of the meeting with any detailed queries or questions.