Service Excellence Committee
The full agenda, as filed
All 3 items in the clerk’s order. Each carries the city’s own words: the staff recommendation, what the body decided, and its status. Nothing below is written by us.
SE7.1adopted
Customer Experience Division Annual Report - 2024
The Customer Experience Division, through 311, provides access to non-emergency City services, programs, and information 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 311 offers assistance in over 180 languages over the phone, and online through self-service options using the City's website and the 311 mobile app, and through email specifically for general inquiries or requests for information. This report responds to Council direction to provide an overview of trending issues received by 311 on an annual basis. In 2024, Customer Experience Division continued to provide timely, supportive, and effective customer service. Customer Experience Division received 1.29 million interactions, comprising mostly of general inquiries (62 percent) and service requests (32 percent), with fewer requests for status updates on existing service requests (6 percent). Notably, Customer Experience Division saw a shift towards more online interactions, with increased visits to the City's 311 website, as well as additional use of the live chat feature, and the 311 mobile app. Most individuals interact with 311 over the phone, and in 2024, Customer Experience Division answered 82 percent of calls within 75 seconds, exceeding established service level standards. Customer Experience Division also demonstrated its ability to respond to events that created a surge in inquiries, increasing staff resources to assist with calls related to the summer rainstorm event and the rollout of the Vacant Home Tax. For these events, Customer Experience Division also updated the pre-recorded introductory message received when calling 311 to provide key information and set expectations regarding call response times. Customer Experience Division continues to track top service requests received by 311 for all Wards and integrated service divisions, (Solid Waste Management Services, Transportation Services, Toronto Water, Municipal Licensing and Standards, including Toronto Animal Services, and Urban Forestry within the Environment, Climate, and Forestry Division), with more information available below and in Appendix A: 311 Toronto Key Metrics Report 2024 or its text only counterpart, Appendix B. In 2024, Customer Experience Division continued to strengthen partnerships and make several enhancements to track and support the resolution of key issues. This included the introduction of new service requests related to noise and excessive heat, among others. Customer Experience Division also collaborated with several City Divisions, the Toronto Police Service, and Toronto Community Crisis Service to renew the Make the Right Call Campaign to help build public awareness on when to call 911 versus other non-emergency services. Customer Experience Division also continues to advance several improvement initiatives, including service integration with Parks, Forestry and Recreation, making customer experience improvements to the digital channels, rolling out a streamlined complaints and compliments process, and improving the updates provided to customers about the status of their service requests.
The Service Excellence Committee received the report (February 13, 2025) from the Executive Director, Customer Experience for information.
Staff recommendation as filed
The Executive Director, Customer Experience recommends that: 1. The Service Excellence Committee receive this report for information.
SE7.2amended
Public Reporting of Performance and Service Standards
Meeting customer service targets remains a key focus for the City of Toronto. Currently, the Customer Experience Division does not publicly post divisional performance data. To address this, City Divisions need to provide the Customer Experience Division with the necessary information to publicly report on their performance against service standards. While divisions would benefit from demonstrating resource needs based on performance standards, this data must be aggregated. Customer Experience to conduct ongoing analysis of performance trends, identify areas for improvement, and develop central repository for performance data. User-friendly public dashboards and reports should be created and maintained, providing context, and highlighting service impact on residents. This will enhance public trust, improve service delivery, and promote greater transparency and accountability within the City of Toronto.
The Service Excellence Committee recommends that: 1. City Council direct all City Divisions to provide the Customer Experience Division with the necessary information to publicly report on their performance against service standards. 2. City Council direct the Executive Director, Customer Experience to start conducting ongoing analysis, reporting on performance trends, identifying areas for improvement, by and not limited to: a. developing and maintaining a central repository for performance and service standards data; and b. creating and maintaining user-friendly dashboards and reports for public consumption. 3. City Council direct the Executive Director, Customer Experience to report back to the Service Excellence Committee biannually on the ongoing analysis, reporting, and identified areas for improvement in recommendation 2. 4. City Council request the Executive Director, Customer Experience, to develop an initial top priority list of service standards to use as a basis for the initial reporting on performance and service standards, with an aim to expand the list over time.
Staff recommendation as filed
Councillor Paul Ainslie recommends that: 1. City Council direct all City Divisions to provide the Customer Experience Division with the necessary information to publicly report on their performance against service standards. 2. City Council direct the Executive Director, Customer Experience to start conducting ongoing analysis, reporting on performance trends, identifying areas for improvement, by and not limited to: a. Developing and maintaining a central repository for performance and service standards data. b. Creating and maintaining user-friendly dashboards and reports for public consumption. 3. City Council direct the Executive Director, Customer Experience to report back to the Service Excellence Committee (SEC) biannually on the ongoing analysis, reporting, and identified areas for improvement in recommendation number 2.
SE7.3amended
Presentation on the Service Excellence Committee’s Mandate
At the request of Councillor Ainslie, the Committee will hear a presentation from the City Manager's Office and the Interim Executive Director, Customer Experience on the Service Excellence Committee's mandate, similar to the presentation heard as part of item 2023.SE1.1 , for the benefit of the new members of the Service Excellence Committee.
The Service Excellence Committee: 1. Requested the City Manager's Office and the Executive Director, Customer Experience to report back to the Service Excellence Committee meeting on June 23, 2025 with an update on recommendations in progress.