Case Study

City-Wide Customer Service Needs Assessment

Customer Experience and Contact CentersMunicipal Government

Client Background

Concerned with the level of ease for citizens to connect with and receive services from the City, the City's leadership opted to conduct employee focus groups to gauge employee morale and identify potential barriers to service excellence.

Using the data from the focus groups, Turnkey Solutions was able to identify areas of improvement for the City and provide next steps and recommendations to better enhance service to citizens.

The Challenges

To make the assessment as representative as possible, employees and leaders from each of the City's departments participated in the focus groups. After analyzing the data, Turnkey staff identified challenges that impacted citizen service in five major areas:

Internal Communication

Communication challenges were highlighted across all departments. Employees often did not feel heard and found it difficult to express their ideas. A lack of clear documentation — such as manuals and process maps — further hindered communication and job performance.

Management and Supervisory Support

Leadership acknowledged difficulty motivating the new generation of employees, particularly Generation Z. City staff also felt that leadership needed to demonstrate a more caring attitude toward employees.

Training and Resources

The availability and effectiveness of training programs, tools, and resources varied among employees, creating inconsistent job performance. Employees emphasized feeling inadequate at key customer service skills — including de-escalating tense situations, handling upset customers, and resolving concerns in a timely manner.

Technology

Employees voiced critical lapses in technological support: lack of City email accounts for field employees, limited access to City Wi-Fi, reliance on memos and notice boards for important information, and insufficient tools to support service delivery.

Hiring and Onboarding

Many employees felt that the City hired staff who did not have the needed training or job skills for their particular roles, and that this directly impacted service to citizens.

Turnkey's Response

Through careful analysis of focus group data, Turnkey Solutions identified the challenges and areas of need and presented findings to all stakeholders in the form of a detailed report outlining results from each focus group.

Turnkey Solutions also provided recommendations in the form of "quick wins" (short-term goals) and longer-term goals to address and improve the identified areas of concern. This included an approximate budget and timetable for implementation to assist the City in planning next steps.

The Impact

By conducting a comprehensive City-Wide Customer Service Needs Assessment and identifying critical areas for improvement, Turnkey Solutions empowered the City to enhance internal communication, strengthen employee morale, and ultimately deliver superior citizen services.

The data-driven approach provided actionable recommendations to address challenges in technology, training, and leadership — positioning the City for long-term success in citizen service delivery.

Not sure where your service gaps are?

Turnkey's needs assessment process surfaces the real barriers — from communication and training to technology and leadership — and gives your agency a clear, prioritized path forward.

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