Kent County Council implements a booking system to manage 5 services at 9 country parks.

Project Context

Kent County Council (KCC) deliver five services across nine Country Parks. Inundated by the sheer volume of bookings, manual back-office processes, and complex resourcing requirements, the council’s management team sought a centralised booking solution that could help them to improve the customer experience and increase the efficiency of their staff.

Up until now, KCC had taken bookings for their services during office hours by telephone. Once requested, staff would check a paper-based system for availability. This labour-intensive process was time-consuming and often duplicative, leaving staff unable to answer calls during busy periods. KCC wanted to make its services more accessible to customers and reduce the time spent completing menial administrative tasks.

The Challenge

The requirements were clear. KCC needed a centralised system that would help them to manage a high volume of bookings for five services across nine different locations.

The booking system needed to:

1. Provide staff with enough flexibility to alter the service in real-time to limit wasted capacity and increase site efficiency. 
2. Improve the customer experience and increase service accessibility by making it quick and easy to make (or amend) a booking 24/7, using any internet-connected device.
3. Help staff to improve resource allocation and increase efficiency by providing insights from real-time data.  
4. Reduce staff workloads by automating time-consuming admin tasks, streamlining the booking process, and replacing the outdated paper-based system.
5. Improve communication with customers by sending automated confirmation, reminders, and pre-booking instructions.
6. Deliver a fully accessible, fully secure booking journey that adheres to the WCAG 2.1 AA, ISO 27001, and PCI payment standards.

The Solution

In short, the booking system met all of the above requirements, helping KCC to improve the customer experience and ease the pressure on staff.

By automating bookings, KCC has reduced staff workloads and increased the efficiency of its back-office processes. Using a simple drag-and-drop interface and a configurable, real-time calendar view, staff can now easily manage a high volume of bookings (for every service) in one place.

This booking solution has also made the service more accessible. In under 60 seconds, customers can now book an appointment using their mobile, tablet, or desktop. They can book 24/7, at a time most convenient to them, making it quick and easy for customers to self-serve. 

What’s more, customers also receive automated booking confirmation, reminders, and personalised communications — this has revolutionised the way KCC interacts with their customers.

"Our booking system gives us complete control and transparency across all of our services, ensuring that resources are used most efficiently. Having an online booking system has revolutionised our entire operation. We’ve been able to channel shift customer information to other online streams, massively improving the way we interact with our customers."

Helen Page, Interim Head of Development for Kent County Council

Check out the solution that helped Kent Council achieve success.

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