In 2015, the Resort Municipality of Whistler undertook a Customer Service Initiatives project aimed at improving the customer experience when seeking development services. In tandem, the project sought to improve process efficiency and staff satisfaction.
CitySpaces was enlisted to undertake engagement efforts for the project, specifically the facilitation of focus group sessions, and build on the efforts put forth by the Resort Municipality of Whistler and the results of both a Staff and Customer questionnaire. A series of three focus group sessions were conducted to explore opportunities of improvement – namely in building and planning application processes – with Staff and external stakeholders (developers, contractors, realtors, etc.). The sessions included a presentation of survey findings, an interactive posted note exercise, as well as a question and answer engagement model.
The sessions sought to maintain a positive, solution-oriented discussion to build on the current strengths of Staff and the Resort Municipality of Whistler. In doing so, the CitySpaces team drew on the breadth of knowledge shared by focus group session participants and their technical expertise in regulatory planning and development consulting. CitySpaces is well versed in the challenges experienced by municipal staff with respect to implementing consistency in application review while considering potential development flexibility and managing customer satisfaction.
Key recommendations, findings, and verbatim notes from focus group sessions were delivered to the Resort Municipality of Whistler for future consideration. Moving forward, it is expected that the Resort Municipality of Whistler will continue to strive to meet and exceed the needs of both Customers and Staff.
PROJECT TEAM: