311: Audit Results & Improvements
My office often fields many calls from residents for issues that are unaddressed or closed without being resolved through 311.
It’s no doubt that 311 is a key resource the City provides to the public. Yet it also needs to provide residents with the best information and resolutions to their concerns.
As a result of feedback from community members, I advocated for the City Auditor to perform an audit on 311 service that recently came back to the Audit committee.
What is 311?
311 is a one-stop shop for anyone in the city of Edmonton to learn more about the City’s programs, projects and services delivered across more than 70 lines of business.
It also provides the opportunity to make requests or to submit concerns that need to be addressed.
Since 311 began in 2008, more than 24 million inquiries have been received which averages out to a whopping 1.6 million inquiries per year!
Audit Results
Let’s start with what the audit found 311 is doing well. Overall, the audit found that 311 and the City departments it refers to effectively respond to and close the majority of calls within their service standards.
The audit also found that improvements need to be made in the following areas:
how 311 tickets are closed and how that is communicated
how performance measures are calculated
clarifying who is assigned to respond to 311 requests within different City departments
One of the main findings of the audit was that tickets were being closed without actions being completed. For example, some unique complaints on the same issue were not being linked so that all residents could follow the issue through to completion.
Improvements to 311
The City Auditor identified 5 recommendations to help 311 to work better for Edmontonians:
Creating clear definitions of the different stages of a 311 service request (e.g. “assigned”, “in progress”, “resolved”) that will be applied consistently across all City services, as well as communicated to the public
Closing a 311 service ticket only after they have resolved the request
Improving performance measurements for 311 tickets
Maintaining a current list of individuals assigned to 311 roles from the various City departments
Clarifying and communicating the requirements for documenting the current status of an open ticket and the reasons for closing a ticket
The recommendations have different timelines for implementation, from as early as March 31, 2024 to March 31, 2025.
I’m hopeful that these recommendations will bring about positive results for 311 and that you will see improvements over the next year.
As a member of the Audit Committee, I commit to keeping a close eye on how these recommendations are implemented and ensuring they’ve improved the user experience.
