Strategic Plan - Customer Service

We will deliver a welcoming and consistent customer service experience centred around the people we serve.

Objectives

  • Embrace innovative technology and processes to efficiently meet customer needs, fostering greater engagement with the City
  • Ensure the City is inclusive and accessible for customers across all services. Establish policies and practices that enable respectful, fair, and equitable treatment.
  • Build and maintain customer trust through addressing customer requests and responsive communication
  • Foster a culture of collaboration within internal departments for a consistent customer service experience
  • Engage with customers to understand their needs, expectations, and preferences

Actions

Customer service plan and implementation

Image of the entrance of the At Your Service Niagara Falls customer service room at the MacBain Community Centre. Showing the City logo and name at the top and glass doors and windows. The service counter is inside the room in the background.

60% complete | On track

  • Launched At Your Service Niagara Falls, making it easier to access City information and services in person, by phone, by email and online
  • Recruited and trained a dedicated customer service team to answer questions, complete transactions and help residents access City services
  • Introduced Council-approved Customer Service Standards, setting clear expectations for timely responses, communication and follow-up
  • Delivered training to City staff on clear communication and responding to difficult situations

  • Report on the first year of service, including results and areas for improvement
  • Improve how service requests are tracked and followed up so residents know what happens next
  • Build staff skills through continued training to support consistent, positive customer experiences
  • Use resident feedback and service results to identify and implement improvements to customer service
  • Enhance the resident portal so residents can securely sign in, submit service requests, check their progress and view account information in one place
  • Develop and test a mobile app to make City information and service requests easier to access from a phone

Establish a knowledge base portal

People having a meeting a a board room table

60% complete | On track

  • Developed and launched an internal and resident-facing knowledge base within the CRM
  • Created standardized knowledge articles to support consistent, accurate responses

  • Expand and maintain clear, accurate service information so staff can provide consistent answers and residents can find information more easily
  • Establish regular content reviews with City departments to keep information accurate, current and consistent

Implement a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system

Person smiling at a laptop wearing headphones serving a customer online.
75% complete | On track

  • Successfully implemented a CRM system to manage customer interactions and service requests
  • Expanded the customer portal to offer more than 70 types of online service requests, giving residents more ways to access City services
  • Enabled reporting and analytics to support service planning and accountability

  • Expand the services managed through the CRM so staff can better assist residents, track requests and coordinate follow-up with City departments
  • Improve reporting on response times, completed requests and service demand to guide improvements to the resident experience

Online chat function for residents

Woman sitting at a table in a cafe, looking at her laptop.
5% complete | On track

  • Planning is underway to introduce automated digital customer service tools to support faster access to information and services

  • Introduce an additional option for residents to get answers to straightforward questions while maintaining access to personal assistance
  • Develop end-to-end digital service experiences that allow residents to complete requests online

Website and intranet updates

People at a shared work table engaging and looking at their computer screens
95% complete | On track

  • Content was migrated
  • The new intranet was launched and is in production
  • The new City website is live
  • Departmental website CMS training was completed

  • Continued upgrades

Customer service renovations at MacBain Community Centre and City Hall

Exterior of the MacBain Community Centre in Niagara Falls Ontario Canada.
95% complete | On track

  • At Your Service Niagara Falls renovations have been completed at MacBain Community Centre and City Hall
  • Grand Opening held on November 10, 2025

New electronic building permitting software

Two storey house under construction
100% complete | On track

  • Implementation of Phase 1 of the project is complete
  • Building staff are utilizing the system, and online permitting applications are available to the public

  • Ongoing staff training
  • Website enhancements
  • Exploring additional features and reporting

New electronic bidding software

Keyboard with a bids button
80% complete | On track

  • The bidding software, which will provide the functionality for publicly posting bidding opportunities through an electronic platform and receiving and verifying bidders' submissions electronically through the system, was implemented on February 1, 2023

  • Phase 2: Recalibration of the system to implement additional tools to create efficiencies in the City's procurement processes, specifically the Award and Contract Administration processes

Upgrade "back-of-house" programs and systems to allow for seamless integration of customer interactions and workflow

Staff serving a customer at the counter
10% complete | Pending

  • Identified the need to better connect customer relationship management (CRM) with systems used by City departments

  • Improve how service requests and updates move between customer service staff and the departments completing the work

Establish a three-year people plan to become an employer of choice and implement strategies and initiatives to attract, develop, and retain top talent

Group of people at a table chatting
100% complete | On track

  • Formal Application completed by the Human Resource Team and submitted to Canada's Top 100 Employers on May 1st, 2024
  • Formal Notification and designation of becoming one of Hamilton – Niagara’s Top Employers was received January 2025 (100% Complete)
  • This designation as one of Hamilton – Niagara’s Top Employers is the first time the City has achieved this status

  • The committee will review applications from May through July 2024
  • The final notifications on application status will be provided in September 2024
  • Since receiving the 2025 designation of becoming one of Hamilton–Niagara’s Top Employers, the City has re-applied for 2026
  • Application status will be announced in January 2026

Contact Us

City of Niagara Falls
4310 Queen Street
P.O. Box 1023
Niagara Falls, ON L2E 6X5
Canada
905-356-7521
service@niagarafalls.ca