# Channel Shift ## What is a Channel Shift? Channel Shift is the process of moving (or shifting) users from non-digital channels to digital channels for accessing and interacting with services.
Image showing a list of non-digital and digital channels
In general, this will be from a more expensive channel to a more efficient one. The table here shows costs per transaction via different channels (3) showing a clear reduction in cost of shifting customers to an online channel. | | PWC Report (1) | SOCITM (2) | | ------------ | -------------- | ---------- | | Face to Face | £10.53 | £14.00 | | Telephone | £3.39 | £5.00 | | Post | £12.10 | | | Online | **£0.08** | **£0.17** | Channel shift can bring the following benefits: * Improved customer satisfaction * Reduced costs * Increased efficiency ## The Argument For Channel Shift ‘*Councils across the country face the reality that between 2010 and 2020 they will have lost 60% of the money Government had provided for services. Meanwhile, demand for services continues to increase from hard-pressed citizens. Finding operational efficiencies to enable continued service delivery with reduced budgets – and cope with reductions in headcount – has presented a significant challenge to councils (*4)’ There is an inherent win-win on offer from developing online self-service offerings: For users/customers: * Convenience - access to services at any time and any place * More personalised responses and accessibility options * More control and choice over service options For organisations: * Significant reduction in costs and inefficiencies for service providers * Save money on staff, infrastructure and administration * Releasing capacity across the organisation * Collect and analyse data more easily * Accuracy in transaction processing through automated workflows * Ability to innovate and adapt services more easily ## What types of Services can be Delivered Online? All manner of interactions between citizens and their Public Services can be shifted online. Examples might include: * Waste recycling centre opening times * What can be recycled there * Permit or licence applications * Bin collection days * Fly tipping or dog fouling reporting * Publishing statistics * Publishing Information commonly requested under FOI * Registering for elections * Paying for services These can be generalised into 3 broad content categories: * General information pages and online forms * Information that can be found by inputting an address * Information that can be viewed or reported via an interactive map
Image of Wiltshire Council Waste recycling website

Services on the Wiltshire Council website

## How can addressing help? Many services a Council offers are linked to, or could be linked to an address This allows citizens the ability to search for their address using a postcode and an address look-up and return information specific to them and/or their property. These could include things such as: * Sign up to additional services e.g. requesting green waste collection or special refuse collection * Requesting special services for those with a medical condition or disability e.g. assisted bins service * Reporting something e.g. a missed bin collection, flooding or a broken streetlight * Requesting a permit or license * Searching registers e.g. Planning applications/decisions and Building Control applications * Making a payment e.g. Council Tax
Image of New Forest District Council with a list of addresses to select from

Address searching functionality for enquiries on the New Forest Council website

## How can mapping help? Although addressing can be used for many interactions, there are many things that do not occur at an address, or an address is not the best way to describe its location. Examples might be: * Fly tipping at the side of a dual carriageway or in a lay-by * Dog fouling on a footpath * Potholes * Damaged Services * Dangerous Trees * Flooding * Emergency incidents In these situations, an excellent alternative is to present citizens with an interactive map, allow them to report the precise location with a pin and add additional details against this it. This makes reporting easy for the customer as they do not need to associate with an address that may be some distance away and also registers the location of the issue accurately for incident management teams to locate.
Image of Barnsley Council website for fly-tipping

Mapping functionality for reporting on the Barnsley Council website

## Benefits of channel shift Cost Savings: * Reductions in costly face-to face and phone contact * Reduced officer time spent in entering or re-keying data or correcting errors * Reductions in print, postage and storage costs. Efficiencies: * Reduced officer time spent in entering or re-keying data or correcting errors * Can form part of fully automated services * Can be linked to staff task lists * Accurately locate issues * Reduce FOI Requests Customer experience: * Provides a convenient 24-7 service * No need to travel to a physical location or make a call * Faster personalised responses * More control over their options * Easily managed accessibility options
Image of Hampshire County Council website for potholes

Using mapping for reporting on the Hampshire Council website

*** 1. The Economic Case for Digital Inclusion, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Oct 2009. 2. Local Government Information Unit, going where the eyeballs are, connecting councils with their communities 3. Channel Shift: Realising the Benefits - 4. 4.The Digital Channel Shift Programme. *** This content has been developed from what was originally a Lightning Talk PowerPoint slide set. These slides are available to PSGA members to view and download from the [PSGA members area of the OS website](https://auth.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/my.policy) --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.os.uk/more-than-maps/data-in-action/customer-best-practice/channel-shift.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.