My journey from Customer Service Advisor to Senior Content Editor…

We are committed to growing talent from within our organisation, encouraging colleagues to explore different areas of the council, take on new challenges, and progress their career with the Council.

Lucy told us about her journey from Customer Service Advisor to Senior Content Editor.

Hi Lucy! Tell us about your career path at Buckinghamshire Council…

I started at Buckinghamshire County Council as a Customer Service Advisor in 2019 after graduating from university, where I studied history. The Contact Centre at Walton Street was always such a friendly and supportive environment, and the team were helpful in getting me up to speed. Before joining, I’d never been in contact with the council and had no idea about the scale or variety of the services that we offer. For that reason, Customer Services was an excellent way to get familiar with such a large organisation, as it exposed me to the breadth of customer queries and the variety of services across the council.

In April 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic was raging, Buckinghamshire Council became a unitary authority. Suddenly, Customer Services were not only getting to grips with former district council tax, planning, and other services but also with requests for food parcels, community help, and public health queries. Looking back, that was a particular challenge during my time here, but as always, Customer Services were resilient in the face of an enormous amount of change.

In 2021, I joined the Digital Team as a Content Editor. My role involved checking for broken links, going through the website feedback, and creating web pages for services across the council. At this point, the Digital Team were working hard on the migration of website content from 5 different legacy websites. My prior experience in Customer Services provided me with a unique perspective on the terminology customers commonly use. This experience was particularly useful in understanding and translating the specialized jargon often used within councils, a language that may not be immediately clear to those outside the organization. With the support of my team, I was able to dive in and rapidly acquire the skills necessary to identify ‘user needs’ and create content accordingly, all while adapting to an agile work environment. A standout moment in this role was the opportunity to overhaul the Council Tax section of our website, a task that was initiated after identifying key areas that users found challenging.

My experience in customer service and digital fields paved the way for my transition into the role of a CRM Content Developer within the web forms team in April 2023. This period was marked by significant changes, including the introduction of a new CRM system named ‘Abavus’. My primary responsibility was to overhaul the council’s contact form, ensuring that all services had a smooth and efficient online contact method. Having firsthand experience with phone queries, I recognized that many of them could be addressed through the website or existing online forms. This realization underscored the need to reserve phone lines for individuals without online access or those who might be digitally excluded. Consequently, our objective shifted towards promoting digital channels to those with digital literacy, while maintaining a readily available phone line for those who truly needed it.

As of October 2023, I have been working as a Senior Content Editor back with the Digital Team where I’m excited to get involved with more digital improvement projects.

What training and development have you received throughout?

In my role within the Digital Team, I have participated in numerous training sessions focused on ‘ensuring accessibility of public sector websites’, a critical aspect of my responsibilities. Additionally, I frequently attend webinars hosted by the Government Digital Service, the authority that establishes the standards for public sector websites.

What advice would you give other colleagues who want to progress their career internally or are thinking about a career change at Buckinghamshire Council?

I’d say go for it! Your prior experience within the council will give you a solid start in any new role within the organisation. You have the benefit of being a fresh set of eyes for the new service as well as having the experience of how the council works and existing rapport with other council staff.

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