Service First Initiative

2010 NACo Achievement Award Winner

San Diego County, Calif., CA

About the Program

Category: County Administration and Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2010

The County of San Diego has a long and proud commitment to providing the best customer service possible. In 2008, the Department of Planning and Land Use (DPLU) implemented its Service First Initiative to rededicate itself to that ideal and to also rethink its approach from the customers’ standpoint. The goals were to improve customer service; to move their department’s focus from process to outcomes; to improve the quality, completeness, and speed of their work; and to ensure that their land development processes promote safe and livable communities. To achieve those goals, Service First commissioned an intensive, independent study of what the department does and how they do it. Then, and most importantly, their department created an equally wide-ranging action plan based on that study. The plan consisted of 67 separate tasks designed to improve every aspect of their customer service: from the smiles and assistance they offer at their land use counters; to streamlining systems and procedures to make the process easier to understand and navigate; from re-organizing management to create a more customer-oriented, outcome-focused department; to improving their communication and teamwork within their department’s employees, with other land-use departments, and with their customers and the public.