FICTIONAL TRAINING FILE - The City of Fernhollow, its staff, residents and data are invented for the CPS HR Microsoft 365 Copilot workshop. Do not use real work data.

MEMORANDUM
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TO: Department Directors · FROM: Jordan Ekwueme, Senior Analyst · DATE: October 9, 2026 · SUBJECT: Service Request Improvement Project - Phase 1 Findings and Proposed Next Steps


Purpose
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This memo shares what we learned about the growing service-request backlog and the options we propose to test. It is for information; no decision is requested today.

What we found
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  1. The backlog doubled between January and May 2026, from 135 to 270 open requests at month end.
  2. Average days to resolve rose from 6.1 days in January to 8.4 days in June.
  3. About 31 percent of sampled requests (300 requests, April-May) were first sent to the wrong unit.

Options we considered
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  - Keep the current process and add overtime (short-term relief only).
  - Add a single intake triage step (recommended).
  - Add Saturday intake hours (proposed by the Intake Lead; requires confirmation of staffing and cost).

Recommendation
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Pilot a single intake triage step, publish a weekly backlog report, and send plain-language status updates to residents.

Risks
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Four of 22 positions are vacant; August data are incomplete; residents who do not use the portal may benefit less from portal updates.

Next steps
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Complete design in October; pilot November 2026 to January 2027 if the Department Director approves; review results in February 2027. Exact pilot start date: requires confirmation.
