Sam Brett is a Project Manager in APHA’s transformation programme, Delivering Sustainable Futures. In this blog, he reflects on his experience of improving how customers contact the organisation when they need help or advice.
At the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), one of the goals of our digital transformation programme is to improve the experience our customers have when using our services.
Understanding the problem
During discovery, our customer experience project focused on understanding the problems customers face when trying to interact with APHA.
In short, our services were too complex, and customers were contacting us because things weren’t working as expected. We found that over 65% of customer contact with APHA relates to failure demand. This means things like customers struggling to find or understand guidance or being unsure about which contact method to use when they need help.
Testing what works
In alpha, we tested several ideas to tackle the problem. For example:
- Would improving our guidance reduce contact?
- Would reducing the number of ways people can contact us help?
What we found was that no single fix would solve the whole problem. To really improve the customer experience, we needed better data and insight into why customers were reaching out to us in the first place.
Too many contact options, not enough insight
Currently, APHA receives most customer contact through 2 main channels: phone and email.
Our ‘Contact APHA’ page on GOV.UK lists 36 external email addresses, and more than 65% of our contact comes in through those inboxes. Phone calls are managed by our contact management system, but emails are handled via shared Outlook mailboxes. This means:
- we have very limited visibility of why customers are contacting us
- we’re missing valuable insight that could help us improve services and encourage digital take-up
Choosing the right tools
We’re a small team and have adapted quickly throughout discovery and alpha. Our aim was to find technology that could:
- give us structured data to help resolve issues first time
- reduce the reliance on email as a main contact route
- provide insight and performance data to the business
Our business case also set a clear goal: deliver value quickly to support our customers and internal teams.
Build or buy?
We considered 3 options:
- Build a bespoke contact form.
- Change contact management providers.
- Use existing tools already available within Defra
The best option for both our users and the business was to use Defra’s form builder (Defra Forms) to create a contact form and extend our current contact management system to handle the workflow.
Using commercial “off-the-shelf” products to meet user needs
We carried out internal research with APHA colleagues to identify the biggest pain points and worked with senior leaders to define a clear vision for customer contact.
Rather than build a new service, we’re bringing together existing tools already available on the Defra estate and configuring them to meet user needs. This fits well with the Government Digital Services (GDS) guidance on using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products and services.
It’s a different way of delivering, but one that’s still aligned with the GDS Service Standard. In our next phase, we’ll measure performance and impact to make sure the solution is delivering value.
What’s next
We received a ‘Green’ rating for our alpha assessment in August 2025, recognising the great work the delivery team has done. During the assessment, we shared the research, design, and iterations behind the contact form. We also showed how we’ve configured APHA’s contact management system to better meet user needs.
The assessment panel was especially pleased with our clear approach to solving the problems we identified. They also highlighted our thoughtful use of existing technology to deliver value quickly.
Following this, we’re preparing to run a pilot with the APHA Pet Travel customer service team.
This will involve:
- replacing their external mailbox with a structured contact form
- routing all contact through our contact management system
We’re excited to see how this improves the customer journey and provides better insight for the business.
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