NEWS

Stephen Burrows, managing director of Centre for Assessment, argues that there is no room for excuses.  He believes the public sector should always be looking for ways in which to improve, and discusses a way to do this through the Government’s new Customer Service Excellence standard (CSE).

Within the public sector, organisations are working hard to improve, whether this is through training and coaching, streamlining core functions or becoming more creative with communications campaigns. 

Customer service will always be one very visible area for those working in the public sector and getting this right can reap massive benefits.  Improved levels not only ensure the public are content, but means employees are proud and happy to work for the organisation.  It allows one public service to differentiate itself and act as a benchmark for others to follow, and enhances reputations. 

The customer service function currently has a real opportunity to come to the fore and offer public sector organisations an opportunity to stand out from the crowd.  The Government’s introduction of its new Customer Service Excellence (CSE) quality standard has, therefore, never been so timely.

What is Customer Service Excellence?

The standard provides official recognition that an organisation has the highest standards of customer service embedded throughout its culture.  The new quality standard operates on three levels:

• as a driver for continuous development
• as a skills development tool
• as an independent validation of achievement

The Central Office of Information* reports that all organisations which succeed in gaining the standard must work towards, then meet, the following criteria:

·         Customer insight – the importance of developing an in-depth understanding of customers

·         The culture of the organisation – how those who work within the organisation demonstrate the necessary values and understanding, as well as how the operations and procedures meet customer needs and expectations

·         Information and access – ensuring that customers consistently receive accurate and detailed information

·         Delivery of an organisation’s main business aims

·         Timeliness and quality of service – a more detailed look at the standards organisations have in relation to how they carry out their main business

What is Involved?

Organisations working towards the new quality standard will first be required to assess their capability in relation to customer focused service delivery, in order to identify areas and methods for improvement.

Then, by allowing individuals and teams within the organisation to explore and acquire new skills in the area of customer focus and customer engagement, they can build their capacity for delivering improved services.

Finally, an organisation will seek formal accreditation to the CSE standard in order to demonstrate its competence, identify key areas for improvement and celebrate its success.

Organisations are not on their own; they will be guided and advised throughout the process by certification bodies such as Centre for Assessment.  The experience is designed to have a real positive outcome on a service with tangible benefits at the end.

How can Customer Service Excellence help the public sector?

The standard has been designed to test, in detail, the areas that research highlighted were a priority for customers of the public sector, with particular focus on delivery, timeliness, information, professionalism and staff attitude.  It encourages and rewards organisations that deliver services based on a genuine understanding of the needs of their customers and communities.

Of course, all of this can only serve to give organisations a greater understanding of their customers and help ensure that culture, service delivery and staff attitudes are aligned effectively.

The knock-on benefits are not only improved customer service but also improved staff morale and motivation.  It’s always good for employees to know that they are carrying out their role to the very best standards and that their role has played an important part in their organisation achieving the CSE standard.

In addition, those parts of the public sector that achieve the standard will see significant benefits and experience the rewards.  Attention to customer satisfaction can lead to improved image, reputation and trust; lower costs through fewer complaints and rework; and better staff retention because staff they are happier at work.

Why Customer Service Excellence?

A key Government aim, stated in the recent report by the Central Office of Information*, is for “public services to be for all that are efficient, effective, excellent, equitable and empowering – with the citizen always and everywhere at the heart of public service provision.” 

Hence, the Government has been seeking ways of improving existing customer service offerings in the public sector, which has brought about the CSE standard.  The standard is aimed at developing customer insight, understanding the user experience and putting in place a robust measurement of service satisfaction.  It offers the public sector a practical tool to provide customer focused change from within.

For an organisation to be recognised for the CSE standard it must be successfully assessed by one of the Government’s licensed certification bodies.  Centre for Assessment is the first certification body in the UK to be recommended by UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service) to certify organisations against the new standard.

The UK sets the benchmark for many customer service values, and as an industry certification bodies have welcomed the introduction of this new Government initiative.  It really will enable the public sector to enhance its customer service standards across the board and separate itself from those providers that simply pay lip service to their customers’ needs.

Case Study - Liverpool Housing Trust

Liverpool Housing Trust (LHT) has been a provider of affordable homes on Merseyside for over 40 years, now owning almost 10,000 homes across the region as well as delivering housing management services.

In order to receive recognition for its employee’s commitment to excellent customer care and to further enhance its reputation throughout Merseyside and the social housing industry, the Trust decided to work towards achieving a certified quality standard.

When the organisation was in the process of applying for another quality standard called Charter Mark, it discovered the new Customer Service Excellence standard that was about to be introduced by the Government.

“At this point the Trust took the decision to postpone achieving the older Charter Mark standard, and to look further into the criteria for the new standard,” explains David Lambert, managing director of Liverpool Housing Trust.  “Then, during this time, Centre for Assessment approached the Trust to take part in a pilot for CSE.

“Feedback from the Trust was so encouraging that we agreed to help out with the pilot, starting by conducting a self assessment and pulling together evidence of our achievements.  Following an extremely positive review of the pilot we were then able to formally apply for the new standard as soon as it was launched in March 2008.

“We were very keen to achieve the standard because having a customer focus and a continuous improvement policy is central to our business philosophy and crucial to our future.  The Trust also believed that having our services assessed by an external organisation, which had an in-depth knowledge of good practice nationally and of other types of organisations, would be a positive move. 

Centre for Assessment scored LHT on different areas of customer service, with the assessors speaking to staff, residents and partner organisations before making their final assessment and decision.

Staff commitment

Having its staff onboard was key to the successful achievement of the CSE standard and when different teams in the organisation were approached to get involved they were more than happy.

“The idea to achieve a quality standard was that of our property service’s team, but when we approached other teams to get involved such as our customer service centre and residential involvement team they too thought it was a fantastic idea,” continues David.

As a result, it didn’t take the Trust long to achieve the standard thanks to the preparation work it put in during the pilot stage.

“We carried out a self-assessment and found that we were already compliant with many of the standard’s criteria, as they are similar to what is expected of well-performing housing associations by the Housing Corporation and the Audit Commission, as well as being recognised as good practice in the social housing sector.

“We set up a small group, representing all our service areas, to carry out the self-assessment and pull together the evidence for the desk top part of the assessment.  Sixteen staff were then interviewed by the assessor for the on-site side of the assessment.

“As the application was carried out over a relatively long period of time, those staff involved were able to fit it around their day jobs.  The project comprised part of their annual work programme rather than requiring them to work additional hours.

“We succeeded in gaining a top score on the new standard and were delighted with the result, particularly as it calls for organisations to achieve even more than its predecessor did.  Centre for Assessment said that after meeting residents and talking to customers and staff, it was clear to see that the Trust consistently employs customer service excellence throughout the organisation. 

“Having external recognition supports the views of our tenants from our last tenant survey, in which 85% of them said they were happy with the standard of customer care they receive from us.  It is fantastic to finally get formal recognition for both LHT and all of our hardworking staff,” David concludes.

Centre for Assessment commended LHT for its many key strengths including:

·         Very professional staff dedicated to providing excellent services for customers

·         Standards which are set by customers and cover both performance and timeliness

·         Identification of both existing and potential customers, together with their needs and preferences, in a structured manner which results in good customer insight

·         Consultation and involvement of customers at all levels of engagement, and on all matters concerning the organisation and its customer base

·         Procedures which enable the reliable and accurate measurement of customer satisfaction and identify areas of dissatisfaction

·         A dynamic culture of excellent customer service at all levels of the organisation

·         A strong information provision in both literature and on the easy to use website

·         A network of partnerships which enhances the provision of services

Contact Centre for Assessment on 01942 256650 or email enquiries@centreforassessment.co.uk, www.centreforassessment.co.uk