News Story
Since the launch of Customer Service Excellence in March 2008 the number of organisations to have met the standard has doubled year on year, with participation exceeding all expectations. In that time nearly 800 services have been assessed and certified, with a collective total of around 250,000 employees, making CSE the UK’s leading customer service standard.
Localism and Diversity
Behind the figures are stories of change and transformation, with CSE driving service improvement in organisations of all types. Local authorities undertake an incredibly diverse and complex range of activity and have been in the vanguard of customer-focused developments. Using the standard to support the localism agenda, councils of all sizes and contexts have used CSE to respond to citizen needs and priorities, demonstrating that the principles that underpin the standard are applicable irrespective of scale, geography or service type. Two authorities operating in very different contexts have used CSE to respond to their citizens’ priorities, tailoring their services accordingly:
Fenland District Council serves a rural area of north Cambridgeshire with a population of 93,000 and as a result of CSE introduced a series of community fairs in towns and villages across the district. These have been held in schools, community halls and other easily accessible locations, involving other organisations such as the police, fire service, CAB and NHS. Their Head of Customer Access, Keith Ashworth, summarises the impact the standard has had on their approach:
“CSE enhanced our engagement with customers so that as an organisation we do not assume to provide services to customers that we think they want; rather, the Council is able to provide services to customers we know that they want”
On the other hand, Rotherham is one of four metropolitan districts that make up south Yorkshire and has a growing population of around 260,000. Prompted by CSE, the council developed a system for mapping customer journeys through the eyes of customers. Home Truths videos, handwritten diaries, customer passports and the use of Customer Inspectors enabled a ‘you told us...we have’ response. As Jasmine Speight, Quality Standards Officer, explains:
“There is now a clear focus on making access clear and easy for customers, equitable for all and effective in delivering the service that is needed”, adding that CSE provided an independent validation that customer focus is embedded in Neighbourhood and Adult Services.
Rotherham and Fenland illustrate the wide applicability of the standard and how CSE supports individual services to develop their own local approach. The emphasis on customer insight in the standard enables organisations to develop appropriate services, making the standard relevantto all services irrespective of background.
Corporate programmes
Across wider government there are similar examples of the impact of CSE, with both the Scottish Government and departments such as the Valuation Office Agency and Defra using the standard in specific service areas. Where a corporate approach has been pursued, applicants have realised economies of scale and also benefitted from the impetus this has given to their customer strategy, such as in the Department for Work and Pensions.
The corporate approach has been particularly evident in the housing sector, where CSE has been embraced by many organisations, including Wakefield and District Housing.Christine Booth, Employee Engagement Manager, highlights why this is:
"It means that we have external scrutiny and validation of the highest order. We enjoy an award for excellence in service provision, which is instantly recognisable for quality and which further enhances our brand."
" It has the scope and flexibility to apply to any organisation. It certainly gives Wakefield and District Housing the ability to display both customer care and creativity, showcasing what we do by ‘walking the talk’. It prompts us to dig deeper within our services and to examine our priorities. CSE focuses on the insight we have into who are our customers and to constantly understand their values, needs and aspirations."
Open to Everyone
Because eligibility for CSE is flexible, this has encouraged applications from a broad range of sectors and expanded the horizons of the standard. In the charitable and voluntary sector many are already deeply committed to their customers and have used CSE to build upon existing practices. In a challenging financial climate many have found that CSE offers a hard-edged framework that delivers business benefits in tandem with increased customer satisfaction. Speaking recently about the benefits that CSE has brought to the Bryson Charitable Group, John McMullan, Chief Executive said that:
“the success of Bryson and our social enterprise model has provided the stability needed to plan and achieve growth, even through this period of severe economic recession. In the past 5 years our staff complement has grown by 48%, Turnover has increased by 120% and income from contracts is up by 53%. Our Excellence Strategy has supported that growth and sustainability; strengthening our position within the tendering process. CSE is an integral part of that strategy, particularly within our social care business units. It has made a positive contribution to improved procedures, better planning and has encouraged thinking about service provision and practice to provided sustained high quality to service users.”
It is a message reflected by private-sector users of CSE. Bottomline Technologies provides collaborative payment, invoice and document automation systems to corporations, banks and financial institutions around the world. Delivering value to more than 9000 customers in industries such as insurance, healthcare, communications and education is a key priority which CSE has helped to support:
“Through working towards and adopting CSE, Bottomline Technologies has benefited greatly in many areas. From improved procedures to helping us to look more closely at our customers, what they need and how we can best help. The framework and guidelines used within CSE have certainly helped us ensure we are serving our customers to the highest degree of excellence.”