Council Achieves Customer Service Excellence
9th August 2011
The Highland Council has achieved a top national award for customer service.
The Cabinet Office has awarded the Council the Customer Service Excellence standard in recognition the service it provides via face to face contact with the public at its network of 35 Service Points, via telephone its Service Centre in Alness and via the Registration Service.
The Customer Service Excellence standard has replaced the Charter Mark standard, which the council has held since 1999. The new standard is more exacting than the Charter Mark standard and ensures an improved service for all customers contacting the network.
In order for an organisation to be recognised as achieving Customer Service Excellence, it must be successfully assessed and certified against the standard set by a licensed certification body approved by the Cabinet Office, which examines customer delivery, timeliness, information, professionalism and staff attitude. There is also emphasis placed on developing customer needs and insight, understanding the user's experience of the service delivered and measurement of customer satisfaction.
Councillor Carolyn Wilson, Chairman of the Council's Resources Committee, said: "We are delighted that our Customer Services network has met this exacting new standard. This is testament to the high level of professionalism and customer care shown throughout the network."
"The award comes at a time of significant change as we tailor services to the needs of customers and move more to sharing services with partner agencies, such as the police and the Passport Service."
Alistair Dodds, Chief Executive, said: "Customer care is a priority in the Council. This award reflects tremendously well on our staff, who deserve the highest praise for this success. We know from repeated customer surveys, just how highly the public appreciate the way their requests for services are handled and our aim is to maintain these high standards."
The award was presented at Golspie Service Point, which is one of three partnership offices with Northern Constabulary. Customer Services staff provide a front counter service for Northern Constabulary which has proved beneficial to both the police and the local community. The Service Point also houses the Council's Money Advice Service, the Council's Community Works Officer and provides a registration service for the area.
Related Businesses
Related Articles
At the Highland Council Economy and Infrastructure Committee. (Thursday 2 May 2024) Members had the opportunity to review the work the Council is doing to progress active travel and improve road safety before approving the next steps.
At the meeting of the Economy and Infrastructure Committee members had the opportunity to review the last two years of the Community Regeneration Funding Programme before agreeing changes to how the 2024/25 programme will be delivered. Committee Chair, Cllr Ken Gowans said: "Following a successful two years, it is a good time to review what has gone well and what can be done better so we can continue to build on success, and seamlessly move the focus onto how best to support the delivery of projects." "With 279 live projects and over £6million of committed funds still to be claimed, there is no doubt as to the value and impact of the programme's potential.
The Highland Council's In-House bus service pilot project was launched in January 2023. The success of its first year of operation in delivering savings and creating a valued and reliable service was highlighted at today’s Economy and Infrastructure Committee.
Members of Highland Council's Economy and Infrastructure Committee today (2 May 2024) approved the local authority's draft Ecology Strategy and Action Plan which will now move forward to an 12-week public consultation. The Ecology Strategy sets out an ambitious set of actions to tackle biodiversity loss and address the ecological emergency.
Economy and Infrastructure Committee members today (2 May 2024) agreed to direct £100K from the Council's share of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) to fund a new staff training programme at the Inverness Castle Experience. The funding will enable the project team to provide specialist visitor attraction training to young people identified through partners at Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) and the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI).
The Housing and Property Committee met on Wednesday 1 May 2024 and noted the Housing Service performance report 2023/24 that met the agreed priorities and associated initiatives in the Local Housing Strategy 2023-2028. The report highlighted a number of achievements in 2023/24 in increasing housing supply.
Kate Lackie, Malcolm MacLeod and Allan Gunn have been appointed as Assistant Chief Executives with The Highland Council. Convener of the Council, Cllr Bill Lobban said: "I am delighted to say that Kate Lackie, Malcolm MacLeod and Allan Gunn have been appointed as Assistant Chief Executives with The Highland Council.
As intimated in Highland Council's budget plan, a new senior management structure is to be implemented following approval by Council 14th March. It reconfigures the senior management team into two layers, rather than three and brings Highland Council into line with other benchmarked authorities.
Today, Morrison Construction introduced some of their local apprentices who are working on the UK Governments' Levelling Up Funded refurbishment project at the Northern Meeting Park in Inverness. All these apprentices have been recruited from the Highland area.
The by-election to elect a councillor to represent Ward 19 - Inverness South on The Highland Council has been won by Duncan Cameron McDonald - Independent who was one of the eight candidates who contested the vacancy. Voters in the ward went to the poll yesterday (Thursday 11 April) and the by-election count was held this morning in The Highland Council Headquarters in Inverness.
