Staff from all over Lewisham Council came together for a special awards ceremony recognising their dedication to improving customer service.
Lewisham Council is committed to delivering first-class customer service. To do this it needs to look at the continuous development of staff and how they deal with anyone who accesses its services. The awards mark the end of first intake of staff to embark on the Institute of Customer Service (ICS) Professional Awards programme, which is focused entirely on improving their customer service skills.
Nineteen staff and 17 coaches received certificates to mark the achievement of their Awards at the ceremony on 25th July. Staff at all levels across the Council can access to the ICS Professional Awards programme, giving them a chance to gain nationally recognised accreditation for their customer service skills.
Councillor Susan Wise, Cabinet Member for Customer Services said, “Lewisham Council believes that customer service is everyone’s business at the Council. We are determined to ensure that, when our customers access any of our services, they get the best service that we can possibly give them.
“We are committed to doing everything we can to ensure that this happens and that means supporting and developing our staff. The people attending this event are frontline staff and the work that they do is invaluable in getting the message across that we are committed to improving customer service at the Council. I would like to extend my congratulations to everyone who received an award.”
Staff have the opportunity to work towards one of three ICS Awards:
- The Communications Award requirements focus on the key behavioural skills needed to build relationships with customers and colleagues.
- The Solutions Award builds on the Communications Award requirements and practitioners need to demonstrate that they are proactive and alert to service trends and customer feedback. They need to show that they inspire confidence in their ability and give practical support to others to help them improve their performance.
- Building further on the other two Awards, Innovations Award practitioners need to demonstrate their competence against the requirements of the other Awards and also show that they are proactive, flexible and creative. They need to demonstrate that they continually seek new ways to deliver improved customer service and that they motivate and influence others.