31 July 2009
Housing Minister John Healey MP presents 2010 Rotherham with Customer Service Excellence standard
John Healey presenting the award to Anita Heaton and Liz Booth, tenant representative 2010 Rotherham board
2010 Rotherham has been awarded the Government’s prestigious Customer Service Excellence standard and received the award from Housing Minister John Healey, also MP for Wentworth, today.
The Customer Service Excellence (CSE) standard, which replaced the Charter Mark award in March 2008, was developed to offer public sector organisations a practical tool for driving customer-focused change within their organisation.
Mr Healey said: “I am pleased that Rotherham 2010’s contribution to our town has been recognised with this Customer Service Excellence Award.
“CSE awards aren’t just handed out to any organisation – the standards are tough. These awards are given to organisations which put customers at the heart of everything they do. This is a real credit to every person who works for Rotherham 2010.
“Rotherham 2010 have a reputation for knowing their patch – not only knowing housing inside out, but, perhaps more importantly, knowing the people who live in our town’s 21,000 social homes.
“As housing minister and local MP I know how important people’s homes are to them. It is hard to have a settled life without a decent and secure home in which to live. So having an organisation like Rotherham 2010 on people’s side in our area can make a huge difference to people’s lives.”
The aim of the CSE is to encourage, enable and reward organisations that are delivering services based on a genuine understanding of the needs and preferences of their customers and communities.
In order to receive the CSE award, 2010 Rotherham had to undergo a detailed independent assessment in April.
On awarding the standard, the Assessor commented that: “There are generally high levels of satisfaction with services and with the way in which they are delivered. There is a strong focus on customer service throughout the company, in its leadership and in the professionalism and attitude of staff.”
This award demonstrates that 2010 Rotherham has achieved the five main criteria of the CSE assessment which are customer insight, the culture of the organisation, information and access, delivery of services, timeliness and quality of service.
Other strengths highlighted in the report include 2010 Rotherham’s insight into the needs of its customers, its extensive customer consultation, and the way in which it works in partnership with other organisations.
Anita Heaton Chair of the 2010 Rotherham Board said: “The fact that we are here today to receive the award from the Housing Minister indicates we were successful in reaching the standards needed for the Customer Service Excellence Award – but we are not resting on our laurels, we know there are areas that could be better and will continually seek to involve our customers in developing improvements to services to ensure they are relevant to their needs and priorities.”
2010 Rotherham Chief Executive, Kevin Lowry, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded the Customer Service Excellence standard.
“Customer satisfaction is of paramount importance at 2010 Rotherham, and the CSE standard provides a framework for us to ensure excellence in customer service across the organisation.
“The Assessors report highlighted several areas for development, and we will now aim to improve and monitor our performance in these areas.”