Dodds recognises customer service excellence
Thursday, 29 January 2009Finance Minister Nigel Dodds has congratulated 14 public sector and voluntary and community sector organisations who have been successful in achieving the prestigious Charter Mark and Customer Service Excellence (CSE) status.
The celebratory event held at Belfast Castle, was organised by the Department of Finance and Personnel’s Reform Delivery Unit, who are responsible for promoting the schemes in Northern Ireland.
Customer Service Excellence, which will replace Charter Mark, was developed to offer public services a practical tool for driving customer-focused change.
In his opening remarks, the Minister reiterated the Northern Ireland Executive’s pledge to raise standards within the public sector: “Citizens want quality services, not just when they buy a product or service from the private sector. They also want the same level of service from the public sector. This presents challenges for us all.
“In the Programme for Government, we have made a commitment to provide world class public services and we fully intend to honour this. Customer Service Excellence provides public sector organisations with a framework to help them achieve this goal.”
Congratulating the organisations on their achievement, Mr Dodds added: “I would like to thank you for the valuable contribution that you are making in delivering public services that we can all be proud of and I wish you continued success on your journey to excellence.”
The winners, who come from a wide range of public services, are required to undergo a rigorous independent assessment.
Lorraine Campbell from the Northern Ireland Housing Executive's, Housing Regeneration Division, a 2008 CSE achiever, stated: “Customer Service Excellence allowed us to obtain an external validation of how we provide our service. The requirement to demonstrate customer insight was particularly useful as it required us to examine our service through the eyes of our customer.”
Newry and Mourne District Council have also had considerable success in developing excellent customer services. David Shanks from the Council’s Building Control Department said: "We are delighted to be the first Building Control Department in Northern Ireland to achieve the CSE Standard. The Council's Equality Unit and the Environmental Health department have both been successful in achieving Charter Mark, and they will also be applying for the CSE Standard in the near future."
Notes to Editors:
1. Customer Service Excellence (CSE) was launched in March 2008 and is the new government Standard for customer service. It is administered by the Cabinet Office and promoted and supported in Northern Ireland by the Reform Delivery Unit (RDU), within the Department of Finance and Personnel.
2. CSE will replace Charter Mark, which has been recognising excellent customer service within the public sector since 1992. The Charter Mark programme closed to new applicants on 30 June 2008, but will run in parallel with CSE until 30 June 2011.
3. The following organisations were successful in 2008:
Northern Ireland Charter Mark Achievers:
- AMH Promote Bangor
- AMH New Horizons Fermanagh
- AMH New Horizons Craigavon/Banbridge
- Bryson Charitable Group - Education Unit
- Bryson Charitable Group - Family Support Service
- Electoral Office for Northern Ireland
- Grosvenor Grammar School Belfast
- Newry & Mourne District Council - Environmental Health Department
- Newry & Mourne District Council – Equality Unit
- North Eastern Education & Library Board - Internal Audit Unit
- Northern Ireland Housing Executive - Dundonald Grants Office
Northern Ireland CSE Achievers:
- Newry & Mourne District Council – Building Control
- Northern Ireland Housing Executive – Housing Regeneration Division
- SCA Ltd
4. Media enquiries only to DFP Communications Office on 028 9052 7374 or 028 9052 7375. Out of office hours please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 076 9971 5440 and your call will be returned.
Connect with US
