Lincolnshire County Council's Assistant CEO takes ICS Awards

Published by Neville D for Institute of Customer Service in Housing and also in Central Government, Local Government

Lincolnshire County Councils Assistant Chief Executive, Marcus Coleman, has embarked on the Institute of Customer Service Professional Award scheme. Here, he shares his experiences and passion for bringing world class customer service to Lincolnshire.

Good customer service is not just about being friendly and helpful. It runs far deeper.

Looking around Lincolnshire, we have many great examples of good customer service. But there are many areas where we fall down too.

Unclear sign-posting, barren receptions areas, calls not answered effectively first time these are real examples I have seen, and all of them have a direct impact on the customers experience.

Thats why our ability to deliver excellent customer service is only possible if our organisation is run in the most efficient and effective way at every level and in every corner, not just in the Customer Service Centre (CSC).

I feel very passionate about this, so when a colleague in the CSC suggested that I do the ICS award scheme myself I was immediately taken with the idea.

Anita Curtis from the CSC is my coach. During our initial meeting, she helped me complete the self assessment and explained how the scheme works. Together we mapped out a nine month plan for me to complete the award.

Whats great about doing the ICS award is that it really encourages me to think about customer service in the real-life context of daily life and work, and to analyse my interactions on a regular basis.

Right away, it has challenged me to think about who exactly are my customers. Its very much about self-evaluation asking yourself how did I make my customer feel and did they get what they wanted from me?

Doing the award makes me even more determined to bring excellent customer service to Lincolnshire.

The next step is to assemble a team from across the authority to look more closely at how we drive improvements - for instance, in response times, service times, staff training and so on so that Lincolnshires customer service becomes truly world class.