Customer Service Excellence - Statement of Award
Swan Housing Association has proved that it provides excellent customer focused housing services by being awarded the Customer Service Excellence Standard.
In addition to being compliant with the standard Swan Housing Association has also been awarded five 'compliance plus' which means that Swan has gone above and beyond expectations and is demonstrating good practice.
The Customer Service Excellence scheme was established by the Government to drive customer-focused change and an ethos of continuous improvement, across public services including Registered Providers of Social Housing. It replaced the Charter Mark standard that Swan had held for many years.
In his report, David Thornton, the assessor, said: ‘You involve customers in decision making at all levels in your organisation. You therefore have great insight into the needs and requirements of service users including some of the most disadvantaged in society. You set challenging targets for customer satisfaction and continue to improve services as a result of analysing the experience of those using your services’.
He added: ‘You have a customer-focussed organisation where all employees demonstrate an understanding of your core values and Swan behaviours based on customer expectations.’
Mary Gibbons, Director of Housing (Essex) said: "We are delighted that our excellent standard of customer focussed services has been recognised. We put customers’ views, opinions and resident scrutiny at the heart of our business and have seen dramatic improvements to our customer service performance. I am delighted that Swan Housing Association has achieved this prestigious award."