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Welcome to Customer First

The 32 Statements

These are the criteria against which you will be assessed on your journey towards achieving the Customer First Standard. There are 32 Statements in all, split across the three core elements.

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS SECTION

  1. We build successful long-term relationships with our customers
  2. We build successful long-term relationships with other related service providers and suppliers for the benefit of our customers
  3. We identify our customers' needs at the first point of contact with us
  4. We always ascertain customers' existing relationships with other relevant service providers before providing services to avoid duplication
  5. Our customers can access other relevant and related services through their contact with us
  6. We always set aims and objectives that specify what our customers can expect from the service we provide to them
  7. We deliver services to our customers within agreed timeframes. We review to ensure they are achieving what we have agreed
  8. Our customer’s needs are reviewed on a regular, on-going basis
  9. All employees follow clear guidelines to ensure we select the most appropriate organisation to either contract with or refer to, in the best interests of the customer
  10. Our employees have access to up-to-date customer information which is updated accurately at regular agreed intervals
  11. We always follow up with our customers after we deliver services to them
  12. Where appropriate we always follow up our key customers after we refer them to other service providers and suppliers
  13. We always follow up and resolve customer complaints or concerns, swiftly
  14. We understand, evaluate and review the long term impact our services have on our customers

MARKET AWARENESS SECTION

  1. Our employees, and all those working on our behalf, understand the purpose and aims of our organisation
  2. We have processes in place to keep our employees up to date with the changes in our industry sector and other related service provision
  3. We develop our services by working in partnership with other relevant service providers
  4. We have overall business objectives that we measure and regularly review
  5. We set overall objectives for service delivery which we regularly review to ascertain how our performance affects our customers
  6. We have processes in place to identify our customer groups and their needs which are reviewed regularly
  7. Potential customers are carefully selected and targeted in any marketing activity
  8. We have processes in place to share good practices with our customers and with other relevant organisations
  9. We support continuous improvement – we are able to demonstrate that we learn from our experience and make improvements to our services as a result
  10. The introduction of every new or changed service is based on a clear rationale

PEOPLE SECTION

  1. We ensure we recruit the best people for the job by using effective and appropriate recruitment methods in line with Equality of Opportunity principles
  2. All our employees understand their role within our organisation and are clear about what we expect from them
  3. Our employees have the necessary skills to effectively understand and meet customer needs
  4. We use customer feedback to evaluate our employees’ performance
  5. We regularly review and appraise our employees and ensure they are developed to perform their job effectively
  6. All employees have appropriate, and recent, training and development to perform their job effectively
  7. We evaluate employee training and development to ensure it has a positive impact on customer delivery
  8. Our employees deliver an impartial and objective service, acting in the best interests of the customer at all times
The Assessment Bodies Who's achieved the Customer First Standard? Your Key to Customer First