ICS members short-listed for National Public Service Awards

Two Institute of Customer Service members, Birmingham City Council and Lincolnshire County Council are among the three organisations shortlisted in the prestigious customer service category in the 2010 Public Services Awards run by The Guardian newspaper.

Birmingham City Council has been nominated for their ‘Customer First’ transformation programme. – “By listening to the needs of their customers, empowering staff to respond to them and implementing new processes, Birmingham City Council has transformed their service delivery and increased efficiency”- the Guardian said in announcing the shortlist.

Lincolnshire County Council made the shortlist for their ‘First Contact’ scheme, which allows older people to access a wide range of joined-up services through one point of contact and helps them to live independently in their own homes for longer.

A number of other Institute members were also shortlisted in other award categories, including Staffordshire County Council,-whose parents’ commissioner, Charlotte Bailey, was also nominated for the Public Servant of the Year award -  Cheshire East Council, the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, the Department for Work and Pensions and Yorkshire Water.

“Special congratulations go to Birmingham and Lincolnshire for their nominations in the customer service category, says Jo Causon, chief executive of the Institute. “I was also heartened to see that there were a number of other Institute members among the other finalists who all deserve to be congratulated for getting to this stage,” The winners of the Guardian Public Services Awards will be announced on 23 November