Three Richmond Council Services Gain Charter Mark

Three services at Richmond upon Thames Council have recently gained Charter Mark, the Government’s prestigious award for excellence in customer service. Two services at Richmond Council, Waste Recycling and Enforcement, and Planning, have gained Charter Mark for the first time. Richmond Council’s Registration Service has renewed its Charter Mark. Other Richmond Council services with Charter Mark include: Residential Environmental Health; Customer Services; Consumer Protection; Community Safety; Cemeteries; Housing; and Health Development. Why Charter Mark? “We decided to apply for Charter Mark because we believe we provide a good service and our customers are increasingly satisfied with it,” says Richmond Council Environment Directorate Quality and Performance Manager, Radhika Jerath. “We had undergone two Audit Commission inspections, which reiterated that our services were good and continually improving, and we wanted to take this to the next stage through Charter Mark recognition.” SGS “very willing to help” “When the method of obtaining Charter Mark changed, SGS visited us to explain how they could support us in achieving Charter Mark status.” says Radhika Jerath. “We found SGS to be very willing to help us achieve this award and, after we used SGS for one assessment and built up a good relationship, we’ve stayed with them.” SGS’ assessors have been impressed with Richmond Council’s services, citing examples of best practice such as its schools recycling education programme. Benefits of Charter Mark “Charter Mark has brought several major benefits,” says Radhika Jerath. “It has helped to bring staff closer together as a team, given staff a sense of achievement, provided recognition for our hard work and professionalism, made us more confident with customers and more customer focused – for example by improving our documentation and website – and helped us to produce improvement and action plans. “Charter Mark has proved a highly positive experience and we’re looking to extend it across the entire directorate.”

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