This week is National Customer Service Week and we’re taking part in this week-long celebration of customer service, reflecting on how we serve our customers, recognising our teams’ achievements and demonstrating our commitment to service excellence.
Below are the different themes for each day of the week, together with the ways in which the services we deliver and the way in which we work, ties into each of these.
Monday – The Human-Tech interface
We’re a forward-thinking organisation and are keen to embrace new technologies to deliver high-quality services and transform our customers’ experiences. Recent examples of how we have used technology to achieve this include:
- A new user-friendly website with improved site navigation, usability and accessibility
- Our Park Safe Schools pilot scheme, which tackles dangerous and inconsiderate parking outside schools using camera technology.
- Providing cashless and contactless parking payments and permits through MiPermit
- Enabling and delivering the first MiPermit Park and Charge service for electric vehicles in the country!
- We’ve created a series of short educational videos to inform our customers about our services.
Tuesday – Service with Respect Day
Our staff play an important role in keeping roads safe and clear for all users and deserve to be treated with respect whilst carrying out their jobs. As a founding member of the Positive Parking Agenda, we fully support the BritishParking’s #haltthehate campaign and provide our staff with regular training and support to resolve difficult situations when they arise, whether than be over the phone or face-to-face.
We also take a number of steps to ensure our staff are protected at work, such as providing body worn cameras and lone worker devices, both of which have enabled us to secure successful prosecutions against offenders that have assaulted our staff.
Wednesday – The Professionalisation of Service: Skills & Capabilities
We’re committed to supporting and developing our staff to enable us to deliver a forward-thinking, professional and high-quality service for all our customers. We offer a number of training and support opportunities to all our staff and at the moment:
- Two are studying for degrees
- Four are studying for Institute of Learning Manager qualifications
- Six are studying for City and Guilds qualifications
- Three are about to complete data-led qualifications from The Chartered Institute for IT
Thursday – Effective Strategy and Leadership
Effective strategy and leadership skills are key to a successful organisation and since the Partnership was formed in 2011, we have gone from strength to strength and have recently had our agreement to continue delivering the Partnership for Essex County Council agreed for up to another eight years.
We also strive to be leaders in the sector and as our recent video highlighting our achievements in 2021/22 shows. We’re delighted that much of this work has seen us shortlisted as finalists in FIVE categories at this year’s British Parking Awards!
Friday – Recognition
At NEPP, we believe it’s important to recognise and celebrate staff achievements. We regularly do this through our internal comms, team meetings and through awards at our annual staff event. We also nominate our staff in external awards, such as our Back Office Team and Group Operating Manager, who are both finalists at this year’s British Parking Awards!
We also receive some lovely compliments about our staff, such as the below:
“I just wanted to let you know about the fabulous service we receive from Emma. She is always so helpful and efficient, it makes such a nice change to deal with someone so pleasant and good at their job. Emma is a pleasure to work with and such an asset to your organisation.”