Accreditation where it's due...

16th December 2009

Over the last 12 months staff at Contact Centre Trafford have been putting a huge amount of effort into 'going global'. More specifically their aim has been to achieve the Contact Centre Association's Global Standard, and in doing so join companies such as the BBC, Barclays Bank and IBM, not forgetting of course Jobcentre Plus, PDCS and HMRC. All that hard work has clearly paid off and congratulations are in order as Trafford have become the first contact centre in Shared Services to achieve this honour.

The Contact Centre Association (CCA) is the leading professional body for organisations involved in contact centre work. It's membership is truly global with 900 organisations currently subscribing to CCA membership services, accounting for approximately 40% of people working in UK based contact centres. Less than 25%though are working in a contact centre accredited with the CCA Global Standard and it is this club that Contact Centre Trafford has now joined.

More than just a tick in a box

The Global Standard tests more than just staff satisfaction and customer service. The assessment covers a total of 8 categories including, as might be expected, customer focus and learning and development opportunities but recruitment, security, fraud prevention and use of technology also come under the glare of the assessor’s spotlight.

An integral part of the preparation has been the 'Ambassador group'. Made up of staff from across the contact centre at AO grade, the group talked to colleagues, gave presentations and generally spread the word on what the CCA Global Standard is and why they should aim to achieve it. CCA accreditation was also incorporated into a number of site activities, including charity days, to further embed the idea that was not just another paper exercise.

This peer-to-peer approach certainly seems to have struck a chord with staff as Clare Reeve, of the Contact Centre Trafford team, explains:

"This is a great standard to reach and there is a noticeably higher understanding of our business and the benefits of going through this process by all staff."

The benefits of accreditation extend beyond the award ceremony and the trophy as Edward Houlton, from one of the operational teams at Trafford makes clear:

"The point of CCA for me is that our work has been proved to be at the peak of a globally respected system of accreditation. This gives us a good footing to bring in more work, helping to ensure our jobs for the future. This shows how hard we all work and I am proud of our achievement."

The assessment itself is carried out by a panel of independent experts in their field who have free reign to speak to anyone they choose about anything they like. With benchmarks approved by the British Standards Institute (BSI) it is a truly testing examination, which other organisations have failed, making the CCA Global Standard far more than just a tick in a box.

With the champagne barely drunk Contact Centre Trafford will certainly not be allowed to rest on their laurels though, as to keep their accreditation they will be subject to annual checks and a full reassessment every three years.

Right treatment, right result

The commitment at Trafford to improve both customer and staff satisfaction directly supports the aims of DWP's Customer Charter in focussing on providing the 'Right Treatment' and 'Right Result' for the customer, whilst at the same time encouraging staff training and development. The development of improved customer feedback channels has allowed the team to act on what customers are saying more quickly and deal with customer complaints more efficiently.

Looking to the future

Contact Centre Trafford has now established itself as the centre of excellence for the CCA Global Standard within Debt Management and will shortly commence supporting other Shared Services contact centres as they apply for CCA Global Standard in their own right.

The last word goes to Alison Cunningham, Debt Management's Contact Centre Performance Director:

"I am absolutely delighted that Contact Centre Trafford have achieved Customer Contact Association accreditation. I have always know that this Centre delivers a superb customer service and can match anything provided by "the best of the rest" in the contact centre industry. It is fantastic that this has now been externally recognised. My congratulations to everyone in the team - the credit is all theirs"

Visit the Customer Contact Association website for more information on the CCA Global Standard or have a look at the DWP Contact Centre Profession intranet page for more on the work of Contact Centres throughout DWP.