Mears is pleased to announce that it has successfully achieved the ICS ServiceMark Accreditation. Receiving the customer accreditation award shows that outsourcers can demonstrate their focus on public good.
ServiceMark is a national standard recognising an organisation’s achievement in customer service and its commitment to upholding those standards. The accreditation is awarded based on customer satisfaction feedback and an assessment of employee engagement with the customer service strategy.
This is an incredibly important achievement for Mears — there has never been a more important time for service industries, particularly those working with the public sector, to prove their commitment to customer service. Due to the collapse of Interserve and Carillion, service providers need to keep demonstrating that they are safe, responsible and trusted outsourcers.
This award means that Mears is now able to benchmark themselves against the likes of First Direct, John Lewis, M&S, Bank, Next, Amazon and Nationwide, who have all achieved the accreditation.
In order to retain the accreditation, Mears must evidence improvements against an action plan, which ensures the organisation is continuously focused on developing its service further.
Gary Jackson, Group Director of Marketing, Communications & Customer Success, said: “The award of ServiceMark shows that the attempt to tarnish all service providers with the same brush as Carillion and Interserve is wide of the mark. Outsourcers to the public sector need to demonstrate that they are open, transparent and trustworthy — this has never been more important. But there is a real need to separate the bad from the good.
“It means we can say with confidence that our approach, training, processes and procedures are as good as the best in the country — it marks a sign of ‘a quality service.
“The accreditation goes beyond process and procedure and measures; customer satisfaction (our customers, clients and colleagues have all been surveyed) as well as emotional connection, customer effort, customer ethos and ethics. It tests whether service is truly at the heart of our business and critically challenges us.”
Colin Middlemass, Chief Operating Officer of Mears Housing commented: “We are delighted to have achieved this highly regarded accreditation. Achieving this recognition has been incredibly important to the business, as it will not only help us stand out from our competitors but also help us make service improvements based on your feedback. It demonstrates how good our customer service really is and more importantly understand the ways we can develop it further.”
Jo Causon, CEO, The Institute of Customer Service said: “Congratulations to Mears Housing Services for achieving ServiceMark accreditation. By acting on the insights gained from customer and employee feedback as part of the accreditation, Mears remains in a strong position to deliver for their customers. In today’s challenging environment, Mears’ success shows that a sustained focus on improving the customer experience can make a real difference to business performance.”
