National Customer Service Week, founded by the Institute of Customer Service, is a week-long event that brings to the forefront the importance of customer service in any business.
The week is a chance to recognise what makes excellent customer service, and celebrate it within our organisations.
We believe that the task of delivering the best customer service doesn’t just sit with an in-house team but must be part of the DNA of our organisation. From our payroll processors dealing hands on with our external clients, to the in-house IT team who work day-in and day-out to support our staff – everyone has a responsibility to provide exceptional customer service to clients and colleagues.
What makes excellent customer service?
We believe that excellent customer service comes from championing the idea of being a true customer service hero. Our heroes at Dataplan always strive to:
- Go the extra mile
- Be helpful/approachable
- Show expertise
- Instil trust and confidence
We asked our people to nominate their Customer Service Heroes
To celebrate National Customer Service Week we asked our people to nominate their Customer Service Heroes. We asked them to consider the four points of excellent customer service above, and let us know which of their colleagues they felt were Customer Service Heroes and why.
Unsurprisingly, we were overwhelmed with responses. The team at Dataplan is like a family, which is why we work so well together and everyone finds it easy to go above and beyond their duties for their colleagues and clients alike.
Meet our Customer Service Heroes
Meet some of our Customer Service Heroes. We received so many wonderful responses that it would be impossible to list all of them, but we decided to select 4 categories with a winning hero for each.
The ‘Going the Extra Mile’ Award – Leanne Crawford, Senior Team Manager (Education)
Leanne had multiple nominations and they all mentioned how she is always willing to ‘go the extra mile’ for clients, whether from her own team or others. She has also demonstrated great skills at diffusing challenging situations and for using her expertise to provide solutions for both clients and colleagues.
The ‘Helpful and Approachable’ Award – Tom Atkin, Pensions Professional (Education)
Tom had many nominations and they all had the same thing in common, his fantastic attitude and willingness to be helpful, friendly and approachable no matter what was thrown at him! During lockdown he was also part of the call handling team, whilst continuing with his pensions role and always keeping positive and supportive to his colleagues and clients.
The ‘Showing Expertise’ Award – Paul Chappell, Head of Legislation and Compliance
There is so much expertise and knowledge in our business, but throughout the COVID-19 pandemic Paul has shone out as being a beacon of knowledge and ‘go to guy’ with the many queries around CJRS and furlough claims. Despite the enormous extra workload this placed on him he has remained positive and ‘chirpy’ and always made himself available to answer questions from clients and colleagues.
The ‘Instilling Trust and Confidence’ Award – Amy Blackett, Assistant Manager (Corporate)
Amy was nominated for the calm and professional way she deals with clients. She has also assisted with a client customer care line where she has been able to help solve employee queries. It was also noted the help she has given colleagues with complex furlough calculations.
The ‘Clients Customer Service Hero’ Award – Nikki Whittaker and Charlotte Baker, Education HR Team
Nikki and Charlotte were chosen for this award based on the consistently fantastic feedback they receive from clients. We wanted to recognise not only internal nominations, but also our heroes who go above and beyond in our client’s eyes!
Dataplan are one of the UK’s leading providers of specialist payroll and associated services.
From payroll outsourcing and pension service management to ePayslips and gender pay gap reporting; we have a solution for you and your business.