Student Enquiries Centre awarded Customer Services Excellence Standard

In order to be awarded this independent standard, the Student Enquiries Centre have clearly demonstrated that they will always:

• Put the customer at the heart of their service provision
• Consult customers in a meaningful way to deliver improved service
• Ensure they have a truly customer-focused culture throughout the team
• Provide accurate and comprehensive information
• Listen to customers’ views about the service provided to make adjustments to the way they operate
• Deliver a timely and high-quality service

In March 2021, the accreditor conducted a remote visit over a two-day period and in his report said the following about the UCL Student Enquiries Centre team:

‘Very impressed by the overall staff commitment such as their attention to details, the desire to continually improve things and the professionalism displayed by them.’

‘Customer wellbeing appeared to be at the heart of the UCL Student Enquiries Centre’s strategy… some excellent examples of staff training, empowerment and communication.’

The team are also delighted to say they have achieved ‘Compliance Plus' in the following seven areas of the accreditation:

• Having a strategy for engaging and involving customers using a range of methods appropriate to the needs of identified customer groups 
• Having made the consultation of customers integral to continually improving service and advising customers of the results and actions taken
• Empowering and encouraging all employees to actively promote and participate in the customer-focused culture of the team 
• Demonstrating commitment to developing and delivering customer-focused services through recruitment, training and development policies for staff
• Demonstrating how customer-facing staff’s insights and experiences are incorporated into internal processes, policy development and service planning
• Improving the range, content and quality of verbal, published and web-based information provided to ensure it is relevant and meets the needs of customers  
• Having challenging standards for the service, which take account of the team’s responsibility for delivering national and statutory standards and targets 

To help work towards the accreditation, the Student Enquiries Centre have innovated and made several recent improvements, including the introduction of a new telephone service and improvements to what students can access via self-service. The student enquiries management system, askUCL, has allowed the team to respond to students in a timely and efficient manner.

Recent feedback from students has included:

‘The service was [quick], satisfactory and extraordinary’

‘My enquiry was well attended to in record time and the staff were super patient/helpful in pointing me [in] the right direction... It’s a 5-star for me, 100% satisfied! Thanks immensely UCL, I am super grateful...’

‘Thank you so much for your support and help, which is high quality and efficient.’

The Student Enquiries Centre are extremely proud of obtaining the accreditation during this challenging period, which required commitment, contribution and collaboration from all staff who work in the team.

If you would like to find out more about the Customer Services Excellence Standard or how your area of UCL may be able to apply, please contact Finola Gibson, Student Enquiries Centre Manager.