Double Awards Win for Dorset Council Customer Services Team

Dorset Council’s Customer Services team are celebrating winning two awards at the 2023 South West Contact Centre Awards.

Hosted by the South West Contact Centre Forum (SWCCF), the showcase event took place last week (Friday 23 June) in Bristol, recognising and rewarding outstanding achievements, shining a light on business agility, commitment to customers, and the people that work in the customer and contact centre industry.

The Customer Services team offer support over the telephone, webchat, email, social media channels, SignVideo and at face-to-face Customer Access points. They are the ‘front door’ for Dorset Council, providing support for residents on behalf of over 60 departments across the council.

They also support a huge range of other services, from offering pre-eligibility checks for social care, processing Blue Badge applications, and providing emergency out-of-hours cover, to managing the Homes for Ukraine Scheme, involving the coordination of Welfare Checks, Housing Standard reviews, DBS checks and Host payments.

At the ceremony, Dorset Council won two awards:

Best Customer Engagement

This entry showcased the Customer Services team’s Ukraine Response and the delivery of services with peers across the council and community. The judges were hugely impressed by the #OneTeam and community approach at Dorset Council.

Contact Centre of the Year

This entry celebrated the achievements of all the teams within Customer Services including the Dorset Direct, Customer Access, Blue badge, Adult Access, Rapid Response and the Out of hours Teams.

The judges were amazed at the passion that was evident throughout which covered a wide area of innovation, showcasing the teams’ dedication to customers and the team-centric culture.

Cllr Laura Beddow, Dorset Council’s Portfolio Holder for Culture and Communities, said:

“Dorset Council, and the people that we serve, are extremely fortunate to have such a fantastic Customer Services team. I’m delighted that the SWCCF has recognised their hard work and dedication to looking after our residents.

“The team provides an exceptional service to our customers, with a commitment to delivering the highest levels of quality, efficiency, and customer satisfaction. They are at the heart of everything we do as a council, as they are most often the first point of contact when people need our help and support.

“On behalf of everyone at Dorset Council, I want to congratulate the Customer Services team on their success. With some exciting and innovative transformations on the way, I cannot wait to see what they have in store for the future.”