A FATHER-of-two from New Brighton has reached the finals of a national awards scheme recognising the highest standards of customer care.

Brian McGuinness, the Disclosure and Barring Service’s (DBS) Head of Customer Services, is in the shortlist for the Customer Service Changemaker category of the UK Customer Satisfaction Awards 2023.

'It's a real honour to have been shortlisted'

The 54-year-old said: "It’s a real honour to have been shortlisted but it’s not just about me, this is testament to the willingness and commitment of my team to buy into our organisation’s values and strive for the highest standards."

Brian, who has worked for the DBS for more than eight years received a glowing nomination for honours. That included praise for his “great record of hard work”, “wide-ranging colleague and customer-focused initiatives” and “dedication to delivering a great customer service”.

He describes the world of customer services as a “never-ending cog”. During the period 2021/22 DBS issued more than 7.1m certificates and had 2m Update Service users. During the pandemic more than 344,700 fast-track Enhanced with Barred Lists were issued.

Las year, DBS achieved a customer satisfaction index score of 81.4% - the highest-rated public sector organisation for customer satisfaction.

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However, a commitment to continuous improvement and raising the bar, rather than standing still, is integral to a best practice customer service approach, according to Brian.

He said: "Feedback is vital to the work we do – listening to our members of staff around what systems are working well and what can be improved, as well as, of course, our customers.

"In the past few years, we’ve tried to bring an even more empathetic approach to our customers we engage with – whether over the phone, web, email or social media – and we are seeing huge benefits from this.

"As a head of service, it’s so important to keep yourself learning and aware of changing cultures and work practices. There are so many ways to keep learning, through meeting peers, listening to podcasts, webinars and regularly reading."

The UK Customer Satisfaction Awards, which is being held on Tuesday, March 7 in London, is run by the Institute of Customer Services – the UK's independent professional customer service body, working closely with business, the public sector and the Government.

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