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Charter Mark is a unique national customer service standard that offers public sector organisations the opportunity to work through a customer focused improvement programme to be recognised for providing excellent customer service. Its uniqueness stems from its focus on outcomes - the service actually provided to the customer. Charter Mark also acts as a quality improvement tool; the emphasis on self-assessment encourages organisations to focus upon their strengths and strive for continuous improvement. Charter Mark remains the tool of choice for public service organisations seeking to meet their users' needs, with the Government's agenda for reform of public services giving renewed impetus to the drive for greater choice, flexibility and value for customers.
Central to the scheme are the six Charter Mark criteria. These were most recently updated in 2003 in line with the views of users and Government. The revised criteria have at their heart the Government's four principles of public services reform and focus on :
- Setting standards and performing well.
- Actively engaging with customers, partners and staff.
- Being fair and accessible to everyone and promoting choice.
- Continuous development and improvement.
- Effective and imaginative use of resources.
- Contributing to improving opportunities and quality of life in the community.
The Charter Mark Assessor visited various Fire & Rescue Service sites around East Sussex over three days in May and we were successful in our assessment.
The summary version and the full version of the Charter Mark report is available here :-
2. The next steps
The recommendations from the Charter mark Report will form part of the organisations overall improvement plan. Please see the CPA page for more information.
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