Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has achieved compliance with the BS 18477 Inclusive Service Provision standard, demonstrating its commitment to accessibility services for all.
Awarded by BSI, the business standards company, the verification recognises organisations which can demonstrate - through rigorous assessments - that their policies, procedures and services are accessible and fair to all customers. SSEN is one of the first companies to be assessed by BSI since the Inclusive Service Provision standard assessment has been formally recognised as a verification scheme, having met the requirements of the BSI standard for the past two years.
Julie Walker, SSEN's Social Obligation Manager explains more:
"It's such a proud achievement for SSEN to be one of the first organisations to go through BSI's new verification assessment process and to be presented with this certificate in recognition of all the hard work that our staff in Customer Services and across our regions in the north of Scotland and central southern England carry out."
"It is important that each year weshow how SSEN is using innovation and ongoing communications to improve how we look after our customers. In the last 12 months we have introduced a mapping tool which has already revolutionised how we plan and support projects and partnerships in both our network areas, which in turn - is helping us to improve the support we already offer our customers in a more efficient and sustainable way."
"This verification is a fantastic achievement and is down to the hard work of our employees who go the extra mile to support and care for our customers; hard work that will continue year on year so we can provide - and improve on - the services that show our customers we care about their needs."
Natasha Bambridge, UK Product Certification Director at BSI said: "All consumers have different needs and abilities with many unintentionally excluded by service providers as a result of their personal circumstances. By implementing BS 18477, service providers can demonstrate that they have the relevant policies and procedures, training plans and fair and accessible practices in place when dealing with consumers. We're delighted to have supported SSEN with achieving this verification."
SSEN has also recently established an Inclusive Service Panel; bringing together a five-strong body of people who hold a vast range of work-life experiences including mental health, inclusivity, resilience, physical disability, equality, occupational health, religious diversity, BME and healthcare specific recruitment and the LGBT community.
Julie added: "The panel's expertise, experiences, backgrounds and knowledge will enables SSEN to alignour business to meet all of our customers' needs so we can keep developing our commitment to delivering a truly inclusive culture and ensure we're doing the right thing for our customers."
In the last few years, SSEN has made significant progress in developing its services to become more customer focussed and inclusive, including evolving its Priority Services Register (PSR), welfare services and enhancing marketing and communication channels to enable customer feedback. SSEN has also worked to develop partnerships with many charities including the NHS, Home Energy Scotland and Dementia Friends in a bid to constantly improve and tailor its customer services.