Disclosure Barring Service
The Disclosure and Barring Services Head of Customer Services has reached the finals of a national awards scheme recognising the highest standards of customer care.
Father-of-two Brian McGuinness is in the shortlist for the Customer Service Changemaker category of the UK Customer Satisfaction Awards 2023.
He said: Its a real honour to have been shortlisted but its not just about me, this is testament to the willingness and commitment of my team to buy into our organisations values and strive for the highest standards.
The 54-year-old who has worked for the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) for more than 8 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.
Brian readily 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. In addition, during the pandemic more than 344,700 fast track Enhanced with Barred Lists pandemic were issued.
Last year, DBS achieved a Customer satisfaction index score of 81.4% - the highest rated public sector organisation for customer satisfaction.
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, weve 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.
Along with the dedication of his team, Brian who enjoys writing short stories in his spare time credits keeping a curious and open mind to new and innovative styles of working and learning from other leaders making an impact in their respective fields.
As a head of service, its 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, he added.
The UK Customer Satisfaction Awards are considered the UKs most prestigious customer service awards.
The event, which is being held on Tuesday 7 March in London, is run by the Institute of Customer Services the UKs independent professional customer service body, working closely with business, the public sector and the Government. A full list of finalists in all categories can be found on the Institute of Customer Service