Helm Customer Service Award  - 4 March 2010

Good morning ladies and gentlemen,

I should like to begin by thanking Jean and the Board of Helm Housing for inviting me here this morning to present this prestigious new award for Customer Service Excellence.

Helm, of course, is no stranger to good customer service. You were the first housing association in Northern Ireland to be awarded Charter Mark status and are now the first to achieve this enhanced excellence award.

I congratulate you for maintaining such a high level of achievement.

The aim of Customer Service Excellence is to encourage, enable and reward organisations like your own, that are delivering services based on a genuine understanding of the needs of your customers and communities.  

As the largest housing association in Northern Ireland, you have a wide ranging customer base, across many different types of housing provision. You have been successful in achieving this latest accolade because you have built and fostered a truly customer focused culture, with quality delivery at the centre of all you do.     

This is something I can confirm from first hand experience.  

Since becoming Minister, I have visited many BIH and Helm housing projects and have seen the marvelous work being carried out by your organisation. I have been shown around the homes of a good many tenants and all have been unstinting in their praise for Helm and the excellent service you provide.

I’ve been told that part of your assessment process involved a visit to the Ardaveen Supported Living Scheme in Bessbrook. I had the privilege of opening that scheme in October and remember vividly how delighted Pearl and Vera were when they took me around their new homes. They were overjoyed.

Customer satisfaction, based on their particular needs, was certainly very much in evidence that day. I have no doubt their sentiments could be replicated throughout your many other housing developments.  

I also heard about good customer engagement when I visited Coopers Court in November. The residents group there told me all about the opportunities in place for consulting and engaging. They said they felt involved and were extremely proud and protective of their new homes.

It was clear to me that their quality of life was being enhanced because they, the customers, were being put first.

Government wants public services that have the citizen at the centre of all that we do. Services have to be efficient and effective. They have to be excellent, equitable and empowering, with a focus on the individual needs and preferences of the customer. The examples I have just quoted, from personal experience, demonstrate that Helm Housing is doing all that and more.

Ladies and gentlemen - today is not just a social occasion to present this award. It is a declaration of commitment by a group of dedicated people and a highly professional organisation to continue with the provision of quality services for those who need them most.  

This Customer Service Excellence Award is formal recognition of the latest stage in Helm’s quality journey. It demonstrates that customer focus is strong, right from strategic leadership level, to front line staff. It is very well deserved.

Thank you for making such a difference to the lives of a great many people. To each and every person involved in securing the award, I offer my congratulations for a job well done. You can be proud of your achievements and of the achievements of Helm Housing.

It now gives me great pleasure to present this Customer Service Excellence Award to Jean, with my very best wishes for the future.