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In 2005 Cabinet Office Ministers commissioned an independent review of the Charter Mark scheme and invited Bernard Herdan, then Chief Executive of the Passport Service, to lead this work. Mr Herdan's report, ‘The Customer Voice in Transforming Services’ was published in June 2006 following a detailed review of the current scheme. It recommended that a new customer service standard, based on the key drivers of satisfaction, should be developed to replace Charter Mark. The Government's response to these findings was published in December 2006, and accepted the key recommendations.
Building on the legacy of Charter Mark, the new standard will offer public services a practical tool for driving customer-focused change within their organisation.
The fundamentals of good customer service remain the same and will continue to underpin the new standard. But in addition it will test in greater depth those areas that customers have indicated are a priority for them, with particular focus on delivery, timeliness, information, professionalism and staff attitude. There will be more emphasis on developing customer insight, understanding the user's experience and robust measurement of service satisfaction. Leadership and culture will move to the fore, whereas financial management and corporate social responsibility will be largely outside of the scope of the new standard.
The standard is aimed at delivering benefits at three levels:
We plan to launch the new standard later this year at which point we will publish the new standard in print, open up formal assessment and make available our new website and self-assessment tool. The exact date for launch is yet to be confirmed, however in advance of that we have made available on this website the final version of the new standard for you to download today.
As the new standard was developed to replace Charter Mark, the scheme will be phased out over a period of time. Charter Mark applications are still welcome, however, the cut-off date for new applications is June 30th 2008. As a Charter Mark certification lasts for three years the scheme will officially close on 30th June 2011.
As the new standard contains new concepts which will require additional evidence Charter Mark holders will not be automatically moved to the new standard on its introduction. Transitional arrangements for Charter Mark holders wishing to move to the new standard have been agreed with the four certification bodies. Corporate programmes with long-term assessment plans in place will be offered flexible options for transition.
If you are an existing holder and have not yet been contacted by your certification body about transition please contact them to discuss your future plans.
We will keep our website updated on our progress and developments over the coming months.
If you are an existing Charter Mark holder and interested in learning more about the new standard please contact your appropriate certification body.
If you are new to both Charter Mark and the standard and want to learn more please feel free to contact any one of our certifications bodies or the Cabinet Office Team directly.