New customer service initiative launched today at Imperial College London

Academy to focus on raising standards and providing excellent service to Imperial’s customers - News Release

For immediate release
Monday 1 December 2008

Providing world class customer service is the aim behind a new initiative launched today at Imperial College London.

The Customer Service Academy will focus on raising standards and providing excellent service to Imperial’s 13,000 students, 6,000 staff, partners, neighbours and visitors.

The Academy aims to raise awareness of the importance of meeting the needs and expectations of the College’s diverse customers.

Manager of the newly established Academy, Steve Rathborn, says an important element of the project is to influence attitudes across the College:

“To be a truly great university it is important to match the high quality of research and teaching with high quality in every aspect of delivery. This programme will initiate a fundamental change in attitudes and awareness across the College by engaging and inspiring people at all levels.”

“The Academy will provide opportunities for teams representing service departments across the College to explore the focus and quality of what they provide and suggest ways of improving this on a continuous basis,” he added.

The Academy aims to raise awareness of the importance of meeting the needs of the College’s customers

The launch event today will see the Academy’s first delegates accept their inaugural task. With the aim of examining good customer service firsthand, teams will be sent out to visit London landmarks and tourist attractions, travelling by different modes of transport, to assess the service they receive.

Future tasks will include assessing customer expectations and the steps that can deliver this and making judgements about service and how to improve it.

The project will initially run throughout 2009 for 20 delegates from the Business School, the Registry, Catering, Finance and Information and Computer Technology.

Each team of four will be asked to feed back what they have experienced and learnt to the rest of their department with the aim of generating enthusiasm and a greater understanding of customer service at all levels.

In addition, they will be analysing the levels of customer service within the education sector and other international organisations through conducting surveys and acting as ‘mystery shoppers’. They will use comparisons with other institutions to make improvements at the College.

Welcoming the initiative Rector Sir Roy Anderson said that good customer service is crucial to supporting the College’s mission:

“Customer service is vital to both the reputation of the College and its ability to function. Maintaining a world class position requires constant adaptation to the needs and expectations of a range of customers. We must make sure that we are consistently making a positive impression and we must all offer good quality customer service so that each of us can fulfil our jobs to the best of our abilities.”

The Academy has been established as a College-wide initiative championed by Commercial Services and co-ordinated by the Learning and Development Centre.

For more information about the Learning and Development Centre please visit: www3.imperial.ac.uk/staffdevelopment/aboutldc

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For further information please contact:

Naomi Weston
Press Officer
Imperial College London
Email: n.weston@imperial.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)207 594 6704
Out of hours duty press officer: +44 (0)7803 886 248

Notes to editors:

About Imperial College London

Consistently rated amongst the world's best universities, Imperial College London is a science-based institution with a reputation for excellence in teaching and research that attracts 13,000 students and 6,000 staff of the highest international quality.

Innovative research at the College explores the interface between science, medicine, engineering and business, delivering practical solutions that improve quality of life and the environment - underpinned by a dynamic enterprise culture.

Since its foundation in 1907, Imperial's contributions to society have included the discovery of penicillin, the development of holography and the foundations of fibre optics. This commitment to the application of research fo r the benefit of all continues today, with current focuses including interdisciplinary collaborations to improve health in the UK and globally, tackle climate change and develop clean and sustainable sources of energy.

Website: www.imperial.ac.uk