THURROCK Council's leading councillor for central services has complemented members of staff within the authority for their 'outstanding' levels of service to residents.

A statement issued by the council today (Friday, 11 March) says: "Thurrock Council's Customer Services has once again been recognised for their outstanding work in supporting residents, after recently being awarded the Customer Contact Association (CCA) Global Standard Version 7.

"The accreditation follows an audit in January 2022 which assessed the strengths of the service.

"This included how the council engages with and responds to customers through the contact centre and out of hours service as well as Registrars, whilst exploring the working environment of the teams and how talent is nurtured within the service.

"The findings of the report showed clear evidence of the contact centre providing a strong and dedicated response to all residents and partners."

Cllr Jack Duffin, cabinet member for central services, said: "A huge congratulations to our Customer Services teams on achieving this accreditation and adding another award to their long list of accreditations and accolades.

"Every member of the team should be incredibly proud of themselves and the work they do to help our residents especially those who are vulnerable.

"Throughout the many unknowns and challenges of the pandemic, the contact centre also took on the additional responsibilities of taking calls for Thurrock Coronavirus Community Action.

"This ensured vulnerable residents could be connected to additional services that volunteers and council staff were providing, such as collecting food shopping and essential medicine supplies, and offering a befriending service.

"Whilst our Customer Service Advisors are available to support those residents over the phone who really need it, the quickest and easiest way for all our residents to manage most of their issues or concerns is to use our website. If you need to pay, report or apply for a service, doing it online is usually the most convenient way.

"Whether it's paying council tax, applying for benefits or your child's primary or secondary school place in Thurrock or reporting missed bin collections, there are a broad range of online services which you can access at any time on your phone or laptop."