> Customer Services Charter
Customer Services Statement and Customer Services Charter
Please click on the link to go to the relevant section:
1.0 Statement
of the service that customers can expect in relation to Sports
Leaders UK qualifications
2.0 Relevant points of
contact
3.0 Performance
measures and feedback arrangements focused upon manageability and
responsiveness
4.0 Procedures for
monitoring performance against customer service
targets
5.0 Aim
of the Sports Leaders UK awards and
qualifications
6.0 Vision and
values
7.0 Objectives
8.0 Targets
9.0 Customer
service
10.0 Decision
making
11.0 Complaints
11.1 Key
principles
11.2 Process for making
complaints
12.0 Fees and
charges
13.0 Review of the Customer Service Statement and Customer
Service Charter
Customer Service Statement
The qualifications in sports leadership are administered by
Sports Leaders UK (the new operating name of The British Sports
Trust). Registered Charity Number: 1095326.
1.0 Statement
of the service that customers can expect in relation to Sports
Leaders UK qualifications
Customers can expect an efficient and effective service which
meets appropriate service standards in terms of:
- Response times to customers.
- The fair and equitable application of our Awarding Body
practices and procedures which in turn meet Regulatory Bodies'
requirements.
- Responsiveness to customers and their individual needs.
Customers can also expect responsive and efficient enquiries,
appeals and complaints procedures to resolve difficulties should
they ever arise in an open and transparent manner. Procedures
for making enquiries, appeals and complaints will be published and
reviewed regularly. Sports Leaders UK will maintain and
annually review systems and procedures to review, monitor and
evaluate the enquiries, appeals and complaints that are received
with a view to using this information for continuous
improvement.
2.0 Relevant
points of contact
The Customer Service Manager will be the key point of contact
for all enquiries, appeals and complaints with respect to any
aspect of the operation of the awarding body. Any enquiries,
appeals or complaints should be directed to:
The Customer Service Manager
Sports Leaders UK
23-25 Linford Forum
Rockingham Drive
Linford Wood
Milton Keynes
MK14 6LY
On receipt of an enquiry, appeal, or complaint the Customer
Service Manager will ensure the appropriate recording and
acknowledgement of receipt and will then investigate the situation.
This will then be reported to the Awarding Body Managers Group.
The Awarding Body Managers Group meets on a monthly basis
and will consider each reported enquiry, appeal or complaint and
the action that needs to be taken following the appropriate
enquiry, appeals and complaints procedures of the Awarding
Body.
3.0 Performance measures and feedback
arrangements focused upon manageability and responsiveness
Sports Leaders UK will seek to:
Continuously improve its performance year on year by decreasing
the level of appeals and complaints about the management and
administration of its qualifications which are found to have
substance with respect to any shortcomings in the management and
administration systems, procedures or application of those systems
and procedures.
Data will be collected via:
- Annual customer satisfaction surveys.
- Random sampled feedback assessing the effectiveness of External
Verification and Accreditation visits.
- The capture of information from direct contact with
the Customer Service Manager and/or Chief Executive
and/or other staff via the enquiries and appeals procedures.
This will be measured in terms of:
- The annual number of appeals and complaints about the
management and administration of the qualifications found to have
substance.
- The annual number of appeals and complaints found to have
substance as a percentage of the total number of enrolments within
the same year. This will give a relative measure against how
busy the Awarding Body is in any year.
- Maintain its customer service charter targets defined in
paragraph 8 below.
Sports Leaders UK is a relatively small Awarding Body and
therefore has extremely short reporting lines as outlined in its
governance arrangements. This ensures high levels of
responsiveness and simple management arrangements supported by
appropriate staff resources through the Awarding Body Managers
Group and the Sports Leaders UK Representative Panel.
The appeals procedure outlined in the 'Appeals Policy' and the complaints
procedure outlined in paragraph 10 of this document detail the
practices in use.
4.0 Procedures for
monitoring performance against customer service targets
The Awarding Body Managers Group will provide an annual
report summarising the performance against targets to the Board of
Sports Leaders UK. This will both establish performance over the
previous year and confirm targets for Awarding Body Managers
Group in the year to come as set out in paragraph 3 above and the
Customer Service Charter paragraph 8 below.
Customer Service Charter
5.0 Aim of the
Sports Leaders UK awards and qualifications
"To provide progressive, quality assured qualifications in
sports leadership that increases the number of volunteers who can
contribute to the organisation and delivery of safe and purposeful
sport and recreational activity in their local
communities".
6.0 Vision and
values
Introduction
Sports Leaders UK will work to develop leadership through community
sport and physical recreation by providing resource material and
training for tutors and facilitating the training of Sports
Leaders. We are committed to:
- Supporting the development and implementation of the
qualifications in sports leadership.
- Adopting and following both professional and ethical values and
practice and applying the principles and practices of equal
opportunities.
- Recognising our interdependence with others and working in
partnership to improve the quality of tutors and tutor
training.
- Developing mechanisms for the continuous review of the award
structures.
- Assisting the development of accreditation and quality
assurance systems for tutors and sports leaders.
- Caring for the tutors and Sports Leaders we serve and building
pride in their achievements.
- Providing high quality, cost effective and accessible training
programmes, products and services which reflect the needs of tutors
and leaders and are accessible by them.
- Promoting a culture of continuous care and accessible
professional development at all levels within Sports Leaders UK
awards and qualifications.
- Seeking constantly to enhance our performance through
continuous improvement and innovation.
- Being open and honest and accountable for our
decisions.
7.0
Objectives
The objectives of the Customer Service Charter are to:
- Make explicit service standards to its customers.
- Be able to report annually to customers on our level of
service.
- Provide a more transparent basis on which customers can provide
feedback to include:
o In annual customer
satisfaction surveys.
o In random sampled
feedback assessing the effectiveness of External Verification
and
Accreditation visits.
o Through direct contact
with the Customer Service Manager and/or Chief Executive
as
detailed on
the Sports Leaders UK website, by email or
telephone.
- Create common understanding among Sports Leaders UK staff of
the service level to which we aspire.
8.0 Customer
Service Charter
- Respond to telephone calls within five rings.
- Respond to applications for Sports Leaders UK courses for
approval within 10 working days.
- Confirm registration of Sports Leaders UK courses within
28 working days of the receipt of correctly completed registration
forms.
- Issue certificates within 28 working days of receipt of
correctly completed Candidate Certification Forms.
- Notify centres of the outcome of a results enquiry within 10
working days of the request being received.
- Offer a programme of Tutor Training alongside all existing and
new qualifications.
- Provide a telephone helpline through the Sports Leaders UK Head
Office, Monday to Thursday 8.30AM to 16.45PM and Fridays from
8.30AM to 16.30PM.
- Provide a voicemail service when the telephone helpline is
closed.
- Acknowledge all complaints within seven working days.
- Investigate all complaints and provide an action plan within 21
working days.
- Provide feedback to regulatory bodies as required.
9.0 Customer
service
- Friendly, approachable staff who are there to help.
- Regional offices.
- Communication through The Leader magazine and eZine, circulated
to all centres.
- Communication through the Technical Update document circulated
to all centres.
- Active procedure for the collection and resolution of
complaints.
- Comprehensive training to support our qualifications.
- Telephone helpline through Head Office and Regional
Officers.
- Well maintained website that is regularly updated.
- Well stocked publications department.
- Price lists and publication order forms available.
- Provision of particular assessment and associated services in
languages other than English. See current 'Policy on communicating
in a range of languages' - Annex A at the bottom of this page.
10.0 Decision
making
If we make a decision that you do not agree with and you would
like some further information about our decision, you can do the
following:
- Ask us to explain our decision in more detail in writing.
- Elevate your concern and lodge it as a formal query or appeal
by writing to the Customer Service Manager outlining the
nature of your query/appeal. This will then be pursued in
accordance with our published 'Appeals Policy'.
11.0
Complaints
Sports Leaders UK will follow up all customer complaints and if
necessary hold a full investigation. We will embrace the
following key principles to ensure that a fair complaints system is
implemented and maintained.
11.1 Key
principles
- Sports Leaders UK should be receptive to genuine expressions of
dissatisfaction.
- Complaints should be dealt with promptly, fairly and
proportionately.
- Sports Leaders UK should seek to learn from complaints that are
upheld and make changes where necessary.
- Action taken as a result of a complaint should help to improve
the quality of Sports Leaders UK's services.
- In dealing with a complaint Sports Leaders UK will take care to
promote equality and diversity.
11.2 Process for making complaints
Complaints should be directed in writing in the first instance
to the Customer Service Manager at the address detailed
under paragraph 2 of this document. The complaint should
specify the nature of the complaint and detail wherever possible
specific times, dates and facts to illustrate how the Trust's
customer service has fallen short of
expectations. The Customer Service Manager will:
- Acknowledge the receipt of the complaint within seven
working days.
- Confirm that the nature of the complaint is a complaint and not
an appeal or query, and ensure that the matter is treated
appropriately in accordance with the appropriate policy and
procedures.
- Assess the nature of the complaint and establish the staff that
should be engaged in investigating and resolving the
complaint.
- Within seven working days copy the complaint and any
additional supporting information to the required staff with a
request for appropriate information to support investigation
of the matter.
- Within 21 working days the Customer Service
Manager will review the investigation of the complaint and, if
possible, arrive at a conclusion and respond appropriately to the
complainant with an action plan outlining the action to be taken as
a result of the complaint. In the event that no conclusion can
be achieved at this point, the Customer Service
Manager will write informing the complainant of progress and
give a date when further updates or resolution of the matter will
be achieved. The Awarding Body Managers Group will
support the Customer Service Manager in this
process.
12.0 Fees and
charges
Sports Leaders UK is a Charity committed to making a better
society using sport and sport leadership to make a positive
practical impact by:
'Inspiring individuals and communities through leadership
qualifications in sport'.
As such it seeks to maintain its fees and charges at levels that
are as accessible as possible to as wide range of individuals as
possible. The Charity also seeks to maintain modest grant
aid funds to support those individuals and organisations unable to
access its qualifications.
The current fee structure and details of fees can
be found here.
13.0 Review of
the Customer Service Statement and Customer Service Charter
The specific targets, aims and objectives of the Customer
Service Statement and Charter will be reviewed annually by
the Sports Leaders UK Representative Panel which
comprises representatives of the widest possible range of
deliverers and users of the qualifications.
This process will be supported by an annual review of
performance against targets as set out in paragraph 4 above.
The Customer Service Manager will be responsible for
making recommendations, receiving feedback and revising the
documents, supported by the Awarding Body Managers Group.
Annex A
Policy
on communicating in languages other than English
