FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

19 September 2016

BEST IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT CUSTOMER SERVICE RECOGNISED AT NATIONAL AWARDS

Waipa District Council has been awarded 2016 ALGIM Ultimate Local Government Customer Service Centre of the Year at the ALGIM Annual Customer Service Symposium in Wellington.

Narrowly taking out the win, Waipa’s efforts over the last three years to completely revitalise their low staff engagement earned them the top award. The judges commented that they “demonstrated a phenomenal attitude in their efforts to offer fantastic service to their community.”

“They confronted their internal issues head on and have made huge improvements. A culture has been created where staff challenge each other to grow further and develop, and hold each other accountable. They also demonstrated great innovation with new projects during this time of unrest to further encourage engagement with the community,” said ALGIM CEO and judge Mike Manson. Amanada Smith, Customer Support Team Leader, accepted on behalf on the Council team.

"This recongised what was, for us, an amazing journey, commitment and a chance to prove our ability to change for the good of our Council and the benefit of our customers," says Smith.
“We couldn’t do it without our amazing teams, management support and inspiring leadership.”

Coming in as a close first runner up was Waikato District Council, who were praised for their efforts in “tackling the whole organisation and driving a customer centric process through every department.” The judges also applauded their commitment to their CEO’s vision of having ‘the most engaged community in New Zealand by 2020’ and the firm timeframe they have developed to deliver this vision.

Another significant winner was Environment Canterbury, who took out first place for the whole country in a new national Best Customer Experience Award. Every Local Authority in New Zealand was mystery shopped to test their service and Environment Canterbury, in the judges’ words, “offered an exemplary customer experience, being only a single point off 100% full marks”.

Also celebrating were Auckland City Council, Palmerston North City Council and Waikato District Council, whose staff took out awards for Customer Service Team Member and Team Leader of the Year, Professional Development and Leader in Service Delivery Excellence.

ALGIM offered its congratulations to all the award-winning Councils for their significant achievements.

ALGIM serves the entirety of the New Zealand Local Government ICT sector, with all 78 Councils as members. The Annual Customer Service Awards highlight the best service providers and innovative projects within our country in order to further develop the sector as a global leader in information management.

© Scoop Media