The Customer Services Toolkit is a resource developed by and for councils to help increase the profile and professionalism of customer services staff in local authorities. Developed by the Improvement Service's Customer First Programme in conjunction with Renfrewshire Council (as lead council) and 12 other Scottish councils, the toolkit forms part of a wider project to develop an accredited training qualification for customer services professionals.

Why use the Customer Services Toolkit?

The idea of putting customers first sounds obvious. In practice, it means challenging existing approaches to the ways customer service is provided and services are offered.

Scotland’s 32 councils are responding positively to the challenge of providing excellent customer service to a more diverse and individualistic society with different aspirations and expectations. Providing customers with what they need, preferably at the first point of contact, means that councils and their partners must be in a position to deliver more joined-up, more efficient and more effective services designed around customers’ needs. The Customer Services Toolkit will help move towards achieving this goal.

The Toolkit:

• Provides a common set of customer service standards that can be recognised nationally;
• Offers a valuable resource that can contribute towards attracting, motivating and keeping staff;·
• Is designed to support customer service professionals focus on valuing customers as individuals through healthy attitudes and positive behaviours.

What does the Customer Services Toolkit include?

• A Competency Framework comprising eight competencies, 40 elements and approximately 350 behaviours.
• Competency Level Descriptors designed to assist in considering the level to which an element should be demonstrated by an individual in a given role.
• Access to web-based tools including role profiling tools and assessment and development plan tools.

View the Customer Services Toolkit

You can gain access to some resources in the Customer Services Toolkit Online by visiting http://www.db-improvementservice.org.uk/ and entering the following login details:

User name: demomode
Password: demomode

This allows you to conduct a self-assessment against the framework and to save or print this assessment.

To access the full Toolkit, contact the person within your council responsible for administering it. A list of administrators can be downloaded from this site. You can also download a User Guide for the Toolkit.

Alternatively, the Toolkit is available on CD-ROM. If you would like to receive a copy of this, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

For further information on the Toolkit, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it at the Improvement Service on 01506 775558.