The new government has rightly made clear its intention to foster growth across all corners of our economy. At the Institute, we look forward to playing our part by driving the service agenda across our members, policy work and business engagement.
Future planning aside, it was refreshing hearing the respective victory and concession speeches of Sir Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak. Both set a model of civility and mutual respect which, we hope, might set a better tone in this new era for the UK.
It’s also encouraging to see the new government place a renewed focus on service, with the Prime Minister in the Commons on Tuesday setting out his vision of how he intends to serve the country: “service is a precondition for hope and trust”. To me, this is an essential lesson not only for our public servants but also for our business leaders.
The latest customer satisfaction statistics
This message, and the overall shift in government, comes at a significant moment: customer satisfaction sits at its lowest in 14 years, as our latest UK Customer Satisfaction Index revealed this week.
Average satisfaction across the UK has hit 75.8 out of 100, marking a 0.8-point drop compared to a year ago – and 2.6 points below its high point of 78.4 in July 2022. What’s more, the implications of poor service for business growth, performance, and reputation have once again been made clear.
Organisations consistently scoring highly for customer satisfaction over the past five years, for example, have seen continued financial stability. This is particularly true among food retailers, where companies at least 1 point above the sector average achieved annual average sales growth of 5.8%, compared to a market average of just 2.9%.
Beyond this, poor service will continue to drain productivity, both for businesses and the economy. 65% of employees surveyed said they spend on average 3.3 days per month dealing with service issues which, extrapolated across every sector, represents a £6.8bn monthly hit for Britain’s economy.
If anything, the figures from the latest Index highlight that if we are to deliver change – in business performance, economic growth, and society – service must be prioritised.
Our reputations are on the line
The latest Index also finds that doing the right thing is an essential component of both customer service and reputation. Over 60% of customers said the reputation of an entire sector can be tarnished by the bad practices or behaviours of a small number of companies, while 45% said that whether an organisation does the right thing has influenced their satisfaction with that organisation.
In leading through service, businesses can foster a culture where people and staff are better connected, and outcomes are prioritised, making them better for customers and society.
As our research has highlighted over many years, service, performance, and growth go hand in hand.
Many of you I spoke to at our AGM this week already have the desire and the drive to push the service agenda, so it’s now about taking this passion for service excellence and creating a long-term strategy with the customer at its heart.
It’s time to elevate service in government and the boardroom so that we might just realise the growth potential of our nation and deliver sustainable, long-term change.
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