Can a leopard change its spots? For years, seen as the lumbering beasts of the organisational world, high-quality service and customer-centric innovation are now the council norm.

At Lambeth, we boast state-of-the art customer centres and award-winning service. But there is always room for improvement.

We have just launched the ‘Lambeth promise' council-wide, promoting the core values of excellent customer service – such as honesty and respect – alongside specific behavioural standards.

Every staff member has been asked to make a personal commitment to making a difference, while customer service industry training is offered to all frontline staff.

We drive continuous improvement by listening to and learning from our customers. More than 80% of our residents now have Internet access at home, and while it costs £20 on average to deal with a face-to-face inquiry, and £5 over the telephone, web transactions cost us less than £1. Therefore, ‘channel migration' – encouraging people to access our services through the website – is a key focus.