Preston’s Eric Wright Facilities Management (EWFM) has won a prestigious national industry award for Customer Service Excellence following the development of a unique app to support both its client One Partnership and Community Health Partnerships (CHP).
EWFM’s Variation App was last night announced as the national winner in the Excellence in Customer Experience category at the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM) Impact Awards, which were held at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House, London.
The event saw EWFM secure its third recent award win, having previously won the Impact on Society and Social Value and the Frontline Hero Award which was secured by employee Lucy MacNeill in 2021.
EWFM created the bespoke Variation App for the three Local Improvement Finance Trust’s, otherwise referred to as LIFT. The 3 LIFTCO’s, which have a total of 23 buildings, are managed by the One Partnership Team and are jointly owned by the Eric Wright Group and CHP. LIFT is a form of private sector investment in public sector buildings.
Commenting on the win EWFM managing director George Lilley explained: “We are absolutely delighted that the Variation App has been recognised by the IWFM judges as best in class and I know that our client is equally proud to have won this prestigious national award.
“The Variation App is designed to make our customers’ lives easier and has significantly improved levels of trust across the complex teams, providing a collaborative working environment which has significantly improved the customer experience.”
To comply with contract requirements, any changes made in CHP properties must be recorded as part of a complex process termed the ‘variation process’ which involves multiple stakeholders across various organisations. The variation process presents many challenges, as it is almost impossible for all stakeholders to see one ‘Single Version of Truth’ (SVoT), a key issue which the EWFM Variation App addresses.
The Variation App provides a streamlined system and a clear audit trail of project status, allowing accuracy, timeliness and alignment. Variations can be progressed easily as notifications are sent to stakeholders with assigned tasks, informing them of actions required.
The implementation of the Variation App has been transformative for the customer experience providing a collaborative working environment, allowing for better communication and strengthened relationships, which has significantly improved the customer experience.
Hannah Watson, Senior Partnership and Property Manager for One Partnership added: “Being able to monitor the progress of a variation has made the process much more organised, efficient and manageable, making our lives much easier. We’re really happy to have partnered with Eric Wright Facilities Management on the development of the Variation App and pleased that the work of the team has been recognised by the industry body for FM.”
