We’re proud of what we have achieved and pleased that our efforts have been recognised by the various awards we have received.
Click on the headings below to for more information about each award.
Investors in People
Investors in People is a national quality standard which sets a level of good practice for improving an organisation's performance, through its people, by providing a good level of training and opportunities for staff development.
Skipton was first accredited as an Investor in People in 1996 and has taken on board several initiatives, such as the continuous expansion and development of in-house training courses, realigning the staff performance review system with the Society’s values and development of internal communication structures.
Learning and Development Manager Linda Grant said, “The model has given us focus in terms of how to move things forward in future. The main benefit we have found was that the model gave us an opportunity to benchmark the management training and development against an independent standard.”
Skipton comes first for nationally recognised customer service
In 2006, Skipton became the first financial services organisation to achieve Customer First status. Following a re-assessment process carried out over the last few months, we’ve become the first organisation to retain its status.
Customer First is an assessment standard that recognises organisations achieving high standards in the service it offers customers. A comprehensive framework of guidelines is set out for businesses to surpass in order to receive the accreditation.
In addition to the customer service they also investigate the company's work culture, whether staff felt they receive enough training support and if they find it a great place to work. The report concluded that the Society is fully compliant with the assessment criteria – resulting in us earning the award.
Hannah Brindle, Chief Executive of Customer First, commented, "Your success is down to the commitment at all levels to make sure the customer comes first. In becoming the first building society to achieve Customer First accreditation, you have taken the lead and shown others in financial services that an external verification is worth all the effort."
For more information on Customer First, please visit www.customerfirst.org
Best Regional Lender
Your Mortgage Magazine named the Society Best Regional Lender at its 2006-07 annual awards.
Focusing on products and services, the awards are decided by a voting panel of 180 active mortgage brokers throughout the country and a representative panel of Your Mortgage magazine readers. Their exposure to all lenders' products places them ideally to judge who has led the market in each field across the year.
Your Mortgage paid tribute to the Society's efforts by saying, "Skipton concentrates on offering a wide choice of good value mortgages, accompanied by personal service tailored to suit each individual. The Society has a reputation for turning business around very quickly and places great emphasis on talking to customers and – more importantly – listening to their opinions and concerns."
Best Lender for Fixed Rates – What Mortgage magazine
What Mortgage magazine named the Society 'Best Lender for Fixed Rates' at its annual awards in May 2007.
The What Mortgage Awards were established over 10 years ago and are relied upon by customers to single out the top mortgage lenders. They provide a key benchmark for borrowers to decide on where to go for mortgage products and advice.
Steve Aldous, General Manager, Sales & Marketing added, "We are rightly proud of this award, as it not only shows that our fixed rate mortgage products are among the best on the market, but that we are consistently offering the best value. These awards are judged by experts in the mortgage field so we are delighted they consider us to offer better value than so many others.”