We couldn't do this without our customers
After all, they know what’s best for them and their community. The voice of the customer is central in everything we do. We need to understand what our communities need the most by engaging with them and listening to them.
So, we created the Voice of the Customer. VOC for short. Our VOC panels are made up of customers and members of the community, giving them a central area for sharing their ideas, giving us feedback and helping us improve our services.
We have different panels, each focusing on specific areas. That way, customers can share their expert knowledge, personal experiences, and help us improve key areas of our work.
Our Community Investment Panel is made up of customers and community members. It’s their job to oversee, monitor and help deliver our community investment. They make sure our £15m five-year investment and new Community Investment Plans reflect what our customers are saying.
This year the panel changed how they operated, coming together virtually for the first time. They learnt that this worked well and would allow even more members from across the south of England to join. So, the majority of their meetings will be remaining online, with some occasional face-to-face ones too. They’ve spent time reviewing our Community Investment Plans, making sure we’re delivering what we promised our communities.
The digital approach for the panel also meant they were able to respond to Community Fund applications much quicker. They granted £85,000 to 89 organisations last year, ranging from funding volunteers for Homestart Slough and Homestart Bracknell, who both offer a support service for disadvantaged families, to providing equipment to Brune Park School to support online learning. And funding The Friendly Food Club’s family ‘cook box’ containing food and recipes for families, to supporting Empower Global to supply baby basics for families in need.
Over the next year, as restrictions ease the panel will be visiting our Community Investment Zones, meeting residents, local organisations, and finding out what else they, and Abri, can do to support our communities.
