All GLL-run leisure centres in five Olympic host boroughs have been awarded the Customer Service Excellence (CSE) award - a prestigious quality mark for excellence in customer service and organisational standards.

Highlighting the helpfulness of staff and development of services to meet a diverse range of needs, the latest CSE award has just been given to all six GLL-run centres in Tower Hamlets where, for the first time, an in-depth corporate assessment was carried out.

GLL runs leisure centres in the Olympic host boroughs of Hackney, Newham, Greenwich, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest. To achieve the CSE award, all leisure centres were found to be compliant in five key criteria - customer insight; the culture of the organisation; information and access; delivery and timeliness and quality of service. The centre-specific CSE reports also highlighted 'compliance plus' areas where the centres exceed the requirements of the CSE standard and are examples of national best practice.

Mark Sesnan, GLL managing director, commented, "We're delighted with the result and recognition for GLL's commitment to put our customers - and potential customers - at the heart of service delivery. To achieve accreditation in five host boroughs also proves our commitment to maintaining an Olympic and Paralympic legacy as we work towards our aim of providing the best in the capital for customer service.

"We plan to continue to build on our strengths and raise standards for local people - improving skills, well-being, health and inclusion through sport".

The CSE assessor praised GLL staff for "making particular efforts to identify hard-to-reach and disadvantaged groups and individuals and have developed services in response to their specific needs" - despite the very broad range of centres managed by GLL.

Comments CSE Assessor, David Thornton: "I was pleased to see GLL take the concept of customer service excellence very seriously and wherever possible involve customers and partners in continually reviewing and improving services to ensure they meet the needs of the local community. I was particularly impressed with the facilities available for customers often regarded as disadvantaged in society through disability and/or lack of finance."

Examples of compliance plus areas include developing services in response to the needs of disadvantaged groups and individuals such as GLL's 'Jump Start' physical activity referral scheme in Tower Hamlets to encourage people to get active and stay healthy. A second compliance plus area complemented GLL's community development officers (CDOs) for interacting with and supporting wider communities.

Rigorously examining how the centres achieve customer excellence, the 57 element application process saw GLL spend six months ensuring requirements were met and fine-tuning operations as well as gathering evidence and direct feedback.

Also highlighted was the role of GLL's community development officers (CDOs). CDOs 'offer a high level of service' by 'interacting within wider communities and demonstrating the ways in which we support these communities' - working closely with the local community to establish services required and to identify hard to reach and disadvantaged groups.