Behaviour Standards Framework & SMILE Principles

What you told us and how it’s shaping change

We worked with customers through a dedicated working group to review our Behaviour Standards Framework and SMILE Principles.

You shared honest feedback about what good service looks like, where things fall short, and what needs to improve. Your insights are helping shape how we set expectations for staff and contractors, and how we deliver a more consistent, respectful customer experience.

Your voice

You told us that:

  • You want clear, consistent service, no matter who you speak to
  • Communication with contractors needs to improve, especially around updates and follow through
  • Repeated repairs and having to explain issues multiple times is frustrating
  • Staff should show accountability, empathy, and take ownership from start to finish
  • You want to understand what good service looks like, so you can hold us to account.

Your impact

What we’ve done

  • Reviewed and refined the Behaviour Standards Framework using your feedback
  • Strengthened the SMILE training content to reflect real customer experiences
  • Focused more strongly on the end to end customer journey, not just first contact
  • Identified clear gaps in: 
    • communication
    • contractor consistency
    • follow through after training.

What we're doing

  • Improving questioning and diagnosis at first contact to reduce repeat visits 
  • Strengthening contractor accountability alongside staff behaviour standards 
  • Introducing post training follow ups to check that behaviours are being applied in practice 
  • Increasing visibility of expected behaviours across all teams 
  • Developing a public facing Customer Charter so customers know what to expect.

What’s next

  • Publish updates showing how behaviour standards are being embedded 
  • Share progress and outcomes through our website and customer groups 
  • Hold a follow up working group in six months to review what’s changed 
  • Continue refining SMILE training based on customer insight 
  • Explore opportunities for customers to observe or contribute to staff training.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to provide feedback for this.