Why did you wish to achieve the Customer Service Excellence Standard?
SCTS wished to achieve the Customer Service Excellence (CSE) Standard to provide an independent, evidence-based framework for assessing and improving the quality and consistency of its customer service across courts and tribunals. CSE gives SCTS a clear set of principles to work towards, helping to embed a culture of continuous improvement and ensuring services are designed and delivered around the needs of diverse users, including those who are vulnerable or experiencing trauma.
Working with the CSE Standard also enables SCTS to recognise and validate good practice through an externally assessed benchmark. This helps demonstrate accountability and transparency in service delivery, supports alignment with the SCTS Corporate Plan, and provides a credible assurance to stakeholders and partners that customer service is being measured, challenged, and improved in a structured and consistent way.
The Approach to achieving the Standard
SCTS operates a three-year rolling CSE assessment schedule, under which approximately one third of the organisation is assessed each year. Assessments are undertaken using a mix of in-person visits, virtual assessments, and self-assessments, depending on the service area.
The CSE accreditation process within SCTS is overseen and supported by a dedicated CSE Project Team, which is established annually. The Project Team brings together colleagues from across the organisation and plays a central role in embedding CSE principles across SCTS. The team is also representative of the breadth of SCTS services. This ensures that all business areas assessed through the accreditation cycle have an active voice in shaping, reviewing, and supporting the CSE process. The team meets on a monthly basis and meetings provide a structured forum to review progress, share learning, and agree actions, helping to maintain a consistent and coordinated approach.
Key responsibilities include reviewing and discussing the outcomes of the most recent CSE assessment, identifying areas of strength as well as opportunities for improvement. The team also reviews existing evidence and identifies new or updated evidence that can support the corporate application, helping to ensure that submissions are current, robust, and representative of practice across SCTS.
A further important aspect of the role is providing practical, on-site support. Each Project Team member acts as a local champion for Customer Service Excellence within their own area. Members have completed CSE training and have been upskilled to support and promote the standard. They assist local teams in preparing for assessment visits, support evidence gathering at both corporate and local levels, and help embed a culture of continuous improvement in customer service across SCTS. The self-assessment tool provided by Assessment Services Ltd has also been of great use to our areas being assessed.
The Impact / Benefits of working with the Customer Service Excellence Standard
Achieving and maintaining CSE accreditation directly aligns with the strategic priorities set out in the SCTS Corporate Plan. The 2025 accreditation confirmed that all assessed elements were met, with a number of areas achieving Compliance Plus, demonstrating a robust and embedded approach to customer service. The assessment highlighted the organisation’s strong understanding of its diverse service user groups and its ability to adapt services to meet individual needs, particularly for vulnerable users and those experiencing trauma.
For customers, the benefits include clearer information on what they can expect through Customer Charters and Standards of Service, improved access to services through multiple channels, and more responsive, empathetic interactions with staff. The increased use of digital and flexible service delivery options has reduced barriers to access, especially for those living in remote areas or experiencing anxiety about attending court in person.
Partners also benefit from working within a CSE-driven framework. Strong collaborative relationships with justice partners such as Police Scotland, Victim Support Scotland, solicitors, and social work services support coordinated decision-making and joint problem-solving. Regular liaison and consultative forums help address issues early, contributing to smoother processes and better outcomes for shared service users.
Working with the CSE Standard has had a positive impact on staff. Robust recruitment, induction, and ongoing learning and development ensure staff are well equipped to deliver high-quality, customer-focused services. The emphasis on staff voice and frontline insight has empowered employees to contribute to service improvements, strengthening engagement, confidence, and ownership while reinforcing a positive organisational culture. Staff have commented that the CSE process allows for “recognising and celebrating all of the great things you’re doing,” and allows “us to build expertise and capabilities across” the organisation.
Unexpected benefits of the CSE Standard include enhanced organisational consistency and stronger shared learning across a complex and geographically dispersed organisation. The rolling review process has helped identify and spread good practice, reduce variation in customer experience, and strengthen collaboration.
The Assessment Feedback
SCTS has taken early and proactive action in response to areas for continuous improvement highlighted in the 2025 CSE accreditation report.
Following assessor feedback relating to the use and impact of Service Delivery Targets (SDTs), an organisation-wide consideration of SDTs was undertaken in early 2026. This work considered how SDTs are applied across the business and explored options for moving forward in a way that better reflects customer experience in 2026.
In parallel, SCTS has begun standardising Customer Service Charters across the business. This work supports feedback highlighting the value of clear, accessible service commitments. The standardisation approach will ensure greater consistency in how service expectations are communicated, while improving visibility and understanding of what customers can expect from SCTS services.
A number of working groups are considering specific feedback themes identified in the assessment. This includes work to review juror surveys and juror citations, responding to feedback on the need to strengthen insight, participation, and accessibility.
We are committed to continuously improving public noticeboard information across courts and tribunals, ensuring clearer communication with service users and that customer-facing information remains accurate, relevant, and easy to navigate.
These examples demonstrate SCTS’s commitment to treating CSE feedback as a driver for continuous improvement, taking timely and tangible steps each year to refine services and enhance the overall customer experience.
Why did you choose Assessment Services as your assessment body?
SCTS undertook a thorough procurement exercise to ensure alignment with its organisational values and objectives. Following this process, Assessment Services Ltd was selected as the assessment body that best matched SCTS’s approach and priorities.
Author(s) if Relevant / Appropriate
Paul McKinlay, Director of Operations Delivery (Sheriff & JP Courts)
Tracey McDonald, Senior Policy Manager (Courts Strategic Business Unit)
Craig McHugh, Policy Support Manager (Courts Strategic Business Unit)
Please contact [email protected] for more information.
