Skip to main content
Menu
Log In

Media library

Browse or download images, logos and videos.

Browse media library

  • PPF awarded ServiceMark Accreditation with Distinction from The Institute of Customer Service (ICS), recognising commitment to excellent customer service  
  • One of only 25 companies in the country to hold the accreditation with Distinction 
  • PPF has developed an action plan to further increase efficiency, improve customer trust, and understand areas to improve 
The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has been awarded ServiceMark Accreditation with Distinction from The Institute of Customer Service (ICS), making it one of only 25 companies in the country to achieve the highest standard of customer service.
 
ServiceMark is a national standard independently recognising an organisation’s commitment to customer service and to upholding high standards as part of a long-term embedded strategy. As part of the accreditation process, two separate surveys scored members and levy payers’ customer satisfaction and the PPF’s employee alignment and engagement with its customer service strategy. The PPF scored 86.6 points for customer satisfaction, exceeding the current UK all sectors average of 76.0 in the latest UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI), and 87.29 for employee and customer service strategy alignment. These scores, combined with an independent assessment, achieved the PPF the top level of accreditation from the ICS.
 
Sara Protheroe, PPF Chief Customer Officer, said: “We’ve always made outstanding customer service a priority and keep looking for ways to make our service even better. We’re really proud to have not just retained our ServiceMark accreditation for another three years but to have gone one step further by being awarded a coveted distinction. This is a testament to the collective effort across our organisation that goes into providing such a high level of customer service. 

“This year we’ve made further improvements to our service, including improving digital tools for members and running specialist grief and mental health awareness training for our contact centre employees.”

The PPF also scored 2.5 on the Customer Effort score – almost half the average 4.9 score for all sectors in the latest UKCSI – which measures how much effort customers put in to using customer services, with lower scores indicating better service. 

Jo Causon, CEO, The Institute of Customer Service commented: “I want to extend my congratulations to everyone at the PPF for achieving ServiceMark reaccreditation. This achievement demonstrates the passion and dedication of the team to a strong service strategy, and a continued commitment to continuously improving their service offering.” 

Following the detailed survey results generated by ICS, the PPF has developed an action plan to further increase efficiency, improve customer trust, and understand what areas to improve. The PPF’s latest annual report also highlighted the progress made against its strategic priority to meet new challenges with brilliant service, including achieving a 98 per cent member satisfaction score and improving digital tools for members.  

 Sara Protheroe, PPF Chief Customer Officer and Paul Kitson, The Institute of Customer Service Client Development Director

Notes to editors

Image: PPF’s Chief Customer Officer Sara Protheroe (left) and Paul Kitson, Client Development Director, from The Institute of Customer Service. 

  •  The ICS’s ServiceMark with Distinction is currently held by only 25 organisations in the country. Out of a total ICS membership of 348, 20 per cent of members have ServiceMark accreditation and only 7 per cent have distinction.
  • The ICS’s Model is based on the premise that world class service relies on a customer-focused strategy leading to: 
    • a customer-centred culture 
    • effective people performance 
    • effective technology and processes.
  • The ICS measures customer service across five areas: Professionalism; Quality and Efficiency; Ease of Doing Business; Problem Solving; and Timeliness.
  • The PPF achieved ServiceMark accreditation for the first time in 2018, retaining it again in 2021.  

About the PPF

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) is a public corporation, set up by the Pensions Act 2004, and has been protecting members of eligible defined benefit (DB) pension schemes across the UK since 2005. The PPF is run by an independent Board and accountable to Parliament through the Secretary of State for the Department for Work and Pensions. It protects close to 9 million members belonging to more than 5,000 pension schemes. If an employer collapses and its DB pension scheme cannot pay members what they were promised, the PPF pays compensation for their lost pensions. The PPF is funded by a levy charged to eligible schemes, the return on its investments, assets from pension schemes transferred into the PPF, and recoveries from insolvent employers.

The PPF is one of the UK’s largest asset owners with £32.1 billion of assets under management. Separate and additionally to the PPF, it also administers the Fraud Compensation Fund (FCF), the government’s Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS). It looks after nearly 430,000 members across PPF and FAS.

For further press information contact:

PPF Press Office
020 8406 2107
[email protected]
Follow us on X and LinkedIn

Related information