In June 2008, we asked all our customers for feedback on their experience of doing business with OPP. We'd like to thank you warmly if you were among the many who took time to share your thoughts with us. Now that the results are in, we thought we'd return the compliment by sharing them with you.

What were the main outcomes of the survey?

Overall, your feedback was largely positive. Customers expressed appreciation of the polite, knowledgeable people in OPP, who follow through on their commitments. This reassured us because it reflects our company's values. Most of you said that you rate us as equal or better in service terms to our competitors, which comparison is a good starting point for continuous improvement; we aim for 100% to rate us the same or better.

Nonetheless, some areas for improvement were identified by a number of you, and we consider these to be of great importance. Below we've given some details about these areas, and we're committed to taking action on this valuable feedback.

Is OPP performing well against those criteria which you rate as customer service differentiators?

We asked you to tell us what characteristics you most valued in the provision of any service to customers, and then measured what you told us about our performance against these. We were pleased to note that, according to a parallel survey amongst OPP employees, four of your top five most important customer-service factors were also cited as key by OPP employees. This reassures us that we are focused on, and measuring, the right service priorities.

According to your feedback, OPP performs well in having knowledgeable staff, delivering a service as promised and maintaining consistency and accuracy. You also see us as being courteous, credible and as having a professional brand identity.

Where did you tell us that we need to improve?

Whilst most of you told us we were good at solving minor problems, when things go significantly wrong, some of you found that we were not as effective at resolving matters. Some customers reported that they found OPP's payment processes difficult to understand, in particular, and that these were not best suited to their needs or their company structure. The other main area for improvement was the user-friendliness of OPPassessment, with some users finding the system hard to master and not very intuitive, particularly those who only use it occasionally. The final opportunity for improvement is in the area of complex problem solving. Our staff need to show more individual ownership and be more tenacious in finding solutions for customers who experience these issues.

What are we doing in response to the feedback?

The first step, once the analysis was complete, was for the senior management team and then the Board of OPP to review the findings and agree actions. We mention this because we want you to understand that we are not merely paying lip-service to customer focus - I see this as a strategically important initiative.

We then communicated findings, along with the priorities and recommendations for change, to all employees. We are already taking steps towards bringing you the industry-leading service you quite rightly expect, and which is consistent with the image of our premium psychometric brands.

First, in the area of payment and communication processes, we have completed a thorough internal audit that focuses on each customer's experience of doing business with OPP, and the points at which we make contact, from end to end. This has helped us understand where things can go wrong, where we duplicate effort (yours and ours) and where we could achieve the same ends more efficiently. Numerous initiatives are now underway to address these issues; though many are small in themselves, we believe that, collectively, they will have a large impact.

Second, and partly as a result of this, we have completed some internal re-organisation which enables us to offer more support to customers when they are new to OPP, particularly in helping them get used to OPPassessment. Our 'phone-based customer support team is expanded, and is developing the capability to answer a broader range of queries on both product and training. We are also developing comprehensive online introductory information packs so that customers have access to everything they need to know, at the outset.

Third, we have recruited a dedicated training manager whose main role and principal short term focus is to enhance the service and problem-handling skills of our customer-facing people. A comprehensive training needs analysis is underway. 2009 will see a great deal of activity - and, we hope, as noticeable improvement - in this area.

Fourth, we ran several OPPassessment user focus groups and conducted a number of individual customer interviews in order to understand in detail how we can develop the system better to meet your needs. We heard about some things that irritate, some things that make for confusion and some ideas for substantial enhancements. Of course, technology changes can be complex and costly, and we are prioritising these for 09 now; we only regret that we will not be able to address them all in the next year alone.

Finally, we are committed to continuous measurement, and are setting up a number of tracking and benchmarking processes which will help us to do this. Senior leaders are responsible for ensuring that meaningful data are captured and fed back to other teams for action; this will include a repeat of this survey in the late Spring of next year. Meantime, we value any ad hoc feedback you may have for us.

How will we sustain this initiative?

Whilst our aspirations for customer-service improvements won't be realised overnight, we are listening carefully to your feedback, and incorporating your suggestions into our business plan. Our customer service initiative has been a key priority for OPP during 2008 and will remain so in 2009 onwards, and I am personally involved in championing it and monitoring its progress. Despite very positive feedback about how we compare with our competitors, we seek continuous improvement and to avoid complacency, even where results are encouraging.

Thank you again to everyone who participated. The winners of the summer hampers were Clare Murchisom from Sainsbury's, Zoe Holder from Mayer Brown, and Ian Butcher from Siemens IT Solutions and Services Ltd.