North Star earns national customer service reaccreditation
We are proud to share that we have successfully achieved reaccreditation of the ServiceMark standard from the Institute of Customer Service (ICS) following an independent assessment in March 2026.
ServiceMark is a national standard which recognises an organisation’s commitment to customer service and continuous improvement. It is awarded based on customer and colleague feedback, alongside an independent assessment of how well customer service is embedded across the organisation.
The assessment involved surveys with customers and colleagues, a review of key documents and interviews with 27 members of staff from across North Star. The final report recognised the strong commitment across the organisation to putting customers at the heart of decision-making and delivering high levels of customer service.
The assessor highlighted our approach to involving customers in shaping services as a particular strength, noting that this was evident in everything from the development of our strategy through to customer surveys and task and finish groups focused on known service issues.
The report also recognised the positive impact of changes we have made to improve complaints handling, including the introduction of a dedicated Complaints Lead. This has contributed to average response times improving from 9 working days to 5 working days since April 2025, alongside an increase in complaint handling satisfaction to 88.9% for the year to date.
James Walder, Chief Executive of North Star, said:
“Achieving ServiceMark reaccreditation is a really positive result for North Star and reflects the hard work and commitment of colleagues across the organisation. We are ambitious about providing great services for our customers and making sure their voices shape the decisions we take. This recognition is important because it shows that our customer-focused approach is being seen independently, but it also gives us a strong platform to keep improving.”
The report recognised a number of areas of strength across North Star, including:
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a clear commitment to customer service from leaders and colleagues across the organisation
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strong customer involvement in shaping services and influencing decisions
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practical support for customers, including work to identify vulnerabilities and respond quickly to needs
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investment in continuous improvement, innovation and better customer experiences
The assessor concluded by recommending North Star as a worthy recipient of renewed ServiceMark accreditation.
While we are pleased with this result, we know there is always more to do. The assessment also identified areas where we can continue to improve, and these will help shape our next steps as we keep working to deliver the best possible service for customers.
