Customer focus starts with the admin at Carey Pensions

Carey Pensions UK, in Shenley Pavilions, Shenley Wood, won the award for Excellence in Customer Care at the Milton Keynes and North Bucks Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards.

Christine Hallett, the chief executive of Carey Pensions UK, established the company a little more than two years ago with a clear idea of the standards she expected from employees.

She said: “It is important to me that people understand that everything they do, touch, say has an end result.

“At the end of the process is a client.”

She believes the pensions industry has gone full circle from just selling products from call centres to – once again – being about having personal contact with the industry.

Carey Pensions UK is a part of the much larger Carey Group and offers administration and trustees for pension schemes for individuals and companies.

With companies being compelled to set up their own schemes in a process of auto-enrolment in schemes that starts later this year, Carey says the industry isn’t about providing a one-size-fits-all-solution.

“It is very important that all staff understand that at the end of the process there is an end client who has an expectation,” said Christine.

“The customer’s pension is very important and we have to understand that and deliver the service that they deserve.”

She added that it was still possible to deliver “good pensions in this day and age”.

Even though Carey Pensions UK has only been going for a couple of years, the chief executive says the hard work of staff who ‘put in the extra mile’ has paid off already in the company exceeding financial targets and picking up new referrals.

Christine added: “I am delighted that our team in Milton Keynes has been recognised locally for the tremendous work they do in the delivery of customer care, in providing the highest standards of pension administration to all our connections and customers. The focus on the service delivery and being the best in all that we do, is most important to us, and to be recognised in this way is truly rewarding.”

The company’s commitment to its customers is detailed on its website where Carey Pensions UK promises, among other things to provide a clear and transparent fee charging structure as well as one clear point of contact for customers and clear information.

Christine has spent 30 years in financial services with blue chip companies, including Abbey National where she was instrumental in implementing customer service centres.

“We’re looking forward to a good future,” said Christine. “We want a larger share of the market place.”

And she believes by having a caring culture, Carey Pensions UK will continue to grow as people look to save more to secure their finances in retirement.