Customer Experience

We are committed to being ambitious, sustainable, and connected, serving all people living, working, and visiting the Highlands.

By listening to our customers, we know we are doing many things well. You have shared examples of excellent customer service, and we recognise the need to be ambitious in changing how customers interact with us to improve their overall experience. Our work is guided by the Highland Council Programme (2022-2027) and the Highland Council Delivery Plan (2024-2027).

Our vision is to place the customer at the centre of everything we do, making it easy to contact us and keeping customers informed about the progress of their enquiries.

What is customer experience?

Customer experience encompasses all contact a customer has with Highland Council, including reasons for reaching out and the ways they do so—whether online, by phone, or in person.

Our customers include anyone who lives, works in, or visits the Highlands. This also includes internal interactions. We have listened to our customers’ feedback to develop our vision and change framework, enabling us to make continuous improvements.

We will support future council-wide changes, including:

• DNA – fostering a customer service culture where all employees prioritise customer needs and consider them in their work.
• Design – developing services aligned with this strategy using the 'Scottish Approach to Service Design' framework to ensure customer needs are central.
• Deliver – providing a positive customer experience across all contact channels, ensuring each method makes customers feel valued and keeps them informed of next steps.

Further information can be found in the Customer Experience Strategy and the Customer Experience Strategy brochure.