12 Maidstone Borough Council Joanna Denny
Joanna is the Senior Benefits Officer for the shared service of Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Borough Councils and was named Maidstone council’s ‘Employee of the year’ in our recent staff awards.
help improve their lives, it also used the financial experience I had gained from the private sector. It seemed the perfect match.
What does your job involve? I provide support, training and guidance to the assessment officers and oversee the department in the absence of the Benefit Manager. Most recently I have developed and implemented the online services for the Benefits department. This means customers are now able to provide their information using our online services, saving them time and money by not having to visit the Gateway, and giving them a more accessible service. We have also increased the use of email and electronic communication to provide a more efficient service for the customer. You can access these services at
www.maidstone.gov.uk/benefitchangeofcircs. I work closely with the Housing Department to provide help, support and housing to those in need and provide financial assistance where appropriate.
What attracted you to the job? I don’t think anyone can say they sat in a school classroom and dreamed of working in the Benefits Department. I started my working life with the Inland Revenue before moving to be a Tax Advisor in an accountants. It was only after the move to the private sector that I realised my heart was with helping people and working in the public sector. Not only did the job at MBC combine my desire to help people, and
Borough Update
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What do you like most about your job? I like the achievement when I can make a difference and when you I can see that I am helping people to improve their situation. I like developing new processes and procedures to make the service more accessible to the public such as the implementation of the new online services. I like helping the members of my team to make decisions and increase their knowledge while working within the regulations of benefits. I like interacting with other departments to ensure a seamless and full service for the customer, including process mapping and procedural changes – often the part the customer never gets to see – so the contact for the customer is minimal.
What does good customer service mean to you? Doing the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason. Customer Service is about providing the correct service for the customer. Unfortunately we sometimes have to deliver news that the customer doesn’t want to hear, but we are governed by regulations that we must adhere to. Customer Service is therefore about providing a service that is clear and understandable to the customer, letting them understand why a decision has been made or why we require certain information whilst ensuring the customer is receiving the correct information.
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