We won’t leave anyone behind on this swift digital journey - Vicky Crichton

When we published our four year strategy in early 2020 we said a drive to digital would be a key priority for our organisation.

Vicky Crichton is Director of Public Policy, Scottish Legal Complaints Commission

To meet our aims on efficiency, modernisation and customer service we knew we needed to ensure we could deliver our functions digitally wherever possible. We wanted to focus our thinking on digital solutions, paperless processes and social engagement, while ensuring access for all.

Then, like every other organisation, we had our digital plans truly tested. With our office shut, our digital journey has been swifter than we might have imagined, and our ambitions have been tested in practice, if not quite in the planned way we intended.

Despite that bumpy road, we’re delighted with the progress we’ve made, and excited about the journey ahead. We firmly believe that this drive to digital will improve our business and deliver for our customers. It will make our processes more efficient and reflect the reality of people’s busy lives. It will also reduce our reliance on paper, post and the time lag and environmental impact that goes with it.

We’re also aware that we need to take people with us on this journey, and ensure we don’t leave anyone behind. We have many customers who might for some reason be digitally excluded. We can’t assume that everyone will want or be able to access our service digitally.

That’s why our strategy includes strands on both digital exclusion and accessibility. We want to ensure that consumers can choose the way they want to engage with us, and if that’s paper and post, that’s fine by us.

In all of our improvement work we’re asking ourselves how we can make our service more accessible, and checking we’re not making any changes that exclude anyone with limited digital tools, confidence or access.

Accessibility is about equal access. Despite the significant shift in the digital divide over the past 18 months, there are still many households in Scotland with no or patchy internet access, using older or basic devices, or with a lack of confidence in using digital technology. For us, like many organisations, driving to digital has to be balanced with offering excellent customer service to all users, regardless of how they choose to engage with us.

That means making sure any digital processes we offer are easy to use and accessible for all. It means our staff are on hand to help anyone who might need advice or support. And it means we will continue to offer non digital options for those who prefer them.

Most people find making a complaint stressful. Our job is to try to make the process as easy and accessible as we can, and to dismantle any barriers in the way of someone wanting to complain. Our digital ambitions are bold, and we’ll be challenging ourselves and those we work with to realise our aim of a digital first complaints process. We’ll be testing new tools and techniques and learning from others on best practice. That includes learning from our customers about their needs and preferences to ensure our service remains accessible to all.

Vicky Crichton is Director of Public Policy, Scottish Legal Complaints Commission