MAD-HR, an HR consultancy with offices in Norwich, Ipswich and Chelmsford, won the Customer Excellence Award, sponsored by Greater Anglia, at the Eastern Daily Press Business Awards 2023.
Founded in 2014, the company provides a range of services to businesses across East Anglia.
“For some, our role is to help with the transactional, day-to-day ‘people challenges’ they face. This could be a broad church of issues, and we’re agile enough to respond to these,” said managing director Carole Burman.
“For the majority of clients, we identify exactly what they are looking to achieve and help to create a roadmap for delivering this through their people and resources,” she added.
“Clients already have a history of success in their specialist field and are looking for a sense check of how this can be scaled or improved to maximise impact and further growth.”
The company’s success to date is founded on a customer-centric approach which goes beyond being a team of experts.
“We specialise in dealing with people-related opportunities,” said Carole. “We can do the compliance piece incredibly effectively; however, clients tell us they most value our partnership and the fact we stand shoulder to shoulder with them, becoming an integral member of their team.
“Our services adapt and grow as our clients grow, and by focusing on the delivery and impact of our service, they wouldn’t dream of going anywhere else, as demonstrated by our high client retention levels.”
In a competitive industry, Carole believes MAD-HR stands out by “delivering a personalised service, where clients are recognised as unique, and solutions are tailored accordingly”.
“We’re fastidious about being responsive in our communication and are really proactive in how we address and anticipate client needs,” she continued.
“As well as being transparent with our clients and focusing on trusting relationships, we make it easy for them to contribute feedback. Our use of technology is also a unique factor in our way of working.”
MAD-HR gathers client feedback through online review platform Feefo, which named it as a Platinum Trusted Partner in 2023 and again in 2024.
The use of Feefo allows the business to “actively and comprehensively monitor customer satisfaction” and act on it accordingly, said Carole.
“By leveraging the insights gained through Feefo, we can implement targeted improvements, celebrate successes and continually refine our approach to ensure that we consistently meet and exceed customer expectations.”
This is accompanied by a “comprehensive” onboarding process for new recruits and a strong focus on continuous education.
“We provide regular training sessions, and seminars are conducted to keep the team abreast of the latest industry trends, customer service techniques and updates to our products or services,” Carole explained.
“We foster a customer-centric mindset by embedding our core values – passion, accountability, results, integrity and simplicity – into everyday behaviour.”
The company’s focus on customer service was recognised at the EDP Business Awards, where the judges named it a worthy winner of the Customer Excellence Award.
Commenting on the award, Carole said: “It really matters – particularly when you could argue that HR is perceived as something of a ‘background function’, which doesn’t always get recognised so publicly.
“Being recognised by our peers has not only boosted morale but has also motivated us to continue raising the bar in terms of customer satisfaction and service quality.”
In recognition of the whole team’s contribution to the award win, every MAD-HR employee was sent a bottle of champagne, before celebrating together with a meal. The company also shared an update with customers and partners via email and social media.
“It felt just as important to reach out to our clients and strategic collaborators,” said Carole. “They are, after all, a key part of our journey and the reason we’ve achieved what we have.”
For more information, visit mad-hr.co.uk
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