Our strategy sets out our purpose and the priorities that shape and focus our work.
It is supported by our service standards which are the practical targets we set to deliver the best service for our customers.
Our Values are the foundation of our strategy and guide how we work and communicate. They help define our culture, influence our decisions, and underpin our strategy. They set out how we play our PART, through purpose, ambition, respect and trust.
Our purpose
Our purpose is clear. We were set up by Parliament under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to resolve complaints between financial businesses and their customers. We do this efficiently and informally and on a fair and reasonable basis.
We believe that every customer who engages with us – both consumers and financial businesses – should have a better outcome or feel better informed following our involvement.
Every year we help thousands of customers including individual consumers, small businesses, charities and trusts. We want our customers to feel that their case has been fairly considered and to understand how the decision has been reached.
As well as resolving cases for our customers, our role is to help:
- consumers have a better understanding about the issue that caused their complaint
- share data and insight with financial businesses about what happened to cause a complaint, to help them provide better products or service.
Delivering exceptional customer experience
We pursue four key outcomes for our work:
- Improving financial service
- Being accessible and easy to use
- Providing value for money
- Professional expertise
To deliver these outcomes, we focus on three areas that we believe underpin the overall customer experience we provide – our people, our digital journey and our data.
Our people
We firmly believe that behind every happy customer is a happy employee. Our people are at the core of our ability to deliver exceptional customer experiences. That’s why we’re committed to supporting and investing in our people.
We want to recruit the best talent to our organisation. And we recognise that, to help us provide the best possible service to our customers, our workforce must reflect the people we’re here to serve.
Careers at the Financial Ombudsman What it's like to work for us
Our digital journey
Our digital transformation is focused on optimising the way we work, increasing efficiency, and delivering an improved service experience for our customers.
The digital initiatives we have underway will not only provide greater convenience and accessibility for our customers, they’ll enhance our processes too, enabling our people to better serve our customers.
Our data
Data plays a crucial role in improving the customer experience. Our organisation is shifting its focus towards an organisational data-driven approach, acknowledging the power of data in driving customer experience improvements.
