Having spent 10 years as the Grangemouth One Stop Shop Manager, Gail Risk is perfectly placed to highlight the benefits the East Hub brings to customers and staff.

She said: “Previously when customers walked into the Grangemouth One Stop Shop it was often difficult to figure out where to go and what queue to join. If they had multiple enquires about housing, debt, benefits etc. they had to join different queues or go to another location or telephone other specialist teams to address their issues separately. It made it very difficult for our staff to provide all the help they knew someone needed in one go.

“Now, thanks to the new Hub model we have a dedicated reception area that is manned by knowledgeable members of staff. They can direct people to a multi-skilled adviser or show them how their enquiry can be dealt with online. By taking more routine enquires online it has freed up adviser’s time to focus on customers most in need. It’s also resulted in a reduction in footfall and in the number of complaints and redeterminations we deal with because advisers have the time to resolve and explain awards of benefits and balances directly with customers there and then.

“As Hub advisers are now trained to deal with a wide range of issues rather than just one, they have the skills and knowledge to ensure people’s needs are addressed quickly. It also allows them to work with individual customers until the issues are resolved. That helps build a relationship and trust, as customers only have to tell their story once rather than repeat personal or financial issues to different members of staff, which can be upsetting.

“Being multi-skilled also allows our staff to look at the whole picture, identifying all the issues at hand, highlighting the help that can be given, and linking them with other services, specialists and outside organisations like foobanks, Social Work Services, the Employment Training Unit, and  Skills Development Scotland if needed.

“The Hub is really making a difference to people’s lives and as a result job satisfaction and morale is high within the team. We opened here in Grangemouth in December 2016 and the team are just as enthusiastic now as they were then.”