Annual Report 2016
Annual Report 2016
STRATEGIC REPORT
Echo has won new business and extended relationships with existing clients , both within and outside the water sector .
600 employees
across 6 sites
“ Echo is at the forefront of the strategically important Open Water programme .”
Overview Echo Managed Services ( Echo ) is a specialist outsourced provider of complex multi-channel customer contact services , comprehensive debt management solutions and the developer of the market leading water billing and customer information software , RapidXtra .
Echo ’ s strength , and a cornerstone of our sustained success and growth in recent years , has been our ability to combine best practice specialist services and solutions with highly skilled and knowledgeable people , to provide public and private sector organisations with end-to-end customer contact capabilities .
The past year has been characterised by both changing and challenging market conditions . In water , the Ofwat price determination has further compounded cost to serve pressures throughout the sector . In addition the necessity to achieve compliance for non-household retail competition ( known as the Open Water programme ) has been equally pressing . We have continued to support water companies , providing innovative and cost effective solutions to meet these challenges , which has in turn presented opportunities . Tightening regulations within the debt services sector has added yet further challenge , however we are in a strong position , being able to provide both debt management expertise and customer service excellence , strengthening our proposition in this space .
Despite the market challenges , Echo has both won new business and extended relationships with existing clients , within and outside of the water sector . We have also remained at the forefront of the strategically important Open Water programme and have been recognised once again with several prestigious award nominations .
Our people , our greatest asset The launch and subsequent embedding of Echo ’ s new vision , mission and values over the last year has re-focused the business and our people on a common purpose and set of beliefs ; enabling the sharing of best practice and expertise between the 600 employees across our six sites and providing an effective framework for growth . In addition , Echo has successfully maintained its accreditation as an Investors in People organisation - a standard that reflects the very best in people management excellence . Of particular note , the assessor commented that the mission , vision and values were noticeably embedded across the whole organisation and had given employees a real sense of pride and belonging .
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