The company will make the investment over the next three years, initially creating more than 350 new roles in customer service. Recruitment will begin in May, with vacancies arising in Manchester, Leeds, Cardiff and Edinburgh.
The investment marks a commitment from Iain Conn, Chief Executive of Centrica plc, British Gas’ parent company, to achieve customer service excellence.
Iain Conn, CEO of Centrica plc, said: “Customers are at the heart of British Gas and we are committed to responding to their needs. Customers tell us they want excellent service when they deal with their energy supplier. We’re making a substantial and long-term commitment today, which will help us achieve that goal.”
In addition to new jobs, the £50m will fund significant investment in training and new systems to improve customer service. British Gas is focusing on making things easier for customers, for example by reducing call waiting times. There will be extra training for all British Gas’ customer service employees, who number more than 5,000.
Stephen Beynon, Managing Director British Gas Residential Energy, said: “Today’s announcement puts investment behind our commitment to deliver world-class customer service. In a competitive market, we know that our customers value our advice and help with their energy usage, so we’re making the investment to get this right.
“We’re recruiting more people to help us reduce call waiting times, and we’re providing more training so we can make things smoother for our customers when they contact us, either by phone or increasingly, via the British Gas website.
“By investing in our people and our systems to make things simpler when customers need to contact us, we’re addressing issues they have told us to focus on.”
The investment announced today represents an increase of approximately 10 per cent in resourcing for British Gas customer service. This will also significantly enhance the reserve capacity available, with the goal of ensuring that excellent service is maintained even at times of peak demand.
