Water
Helping water providers deliver exceptional customer experiences and operational resilience
Partnering with water providers to enhance service and responsiveness
Water companies operate in a challenging environment of rising customer expectations, increasing regulatory scrutiny from Ofwat, and pressure to improve service quality and affordability. They must manage billing accuracy, complaints handling, and support for vulnerable customers, all while meeting performance commitments and maintaining operational efficiency.
Huntswood provides end-to-end operational support and customer service solutions, helping water providers scale quickly, handle surges in demand, and deliver consistent, high-quality experiences. Whether you need fully managed contact centre operations, complaints handling, or large-scale remediation programmes, Huntswood combines expertise and capacity to keep your customers satisfied and your business compliant.
Services tailored to the needs of water companies
Our approach
We work closely with water providers to understand their culture, values and operational DNA. This ensures that every solution we design fits seamlessly with existing operations, making changes easier to adopt and more effective.
 Â
Technology and automation are integral to our approach. We use smart tools and workflow automation to reduce manual effort, improve accuracy and accelerate outcomes – all while maintaining the human touch where it matters most.
Diagnose
We assess critical areas such as complaint handling, billing accuracy, affordability support, vulnerability frameworks and customer journeys. This includes reviewing governance structures, process efficiency and technology capability to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement – ensuring compliance with Ofwat standards and alignment with performance commitments
Design
We create proportionate, practical solutions aligned to regulatory intent and your commercial priorities. Our designs incorporate automation where appropriate and include clear change management plans to ensure smooth adoption across billing, collections and customer service functions
Deliver
We provide hands-on support to embed change effectively in the first line. Our delivery teams work alongside yours to implement new processes and technology quickly and confidently, minimising disruption to critical services such as billing, complaints handling and customer support.
Assure
We offer independent testing, monitoring and MI to evidence outcomes and satisfy regulators. This includes quality checks, compliance audits and performance reporting to give you confidence in results and demonstrate adherence to Ofwat requirements and customer service standards.
Outsourcing and operational delivery
- Customer service operations – omnichannel delivery for inbound and outbound customer support
- Complaints handling – efficient case management with transparent governance
- Customer contact and remediation – large-scale support for billing errors, affordability issues or refund requests
- Quality assurance and monitoring – independent reviews of complaints and service interactions
- Specialist resource provision – trained teams to support BAU or surge requirements
Advisory and operational insight
Our advisory team helps water companies design and implement practical solutions that improve customer experience and operational resilience. While regulation matters – such as Ofwat complaint handling standards, billing accuracy requirements and vulnerability obligations – we focus on embedding these standards in ways that enhance service quality and efficiency.
- Balanced expertise – combining regulatory understanding with operational know-how to deliver solutions that work in real-world
- Resident‑first approach – ensuring compliance frameworks support better experiences, not just tick boxes
- Scalable models – designing processes that handle seasonal peaks and complex refund scenarios without compromising quality
- Independent assurance – providing objective testing and governance oversight for confidence in compliance and service delivery
- Practical delivery – we don’t just advise; we help embed improvements in complaints handling, customer contact and refund operations
Why firms in the water industry choose Huntswood​
- End‑to‑end capability – advisory expertise and operational delivery under one roof
- Scalable operations – on‑shore and offshore models tailored to demand
- Outcome orientation – focus on resident satisfaction, repairs resolution and operational efficiency
- Speed to value – rapid mobilisation and measurable improvements
- Confidence‑building – clear MI, governance and quality assurance
Case study
Delivering a complaint solution for a leading water industry client
Huntswood was engaged by a leading water firm to provide a complaints outsourcing solution following a spike in BAU volumes, poor customer outcomes and resulting regulatory scrutiny.