Unit 3: Planning for self-development in customer service Introduction Through this unit you will evaluate customer service that you have received and delivered and identify areas for improvement and further training. What you will learn: Know how to improve personal performance in customer service Know how to develop customer service skills LO1 Know how to improve personal performance in customer service In order to improve your personal performance in customer service you need to know your own strengths and weaknesses. Once you know the areas for improvement, you can identify how to improve your performance. You may complete some of this work with your manager or your assessor at the start of your course; an Apprenticeship in Customer Service will help you to improve your customer service skills and experience. Identifying strengths and weaknesses The first step to improving your performance is to know where your strengths and weaknesses lie. While you may feel that you know your own strengths and weaknesses, it is important to gather feedback from appropriate people. These may include: your line manager your work buddy, if one has been allocated your supervisor, if different from your line manager any relevant feedback received from customers or suppliers your assessor and/or tutor. There are common areas of strength or weakness that may be identified by this feedback; these may include: Product knowledge Disposition towards customers Example of strength Good product knowledge means that you can match a product s features and benefits to a customer s needs. Confident and friendly, willing to pro-actively help customers. Example of weakness Lack of product knowledge means that you may miss opportunities to satisfy customer needs and not complete sales. Nervous about being asked questions or shy of approaching customers. Pearson Education Ltd 2011 1
Experience Example of strength Experience of being a customer and serving customers allows you to anticipate customers needs. Example of weakness A lack of experience may mean that you are unable to answer questions or overcome common objections. Identifying development needs Once areas for improvement have been identified, a development plan can be drawn up. This often takes the form of an appraisal, where a personal development plan will be set in liaison with your line manager. You may find that your development needs include some of the common areas identified below: Qualifications: These can help improve your customer service through giving you formal training. This may include your Apprenticeship qualification, which includes the Technical Certificate as well as an NVQ. Experience: You may find that you need more experience of a particular part of your role. For example, if your job involves rotating tasks, you may need to spend more time focusing on one task (for example, working on reception) than others in order to gain more experience. On-the-job training: This may or may not lead to a qualification, depending on the training available. This sort of training could include work shadowing or mentoring. This can help you develop your product knowledge, grow your confidence and experience new areas of the business. These development needs can then become part of your development objectives. In order for these to be effective, it is important that they: are to be achieved within a specific timeframe (e.g. complete your NVQ by June) identify, where relevant, who can help you with your development, and are updated on a regular basis to reflect your changing needs. Reviewing and updating personal development plans As you work towards achieving your development needs and become more familiar with your organisation, your development needs will change. Appraisals should take place on a regular basis and your personal development plan will need to be updated to reflect these changes. Your manager will suggest planned review dates for your personal development plan. Your assessor will also identify assessment dates or targets for your Apprenticeship, which should also be incorporated into your development plan. 2 Pearson Education Ltd 2011
Discussing learning Learning happens in a number of ways and is not just restricted to when you are on a course. The chances are that you work with a lot of very experienced people. Discussing your learning with your colleagues will give them the chance to share their experience with you. This will also give you the chance to check that your understanding is correct. Similarly, discussing your learning with other colleagues can help spread the benefits of your training. Experience It is to be expected that your development needs when you start your job are going to be very different from when you have been doing the job for six months. You will find that experience affects your development, both through how you deliver customer service and also through how your customers perceive you. Generally, experience will bring more confidence, better product knowledge and better knowledge of your organisation s procedures. This will benefit your customers through better advice and quicker service. Pearson Education Ltd 2011 3
LO2 Know how to develop customer service skills Development takes place on a continual basis. It is important that you update your development plans in liaison with your manager in order to make sure they reflect your current needs. The development process generally breaks down into the following cycle: Review development needs Feedback from colleagues and customers Undertake development activities Development activities As you saw above, development activities include appraisals and training courses. They can also include: progress reviews with your line manager (between appraisals) informal learning through additional support, such as textbooks and trade journals. Feedback Feedback is an important part of reviewing your development needs. This means discussing your aims and objectives with relevant people, such as your manager and colleagues, and responding to constructive comments. Feedback may also come from customers, either directly or through any customer comments your employer receives. Feedback may highlight improvement in certain areas, but it may also identify areas for improvement. This should then be incorporated into your development plan, so that you are able to improve and develop your customer service skills. Review development needs As with your original review of your development needs, you need to review the feedback to identify areas for improvement. Broad themes may emerge from the different groups giving you feedback: Customers may want more product or service knowledge, better customer service and better value. Colleagues may want you to help sooner, be more confident and independent and able to take on more responsibility. 4 Pearson Education Ltd 2011
Management may want you to be more efficient and effective, help encourage repeat custom to increase sales and provide more customer satisfaction. You will need to make sure you balance the needs of your customers and your organisation. While customers may want better value for money and more individual attention, you must remember that your managers may want you to make a profit for the organisation and provide good customer service to a lot of different customers. Sources of information As you develop in your career, you will need to be aware of additional sources of information and learning. In the first instance, these sources of information may be where you go to answer questions (such as identifying the features of a product). However, as you become more experienced, you may find that these sources of information will help you to identify additional development opportunities. Some common sources of information that you may use on a regular basis include: Catalogues and other materials produced by your organisation to give colleagues more information about products and services Updates and brochures from suppliers to give you additional product information Websites highlighting key information about products and services Textbooks and trade journals, identifying important skills for customer service personnel Customer service videos (online or otherwise) and websites Advice from colleagues, managers and mentors and guidance based on their own experience Pearson Education Ltd 2011 5
Check your knowledge 1. Which of the following is not a common development need for customer service professionals? a. Knowledge of their employer s processes b. Product or service knowledge c. Answering the phone within ten rings 2. Where might feedback come from? a. Customers, colleagues and managers b. Just colleagues c. Management and customers 3. You are completing an Apprenticeship. Which of the following categories does this fall into? a. Personal development plan b. Development activity c. Source of information 4. What is the name of the regular meeting where your personal development plan is discussed with your manager? a. Appraisal b. Catch-up c. Assessment 5. Which of the following would you not use common sources of customer service information for? a. Developing customer service skills and knowledge b. Improving product and service knowledge c. Catching up on the day s news What your assessor is looking for Depending upon the requirements of the Awarding Organisation responsible for assessing this Technical Certificate, you can be assessed in one of two ways: You may be required to complete an assignment which will be set by your Assessment Centre. Your assessor will advise you regarding the arrangements for this assignment. Alternatively, you may be required to complete a multiple-choice question exam. This will be completed online. Your assessor will advise you regarding the arrangements for this exam. 6 Pearson Education Ltd 2011