Customer Service Practitioner
The role of a customer service practitioner is to deliver high quality products and services to the customers of their organisation. The core responsibility of a Customer Service Practitioner is to provide a high quality service to customers which will be delivered from the workplace, digitally, or through going out into the customer’s own locality. These may be one-off or routine contacts and include dealing with orders, payments, offering advice, guidance and support, meet-and-greet, sales, fixing problems, after care, service recovery or gaining insight through measuring customer satisfaction. Candidates may be the first point of contact and work in any sector or organisation type.
This apprenticeship is ideal for those who are interested in Insurance and are looking to make the first step in their career.
The responsibilities of the role are to support and engage with different parts of the organisation and interact with internal or external customers. With a focus on adding value, the role of business administrator contributes to the efficiency of an organisation, through support of functional areas, working across teams and resolving issues as requested. The flexibility and responsiveness required allows the apprentice to develop a wide range of skills.
Candidates with no or limited work experience, looking to start a career within Customer Service.
2
15 Months
Entry Requirements
- Be aged 16 or over
- Not currently in education or completing any Government funded training or qualifications
- Have been a UK resident for the last 3 years
- Employed for a minimum of 16 hours per week
- Spend at least 50% of your employed hours in England
- Must not have more than 1 years’ experience within a Customer Service role.
- Candidates will need to score at least Entry Level 3 in English and maths initial assessments completed during the Skills Edge enrolment process.
Features and Benefits
As a Skills Edge student you will benefit from:
Regular one to one support sessions
Access to a range of visual resources
Structured learning plan supported by your employer
All workshops recorded and available on-demand
Monthly workshops to develop the relevant knowledge and skillset of a Customer Service Practitioner
Interactive chat, forums and class notebooks for real time support and assistance from experienced and qualified Business professionals
Course Structure Overview
Key Learning Outcomes
Knowing your customers
- Understand who customers are.
- Understand the difference between internal and external customers.
- Understand the different needs and priorities of your customers and the best way to manage their expectations, recognising and knowing how to adapt style to be highly effective.
Understanding the organisation
- Know the purpose of the business and what ‘brand promise’ means
- Know your organisation’s core values and how they link to the service culture.
- Know the internal policies and procedures, including any complaints processes and digital media policies that are relevant to you and your organisation.
Meeting regulations and legislation
- Know the appropriate legislation and regulatory requirements that affect your business.
- Know your responsibility in relation to this and how to apply it when delivering service.
Systems and resources
- Know how to use systems, equipment and technology to meet the needs of your customers.
- Understand types of measurement and evaluation tools available to monitor customer service levels.
Customer experience
- Understand how establishing the facts enable you to create a customer focused experience and appropriate response.
- Understand how to build trust with a customer and why this is important.
Interpersonal skills
Use a range of questioning skills, including listening and responding in a way that builds rapport, determines customer needs and expectations and achieves positive engagement and delivery.
Communication
Depending on your job role and work environment:
- Use appropriate verbal and non-verbal communication skills, along with summarising language during face-to-face communications; and/or
- Use appropriate communication skills, along with reinforcement techniques (to confirm understanding) during non-facing customer interactions.
- Use an appropriate ‘tone of voice’ in all communications, including written and digital, that reflect the organisation’s brand.
Dealing with customer conflict and challenge
- Demonstrate patience and calmness.
- Show you understand the customer’s point of view.
- Use appropriate sign-posting or resolution to meet your customers needs and manage expectations.
- Maintain informative communication during service recovery.
Full information on all outcomes for this course can be found on the Institute for Apprenticeships & Technical Education website.
End Point Assessment:
The End-Point-Assessment (EPA) is conducted by an independent organisation, who will assess the Apprentice’s knowledge, skills and behaviours through the following methods:
Apprentice Showcase
The Apprentice Showcase enables apprentices to reflect and present examples of their development over the whole on-programme period.
Practical Observation
The observation should enable the apprentice to evidence their skills, knowledge and behaviour from across the standard to demonstrate genuine and demanding work objectives.
Professional Discussion
A structured discussion between the apprentice and the Independent Assessor, following the observation, to establish the apprentice’s understanding and application of knowledge, skills and behaviours
