Customer Service Advisor

Hull City Council; Kingston upon Hull; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 29,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

LGPS pension

23 days annual leave + public holidays

Career development & training

Supportive culture

Job summary

Hull City Council is seeking individuals with excellent customer service skills for a busy multi-channel contact centre. You will answer enquiries via telephone, email, live chat and social media, providing information across Council Tax, Housing, Welfare and Benefits, and other services.

You will work in a blended team across contact centres and community locations, aiming to resolve requests at first point of contact.

Qualifications

• Excellent customer service skills across multiple channels.

Responsibilities

• Provide information and assistance across council services via phone, email, web chat and social media.
• Strive to resolve enquiries at first point of contact and direct customers to self-service online where appropriate.
• Maintain accurate records of customer interactions and follow up on actions.

Skills

Customer service

Multichannel support

Communication skills

Job description

You will work as part of a team to deliver an efficient and effective customer contact centre, supporting and assisting in the delivery of services to respond to the customer's needs and expectations. Ensuring that as many enquiries as possible are resolved at first point of contact and customers are encouraged to access all service available to them online., Grade 3

To provide and deliver information on a wide range of services via telephone, email, web chat, social media/others in an appropriate manner whilst ensuring service standards are met. To provide excellent customer service, ensuring that a positive image of the council is conveyed at all times and that Customer Service standards are met. To provide information on a wide range of both council services and services of partner organisations, ensuring that as many enquiries as possible are resolved at first point of contact and customers are encouraged to access all services available to them.

Grade 4 - all the above plus

To provide excellent Customer Service at all times in a positive sensitive and respectable manner, adapting your approach as appropriate to ensure equality of access to all.

To ensure a positive image of the council is conveyed at all times and Customer Service standards are met.

To deliver a good knowledge base around various areas to include Council Tax, Business Rates, Housing, Planning, Schools, Welfare and Benefits etc.

To work as part of a blended team to deliver an efficient and effective Customer Service across the contact centre, customer service centres and other community-based places to meet customer demand.

To support and assist in the delivery of joined up services to respond to the customer's needs and expectations.

To ensure that as many enquiries as possible are resolved at first point of contact and customers are encouraged to access all service available to them, this may include signposting to the relevant departments both internal and external.

Grade 5, all the above plus:

Carry out more complex functions and provide specialist advice which will require a high level of detailed knowledge to evaluate and comprehend the customer's enquiry to ensure the correct advice and support is provided.

Carry out cashing up and reconciliation of cash.

Mentoring, supporting and developing staff who are less experienced to ensure the highest customer service standards are maintained.

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES

Grade 3

• 1. To provide information and advice whilst taking action to ensure the enquiry is dealt with both effectively and appropriately whilst maintaining targets and deadlines.
• 2 Take responsibility for resolving queries and completing the arising actions on behalf of the customer, progressing and chasing when required.
• 3. Maintain and record a full accurate electronic record of all customer interactions.
• 4. To proactively identify improvements to service and assist with their implementation.
• 5. To participate in training and development activities upon request that are deemed necessary to become proficient within this role. With an aim to be trained across all skills/call types.
• 6. To be polite and professional at all times, providing a caring, listening service, whilst demonstrating an understanding and responsiveness to customers' requirements, whilst recognising the diversity of their needs.
• 7. To contribute towards the delivery of a flexible and responsive service which will involve weekend working and to take a flexible approach to changing patterns of work.
• 8. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and associated legislation places responsibilities for health and safety on Hull City Council, as your employer and you as an employee of the council. In addition to the Councils overall duties, the post holder has personal responsibility for their own health, safety and wellbeing and that of other employees; additional and more specific responsibilities are identified in the Council's Corporate HS policy.

Grade 4 all of the above plus

• 9. To respond to enquiries from customers across all contact channels phone, face to face, email, chat and social media, taking action to ensure they are dealt with efficiently and appropriately, in line with agreed procedures and that as many as possible are resolved to the satisfaction of the customer at the first point of contact.
• 10. To liaise with colleagues and partner organisations to help resolve/escalate enquiries to the appropriate person as required.
• 11. To encourage customers to self-serve where appropriate using online forms/information, and provide support to vulnerable customers with complex enquiries, this may include validation/copying of evidence which may be needed to support the enquiry.
• 12. To maintain a knowledge and understanding of how and why Council services are delivered and how these can be improved for the customer.
• 13. To contribute towards the delivery of a responsive service, this will be delivered via face to face and phone including weekend working at various locations.
• 14. To have a flexible, proactive and positive approach, open to new ways of working to provide excellent customer service. To raise ideas/improvements in every aspect of service delivery in a continually changing customer service environment.
• 15. To maintain accurate records of advice given, updating, as required, information on multiple council I.T. systems.
• 16. To provide admin duties relevant to the site, these may include sorting of incoming mail, registering of official visitors, issuing of keys, receiving deliveries, taking room bookings and reporting building maintenance issues.

Grade 5, all of the above plus:

• 17. Cashing up and reconciliation of monies taken via the ICON system on a daily basis and all other office systems as appropriate.
• 18. To coach and support team members offering training as appropriate and necessary to carry out their roles correctly and error free.
• 19. Mentor staff as necessary and witnessing and signing development log evidence, giving help, advice and suggestions to staff working towards further development.
• 20. To be a champion and deliver specialist knowledge relating to services accessible to customers at all Customer Service sites, e.g. Universal Credit, Veterans and Homeless etc.
• 21. To participate in training and development activities appropriate to the role.
• 22. To provide guidance on operational matters and procedures.
• 23. To support and assist Team Leaders as and when appropriate to ensure delivery of services to the customer.

We are looking for individuals with excellent customer service skills who are positive, sensitive and have an exemplary telephone manner, adapting your approach as appropriate to ensure equality of access to all.

A positive image of the council must be conveyed at all times and Customer Service standards must be maintained.

Successful candidates will be trained to deliver a good knowledge of all service areas including Council Tax, Housing, Welfare/Benefits and Environmental Services including Waste.

We are open 24/7 365 days of the year; therefore, we are looking for flexible individuals able to work across the following contact channels: telephone, live chat, and email. Weekend working is on a rota basis.

We currently have positions available on the Core team and the working hours are the following:

Core (7.5 hrs per day)

Normal working hours between 08:00-19:00

Working Monday to Sunday

You are required to work 1 in 3 weekends (Either the Saturday or the Sunday with a day off in the week)

Bank holiday cover is required on a rota basis

An enhanced hourly rate of pay is applied for weekend and bank holiday working., £24,796.00 - £29,064.00

Job Classifications:

• 2- Basic with BPSS - (Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS))
• 3- Not Politically Restricted - Designated As Not Politically Sensitive (Politically Restricted Posts)
• Casual - (Travel Allowance Policy)
• No - (Childcare Disqualification Requirement)
• No - (Statutory Post)
• OSP - Other Support Staff (School WorkForce Census)

Benefits of Working of Hull City Council:

• A competitive salary
• An excellent pension through the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
• Initially 23 days annual leave depending on length of service. You will also get eight public holidays per year, and three additional days off, one in May/August and one during the Christmas/New year period
• Career development and learning experiences from a range of training courses and learning methods
• Supportive and forward-thinking culture
• Great career development opportunities