Customer Service Representative - Contact

Canada Life Assurance Europe plc; West of England; On-site; GBP 21,000 - 30,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Generous pension

Bonus scheme

Private medical insurance

Life assurance

Flexible working

Job summary

Canada Life UK is recruiting a Customer Service Representative to handle inbound calls and emails, delivering accurate outcomes and empathetic support for customers, advisers, and colleagues.

You will use active listening to understand needs, follow company guidelines, and contribute to continuous service improvements and team training.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 A*-C GCSEs (including English and Maths – essential).
• Have already attained the Award in financial Administration or keen to work towards this qualification.

Responsibilities

• Process customer requests and handle inbound calls in line with agreed standards.
• Respond to emails and web-based enquiries clearly and professionally.
• Support the team with training, coaching and mentoring on products, processes and systems.
• Ensure Consumer Duty requirements are met, delivering good outcomes and avoiding foreseeable harm.

Skills

Customer service experience

Communication skills

MS Office

Attention to detail

Education

GCSEs English and Maths

Award in Financial Administration

Job description

Canada Life UK looks after the retirement, investment and protection needs of individuals, families and companies. We help to build better futures for our customers, our intermediaries and our employees by operating as a modern, agile and welcoming organisation.

Part of our parent company Great-West Lifeco, Canada Life UK has operated in the United Kingdom since 1903. We have hundreds of respected and supported employees committed to doing the right thing for our customers and colleagues.

Canada Life UK is transforming to create a more customer-focused business by providing our customers with expertise on financial and tax planning, offering home finance and annuities propositions, and providing collective fund solutions to third party customers.

As a Customer Service Representative, you will process customer requests accurately and in a timely manner, ensuring excellent customer outcomes. You will answer inbound calls from new and existing customers regarding insurance policies within agreed service levels, and respond to customer emails and web-based enquiries clearly, accurately and professionally. You will use active listening and effective questioning to understand customer needs, circumstances and preferences, and recognise potential vulnerability, supporting customers in line with Company guidelines and escalating where appropriate. You will also manage challenging or emotional conversations calmly and professionally, resolve complaints and complex queries, and provide process and product expertise to colleagues and stakeholders. In addition, you will support team leadership, training, and continuous improvement activities to help us deliver a consistently high standard of service.

What You'll Do

Customer Focus

• Process customer requests and handle incoming calls in line with agreed standards, aiming for first time resolution.
• Communicate clearly and professionally, using an empathetic, respectful tone, and adapt your approach to identify and support vulnerable customers in line with company guidelines, escalating where appropriate.
• Ensure all interactions meet Consumer Duty requirements, delivering good outcomes and avoiding foreseeable harm, whilst investigating and resolving complex queries with clear explanations and solutions.
• Proactive case management including calling of customer and advisers aiming to resolve questions first time.
• Communicate clearly and professionally with customers and advisers using a tone of voice that is empathetic and in line with our brand by telephone, email or letter.
• Use active listening and effective questioning to understand customer needs, circumstances and preferences.
• Probing as required on customer requests to investigate and resolve complex customer queries, providing clear explanations and solutions.
• Manage challenging or emotional conversations calmly and professionally.

Keep Us Safe

• Aim to resolve complaints within 72 hours on non-complex cases; support the complaints team in responding on complex cases in a timely manner
• Identify, log investigate and resolve risk events in line with guidelines.
• Keeping our customers safe (considering data integrity, financial crime / fraud indicators, vulnerabilities) avoiding foreseeable harm.
• Maintain familiarity with the risk management framework and comply with all regulatory and internal policies.

Collaboration and Flexibility

• Support colleagues as required to ensure customer enquiries are handled within agreed service levels and customer outcomes are delivered consistently.
• Rotate into different teams as required based on business needs, such as changes in priorities or one-off tasks, helping to maintain service levels.

Continuous Improvement and Development

• Contribute to team training plans and support the delivery of training, coaching and mentoring on products, processes and systems.
• Share process and product expertise with operational teams and key stakeholders outside of Customer Service.
• Be proactive in your own development, building and maintaining strong technical and specialist knowledge of products, processes and systems.
• Agree clear objectives and maintain a personal development plan with your Team Leader.
• Actively contribute ideas and feedback to support the continual review and improvement of processes, controls and ways of working.

Who You Are

• Diligent and conscientious in the accuracy of their work, excellent attention to detail
• Excellent Customer Service experience
• “Can Do”, proactive attitude
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to operate in a fast paced, dynamic environment and able to work under pressure
• Intermediate knowledge and experience of MS Office

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 A*-C GCSEs (including English and Maths – essential
• Have already attained the Award in financial Administration or keen to work towards this qualification

Benefits Of Working At Canada Life

We believe in recognising and rewarding our people, so we offer a competitive salary and benefits package that’s regularly reviewed. As a Canada Life UK colleague, you’ll receive a competitive salary and comprehensive reward package including a generous pension and bonus scheme, along with, income protection, private medical insurance and life assurance. We have a fantastic number of other benefits and support services as well as regular personal and professional development.

How We Work At Canada Life

Our culture is unique and incredibly important to us. We care about doing the right thing for our people, customers and community and helping others to build better futures. Our blueprint behaviours shape and influence how we work, and are central to the relationships we have with others. Every day we are encouraged to be more curious, own the outcome, face into things together and find a way forward.

We want colleagues to have rewarding careers with us so we invest in the development of our people, technology and workplaces. That’s why we offer a range of training, flexible working and opportunities to grow and develop.

Diversity and inclusion

Building an inclusive workplace with a diverse workforce where everyone can feel they belong and achieve their potential regardless of gender, ethnicity or any other characteristic is a key commitment for us. We are proud of the progress we’re making in DEI, and we continue for it to be a significant focus.

“At Canada Life we believe in the power of great people from different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives coming together to build better futures. Emerging talent is crucial to our growth and creating an environment that continues to inspire us all.” Nick Harding, Chief People Officer, Canada Life UK

We appreciate that everyone has different work and life responsibilities. We’re happy to discuss flexible working arrangements, including part time, for any of our roles should this be a requirement for you.