Switchboard Operator

East And North Hertfordshire Nhs Trust; Stevenage; On-site; GBP 21,000 - 25,000; Full time

Job summary

East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust in Stevenage is recruiting a Switchboard Operator to handle incoming and internal calls on a 37.5-hour, 5-day rota, covering Monday to Sunday between 8:00 and 22:00 with occasional night shifts. You will operate the Netcall telephony system, pass on information accurately to supervisors, and maintain composure in emergencies.

The role requires good communication, a clear speaking voice and a customer-focused approach.

Qualifications

• Good standard of education
• Clear speaking voice and good command of English
• Customer Care Apprenticeship Level 2 or equivalent experience
• ECDL or equivalent level of experience

Responsibilities

• Operate as a Telephonist dealing with incoming calls, external and internal
• Answer and deal with customer queries in a professional manner
• Monitor progress of calls and route accordingly
• Communicate changes to on-call personnel to Supervisor/Team Leader

Skills

Customer service

Calm under pressure

Multitasking

Excellent listening

IT/Keyboard skills

Netcall telephony

Education

Customer Care Apprenticeship Level 2

ECDL or equivalent

Tools

Netcall telephony system

Job description

Switchboard Operator East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust Stevenage

Job overview

We are recruiting for a Switchboard Operator who shares our vision to be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service to our patients.

The Trust switchboard responds to calls for the Lister, New QEII, Hertford County and Mount Vernon Cancer Centre from a centralised switchboard based at Lister Hospital.

The operator must proficiently work the computer-based switchboard and must be able to make decisions and deal with emergency calls calmly and efficiently in a high-level, fast-moving environment, e.g. dealing with cardiac arrest calls, trauma calls, fire calls, major incidents, bomb threats, medigas gas alarms and lift entrapments.

Staff are frequently required to work under their own initiative and make immediate decisions in the event of problems, especially when working unsupervised or alone. All staff endeavour to meet agreed response times however abnormal fluctuations (emergencies, lone working) can significantly increase pressures on the service.

At the heart of everything we do are our core values: Include, Respect, and Improve. We encourage you to embrace these values throughout the recruitment process and in your role with us.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will operate as a Telephonist, dealing with incoming calls, both external and internal.

This is a full-time role working 37.5 hours per week on a5-day rota, covering Monday to Sunday between8:00am and 10:00pm as part of a service that operates 365 days a year. There may be occasions where the post holder will need to cover night shifts to support annual leave/sickness following the 8 week training program.

Monitor progress of calls, routing them elsewhere if the extension is engaged or not responding.

To be able to communicate to a high level and pass on information accurately to the Supervisor/Team Leader, i.e. any changes to on call personnel and personal information requiring entry in the directory databases.

The successful candidate will answer and deal with customer queries in a professional manner.

Working for our organisation

At East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust, we are proud of the range of general and specialist services we provide and our 6,000 or so dedicated staff ensure our patients get the best care. Our ability to be flexible and innovative in the way in which we work and deliver our services to our catchment has never been more important than it is now.

We run the following hospitals:

• The Lister Hospital, Stevenage
• New Queen Elizabeth II (New QEII), Welwyn Garden City
• Hertford County, Hertford

We have ambitious plans to become an outstanding, patient-led Trust where dedicated staff provide high-quality, compassionate care to our patients. We continue to undergo significant transformation and our staff and patients are at the heart of delivering this ambitious agenda.

We are committed to a positive work life balance for our employees. This means that any employee is entitled to seek to work flexible working patterns and we are committed to listen and consider all requests. Such requests, of course, have to be made and considered formally, and will need to be balanced against service needs, but our starting point will always be to find ways to support making them happen.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification applicant pack for further detailed information regarding this role.

Person specification

Qualifications / Training

• Good standard of education
• Clear speaking voice and a good command of the English language
• Customer Care Apprenticeship Level 2 or equivalent experience
• ECDL or equivalent level of experience

Previous Experience

• Providing customer service to the public.
• High standard of spelling, accuracy, and numeracy.
• Experience of computer/telephone systems or equivalent knowledge
• Working in a large environment with considerable responsibility Lone working.
• Proven skills in operating Netcall telephony system or experience of similar.
• Knowledge of Hospital terminology
• Experience in a busy switchboard setting

Skills

• Be able to multi-task.
• Ability to remain calm, tactful, and work efficiently and effectively under pressure.
• Able to converse with confidence and have excellent listening skills.
• Maintain concentration in a busy environment.
• To be inquisitive and responsive and work under own initiative.
• Retain information.
• Strong interpersonal skills.
• Good organisation skills.
• Problem solving

Knowledge

• IT/Keyboard Skills
• Basic Numeracy and Literacy.

Other Requirements

• Understanding of, and commitment to, equality, diversity and inclusion
• Experience and evidence of engagement around equality, diversity and inclusion issues in relation to policy, service development and service delivery in respect of both services to users and the management of staff
• Role model our Trust values every day
• Must be flexible in working approach both in hours and duties performed.
• Ability to work without supervision.
• Good team working, flexibility.
• Ability to work with people at all levels