Why is keeping records of communications important?
- So that anyone who was not part of the conversation can know what took place, understand what information was exchanged and what actions were agreed.
When kept accurate, the customer receives excellent customer service through:
* a seamless/ efficient process as staff are kept up to date
* their needs being met as all information is being accurately recorded
What constitutes a record?
- Emails, letters or faxes
- A recorded phone call
- A file note following a conversation that was face to face or over the phone (this can be paper or on the computer)
How should emails/ letters/ faxes be filed?
Copies should be kept on file as provides a true reflection of the exchange of written communication. When this is done electronically, this should be linked to the relevant file.
How should conversations either face to face or by phone be filed?
A note should be added to the file detailing accuratley the conversation that took place. Whilst calls are recorded, they should only be listened to to understand exactly what was said and therefore notes should be used first to prevent any delays for the customer.
In some cases, an internal process may not require a detailed note to accompany the task as it is basic and may only require a comment instead - e.g. creating a quote.
What are the challanges of making notes of phone calls/ face to face communications?
Time or operational pressures may not allow for a detailed note to be created and it can be difficult for two peoples version of a conversation to be consistent.
How are formal meetings filed?
The level of recording for the content of meetings will vary depending on the systems and processes of the organisation. This could be minutes or a standardised form completed in the meeting.
What details should be captured in a record of a conversation?
- Date
- Organisations reference - such as policy or claim number
- Customer’s reference
- Name of the other party
- Policy holder name
- Summary of key points - reason for call, action taken, information obtained, agreed outcome and next steps
- Signed and dated
What are some examples of when a set template is used to record a conversation?
- Demands and needs statements
- Proposal forms
- Claim forms
What are the benefits are keeping accurate records?
The presence or absence of an accurate record will have an impact on what?
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- Customer service
- Positive customer outcomes
- Efficiency of the organisation
- Fulfilment of legal and regulatory obligations
- Organisations finanical position
- Resolution of complaints
How is customer service improved by keeping accurate records?
- Seamless orcess from the customers perspective
- Staff take ownership and accountability as their steps are traced
- An orgnaisations obligations to keep audit trails are met and;
- must ensure customer needs are analysed and detailed
- provide customers with clear information and keep them appropriatley informed
- make sure where advice is provided that it is suitable and accounts for the customer’s circumstances
- Complaints handeling is improved as is easier to determine the timeline of events from clear notes.
-FCA requires that all correspondence and file notes relating to a complaint must be kept for a minimum of 3 years
How long does the FCA say that files in relation to a complaint must be ketp for?
3 years
What are the concequences of not keeping accurate records?
- Impaired processes it will take longer for the customer consultant to assimilate the information and the quality of information may be low quality or incorrect.
- Complaints as a result of:
-incorrect products being sold as not all of the customers needs were recorded
-breaches in good faith where information supplied by a customer is not recorded and so is not passed on to the underwriters
What are 3 concequences that an organisation may face is customers information is not kept confidential?
- Disciplinary action and fines due to breaches of law and regulations
- Damage to reputation
- Reduced new business and customer loyalty
What does the data protection legislation give individuals regarding their information?
Protection under the law if an organisation loses, discloses without authorisation or retains inaccurate information about them.
i.e the organisation must protect the confidentiality of the information they have about any individual.
What are the concequences of not maintaining client confidentiality?
Financial
-time taken to investigate the initial loss and the staffs time in doing so
-time and legal costs of dealing with prosecution
-costs of business lost or not gained as a result of a case
Brand and repuation
-prosectutions may be widely reported in the press and customers lose trust in an organisation, tarnishing the brand
New business and customer retention
-damage to a brand will affect its ability to attract new customers and retain the ones it has as customers will have less confidence in the products and services offered, meaning they will take their business elsehwere.
Fair treatment of customers
-FCA (ICOBS rule of the customers best interest): ‘ a firm must act honestly, fairly and professionally in accordance with the best interests of its customer’
Business confidentiality
-when dealing with customers (particularly commercial ones) you may learn information about their business that you would otherwise not know, this infomration should be treated the same way as data about an individual
How could the management of workload and personal time of a consultant impact customer outcomes?
If the workload is more than they can (or feel they can) work with then it will be harder to deliver excellent customer service because they physically have less time or because stress and anxiety levels are increased which leads to errors.
What factors may vary between the different types of orgnaisations?
Which may alter personal workload and time availability
- The employee portfolio (number of employees and age range)
- Management structures (flat or hierarchical)
- The client portfolio (size and geographical spread, local or international)
- How it delivers its services (i.e phone based or face to face)
- The culture (beliefs and values)
What challanges may personal workload and availability face with differing places of work?
E.g working from home
- Managing child care at the same time
- More than one person may work from home which places pressure on space and internet use
- Quality of internet connection
- Availability of suitable work spaces and equipment
- Lack of opportunity for team working and companionship
- Fewer opportunitues to share knowledge in an informal way
What are some advantages of working from home?
- Flexibility of working hours to fit around other commitments
- More free time due to no commute
- Cost savings from no commute or food and drink
- Improved productivity due to reduced interruptions
What day to day factors may have an impact on the personal workload of staff?
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- Telephone calls
Timing and frequency of incoling calls cannot be controlled and can therefore interrupt and add to workloads. - Emails
Whilst these can be quick, simple, flexible and reach large variations of audiences, there is a sense of urgency to reply. The cc and reply all facilities are often misused and cause unnecessary traffics of work. They can also be misinterpreted and therefore cause duplicated work as it is later corrected. - Information technology (it) systems
1) Do the systems in place make work easier or more complicated? - when merging legacy systems, multiple systems may be used at once which do not work together making the task longer to complete with some duplicates.
2) Does the system perform efficiently? if not then IT issues take time to resolve or issues may be incorrectly flagged.
An IT system failure can also have impacts as a system not working can reduce the quality of a call, cause lost opportunities as customers may go elsehwere while waiting for your call back or cause call lengths to be longer and create frustration
- Nature of the work
High complexity low quantity such as £1million claims or low complexity high quanitity like taking out travel insurance quotes - Seaonal variations
Some businesses may have certain quarters that are busier, natural disasters can impact claims too. - Colleague absences
When on annual leave, sick, training, in meetings or unfilled vacancies, whether it is a planned absence or not, workloads increase for those remaining and these tasks may take longer to complete if they are not familiar with them. - General distractions
Such as noise levels from phone calls, background noise from printers or tea/coffee runs with general chit chat - Personal issues
Such as bereavement, moving house or a heavy social life - Workforce engagement
Organisations use different models to calculate the number of staff needed if hthey are to delivery the service levels linked to their strategy, however, unplanned absences may not be accommodated for in these. - Workflow management
Systems may dictate which member of staff recieves the next piece of work and restricts the amount of flexibility that the member has in respect to their own time
What are some techniques for managing work load and time?
- Time management
-Procrastination
-Prioritisation
-Self control and discipline - Dealing with challanges
-Phone calls
-Emails
-IT systems
-Training and development
-Seasonal variations
-General distractions - Effective personal management
-The 7 habits
How can you review and manage your time managment/ personal effectiveness?
Create a time log to see how we currently spend our time and categorise certain types of activities to sum the time spent on them.
We can then look for ways of improving the management of our time by:
- Social interaction and housekeeping
- Checking emails (at set times rather than picking up immediatley as causes interruptions)
How can procrastination affect our time management?
Wastes time and is psycologically draining. A delay can result in a complaint or when an urgent answer is needed we are then caught unprepared.
What are the benefits of making in list when prioritising our time management?
Or listing top 5 to dos
- Clears your mind and allows you to focus on what needs to be done
- Breaks the day down into manageable chunks
- Helps you focus on what you need to achieve by the end of the day
- Helps prioritise and identify opportunities to save time by grouping similar tasks together as could be done at the same time
- Feel a sense of achievement when something is crossed off
- Allows you to manage tasks to fit around your time and energy levels
- Ensures importants tasks arent forgotten
