2. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AND CAREER PLANNING

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1 2. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AND CAREER PLANNING This chapter will consider how you can build your customer service skills and what you need to do to continuously improve and increase your employability. Customer service is a growing industry that touches every part of our lives and keeping up-to-date with the latest developments is essential for customer service professionals. KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING The knowledge and understanding activities will help you identify the main customer service job roles and how you can develop your skills to progress through the career pathways to become a customer service professional. You will develop a career plan, with achievable targets, that identifies your training needs for the customer service sector and identifies possible progression routes. You will be able to identify sources of information for your chosen career pathway. You will develop an understanding of the process of learning and how you can evolve into a self-motivated learner. A customer service employee is often the first person you meet in an organisation. 6 Original text and illustrations Pearson Education Limited, 20

2 Your occupation and organisation The term customer service can be interpreted in many ways. You will encounter customer service employees in a huge range of situations for example, the person at the reception desk when you enter an office, or the person who answers the telephone when you call an organisation, will be a customer service employee. The activities in this section are about identifying job opportunities within your employment sector and related sectors. You should know the following information about the organisation you work for: the number of people they employ in your department, office, building and globally the type of market in which they operate the type of changes that have been taking place in your area of business over recent years and the ways in which these changes have affected individuals working practices and the way in which your organisation operates the impact that these changes may have had on your organisation and the way in which you do your job how your organisation is structured the different ways in which organisations in the sector carry out different tasks such as finance, operations, personnel, marketing, health and safety etc. the ways in which the tasks outlined above may be split between different people, departments and/or sites what steps you should take to try to ensure you interact effectively with colleagues and contacts in the workplace and why this is important to the organisation. Task Task a It is important that you know which particular occupational sector you work in. Complete the sentence below. I work in the... sector. WorkSkills Unit : 3. Task b Using the answer box overleaf, identify two sources of information about customer service progression routes. What are the benefits of one of your sources of information over the other? Original text and illustrations Pearson Education Limited, 20 7

3 The benefits of... are: WorkSkills Unit : 3.2 Task c What changes have taken place in your area of business over the last two years (for example, in technology or the centralisation of tasks)? What occupational opportunities have these changes provided for you within your organisation? Using the table below, research progression routes that can enhance your opportunities in the future. Progression routes Further learning, e.g. BTEC courses, diplomas, NVQs Opportunities Advanced Apprenticeships Higher education, e.g. Foundation Degrees Employment 8 Original text and illustrations Pearson Education Limited, 20

4 WorkSkills Unit 2: 3.2, 4. Task d What other employment opportunities are there in related organisations in your industrial sector? Briefly describe them. Task 2 Read the case study below and then answer the tasks that follow it. Case study Michael has been working for his employer as a customer service assistant for six months. He likes the work and wants to develop the job. The customers he deals with have various needs and he sometimes feels out of his depth when dealing with them. Michael wants to progress within his organisation but knows that he needs further training to develop his customer handling skills. BTEC Unit 3:.,.2 Task 2a Using your own experiences and those of your colleagues, identify common strengths and weaknesses of customer service practitioners and the development needs of Michael and other customer service practitioners. Original text and illustrations Pearson Education Limited, 20 9

5 BTEC Unit 3: 2. Task 2b Using your own experiences, outline development activities that could form part of a personal development plan for Michael. BTEC Unit 3:.7 Task 2c Why might Michael benefit from discussing personal customer service learning with other colleagues and managers? Task 3 Drawing up a personal career plan How many times will you change your career in your lifetime? It is probable that you will change your job several times during your life. The secret to a successful transition from one job to another is to develop your basic underlying skills: these will remain in demand whichever job you do. It can be argued that we all need to audit our skills regularly and plan our career development for the next stage in our lives. Whether you love your current job and employer or feel frustrated and confined by it, career planning can help. A short-term career plan can be for the coming months, up to twelve months ahead, and sets out goals that can be achieved in the near future (e.g. completing a health and safety course as part of 20 Original text and illustrations Pearson Education Limited, 20

6 your Apprenticeship). By contrast, a long-term target might be to go to university to obtain a degree in business and management so you can become a manager in the future. A career plan can be as complicated as you want but it is usually best to keep the steps simple, as in the example below.. Identify your next career move 2. Research the career/job to make sure it is what you want to do 6. Check your progress towards the career goal 3. Identify the qualifications you need for the career/job 5. Plan how to achieve your career goal 4. Compare your qualifications with what is needed by the job or career Example of a simple career plan. These steps can be used for both short-term and long-term plans. The final loop back to the beginning of the process is where you check your progress towards your goal and make adjustments as required. PLTS SM, SM4, SM3 WorkSkills Unit : 2.3, 3.2 Unit 9:.,.2,.3 Task 3a Use this table to draw up your own career development plan for achieving your Apprenticeship. Make sure you add descriptions and short- and long-term goals that will allow you to complete your learning on time and to a high standard. Describe the risks involved if you do not complete each step on time. Original text and illustrations Pearson Education Limited, 20 2

7 Original text and illustrations Pearson Education Limited, My next career move e.g. First aid certificate What research do I need to do for the job/career? Who provides first aid training? What qualifications will I need? First aid certificate What qualifications do I already have? In-house health and safety certificate Steps I need to take to achieve my job goal Ask my manager if the company provides this training Monitoring my progress and reducing the risks of non-completion BTEC Apprenticeship Assessment Workbook Level 2 Customer Service The company does provide training and I am enrolled on the next course.

8 BTEC Unit 3:.6 PLTS RL, RF3, RF5 WorkSkills Unit 9: 2. Task 3b Development plans rarely follow a straight path and will, from time to time, need to be changed. Outline the reviewing process you will follow to assess your learning goals against your success criteria and update your customer service personal development plan. You might refer to the example given earlier to guide you. PLTS SM5, SM7 WorkSkills Unit 9:.4,.5 Task 3c Describe what you are going to do to make sure that your work and personal life commitments are met. How will you maintain relationships with your friends and peers so you can succeed in your studies? Original text and illustrations Pearson Education Limited, 20 23

9 PLTS SM2, SM3 WorkSkills Unit 9:.6 Task 3d This activity is a long-term task that requires you to record how you have completed your learning tasks on time and to the required standard. You can use the table below to start your record. Learning task/activity Date started Date finished Passed or referred Final outcome PLTS RF2, RF4, RF5, SM6 WorkSkills Unit 9: 2.2, 2.3, 2.4 Task 3e Reflect and assess where your own learning has been successful and where your learning strategies could be improved. Suggest constructive actions in response to feedback from others, such as your tutors, managers and colleagues. This will help you work out the effect that your learning so far has had on your approach to learning. What was the activity or assignment? (This could have been a task at work) What feedback did you receive? What could you have done better and how? How have you revised your learning goals after this feedback? 24 Original text and illustrations Pearson Education Limited, 20

10 PLTS RF6 WorkSkills Unit 9: 2.5 Task 3f When you have learned something new or had some training, how can you communicate and share your experience with other colleagues and managers in your organisation? Task 4 A technique that is often used to help learners identify the type of job that would suit them is a strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis. The table below gives examples of the kind of analysis you could complete. Be aware that it is the process of completing the analysis that gives you insight into your own abilities and where further development is required. My strengths Good communication skills Good numeracy skills Five good GCSEs including Maths and English Excellent interpersonal skills Job opportunities Progression to customer service practitioner Transfer to administration section Vacancies in the HR department My weaknesses Poor timekeeping Moderate product knowledge Weak specific job knowledge Indecisive at times Job threats Some redundancies in the business Job seekers with better and higher qualifications Limited job opportunities in the short term BTEC Unit 3: 2.2 Task 4a Use the sample SWOT table below to produce your own SWOT analysis. My strengths My weaknesses Job opportunities Job threats PLTS RL5 Task 4b Has your SWOT analysis changed your personal development plan? If yes, how has it changed? If no, why not? Original text and illustrations Pearson Education Limited, 20 25

11 Task 5 Effective performance feedback to a person at work can make a difference to that person if you can avoid a defensive response from the recipient. You will usually receive feedback during formal appraisal interviews but you can also ask people you trust for informal performance feedback. Here are a few guidelines for giving feedback. Effective feedback: is specific, not general focuses on a specific behaviour, not on a person or their intentions is sincerely and honestly provided to help describes actions or behaviour that the individual can do something about is requested and is therefore more powerful involves the sharing of information and observations is timely involves what or how something was done, not why is understood and applied by the recipient to their work. BTEC Unit 3:.5, 2.3, 2.4 Task 5a Basing your answer on your own organisation, outline how to obtain feedback from others to aid your personal development in customer service. State who you would ask for feedback. Sources of formal feedback Sources of informal feedback Appropriate people to give feedback 26 Original text and illustrations Pearson Education Limited, 20

12 Task 5b Few of us like to hear criticism about our work. How would you respond to feedback in a positive way, in order to aid your personal development as a customer service professional? EVIDENCE GATHERING In this activity you will identify an area of your work that will demonstrate how you operate as a customer service practitioner. Your assessor will help you to identify suitable items of evidence. You need to gather evidence of activity within areas of your work to demonstrate that you have created a personal career plan and that you understand the process of identifying a career goal, researching the career goal, checking your existing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, identifying steps to achieve your career goal and reviewing your progress towards your goal. Suggested evidence may include: BTEC Unit 3: 2. WorkSkills Unit : 2.3 your personal career plan information about your organisation s performance management system, how it works and how it applies to your particular job role an evaluation of your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. You will need evidence that you have created a personal career plan. Original text and illustrations Pearson Education Limited, 20 27

13 PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE This activity will enable your assessor to examine your competence by observing you carrying out workplace activities. This might include asking related questions to test your underpinning knowledge. WorkSkills Unit : 2.3 Create targets for your own skills development and completion of the Apprenticeship. Using the materials above, you should be able to demonstrate that you have set yourself some short-, medium- and long-term targets to help plan your learning. Such a plan is a living document that you should be updating on a regular basis to make sure it is up to date with what you are planning for the future. PROFESSIONAL DISCUSSION Your assessor will conduct a professional discussion with you, which will capture evidence necessary to prove your knowledge and understanding of topic areas. Below are some topic areas you will need to consider when preparing for the professional discussion with your assessor BTEC Unit 3:.5,.7, 2.3, 2.4 NVQ Unit 26: 3.2 WorkSkills Unit 9: 2.2, 2.5 The value of discussing customer service learning with other people in your employing organisation What your hopes and aspirations are and how you can be proactive in your own learning A critical incident where you have received feedback from a customer, manager or colleague and responded well to that feedback. Your assessor will plan the content of your professional discussion and will advise you to help you to prepare beforehand. The professional discussion may cover more than this section of your Assessment Workbook. Discussion process The discussion process will allow you to show that you know about the opportunities for development in your job. You should aim to show your assessor that you have carried out research into how you can progress to a higher grade with your present employer or with another employer in the future. To prepare for your professional discussion, you should think about how you could answer questions such as the following. 28 Do I know about the career opportunities in customer service? Where can I receive further training for customer service after I finish my Apprenticeship? Who can advise me about further training as a customer service professional? How well do I respond to criticism from others? Do I learn from and put into action those lessons from my work activities? Original text and illustrations Pearson Education Limited, 20

2. PLAN PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AND CAREER PATH

2. PLAN PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AND CAREER PATH In this set of activities you will show that you understand how to plan and prioritise your learning and personal development. You will show that you can work