Apprenticeship training course

Customer service practitioner (level 2)

There are 154 training providers who offer this course.

Information about Customer service practitioner (level 2)

Providing customer service products and services for businesses and other organisations including face-to-face, telephone, digital and written contact and communications.

• Knowledge, skills and behaviours:
  View knowledge, skills and behaviours

  Knowledge

  • Understand who customers are.
  • Understand the difference between internal and external customers.
  • Understand the different needs and priorities of your customers and the best way to manage their expectations, recognising and knowing how to adapt style to be highly effective.
  • Know the purpose of the business and what ‘brand promise' means
  • Know your organisation’s core values and how they link to the service culture.
  • Know the internal policies and procedures, including any complaints processes and digital media policies that are relevant to you and your organisation.
  • Know the appropriate legislation and regulatory requirements that affect your business.
  • Know your responsibility in relation to this and how to apply it when delivering service.
  • Know how to use systems, equipment and technology to meet the needs of your customers.
  • Understand types of measurement and evaluation tools available to monitor customer service levels.
  • Understand your role and responsibility within your organisation and the impact of your actions on others.
  • Know the targets and goals you need to deliver against.
  • Understand how establishing the facts enable you to create a customer focused experience and appropriate response.
  • Understand how to build trust with a customer and why this is important.
  • Understand the products or services that are available from your organisation and keep up-to-date.

  Skills

  • Use a range of questioning skills, including listening and responding in a way that builds rapport, determines customer needs and expectations and achieves positive engagement and delivery.
  • Depending on your job role and work environment: Use appropriate verbal and non-verbal communication skills, along with summarising language during face-to-face communications; and/or
  • Depending on your job role and work environment: Use appropriate communication skills, along with reinforcement techniques (to confirm understanding) during non-facing customer interactions.
  • Depending on your job role and work environment: Use an appropriate ‘tone of voice’ in all communications, including written and digital, that reflect the organisation’s brand.
  • Provide clear explanations and offer options in order to help customers make choices that are mutually beneficial to both the customer and your organisation.
  • Be able to organise yourself, prioritise your own workload/activity and work to meet deadlines.
  • Demonstrate patience and calmness.
  • Show you understand the customer’s point of view.
  • Use appropriate sign-posting or resolution to meet your customers needs and manage expectations.
  • Maintain informative communication during service recovery.

  Behaviours

  • Take ownership for keeping your service knowledge and skills up-to-date.
  • Consider personal goals and propose development that would help achieve them.
  • Act on and seek feedback from others to develop or maintain personal service skills and knowledge.
  • Frequently and consistently communicate and work with others in the interest of helping customers efficiently.
  • Share personal learning and case studies with others, presenting recommendations, and improvement to support good practice.
  • Treat customers as individuals to provide a personalised customer service experience.
  • Uphold the organisations core values and service culture through your actions.
  • Demonstrate personal pride in the job through appropriate dress and positive and confident language.
  • Use communication behaviours that establish clearly what each customer requires and manage their expectations.
  • Take ownership from the first contact and then take responsibility for fulfilling your promise
• Apprenticeship category (sector): Sales, marketing and procurement
• Qualification level: 2; Equal to GCSE
• Course duration: 12 months
• Maximum funding: £3,500 ; Maximum government funding for ; apprenticeship training and assessment costs.
• Job titles include:
  • customer service agent
  • customer service advisor
  • customer service associate
  • customer assistant
  • customer relations advisor
  • customer relations assistant
  • customer service representative
  • customer service rep

View more information about Customer service practitioner (level 2) from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.