Employee Services Assistant

Support the Council’s mission to achieve a channel shift to online customer interactions, dealing with the remaining enquiries received by telephone, social media, email or face to face in an efficient and professional manner, helping customers to help themselves wherever possible. To identify customers that would benefit from assistance, help and support through the Claim What’s Yours incitive and referring them to the service for further assistance for additional financial and wellbeing support. The job involves contact with members of the public on a day-to-day basis across all access channels, which include on the phone, face to face and digitally. Sometimes this involves dealing with difficult situations, which demand the application of excellent customer service skills.

Key responsibilities

1. Actively promote the take up of on-line services to customers contacting the Council, supporting and encouraging them to select this option wherever possible. Co-operate with colleagues and partners to ensure a seamless, efficient service experience for customers.

2. Where on-line delivery is not achievable, provide accurate information and assistance to customers, including helping them to record service requests, complete forms, and produce clear statements. Issue, receive, and validate application forms and other documentation, advising and supporting customers to make amendments and updates where necessary (dealing principally with Housing Benefits, Council Tax, Housing Repairs, Homelessness, Debt Recovery, Blue Badge applications, Licensing, Refuse and Recycling, Public Protection and some other services). Provide accurate information and assistance to customers on behalf of other Council services, which include but not limited to refuse, public protection and, payments for various services.

3. Deal efficiently and sensitively with all customers, across all access channels, which include on the phone, face to face and digitally. Ensuring that enquiries are correctly identified and are, so far as possible, resolved effectively at the first point of contact, by taking ownership of the enquiry and supporting the customer to resolve it or referring to Hwb Advisors, other departments or relevant partners for additional financial and wellbeing support.

4. Remain constantly alert to possible fraudulent claims and/or documentation.

5. Make decisions on a daily basis, within established guidelines, regarding eligibility for specific Council services, by maintaining a knowledge of relevant legislation, and showing a high degree of initiative in dealing with individual customers of varying temperaments and from a wide range of social backgrounds.

6. Use appropriate Council IT systems and databases to access and input information and update records, but only where customers cannot be supported to do this for themselves.

7. Schedule content, monitor and respond to the main corporate Social Media account. Ensure that all contributors follow Best Practice Guidelines.

8. Ensure Data Protection obligations are properly adhered to, particularly maintaining confidentiality of information held. Be proactive in capturing ‘corporate intelligence’, eg, recording data for complaints, equalities, customer satisfaction, footfall, etc, and constantly seeking more efficient ways of operating.

9. Be flexible in working arrangements to meet operational requirements of the overall customer services team by working across all access channels and at any other location as demand arises.

10. Assist in on the job training of new staff as required and participate in training and staff meetings. Undertake other duties commensurate with the grade and duties of the post as directed by the Management Team.