Customer service advisor Review

My role involves speaking to a wide range of different customers each day over the telephone and dealing with their accounts. It could vary from giving a balance, increasing an overdraft, sending out a new card for a customer to dealing with charges that have come out of their account.

I have definitely learnt a new wide range of skills working here at Santander that I was not confident in before. The main skill I have improved is my communication skills. I used to be more of a introverted person before I started, however, now that I work in a fast paced business environment, It requires me to have good communication skills in order to help both my customers as well as my work colleagues. Doing this has also benefited my personal life in the same way.

I do enjoy my role here at Santander, I like talking to a wide range of different people with varied backgrounds, from all different walks of life. I have also made met quite a few new friends here in my department. I feel like the apprenticeship has given me much more freedom in my life and in broadened my overall skills and knowledge.

I feel like my programme is most definitely structured/organised in a great way. We started it as a traineeship and I feel that there was more than enough emphasis put on us in order to try help us understand the systems and processes that was new to us. Even now I feel like they try and help us improve ourselves in any way we can.

I feel like I receive a lot of support from my employer. We tend to have regular (once a week) team meetings, as well as one to one meetings with our manager to discuss things like recent updates, feedback we may have got off the back of calls, which could be both positive and negative.

I feel like I have received enough support in working towards passing my apprenticeship. As I came through the traineeship route, we have a meeting once and month with our BPP trainer who helps us in getting through completion of the apprenticeship work that needs to be done to pass, and to be then classed as a 'full time colleague'.

I feel that the qualification through my training provider has helped me to perform better in my role here at Santander, as it has widened my knowledge and understanding of the business itself which has therefore helped me educate my customers about the different products and services that we have to offer.

In our work environment, we have a lot of focus on the several different networks within Santander. These in include: women in business, embrace, parents and carers, enable, ethnicity at work and mental wellbeing. Having such a big focus on these topics not only brings colleagues together, it widens people understanding of what is going on in the world.

Yes

I would recommend Santander to a friend due to it being such a positive working environment which focuses on improving ourselves, rather than just answering calls and doing our job. We get plenty of personal development time, which we focus on how we our doing in our role and how we can meet our future ambitions/goals.

My advise to others wanting to apply to Santander would primarily be to be yourself. Be confident with yourself and with the company knowledge. Do your research before hand on the background of the company and the background of which sector of the business you are wanting to join (customer service, fraud, etc).