Customer Contact Advisor Review

I am a customer contact advisor, I spend the day answering the phone and helping residents of South Cambridgeshire with queries about benefits and council tax etc. I also work part time on the front reception desk helping with the same queries face to face and spend some time in the post and print room helping to make copies and sending out post to residents and receiving post and sending that to the correct department.

I developed my general phone skills and communication, I have learnt a lot of new information to help customers through my role. I learnt how to work in a post room and a print room, been working on alone work due to Covid 19 and I learnt general office skills such as using a copier/scanner.

I have now finished my apprenticeship programme but I enjoyed it a lot. Throughout this time I learnt a lot of valuable skills and also some good knowledge, once a week I was given time to complete tasks and quizzes on information I can carry forwards with me. Also my team were very lovely and made the experience a good one.

My programme was incredible well structured, I had an online learning portal in which I could see how much work was needed to be completed and how much I had left to do. Tasks were put on with appropriate deadlines that I could meet and I wasn't given a stressful amount all at once.

My employer is very supportive, I have two team leaders and a general manager of which I could always go to if I needed help. For example, some documentation work meant providing information about our company and I was always provided with good resources to help me complete this efficiently.

My training provider and I had check ins every few weeks and if I needed help she was always a call, message or email away giving my helpful advice on questions I had but allowing me to work through finding the answers myself to ensure I was learning as I went.

My qualification was in business and administration, the business side of things really helped me learn how a business functions and the administration side really helped with reception, post and print room duties. I learned good skills that I still apply around a year later, learning about office equipment and customer service.

In my job, before covid there were a number of workout classes I could join, lessons that I could have joined to learn sign language or a new language. My current team like to socialise out of work by going out for meals, mini golf or haunted houses at halloween.

Yes

Everyone at South Cambridgeshire Council was welcoming and friendly, I was the youngest to join my team and the only apprentice at the time and I always felt that I could go to any member of the team for help or advice in general. My manager has continued to support me throughout my whole working time so far and are very easy to talk to

I would advise others applying to South Cambridgeshire to make sure they address everything in the person specification when sending in their application form, go in with an open mind with the knowledge you know stored but always ask extra questions when being taught because that is how you will make the most out of it. If you don't know how to do something, even as seemingly simple as printing something out, don't be afraid to ask someone for help, you may think it seems silly but everyone has been at the beginning once.