As we approach the mid-point and with the theme of the day being ‘Effective Service Leadership’, two of our key customer service leaders Rachel Hobson, Head of Awarding Organisation Operations, and Simon Lewis, Head of Apprenticeships, share some insight into their roles. They also highlight the approach the organisation takes to putting customer service at the heart of everything it delivers, to the Colleges, training providers, employers and individuals it serves, in this Q&A:

Rachel, how long have you worked at NOCN Group and what does your day-to-day work involve?

“I have worked at NOCN since May 2022 and my role involves developing and implementing operational plans, understanding the challenges faced by our teams and looking at where we can make improvements.

"I support and champion all teams within the department and work with other senior team members to resolve any customer service-related issues that may arise. As part of this I also support our team leaders and managers to ensure our objectives, KPIs and service levels are met, monitor and manage budgets, and contribute to projects to support the growth of the organisation.”

The National Customer Service Week theme today is 'Effective Service Leadership'. As Head of Awarding Organisation Operations at NOCN Group - what do you think is most important when it comes to leading a customer service team?

“For me, demonstrating a passion for exceptional customer service and having a customer-first mindset, as well as prioritising the customer in strategic decisions is absolutely key! We must keep teams informed of changes and projects, include them in developments, and provide the opportunity to feedback on customer experiences, allowing their ideas to be heard and valuing their opinions. Advocating for the customer service team and recognising the vital role they play within the organisation is an important part of what I do.”

Simon, could you please give us an idea of the type of queries the NOCN Group Customer Service team typically deals with?

“Our dedicated Customer Service team deals with a wide range of queries from providing step-by-step support with our different systems and processing competency card applications, to booking assessments, fulfilling certificate requests, and much more. Recently the team has dealt with a number of queries relating to our newly launched Construction Plant Competence Scheme (CPCS) Card Online Renewal Course which has replaced a more traditional test and is a big change for cardholders. This is a great example of where our customer service team is invaluable, literally holding our customers hands through developments and upgrades to our suite of skills solutions to ensure they can take advantage of the greater efficiency and convenience they offer.”

Rachel, how do you support the NOCN Group customer service team to be able to respond to ever evolving customer expectations?

“I believe prioritising customer experiences is key to this. Our customers expect quick and first-time resolution and interactions to be seamless. I’m currently reviewing how we support our customers and the methods we use such as phone, emails, live chats and the self-service options we have available and, with the move to increased technology use, ensuring the team are upskilled to provide the necessary support to customers that is future-fit.”

Simon, NOCN Group is a skills solutions provider - what skills does your team need to have to deliver an effective customer service function and how do you as a leader support the team in gaining and developing those skills?

“As a skills-solutions provider it is so important that we ‘practice what we preach’ when it comes to upskilling our own team. Our customer service experts need a variety of skills to effectively support our customers including empathy, active listening, problem-solving, patience, clear communication, as well as in depth knowledge of our offer. To support the development of these skills, we are introducing a new training programme, which includes Customer Service Excellence – future-proofing our teams and supporting them to meet our customer expectations so they can provide an excellent experience and ensure customers feeling valued, understood and appreciated.”

Rachel, there have been over 100 nominations for the NOCN Group Customer Service Week Awards this week - what makes you most proud as a leader in the organisation when you look at those nominations?

“The nominations have come from every part of the organisation and the sheer volume reflects the amazing customer service efforts that go on every day across our team. Those customer facing teams work incredibly hard and reading the nominations shines a spotlight on their dedication to providing an excellent service and experience to our customers. I am proud to work alongside such customer-centric people and proud they represent NOCN Group.”

Follow our social media channels Linkedin, X and Facebook, to see all of the ways in which we are celebrating Customer Service Week 2024.