In a continuing effort to fulfill our staffs’ potential, we are starting to provide NVQ qualifications for all our staff. We are lucky enough to have our own Training Department and the staff work hard to ensure that our Managers, Shift Leaders and Customer Service staff receive ongoing ‘in house’ training as well as being sponsored to take nationally recognised qualifications.

As Training Manager I feel it is my responsibility to ensure that all our Customer Service staff are given the opportunity to broaden their capabilities and in doing this, we believe, as a company, that it will help reach everyone’s maximum potential within Frontline.

At present we have five Customer Service Operators who are currently taking NVQ Level 2/3 in Customer Service and from August another batch of Customer Service Operators will also be taking part.   So far it has proved very successful, as the Operators that are currently taking part, have found the experience very useful and empowering.  Not only do they understand and gain further experience within the Customer Service arena but they are also adding a recognised qualification to their CV.

I feel that if you look after your staff, they in turn will work harder for you; they feel more appreciated.

“I have really enjoyed doing my NVQ. I understand more of what we do and why we do it. This is because we know what we have to do and just go on auto pilot but we never really stop to think about why we do it.

It gives you more of an understanding so you can appreciate the work you do and appreciate the people you speak to on the phone.” Heidi Cruikshank

Article written by Lisa Wheeler (Training Manager)

Here at Frontline we like to reward out staff for the great work they do. We offer a range of Incentive Schemes to not only thank our staff but also to help keep the quality of out services up to the standard we require.

At present we have 3 main schemes in place.

The Weekly Incentive Scheme

The weekly incentive scheme works on a ring time bases, it’s paramount that all our calls are answered promptly and efficiently. On every Monday we generate a list of statistics showing every call answered within a certain time frame i.e. all calls answered within 3 seconds, we then randomly generate a number which then tells the winning operator.

The Monthly Incentive Scheme

Like the weekly incentive scheme, the monthly scheme works on a ring time bases. On first day of each month we generate a list of statistics again showing every call answered within a certain time frame i.e. all calls answered within 3 seconds, and we then randomly generate a number which then tells the winning operator. The monthly scheme offers a bonus of £100 (4 times the amount of the weekly incentive scheme) to the winning operator.

The Compliment Incentive

Our most common incentive is the Compliment Scheme, this is a scheme that allows are customers to have a say about our staff. If for example you are extremely happy with the way a call has been handled, then why not let us know? Our operators receive a £10 bonus each time a complement is received!

Over the past year we have found that offering staff incentives has encouraged hard work and dedication within the company and our staff genuinely feel their efforts have been duly recognised. Our range of incentive schemes have not only propelled our company forwards, but more importantly, it has raised morale and inspired staff loyalty.

We are proud to announce the success of all our team leaders that took part in this years ILM course in Leadership and Management. To celebrate we treated the group to a night of fine dining at Hooks, Nook and Cranny Restaurant were the team were presented their certificates by company owner Tricia Jones.

In Spring 2008 Managing Director David Jones decided it was time to develop the role of the Team Leader at Frontline Telephone Answering Service further, after numerous chats with Train to Gain the IBS group seemed to stand out from the crowd with an ILM certified course that was perfect for our operatives.

“The Team leader role has evolved considerably since its inception. As the business has grown we have found ourselves relying on our Team Leaders to be available to answer operator’s queries, our customer’s queries and to assure that the quality of our service is upheld. We have decided that this can only be properly achieved by them spending less time on the phone and more time monitoring, resolving issues and… leading their team!” David Jones (Managing Director)

Frontline currently has around 20 Team Leaders, and due to the amazing accomplishment of this years group (with only 10 completing the ILM training course) we have decided to put all our Team Leaders through this course as standard procedure in addition to their regular Team Leader training.

The course covered 7 main modules such as:

Leadership & motivation
Leading the Team
Building the Team
Time Management
Managing Change
Discipline and Grievance Handling
Effective Delegation

Since the course, the team is continually using and being astonished by the tools and benefits this course had provided them with.

“The course was brilliant, not once did any of us sit there half asleep or bored.. John (the trainer) kept us constantly busy relating his wealth of knowledge to our systems and procedures, this course has proved to be an invaluable asset to our company, not only do we have new systems and administration in place we also have an excellent environment which has improved immeasurably since the course” Vicki Kneller (Team leader)

Throughout the course the group was continuously being encouraged to analyse their skills and abilities, perhaps the most beneficial and useful element of the course for our team. For assessment, the group was issued a list of topics taken directly from the units studied and advised to pick a topic that concentrates on their own area of weakness. This aloud the group to self analyse their performance and offered chance for them to investigate these issues further, improving and developing their problem areas.

The course has been a resounding success and we would like everyone to know the accomplishment this year’s group has achieved! Congratulations guys keep up the great work!