Member Article

Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council chooses B-Skill to train its frontline staff

Frontline staff at a local authority in Leicestershire are getting to grips with customer care best practice thanks to training courses provided by North East-based B-Skill.

Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council chose the national training specialist to improve workers’ knowledge through a NVQ certificate in customer service level 2, which started in October. Rather than focusing the training on telephone staff handling calls from the public, the local authority wanted training for staff who meet the public every day during the course of their work, such as a refuse collectors and street cleaners.

Following their appointment, a team at B-Skill have been working to develop and assess the 13 trainees since October last year.

B-Skill’s national client relationship manager, Andrea Aylwin, said: “For many, their initial reaction is: ‘Am I doing customer service? Why do I need this course?’ Then they see the benefits.

“The public question them on the streets and give feedback. They might get queries or a pat on the back or quite the reverse. The course helps them to be able to deal with that.

“It’s one of those things that on the surface doesn’t seem to apply to them, but we are wrapping the course requirements around their real life work.”

The trainees, who are divided into three groups, learn about a range of customer service issues, including employers’ rights and responsibilities. Their maths and English skills are also improved, either to provide them with a new qualification or brush up on their abilities if it is a number of years since they left school.

The course gives staff the skills they need to represent their employer properly on daily basis when they respond to people – the local authority’s customers – and also ensure that members of the public are supplied with the correct information.

Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council’s senior human resources advisor, Nigel Deacon, said: “Our B-Skill tutor not only knows the subject thoroughly but has the flexibility and enthusiasm to ‘fit in’ and engage with the wide range of individuals we have put forward for this customer service training. She has fitted in really well with our diverse and occasionally challenging work schedules.

“As we consider other support training for our Street Scene Services in the future we will without doubt contact B-Skill first based on the service we have received to date.”

Councillor Crooks, Executive Member for Neighbourhood Services said “The Council is always supportive of investment in training and development for its employees. The frontline service providers of Waste Management and Street Cleansing receiving this training are often the main or only people that members of the public have direct contact with and if we can improve our service and interaction with communities this can only be beneficial for both residents and the Council.”

Paul Wileman, managing director at B-Skill, said: “As Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council has demonstrated, customer service training is really important to staff throughout an organisation – especially for those who engage with members of the public every day.

“They are the public face of an organisation and their ability to communicate effectively with customers plays a crucial role in how an organisation is viewed.

“At B-Skill, we ensure the training courses we deliver are focused on the requirements of the people we are working with, and tailor them to fit the needs of their jobs and the business they’re working for. We’re delighted that our approach is paying dividends for Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Astute.Work .