Professional Documents
Culture Documents
SITXCCS008 Learner Guide V1.1 ACOT PDF
SITXCCS008 Learner Guide V1.1 ACOT PDF
Table of Contents
Unit of Competency
Application
This unit describes the performance outcomes, skills and knowledge required to develop, monitor and
adjust customer service practices. It requires the ability to consult with colleagues and customers,
develop policies and procedures for quality service provision, and manage the delivery of customer
service.
The unit applies to senior managers who operate independently, have responsibility for others and are
responsible for making a range of operational and strategic decisions.
This includes individuals working in a range of tourism, travel, hospitality and event contexts and to any
small, medium or large organisation.
No occupational licensing, certification or specific legislative requirements apply to this unit at the time
of publication.
Unit Sector
Cross-Sector
Performance Criteria
Element Performance Criteria
Elements describe the Performance criteria describe the performance needed to
essential outcomes. demonstrate achievement of the element.
3. Monitor and adjust 3.1 Seek ongoing feedback from staff and customers to improve
customer service performance
3.2 Assess effectiveness of customer service practices
3.3 Identify systemic customer service problems and adjust
policies and procedures to improve service quality
3.4 Develop, document and communicate new approaches to
customer service to staff involved in service delivery
Foundation Skills
This section describes language, literacy, numeracy and employment skills incorporated in the
performance criteria that are required for competent performance.
➢ Interpret customer service surveys and unfamiliar complex documents on current industry
trends and changes that affect service delivery
➢ Research customer service requirements
➢ Produce comprehensive yet easily accessible policies and procedures that provide service
expectations
➢ Calculate and interpret customer satisfaction statistics and business performance data
➢ Allow for a rational and logical evaluation of the characteristics and needs of the organisation in
order to design tailored customer service practices
➢ Plan for, establish and regularly monitor all components of the customer service system
Assessment Requirements
Performance Evidence
Evidence of the ability to complete tasks outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit in
the context of the job role, and:
➢ Research and develop customer service policies and procedures for at least three different areas of
the business that meet industry standards
➢ Implement and monitor practices for quality customer service in line with above policies and
procedures over four service periods
➢ Evaluate practices for quality service provision and identify any failings
➢ Review policies and procedures, adjust as necessary, and communicate any new practices to staff.
Knowledge Evidence
Demonstrated knowledge required to complete the tasks outlined in elements and performance criteria
of this unit:
Assessment Conditions
Skills must be demonstrated in an operational business environment for which tailored customer
service practices are required. This can be:
➢ An industry workplace
➢ A simulated industry environment.
Links
1.2. Provide opportunities for customers and staff to give feedback on products and services
1.3. Review changes in internal and external environments and integrate findings into planning for
quality service
1.4. Provide opportunities for staff to participate in development of customer service practices
Information within this unit is directed at those working within organisation of all sizes, and will have a
predominant focus on the fields of tourism, travel, hospitality and events.
Generally, quantitative research can help to answer the following questions: how many, who, and how
often? Qualitative research on the other hand tends to answer who and why questions.
➢ Do they have processes in place to manage and monitor their customer service?
➢ Is there anything your competitors are doing that could be applied to your organisation
to improve customer satisfaction?
Finding out this information is not always straightforward. There are companies with a share of the
market place who will not want to share information with their competitors, and may even try and
withhold information. It can be beneficial to start with a simple internet search and visit to the website
of your competitors. However, while this may provide details about their products or services and
direction, further research will be required to assess their approaches to customer service and
improving customer satisfaction.
➢ Visit your competitors directly – you might decide it is beneficial to attend an event
held by your competitors or utilise their services if you feel that it will help to gain an
insight into their customer service approach
➢ Hire your competition – it can be useful to hire employees that have worked for your
competitors in the past. This could provide information about how to develop and
monitor competition.
➢ Postal surveys – this method may involve handing surveys to customers and asking for
them to be returned by post or sending the surveys directly to their addresses.
Although you may be able to send surveys to a wide array of customers, response rates
are typically low, and you therefore cannot be sure that responses are representative
of the wider customer base. Offering gifts or entries into a competition is a method
used by many businesses to attempt to increase the response rate
There are three main problems with focus groups that the interviewer must control:
➢ Preventing one person from dominating the group, for example if an individual
continually interrupts others
➢ Not obtaining answers from the entire group for each question; you should ensure the
fullest coverage of the topic.
Meetings could take place where feedback is passed on to employees about how they could improve
their customer service approach or individuals could ask their colleagues for feedback when they feel it
is necessary.
Employees will usually be aware if customers have made complaints or have been dissatisfied with the
service, so regularly questioning employees can help to identify any issues.
Questioning customers
Speaking with customers has been highlighted as a vital method in obtaining information about their
needs, expectations and satisfaction levels. You could for example speak to them face-to-face at the
location of your business or where you are holding an event, through postal, telephone, or online
surveys, or in focus groups.
➢ Empathy – the ability to understand and appreciate the circumstances of the customer
by placing yourself in their shoes
➢ Fairness – being able to treat all customers with the same level of respect, regardless
of their circumstances
➢ Clear instructions and information – the ability to provide the customer with the
information that they are seeking
➢ Options and alternatives – when the needs of the customer cannot be immediately
met, it is important to provide them with alternatives.
In relation to satisfaction levels of customers, this refers to how pleased they have been with the service
provided by your business. When employees have met the needs and expectations of the customer,
their satisfaction levels should be much higher than if their needs are not met.
Activity 1A
The key features you may need to get feedback on for a product includes:
➢ Reliability
➢ Convenience of use
➢ Aesthetic qualities
➢ Durability
➢ Safety
➢ Price.
Staff feedback
Gaining feedback from staff
It is important not to forget to consult with staff members when seeking feedback about products and
services. Employees on the front line will have detailed knowledge about the goods or services being
provided by your organisation, and are likely to have their own opinions about which goods and services
are of good quality and which are not. Furthermore, staff will regularly receive feedback from
customers such as compliments about products and services, as well as issues and complaints, so they
should be able to provide an insight into the thoughts of customers. This can be especially useful when
widespread customer feedback is not available.
If working in a large organisation where there are not meetings between all employees, it might be
useful to have smaller meetings between staff and a supervisor or team leader. From there, the team
leader or supervisor can report back examples of customer feedback to senior employees.
External customers are those that are usually thought of when using the term ‘customer;’ they are
those that come from outside the business to visit attractions, use services and buy products. External
customers are vital to the success of the business, as they are usually the main source of revenue
through purchases. Such customers can come from many avenues, such as individuals who directly
come to the place of business to buy products or services, and people who make transactions to your
organisation online.
Internal customers on the other hand are those that work within the internal departments of your
organisation or rely on the product or service that you are responsible for supplying. Individuals who
can be classified as internal customers will vary depending on the type of industry you work in.
➢ Suppliers
➢ Chefs
➢ Waiters
➢ Receptionists
➢ Cleaners
➢ Marketing officers.
With external customers, surveys can take place in similar methods to those discussed in section 1.1.
For example, questions can be administered face-to-face, through postal, telephone, or online surveys,
and in focus groups.
With internal customers, questions can be selected based on the type of individual and their role within
the organisation. Taking the example hospitality again, the type of survey you would administer to a
chef would be different to that provided to a receptionist; they work within different areas and are
likely to have greatly varying experiences in terms of interaction with external customers.
Of course there will be situations where complaints have been made where no changes are required,
such as if the problem was a one off with a particular service or if you feel the complaint was not
justified. Even in such situations, the complaint should be reviewed by relevant individuals and attempts
for improvement should be made.
Suppliers
Your suppliers are important stakeholders that you should listen to about improving products. This may
be in relation to the type and quality of goods you want them to supply to your business, or you might
enter into discussions about changing the specifications of goods in response to other feedback and
demand.
➢ Through e-mail
➢ On a company noticeboard
Activity 1B
For example:
➢ If there is a vast growth in sales, new management structures may be required with
new divisions or departments
Recruitment practices
One of the crucial aspects of developing and improving your customer service comes through the
recruitment process. Rather than hiring individuals without a regard for how they will interact with
members of the public, you need to keep their communication skills in mind as this will ultimately lead
to better relations with customers and less of a need for training.
➢ Have they maintained a job role in the past for a reasonable length of time?
Another decision that may need to be made when developing quality service is whether internal
recruitment is sufficient or if external recruitment is required. Internal recruitment is the act of filling
vacancies by selecting an individual who already works within the business, while external recruitment
is the hiring of an individual from outside the organisation.
➢ It is less expensive
However, if the business is going through growth, internal promotion will simply leave another position
vacant further down the hierarchy. A recruitment drive might be required if the business intends to
build its workforce numbers to account for increases in demand.
➢ It can potentially provide an insight into competitors if the recruits have worked in the
same industry in the past.
Using the methods set out in section 1.1, think about how you can assess the competitor and ensure
that you can retain your own customers. What have they done to increase sales and what actions could
you take to implement similar strategies?
In terms of product or service preferences, you may need to alter the goods available to purchase in
order to maintain customer satisfaction. For example, if you are running or events or work in hospitality,
it is a good idea to continually look for ways to improve the food and drink available. Utilise feedback
from surveys or wider market surveys to assess what is currently popular, or what people prefer to eat
and drink at certain times of year. Similarly, if you are running a tourist based business, what are the
major attractions or activities that people are interesting in seeing or undertaking? If you are unaware
of what is popular and cannot provide people with their desires, then you are likely to lose business to
your competitors.
The level of customer service that individuals are expected to receive rarely alters over time; they
expect to receive a high level of service and to be treated with expectations set out in section 1.1, such
as respect and empathy.
However, changes to preferences may include for example the type of feedback that people expect to
receive from queries or complaints. With the use of social media becoming a more prominent source of
communication between customers and business, the expected response time has shortened in
comparison to traditional routes of communication such as e-mails or letters.
Economic climate
The economic climate at any given time will play a large part in the service
provided by an organisation. Generally, during periods of growth people are more
willing to spend money on the fields of tourism, travel, hospitality and events, and
this will impact on the service delivery. Similarly, during times of austerity you may
notice a downturn in income, and actions will have to be taken to minimise costs
and limit waste.
If there is a change in the economy whereby spending decreases, then depending on your product
and/or service, you may find that your customers no longer purchase your product. This downturn in
spending shall be reflected in your allocated budget. If there is a decrease in the demand for your
product, then you will no longer need to supply as many, thus your budget will usually shrink. Financial
information found in financial reports such as the profit and loss statement will demonstrate when
there is a decrease in profits.
Depending on the size and function of your organisation, the financial information that you keep will
vary.
However, financial information that you may need to monitor could include:
➢ Budgets
➢ Ratio analysis
➢ Budget forecasts
➢ Balance sheets
When reviewing financial information, as with any other sort of reviewing, it is important to identify the
variations in the reports and then try to identify the causes of these variations. It is only when you
identify the causes of the variations that you will be able to identify how to correct the variations and
alter your service delivery.
If you believe new technologies can heighten the customer experience when dealing with your business,
then utilising the advancements is recommended, however it is best to weigh up the advantages and
disadvantages before changing your delivery methods.
➢ Will there be any difficulties caused in the changeover from old to new technologies?
➢ What are the short term and long term financial implications of the technologies?
Activity 1C
It is important not to be overly critical of staff members when they highlight cases where customers
have complained to them in the past. Instead, a mentality of continuous improvement should exist
whereby all members of staff attempt to develop the quality of service provided.
Meetings
You could organise meetings at regular intervals to both
seek and provide feedback to employees about
customer service. This might be the primary focus of the
meetings or customer service could be highlighted as
part of general workplace meetings.
If the same issues are being brought forward among a number of staff members, then there may be an
overarching issue within the business that needs to be rectified. This could range from the pricing of
goods or services, the quality of goods or services, or the quality of customer service.
Situations where staff members can be included in the development of practices include:
➢ The development of staff training
Activity 1D
Policies
Policies refer to statements that are normally short and clear, regarding how your organisation intends
to conduct its services and actions. Policies therefore summarize why actions are taken, incorporating
any regulatory requirements. A policy for each area does not need to be more than a few sentences,
and they act as a guiding mechanism for decision making with companies.
Procedures
Procedures are more detailed, and highlight how policies will be put into action within your
organisation. They can be set out in a list or a series of steps that ought to be taken in order to put
policies into place.
Policies may exist within your organisation based on a number of different things. This could range for
example from greeting customers upon the point of first contact to when responding to customer
queries and complaints.
➢ Loyalty programs
➢ Product quality
➢ Response times.
Legal requirements
When developing new workplace policies and procedures, it is necessary to consider relevant consumer
protection laws. The following are examples of legal requirements that many organisations must abide
by.
The ADMA website provides this explanation of the Direct Marketing Codes of Practice;
“The ADMA Code of Practice was developed to set standards of conduct for direct marketers, minimise
the risk of breaching legislation, promote a culture of best practice, serve as a benchmark in settling
disputes and increase business and consumer confidence in doing business with ADMA members who
are bound to the provisions of the Code.” (30/05/2016)
The treasury.gov.au website provides this overview of the Australian E-Commerce Best Practice Model;
“The Australian E-commerce Best Practice Model sets standards for consumer protection in e-commerce.
It provides industry groups and individual businesses with a voluntary model code of conduct for dealing
with consumers online, which is underpinned in several areas by legislative requirements.” (30/05/2016)
Activity 1E
2.3. Monitor customer service in the workplace to ensure standards are met
2.6. Act as a positive role model for professional standards expected of service industry personnel
Communicating to staff
Once a range of policies and procedures have been developed to develop the levels of customer service
within your organisation, the next step is to communicate them to all relevant stakeholders. The most
significant stakeholder to inform the changes to is staff members, as they are the ones who are
generally responsible for interacting with customers. It may also be useful to inform others of changes
though, such as supervisors, managers, and directors, who will be interested in the ongoing
development of the company.
➢ Through e-mail
➢ In letters or notes.
In larger organisations you may decide it would be time-consuming to speak to everyone individually,
and therefore communicating policies could take place in small or large groups.
If there are different groups of employees with varying expectations, it could still be useful for them to
listen to policies for other employees.
➢ Some employees may change job roles or be asked to support another member of staff
in a role they are not accustomed to, thus making the transferral process easier
➢ A customer may ask a member of staff a question that is outside of their usual job role,
so they will have some knowledge of the correct procedures for response.
A potential drawback of this method is that staff members may feel reluctant to question the details in
front of others, particularly in a large group. Additionally, you may have to organise a number of
meeting to communicate policy changes to take account of different working times of employees.
Through e-mail
Sending employees an e-mail documenting changes to customer service practices can overcome issues
in relation to individuals being absent from the meeting, as all workers will receive the e-mail. However,
not all workers may take notice of the e-mail, especially if they feel it is not specifically directed at them.
To overcome this, you could ensure that employees see the e-mail as being significant, either by writing
so in the subject bar or by clicking on a button that places the message under high importance, usually
resulting in a red flag or explanation mark appearing by the
message.
Alternatively, staff members could log into the business’s intranet to view aspects of policy, or they
could be printed out and left at appropriate places around the workplace. Customers who are
interested in viewing customer service procedures could do so by asking at an information desk, if one is
available.
➢ Encourage staff and customers to suggest any changes to the policies and procedures
in order to heighten customer satisfaction.
Activity 2A
2.3 – Monitor customer service in the workplace to ensure standards are met
Meetings
As mentioned previously, meetings can provide a useful opportunity to reflect on customer service
levels. Individuals should be comfortable with reviewing their own performance and may also be able to
make comments about their colleagues. Constructive feedback should be encouraged as this can help to
improve communication levels with customers.
➢ Providing an identification
If enough time is available, you should have a discussion with all staff members who are responsible for
speaking to customers about their performance and how they could improve. If this is not possible, a
wider meeting ought to take place where the most common issues are highlighted.
Nevertheless, the inspector could perform some of the role mentioned above, such as monitoring
written communication and phone calls with customers as well as suppliers and other businesses.
Looking at complaints
Assessing the numbers and types of complaints that your company has received can act as a useful
point of information for customer service levels. You should record the average number of complaints
prior to new policies being introduced and check to see whether there has been an impact on complaint
levels at certain periods afterwards. Be careful not to automatically view an increase in complaints as a
sign that customer service levels have dropped though. Complaints could be in relation to the quality of
the product provided rather than customer service. Furthermore, if you experience a large increase in
customer numbers, you might experience an increase in complaints even though average number of
complaints per customer has remained the same or fallen.
Activity 2B
Staff Training
Improving sales or production might require an increase in the customer service skills of your staff. A
number of options exist that can help you to develop employees, and this may vary based on the size of
the organisation, the number of staff needing development, and the financial resources available. Ask
yourself what do you want to be achieved through development? Where are your staff at now and
where do you want them to be? Do you have the resources available to improve customer service skills
on site or is external development required?
Staff training usually focuses on either improving the overall customer service skills of employees or
helping them to develop technical skills, such as understanding how to make the most of new
technology or equipment.
Mentoring
Mentoring is a method that can be used within businesses to support professional development. This
usually takes place between two individuals, although the ‘mentor’ can have a number of ‘mentees’ at
any time. The person taking the role of mentor is normally an experienced individual who has a lot of
knowledge about the industry, such as if they have been working within the tourism industry for a
number of years. This person has the purpose of sharing their knowledge and advice with a less
experienced individual, or someone who has had difficulties with their communication with customers.
Mentoring does not necessarily have to take place over a long period of time, and can be seen as a cost-
effective method of improving your business by using existing employees to support development.
Internal training
Similar to mentoring as it takes place within the workplace,
internal training involves staff members taking part in activities
and sessions in groups to develop customer service skills.
One of the common yet beneficial activities that can take place
within group sessions is practicing active listening.
➢ Paraphrasing: rephrasing what a customer has just said to confirm you understand
rather than acting on what you think they meant
➢ Reflecting feelings: using phrases to demonstrate you understand how the customer is
feeling; this shows empathy and that you're paying attention
This could take place through employees taking on the roles of customer and staff member and
practicing situations where the customer requires assistance.
A major benefit of internal training is that role plays and examples can be applied to the organisation of
the workers, whereas external training may apply to the industry on the whole. A disadvantage though
is that there may not be people within the business who have experience of delivering training or
designing a training schedule.
External training
A further opportunity for staff to participate in customer service development is through external
training, such as sending them to workshops or courses run by external agencies. The benefit of this
method is that the people running the course or workshop are likely to be experienced at training
people within customer service roles. They should have a detailed understanding of what it is that
customers look for when interacting with employees in a range of industries and the methods of
transferring these skills to workers.
➢ The time spent away from the workplace may result in reduced productivity.
Activity 2C
Taking responsibility
It has been made clear previously that all workers within an organisation have
the duty to deliver a high level of service and take account for their actions.
However, the majority of businesses will also have people in senior
management positions taking overall responsibility for service outcomes and
dispute resolution. Managers are likely to be responsible for the development
and administration of policies and procedures, so when they are ineffective, the
accountability should fall with a certain person or group of people, who can
then make appropriate resolutions.
Identifying responsibilities
The methods of declaring responsibilities for service outcomes and instances of disputes will vary
between different organisations and between industries. They may be stated in any policies and
procedures that have been developed. For example, a single manager or a number of managers may
take overall responsibility for inadequate customer service. Alternatively, a team leader might take the
blame if it has been found that a problem only exists within a certain group of employees. This will
depend on the size of organisations though.
A further method of declaring responsibilities is through individual job descriptions. There should be a
clear description stating what role the individual has in customer service and issue resolution.
➢ Providing customers with alternate products or services when their preferred choice is
not available.
Acting as a positive role model for professional standards is important for the following reasons:
➢ It sets a standard for other works to follow
➢ It can help to build respect between staff lower down the hierarchy and managers
seeing as the managers are modelling the behaviour they are asking of others
➢ Customers can often take the behaviour of a manager or senior member of staff as a
representation of the entire organisation
➢ It can help workers to further appreciate the key aspects of quality customer service,
such as empathy, friendliness and fairness.
Activity 2D
3.3. Identify systemic customer service problems and adjust policies and procedures to improve
service quality
3.4. Develop, document and communicate new approaches to customer service to staff involved in
service delivery
3.1 – Seek ongoing feedback from staff and customers to improve performance
Remember the policies and procedures mentioned in section 1.5 that you may need to gain ongoing
feedback about;
➢ Authority for different level personnel to resolve complaints, disputes, service issues and
customer compensation
➢ Loyalty programs
➢ Product quality
➢ Response times.
Staff
From the point of view of staff members, who are responsible for taking new polices and methods
learned through training into account when dealing with customers, you should aim to find out whether
they have noticed any differences.
o following a complaint
➢ Job satisfaction.
As when collecting information before policies and procedures are adapted or introduced, there are a
range of methods you can use to obtain feedback.
➢ Frequent e-mails
Customers
Speaking to customers about any changes to service delivery is
even more important, and can act as a valuable approach for
gaining further areas to improve upon. The thoughts and opinions
could be sought at the business location, such as if they have just
used the service or have bought goods, or through a range of
survey methods. The key point to remember about carrying out
surveys is that the data needs to be valid, that is, does the data
collected about customer service truly reflect the opinions of
customers?
In order to maximise validity, you should gain feedback from a large range of customers using a sample
that takes a cross section of the population.
➢ Have they noticed any differences in customer service over a given length of time?
Activity 3A
The methods of measuring effectiveness are also similar to those discussed in section 2.3, and the
feedback highlighted in section 3.1 can also provide useful information when determining whether your
businesses policies are effective.
o meetings
o individual conversations
o e-mail feedback
o in person
o online
o telephone
o postal
➢ Benchmarking.
Successful companies will utilise a range of these methods in order to develop a detailed picture of the
quality of customer service being provided.
Assessing data
After collating all of the data you have received and observing the results, it is important to be impartial
and strive for perfection. If for example you have collected customer feedback through surveys with
questions asking the respondents to rate the business on a variety of aspects from 1 to 10, then you
need to make a decision as to what is acceptable. If you received an average rating of 7 in regards to
product quality, would you view this as a success? Can you look at the results more closely and establish
which products in particular were rated highly and which were not? It is important to continually seek
more information so that your business practices can improve and you will stay above your competition.
Benchmarking
While the majority of the techniques mentioned to determine customer service
quality are based on the collection of data, you should also look to use
benchmarking. This is the process of observing the standards of other companies,
and comparing them to your own progress. It is best to focus on the companies
that hold the highest market share within your industry, as this will help you to
compete with the market leaders.
As mentioned in section 1.1, you could do the following to assess the practices of your competitors:
➢ Watch their social network activity - for example to see how they are interacting with
their followers and whether they are potentially attracting some of your own customers
through offers and deals
➢ Speak to your customers – this is an often overlooked method of gaining information
on competitors. It could take place through face-to-face discussion or through focus
groups. If you have attracted a new customer, you might for example ask people what it
was that led them to your company and why they were dissatisfied with another
company. This information could then be applied to customer service management as
you may discover actions to avoid
➢ Visit your competitors directly – you might decide it is beneficial to attend an event
held by your competitors or utilise their services if you feel that it will help to gain an
insight into their customer service approach
➢ Hire your competition – it can be useful to hire employees that have worked for your
competitors in the past. This could provide information about how to develop and
monitor competition.
If you feel that your business offers an exceptional level of customer service, and this has been
supported from feedback from staff and customers, as well as sales figures, then it might be possible to
seek accreditation for being a leader in customer service.
Activity 3B
3.3 – Identify systemic customer service problems and adjust policies and
procedures to improve service quality
Even though employees who deal with customers on a regular basis have little bearing over these
technical issues, they can still greatly impact on the satisfaction of customers. Websites that fail to
operate correctly or goods not being received as intended can cause frustration and annoyance to
customers, and can result in them seeking alternative businesses.
As a result, it is crucial to identify systemic customer service problems and adjust your policies and
procedures as needed. Depending on the resources available to your organisation, it can be highly
beneficial to employ technicians who can promptly resolve technical issues that can impact on customer
service.
Activity 3C
In addition to informing staff of what the new approaches are, you should let them know about the
following:
➢ Why there has been a need for alteration
➢ What training they will require to gain the skills needed to deliver new approaches.
Activity 3D
Summative Assessments
At the end of your Learner Workbook, you will find the Summative Assessments.
This includes:
➢ Skills assessment
➢ Knowledge assessment
➢ Performance assessment.
This holistically assesses your understanding and application of the skills, knowledge and performance
requirements for this unit. Once this is completed, you will have finished this unit and be ready to move
onto the next one – well done!