Individual Skills Audit and Development Plan

Skills Audit in Customer Service

Skills audit is a systematic process of identifying and assessing an individual’s skills and competencies.
It helps to identify an employee’s current skill levels and the gap between their existing skills and the skills required for their job role.
Commonly evaluated skills in customer service roles include communication, problem-solving, empathy, and technological competence.
It uses various methods such as questionnaires, interviews, observations, or performance reviews.
The outcomes of a skills audit can inform training and development strategies, which aim to help employees better perform their roles.

A Personal Development Plan (PDP) is a document that outlines an individual’s development goals and the actions necessary to achieve them.
The plan should be realistic, attainable, and aligned with both personal ambitions and the goals of the business.
The PDP often includes targets for improvement, actions to achieve these targets, a timescale for achievement, and a method for recording progress and success.
It is a dynamic document that should be reviewed and updated regularly in response to changing goals, circumstances, or skills needs.

A well-structured PDP can lead to improved performance in a customer service role, enhancing the individual’s ability to meet and exceed customer expectations.
It ensures continuous learning, helping customer service personnel adapt to changes in products, services, or customer needs.
A PDP can increase job satisfaction, motivation, and engagement, leading to a better customer experience.

Development opportunities in customer service could involve in-house training, mentoring, e-learning, workshops or further education.
Training could focus on areas such as developing product knowledge, building negotiation skills, learning new customer interaction techniques, or using customer service technologies.
Taking advantage of these opportunities can help individuals build on their existing skills, develop new competencies, and excel in their customer service role.