Customer Services Team Lead

Key purpose:

This profile provides indicative details pertaining to the roles key outputs and candidate fit. This is not an exhaustive list of tasks that the role holder may encounter, or an exact competency or person profile match. The profile serves only to provide a generic typical role description for a role of this nature, together with likely competency proficiencies and candidate profile criteria to achieve success in the role. The profile aids in the alignment of outputs across the Shoprite Group and is subject to a variety of reasonable additional outputs per operational requirements.

Duties and responsibilities:

• Supporting and participating in the design and development of the customer service strategy for the Shoprite Group in collaboration with other contact centre leaders and teams to ensure that we place the customer at the centre - delivering on our goal of being customer centric in everything we do!
• Within the context of the smaller team of Customer Services Agents assigned to the team - operationally overseeing and embedding a customer centric culture underpinned by best-in-class customer service experience.
• Being a role model to the team in terms of what great customer service looks like interacting directly with customers to support escalations and develop the teams capacity to deal with a variety of service requests with a first call resolution. Aligning with the Customer Services Manager to ensure support is provided as required within the broader team context.
• Maintaining and improving customer services operations by participating in setting targets and effectively collaborating with other role players in the team to understand and execute effectively on the below operational impacting focus areas within the team context:
• Effectively ensuring compliance with operational guidelines and updated all team documentation to ensure the team is aligned with the company and teams values and policies etc.
• Identifying and working with other cross-functional stakeholders to remove barriers to great customer services.
• Resolving repeat call type escalations at the source to prevent future escalations.
• Effective scheduling - design, deliver and maintain all processes and policies relating to workforce. management to ensure the most efficient workload forecast and resource scheduling.
• Effective quality assurance inputs, remedy, and agent feedback / development.
• Co-creating effective methods for measuring quality and efficiency of the customer services team.
• Effective monitoring of system performance.
• Effective monitoring of workflows and interactions in the customer services team to ensure all interactions are resolved within the agreed turnaround times.
• In conjunction with other stakeholders - preparing and completing action plans; completing system audits and analyses; managing system and process improvement and quality assurance programs.
• Supporting regular compliance and audit checks are done to measure performance against targets across all channels and services.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives.
• Aligning with the Shoprite Group values and leadership behaviours.
• This role is all about PEOPLE customers and team members! Motivating and effectively performance coaching the customer services team to ensure customer service delivery excellence. Removing any barriers to achieving great customer services. Ensuring timeous escalation to the Customer Service Manager as required.
• Ensuring the team is adequately resources and that working schedules (time and attendance) and plans are accurately and timeously managed, coordinated and communicated with the team.
• Focussing efforts on the Agents to enable and empower them to deliver the best possible service to our customers.
• Focussing on the development of the specific allocated customer services team to deliver on evolving services to our customers against set KPIs and service standards and taking responsibility for learning and development initiatives within that customer service team.
• In partnership with the People Team and Customer Services Manager, ensure succession development plans are in place and take responsibility for the development of an operational talent pool by optimising the skills of the existing team.
• Supporting and participating in the enablement of an innovative, agile and customer centric culture where employees are supported, empowered, and valued within the customer services team.
• Supporting and participating in the enablement of an employee wellness culture to ensure that employees are supported mentally, physically, and emotionally.
• Supporting and participating in the enablement of a culture of open and transparent communication to ensure that employees are informed of developments timeously.
• Ensuring support and input (where relevant) to financial objectives by providing cost estimates and budget inputs.
• Providing input where applicable the customer service teams operational costs and budget.
• Providing and sharing relevant insights to shape customer experiences and respond to their preferences.
• Together with other stakeholders, support the preparation of performance reports, and report to the Customer Services Manager as required on a daily/weekly/monthly on:
• Customer escalations / complaint trends
• Reputational risk issues
• Scheduling variances versus performance impacts
• Interactions, trends, and opportunities
• Daily/weekly/monthly insight with recommendations for improvement
• Ensuring that the specifically allocated customer services team complies with relevant regulations (people, customers etc.) and organisational governance frameworks and standards.
• Support with the operational implementation (where relevant): structures, policies, processes, procedures, and frameworks as aligned with organisational and team requirements and directed by the Customer Services Manager.
• Ongoing participation in the identification and mitigation of risks related to customer service delivery team.
• Providing inputs and writing resource motivations with supporting information to ensure that the Customer Services team is appropriately structured and resourced to deliver on its mandate with the right people in the right roles with the right capabilities at the right time.
• Providing inputs and ideas re: technology requirements to enable a seamless customer experience.
• Ensuring alignment with the customer services team effective flow of work with other functional areas across the Contact Centre.
• Supporting strong foundations on which to build the continuous development, improvement, efficiency, and success including an environment that fosters innovation and delivery. Ensuring that the Shoprite Group remains contemporary in customer services practices.

Qualifications and experience:

• Degree in Consumer behaviour, Communications, Business or equivalent - (beneficial).
• +2 years in a customer service operational, team lead capacity in a Group Call Centre, Customer Interfacing, Customer Support Centre, or equivalent role - (essential).
• Experience within the FMCG, retail sector or similar - (preferred).
• Demonstrable passion for People! Knowledge of Customer Contact / Call Centre practices within the FMCG, retail sector, understanding of the practicalities and challenges of a customer services environment in this context- (essential).
• We value practical experience and exposure, if a candidate does not have a degree, demonstrable relevant experience will be considered. An extensive and proven track record in a customer service operational, team lead capacity in a Group Call Centre, Customer Interfacing, Customer Support Centre function (or equivalent role) - demonstrating knowledge of trending practices in this context - (essential).