Client Care Flashcards
(33 cards)
What is a stakeholder?
A person or organisation who has an interest in the project.
What do you understand by client care?
A continuous process of understanding client’s requirements, suggestions, complaints, etc. and analysing to enhance service delivery. This can include:
- Understanding client needs and requirements
- Complaint handling procedures
- Quality Assurance procedures
- Key performance indicators
- Client satisfaction questionnaires
- Looking out for a client’s best interests
- Client feedback meetings
- Lessons learned workshops
- Identifying the appropriate scope of service
- Defining the client brief
Why is client care important?
- To retain existing clients and secure repeat business
- Reduce the likelihood of conflict
- Maintain a strong reputation within the industry and so attract further clients
How do you conduct yourself with a new client?
- Well mannered
- Well presented
- Friendly and enthusiastic
- Respectful
How do you build trust with the client?
- Learn about your client and their objectives
- Only act within your level of competence
- Always act in a professional manner
- Always provide a high level of service
- Be transparent
- Being open and honest
What is the difference between a client and the customer?
The main difference between a customer and a client is that a protective, ongoing business relationship is formed with a client, but not necessarily with a customer.
What is the term ‘soft landings’ referring to?
A strategy to ensure the transition from construction to occupation is ‘bump-free’ and operational performance is optimised.
Please detail some of the quality management systems you have implemented on your projects.
- PEPs
- Contractor payment schedules
- Using standardized contract administration forms
- Reporting templates
- Following industry guidance and advisory notes
- Following company policy and procedures
What is a lesson learnt workshop?
Review a recent failing or success on a project.
- Put a procedure in place to prevent the failing happening again, or
- Review the success and share with others.
What is your company’s procedure for obtaining formal client feedback?
- Inform the client they will be invited to provide feedback on the team
- Identify a feedback champion who will be responsible for undertaking the feedback sessions with the client (should be PD or above and not already involved in the project to eliminate any bias and provide an independent review).
- Complete the form for Project Feedback Survey Request and add your Client’s email.
- Arrange a suitable time and date for the feedback session
- Arrange a pre-meet with the feedback champion to provide a brief overview of the project status, team and any current issues on the project.
- Feedback champion undertakes session and submits the feedback scores and comments via email.
- Arrange a post meet with the feedback champion to discuss feedback received and identify areas for continuous improvement.
- Make the client aware of any actions taken.
- Set a reminder in the diary to repeat the process in a few months.
How do you act upon feedback received from a client?
- The feedback should be formally recorded in some way
- Share the positives and discuss how negatives can be improved upon
- If the feedback is negative, then it needs to be verified and the necessary course of action taken to correct going forward
- Ensure feedback is fed back into the company through the lessons learned process
- Review the improvement in 6 months or another suitable period
What are KPIs?
- Key Performance Indicators
- Can be used to measure supply chain performance
- Can be used to benchmark business performance against others
Can you provide examples of a KPI?
- Number of defects / snags
- Construction cost overrun
- Achieving programme milestones
- H&S scores
- Use of local labour
Why is it important to maintain existing client relationships rather than just building new ones?
- A large percentage of commissions are ‘won’ through repeat business.
- Maintaining and building existing relationships will promote a positive image of the individual and the company
How do you manage your client’s expectations?
- Agreeing on strategy, goals and timelines
- Being open and honest
- Offering advice and direction within the scope of service
- Being a good listener and understanding expectations
- Regularly communicating and addressing problems directly
What is a complaint?
An expression of dissatisfaction. Complaints generally arise when expectations have not been met.
Does the RICS have any rules associated with complaints?
Rule 7 for firms. A firm shall operate a complaint handling procedure and maintain a complaints log. The complaints handling procedure must include an ADR mechanism that is approved by the Regulatory board.
You receive a formal complaint from a client in writing, at what point should your firm notify the insurance company?
As soon as possible.
How would you deal with a complaint from a client?
- Acknowledge receipt of the complaint.
- Notify the complaint handling manager.
- Appoint a person to carry out an investigation.
- Identify the outcome and course of action to rectify.
- Formally respond to the client, communicate outcomes and course of action for correction.
- If the client is unhappy with the outcome, they have the right for separate review or mediation.#- If the client is still unhappy, they have the right to refer to independent dispute resolution.
- Communicate the lessons learned internally.
- Review at predetermined date in the future.
Inform the PI insurers of the complaint at each stage of the process.
Has RICS published any information on handling client’s money?
Client money handling - professional statement - effective Jan 2020
What are the objectives of the client money handling professional statement?
The overall objective of this professional statement is that RICS members and RICS regulated firms understand their obligations to ensure:
- client money is kept safe
- client money accounts are used for appropriate purposes only
- RICS-regulated firms have the appropriate controls and procedures to safeguard client money
What is meant by client’s money?
Money of any currency (whether in form of cash, cheque, draft or electronic transfer) that:
- A RICS regulated firm holds or receives on behalf of another person, including money held by a regulated firm as stakeholder and,
- is not immediately due and payable on demand to the RICS-regulated firm for its own account
What information would you expect to see in a client’s brief?
- Services required
- Insurances required
- Terms of appointment
- Duration of appointment
- Client procedures and policies
- Key drivers for success
What might be excluded from a consultant’s fee proposal?
- VAT
- Dealing with claims
- Services which are not required
