Employability Skills Report: Customer Service Executive at Tesco Plc

This report examines the employability skills essential for a customer service executive, focusing on the development of responsibilities and performance objectives within Tesco Plc. It delves into self-assessment using SWOT analysis, identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Recommendations for improvement are provided, targeting areas such as time management and technical skills. The report also explores various motivational theories and their application in enhancing individual and team performance. Furthermore, it addresses work-based problem-solving, communication strategies at different organizational levels, and effective time management techniques. The analysis extends to team dynamics, including role-playing scenarios, conflict resolution, and alternative task completion methods. Finally, the report outlines tools and methods for developing solutions and evaluating their potential impact on business outcomes.

EMPLOYABILITY
SKILLS
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................................3
TASK 1.................................................................................................................................................3
1.1 Determining of responsibilities and performance objectives....................................................3
1.2 Evaluating own effectiveness against objectives.......................................................................4
1.3 Recommendations for improvement..........................................................................................4
1.4 Different motivational theories..................................................................................................4
TASK 2 ................................................................................................................................................5
2.1 Solutions to work based problems.............................................................................................5
2.2 Communicating in different styles at various levels..................................................................5
2.3 Time management strategies......................................................................................................6
TASK 3 ................................................................................................................................................6
3.1 Role play of team.......................................................................................................................6
3.2 Analysing team dynamics..........................................................................................................7
3.3 Alternative ways to complete tasks............................................................................................7
TASK 4.................................................................................................................................................7
4.1 Tools and methods for developing solutions.............................................................................7
4.2 Appropriate strategy for resolving problem...............................................................................8
4.3 Evaluating with potential impact on business by implementing the strategy............................8
CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES...................................................................................................................................10
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INTRODUCTION
The employability skills refers to those transferable abilities required by an individual to get
the desired job in specific industry. It can be further defined as abilities, knowledge and attributes
needed to get employment and to be able to adapt, progress and gain knowledge successfully in
particular employment and thereby rendering advantage directly to person, employer and the
economy (Houston, 2005). In this report, various aspects of employability skills will be studied.
Here, learning will be shown regarding development of set of own responsibilities and performance
objectives. Thereafter, communication styles used at different level will be explained. The
knowledge regarding team dynamics will be shown.
TASK 1
1.1 Determining of responsibilities and performance objectives
Presently, I am working as customer service executive at Tesco Plc. Being a part of reputed
entity I have certain duties and responsibilities to fulfil. Therefore, I require good amount of skills
and knowledge that will help me in performing better. In order to meet the expectation of my
employer, I have developed a set of own responsibilities and performance objectives which is as
follows:
Job title: Customer service executive
Roles and Responsibilities:
 To use own skills and experience to assure that entity renders the highest standards of
service to customers
 To develop healthy relationship with customers by meeting their different needs in best
possible way (Jackling and Natoli, 2015).
 To resolve the issues faced by customers as per the business policies and guidelines.
 To help the business in improving the sales by rendering proper information about company
offering to customer and thereby help in making a decision about product to buy.
 To boost the morale of all the employees so they showcase the extreme standards if service
at all timed.
 To manage the team of customer service representatives and also help in staffing and
development of new members in the team (Stoner and Milner, 2010).
Performance objectives
 To resolve the maximum complaints of customers and maintain their interest within the
company.
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 To enhance the sales of business by assuring proper information among customers.
1.2 Evaluating own effectiveness against objectives
The own effectiveness against the defined objectives will be determined in the present
section with the help of SWOT analysis which is showcased as follows:
Strength
 Strong writing skills
 Effective interpersonal skills
 Positive traits
 Education, knowledge and other
competence
 Good networking contacts
Weakness
 Ineffective decision making skills
 Lack of technical knowledge
 Lack of time management skills
 Weak motivation skills
 Poor presentation skills
 Lacking corporate communication skills
Opportunities
 Training and development session
 Positive trends in my field
 Apprenticeship programs
 Participation in educational program
 Self learning
Threats
 Job cutting in company
 Lack of support from superiors
 Negative trends in my field
 Lack of availability of resources required
for development
1.3 Recommendations for improvement
From the above SWOT analysis, it has been identified that I am lacking in various areas
which further prevent me from attaining the industry standards. From the assessment it has been
identified that I am required to work upon my weakness as they will prevent me from attaining
personal as well as professional goals. My technical skills and knowledge can be improved through
training and development sessions. While, communication skills can be upgraded by participation in
seminars, group discussions etc. In order to improve my poor time management skill I can prepare
work chart or prioritise task. Thereafter, I can use my strength like interpersonal skills etc. to
develop good relationship with customers and enhance sales of business etc. In order to manage my
team more effectively I can take help of various motivational theories and rewards. Thereafter, I can
also enrol myself in any educational course so as to develop more knowledge and understanding. In
order to improve above mentioned weakness it can be recommended that I should use to learn
motivational theories and interact more number of people. Higher attraction will lead to enhance
communication skills as well as motivate me which helps to increase and overcome my weaknesses.
1.4 Different motivational theories
Motivational skill can be defined as the quality of individual to influence other to render
their best performance happily. With the assistance of motivation skills I can not only assure
superior quality of own performance but also boost and support others to give their best outcomes. I
can use motivational skills to encourage my subordinates to assist in accomplishment of gross
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objectives of company which indirectly help them in meeting their individual goal. I can use self
motivation skills to inspire own self to give top-grade performance which result in increase in self
esteem. Thus, I will be able to execute the activity more efficaciously without wastage of resources.
In this respect, I should consider the effective work performed by me and recognition and rewarded
that I got from my superiors. It will further rise my morale and help in performing beyond my
potential in future. Self motivational skill is tool where I able to know needs and wants at every
steps according to the Maslow's theory. Further, it helps to me in order to set goals at every stage of
decision making. It pushes me in order to achieve goals and objectives as well as enhance quality of
life. Using self motivational skills I will be able to make commitment or balance between
professional and personal objectives.
TASK 2
2.1 Solutions to work based problems
There are large number of issues that are faced by me while working in my company. The
major issue recently faced by me is related to failure to resolve the complaint of some important
customers on time. The main reason for this was my poor time management. Also, due to lack of
support and coordination among customer executive team I was not able to handle the customer
complaints on time. In order to avoid such situation in future it is important for me to focus on my
performance and develop solution. First of all, I must prioritize the task as per their urgency and
importance to business. In this respect , I can take help of work char and also assure proper division
of work. Thereafter, there must be proper communication between me and my team members so I
cab know problems faced by them and resolve them on time.
Thus it is important for me to formulate with an efficient development plan to develop with
the skills and knowledge to a greater. Furthermore, I must go different trainings, seminars,
workshops etc. for brushing up my blacking skills. This will help me to become an efficient
employee and will ensure high performance level.
2.2 Communicating in different styles at various levels
Communication plays important role within the company as it facilitate in exchange of
important information required for the successful completion of task. The communication is
required at every business level to assure their smooth operations (Cassidy, 2006). In this respect at
strategic level there are various strategies and plans are prepared which are communicated to other
structural level. Therefore, to communicate at this level, formal methods must be used like,
reports,email, letter etc. the tactical level determine actions that must be taken to attain the goals
developed at strategic level. Therefore, emails group discussion, brain storming session can be used
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to facilitate communication. Further, to communicate at operational level one to one discussion,
notice board, memos and telecommunication can be used ( Trought, 201)
2.3 Time management strategies
Time management is important aspect that help a individual to complete the assigned task
within the provided deadline. It is important method of organizing and planning the ways time must
be divided between specific functions . With the aid of time management, the productivity and
efficiency of business and its members can be improved. There are different strategies of time
management which are explained as follows:
 Prioritization of work: As per this aspect the urgent and most important work must be
completed first. The work schedule can be prepared which will help in avoiding mistake of
missing important task(Venkateswarlu, 2012).
 Division of work: The work must be equally and properly distributed so as to avoid
overburden on specific person as it not only impact its efficiency to complete the task on
time but also result into poor quality of work (Wilton, 2011).
 Avoid multitasking: Too much time is wasted in switching from one task to other therefore,
one should avoid multi-tasking.
TASK 3
3.1 Role play of team
There are range of role that are played by me and other individual while being a part of
team. They are discussed as follows:
 Coordinator and collaborator role: It is crucial for team members to assure proper
coordination to complete work on time. The effective coordination also help in preventing
overlapping of activities and mismanagement (Trought, 2012).
 Conflict resolver role: The effectiveness of team is affected by the conflict among
members. Therefore, the issues must be resolved as when they arise. Team members should
also leave their personal grudges aside while working and thereby support in maintaining
positive work environment (Rao, 2010).
 Advisor role: To attain the mutually desirable goal effectively, it is important for me to
provide right advice and guidance to members. By this team members will get new
direction in professional life and they will be capable to work efficaciously with less
mistakes (Zepeda, 2013).
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3.2 Analysing team dynamics
The team dynamics refers to behavioural state among members of a group that are allotted
related tasks within a organization (Myres, 2011). The team dynamics must be formed as per the
working relationships of individual with other people, and the environment in which the team
works. The team dynamics are subject to the roles and responsibilities of members and have a direct
consequence on productivity. The team dynamics have direct affect on the profitability of company
as result of its outcomes on individual and team performance. The poor team dynamics can also
lead to increase in employee turnover rates and thus damage the goodwill of company. Since, the
overall performance of team relies on team dynamics, the management must focus on preventing
unproductive conflicts (Throop and Castellucci, 2010 ). Thus it is important for the company to
maintain an efficient relationships among the people so that they can work properly in the teams.
Moreover, they must also ensure that teams are been formulated as per the work given to them.
There must be regular monitoring of the employees at every level so as to develop with there skills
an ensure higher performance by the teamwork.
3.3 Alternative ways to complete tasks
There are different aspects that must be considered so as accomplish task within the
stipulated time duration. They are:
Well defined objectives: The vision of company and clear objective of company must be shared.
This will help in giving direction to overall efforts of people.
Division of work: In order to attain the mutually defined goals,it is important for members to share
duties and responsibilities. It further increase the productivity of overall team with joint efforts of
members (Pool and Sewell, 2007).
Engagement: With the effective engagement of team members, solution of problems can be
identified. Also, creative ideas can be evolved for further success.
TASK 4
4.1 Tools and methods for developing solutions
There are various tools that can be used to develop solutions to different issues. Such as,
there is issue of poor morale among team members. This is further leading to poor staff retention
rate. Therefore, various financial and non financial incentives can be used to motivate employees
(Jackling and Natoli, 2015). Further, employee must be empowered by assuring their involvement
in business decision making. There must be proper communication among members. Further to
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avoid the problem of time management,work schedule must be prepared by members. Furthermore,
there are several methods which can be used for resolving the major issues faced by the company.
They can motivate the employees by providing them efficient working environment and greater
resources so as to satisfy them to the fullest. This will reduce the employment turnover rate. In
addition to this, the managers must understand there values and beliefs so that they feel good at the
workplace.
4.2 Appropriate strategy for resolving problem
Following strategy can be considered for resolving particular problem
 Determining the problem: The main reason for the issue faced by entity must be defined.
For instance, the cause of poor retention can be lack of use of reward.
 Identifying the solution: The possible solution for the present issue must be identified.
Such as introduction of monetary and non monetary rewards (Andrews and Russell, 2012).
 Implementing the solution: With this aspect the identified solution must be implemented
within the company.
4.3 Evaluating with potential impact on business by implementing the strategy
The earlier determined strategy is highly efficient and is having the following affect on the
entity:
 The staff retention rate will be improved within the company as result of introduction of
financial and non financial incentives. This will highly benefit the firm as they do not have
to spend heavy amount on recruiting different people for the specific post.
 The positive work environment will be build as individual will compete for attaining
rewards. The individuals will perform to there best with the urge to increase there
incentives.
 The productivity of employees will be improved as they will give their best performance so
as to gain the different rewards introduced by business.
 The employees will be able to give their creative ideas for the better results to business.
 The productivity of the company will increase due to the high belongingness of the people
towards the achievement of the goals.
 It will help the company to a grow and develop there business to a greater level.
CONCLUSION
Concluding from the entire report, it can be stated that employability skills are very crucial
for individuals to achieve success in its professional career. With the help of these skills employee
can execute the allotted work in best way. The various roles played by individual within a team are
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coordinator, collaborator, conflict resolver, advisor. Team dynamics assure proper cooperation,
connection and cooperation among members which will help them in working in right manner
without conflict thus smoothly accomplishing the mutually desired objectives.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Andrews, G. and Russell, M., 2012. Employability skills development: strategy, evaluation and
impact. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning. 2(1). pp.33–44.
Cassidy, S., 2006. Developing employability skills: Peer assessment in higher education.
Education+ Training. 48(7). pp.508-517.
Houston, D., 2005. Employability, skills mismatch and spatial mismatch in metropolitan labour
markets. Urban Studies. 42(2). pp.221-243.
Jackling, B. and Natoli, R., 2015. Employability skills of international accounting graduates:
Internship providers’ perspectives. Education + Training. 57(7), pp.757–773.
Jackling, B. and Natoli, R., 2015. Employability skills of international accounting graduates:
Internship providers’ perspectives. Education + Training. 57(7). pp.757–773.
Pool, D. L. and Sewell, P., 2007. The key to employability: developing a practical model of
graduate employability. Education + Training. 49(4). pp.277–289.
Rao, S. M., 2010. Soft Skills: Enhancing Employability : Connecting Campus with Corporate. I. K.
International Pvt Ltd.
Stoner, G. and Milner, M., 2010. Embedding generic employability skills in an accounting degree:
development and impediments. Accounting Education: an international journal.19(1-2). pp.123-
138.
Throop, K. R. and Castellucci, M., 2010. Reaching Your Potential: Personal and Professional
Development. Cengage Learning.
Trought, F., 2012. Brilliant employability skills. Harlow, England: Pearson.
Trought, F., 2012. Brilliant Employability Skills. Pearson Education Limited.
Venkateswarlu, K., 2012. A Review on Employability Skills. IOSRJHSS. 2(5). pp.32-34.
Wilton, N., 2011. Do employability skills really matter in the UK graduate labour market? The case
of business an
Zepeda, J. S., 2013. Professional Development: What Works. Routledge.
Online
Myres, P., 2011. Team Dynamic. [PDF]. Available through:
<http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/team/dynamics/definition/>. [Accessed on 19th December,
2015].
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