I have been employed by the London Borough of Waltham Forest for over five years. My first role was within the contact centre where I was a Customer Service Advisor. I enjoyed this role as it was dealing with a wide range of people and was often a problem solving role. This helped my confidence when dealing with members of the public and enhanced my communication skills. I would often assist the register office where I would facilitate appointments to register births, deaths & marriages. Again, I would deal with enquiries and any problems. I found my role at the register office an interesting one; I would deal with enquiries from the immigration department and Home Office and soon understood the need for confidentiality. I understood the need for sensitivity when dealing with those persons who needed to register the death of a loved one. That role was a good foundation for my current post in the Coroner’s Court. I am the first point of contact for those who have suffered a bereavement that attend the coroner’s office. This is something I take very seriously. I feel it important to be appropriately dressed and conduct myself in a manner that is professional and empathetic. My current duties include, various administration tasks, which I will bullet point, along with dealing with medical professionals on the ‘phone and in person, legal representatives that attend the court for inquest hearings and assisting Her Majesty’s Coroner and the coroner’s officers with any other duties.

- Meet and greet at reception

- Disclose post mortem reports and inquisitional recordings

- Archiving and retrieving files

- Burning inquisitional proceedings onto CD

- Process and distributing post

- Arranging couriers

- Organizing Interpreters

- Monitoring and ordering office supplies

- Fire Safety checks

- Arranging jury summonses

- Organizing catering for jurors

I am an extremely organized person and prepare any work to a high standard. This has been acknowledged and commented on by Her Majesty’s Coroner and other officers. I appreciate the requirement for timescales and work accordingly to meet them. I have learnt the skill in disclosure and the format this should take.

When members of the public or properly interested parties request documents to be used at an inquest hearing, we have devised a spreadsheet system that allows easy access and understanding and clearly shows when the request was made, by whom, the reason and if a monetary charge is applicable. The spreadsheet allows any person, at a glance, to see the progress of such a request. This has been found to be extremely efficient. I will often manage, at the coroner’s request, her diary both personal and court. It is essential that this information should be accurate and up to date as it is sent to the web team for production online.

I have recently been trained on SAP which allows me to order supplies and book maintenance when required. At The Coroner’s Court we have devised a spreadsheet that allows us to monitor our spending to ensure spending is kept minimal whilst still getting best value for money.

In my previous role as a Customer Service Advisor I acquired skills in delivering excellent customer service to both internal and external customers. I motivated my colleagues and myself by ensuring that I kept up to date and understood all the alerts and processes. This kept my knowledge about legislations regarding registrars, mobility, fostering and adoption, education, housing and along with others up to date. I kept up to date with this through our intranet. In which this enabled me to provide excellent customer service. This has been acknowledged in a number of customer compliments and also recognized by the London Borough of Waltham Forest in my being awarded ‘Customer Service Advisor of the year’.

I am experienced in delivering front-faced customer service across the council’s offices such as The Town Hall, Silver Birch House and Sycamore House receptions. I built a respected rapport with many senior managers, councillors and MP’s during my time covering this position. I also made bookings using ‘FM Easy’ for council training and meetings.

I responded to public emails in depth showing great written communication skills. I ensure that the pigeon holes are kept tidy and well stocked so that myself and other colleagues stay organized. Another duty that I completed was minute taking in monthly team meetings, in which I enjoyed as I could take ownership of this role.

When at work I made sure I was always using my initiative, even whilst working in a fast paced environment. I responded to customers via telephone, answering a number of queries covering street services, pest control, highways, payments, social services, parking and enviro-crime. I can accurately report issues within the borough and change contact details using CRM dynamics and provide updates from management effectively.

With having many years of experience within the council I have been asked numerous times to train and develop new members of staff, teaching them best practice.

I have access to many different systems and software packages which enable me to give updates to residents and members of staff using ISIS, Framework-i and all Microsoft packages including Word and Excel.

I work with a diverse range of customers and ensure that I always succeed in meeting their individual needs. For example, I take calls for customers who are calling regarding their Mobility such as Blue badges and freedom passes, by which sometimes the customer can be elderly. Therefore I have to adapt my speech by speaking slower and clearer in order for the client to understand the information I am giving them. This is also relevant to people whom English is not there first language, I am extremely patient and make sure I recap with the customer to ensure all the information given and received is correct and the customer is satisfied.

Being a young individual I am a flexible worker, who is always enthusiastic and puts myself forward for all training opportunities that arise to develop my career at Waltham Forest Council. I am always professional and have a positive attitude. I am fully committed and adhere to the council’s equal opportunities policy and accept personal responsibility for its practical application. Working within the Local Authority we abide by with the six diversities, which are gender, race, disability, religion, age and sexual orientation in regards to recruitment, training and payroll. I comply and promote the policy and make certain that discrimination is eliminated in the service of authority.