This client applied for the role of Business Services Officer in state (NSW) government and was successful in reaching the job interview stage. Eight (8) criteria required addressing; following are excerpts from two of the criteria.
Client engagement and customer service skills and capacity to establish and maintain effective working partnerships with internal and external stakeholders.
While working for my current employer – the Department of RRR in both the CCC and MMM divisions as a Senior Administrative Support Officer, I have been responsible for initiating client engagement and building strong reciprocal relationships. I proactively use relationship management skills as a risk management tool. When I encounter areas of disagreement and anticipate potential conflict, I facilitate cooperation and mediate between parties while valuing the diversity that different opinions can bring. This approach has resulted in the elimination of many potential challenging issues, and has mitigated small problems before they have become large.
I recently needed to obtain the re-opening of a court result as an incorrect Law Part code which led to the provision of an incorrect sentencing disqualification period for a client. To rectify this issue, I wrote a letter to the Magistrate to have the matter re-opened under S43 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedures) Act 1999 with the primary goal of having the sentencing error corrected. As a result, the matter was reheard and the sentencing error was corrected and the customer was informed in writing of the new outcome.
Effective time management, organisational skills and planning skills and ability to meet deadlines and range of competing priorities.
In my long tenure in previous administrative and business support roles, I routinely worked on up to ten (10) tasks concurrently; tasks were consistently completed on deadline or earlier. To achieve this, I undertook several organisational strategies. Firstly, I prepared detailed plans with corresponding timelines for task completion, ensuring time allocation to allow for contingencies and unforeseen emergencies. Secondly, I set up periodic meetings with all stakeholders to discuss task progress and changes. Finally, I used four (4) concurrent methods of monitoring task progress. These included white board for the big picture, Gantt chart for milestones, log of all important emails to recall task details and needs quickly, and a hardcopy notebook with reminder dates and milestones keyed out of context with the task.
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Cheers,
Annie Cerone
