Client Care Flashcards
What is client care?
- Understanding a client’s needs and requirements
- Complaint handling procedures
- Quality assurance procedures
- Key performance indicators
- Client satisfaction surveys
- Client brief
- Lessons learnt
Why is client care important?
- Retain existing clients
- Reduce likelihood of conflict
- Maintain reputation
Detail some Quality Management Systems (QMS) you have implemented on your projects?
- Project Execution Plan (PEP)
- Quality Plan
- Derogation schedules
- Joint actions lists
- Standardised contract administration forms
- Defect checklists
- Reporting templates
- Schedules and trackers
What is a Lessons Learnt workshop?
- Review a recent failing or success on a project
- Put in place a procedure to prevent failing happening again
- Review success and share with others
What is the purpose of the Customer Care Interview?
- Get a measure of client satisfaction
- Understand what has worked well / not so well
- Agree KPIs
- Agree actions to improve service
- Build / maintain trust
- Strengthen relationship
How does your company obtain client feedback?
Client satisfaction surveys are issued at key project stages
How do you manage clients’ expectations?
- Agree strategy, goals, timelines
- Being open and honest
- Offering good advice and direction within scope of service / competency
- Effective communication
- Use tried and tested methodology
How do you act on client feedback?
- Record feedback formally
- Review positives / negatives with the client
- Negative could be through complaints handling procedure
- Use lessons learnt process
- Review again in appropriate period of time (e.g. 6 months)
What are KPIs and can you give some examples?
Metrics that can be used to measure performance of consultants, contractors or supply-chain
Can benchmark business / project performance
E.g. Completion on time, number of defects, H&S incidents, environmental scoring, etc.
What information is typically included in a client’s brief?
- Services required
- Insurances required
- Terms of appointment
- Duration of appointment
- Client procedures and policies
- Key success criteria
What might be included in a consultant fee proposal?
- Scope of service
- Terms of appointment
- Basis of pricing
- Project team CVs
- Project details
- Timescales
- Insurances
- Exclusions
- Assumptions (e.g. programme)
If you realise you have underestimated a fee proposal, what should you do?
Assess whether requirements (time or quality) have increased
If scope has remained the same, it is a mistake and the level of service should be maintained
What are the pros/cons of managing an internal team as opposed to an external team?
Pros:
- Ability to influence the make-up of the internal team based on previous experience, and knowledge of the client / client processes
- More visibility of internal team (workload, performance, issues)
- Greater ability to informally manage internal team performance
- Assurance of the internal QMS
- Internal team generally requires less co-ordination
- Can use internal communication channels
Cons:
- Less ability to manage contractually
- Sometimes internal clients are lower priority
- Ethical dilemma if you know your colleagues do not have capacity
What is a consultant appointment document?
- Terms and conditions for services being provided by a consultant to a client
- RICS provide a standard form of consultant appointment
On what grounds might you claim additional fees?
- Dealing with contractor insolvency
- Delay to programme by contractor
- Increased scope of service
