Client Care - L1 Flashcards
What do you understand by Client Care?
A continuous process of understanding client's requirements, suggestions, complaints and analysing to enhance service delivery. For example: - Defining client brief - Client Satisfaction Questionnaires - KPI's (Key Performance Indicators)
What is a stakeholder?
A person / organisation who has an interest in the project
Why is client care important?
Retain existing clients and business
Reduce likelihood of conflict
Maintain industry reputation
How do you conduct yourself with a new client?
Well mannered / presented, respectful and enthusiastic
How do you build trust with a client?
Learn the client’s objectives and goals
Act within your level of competence
Act professionally, provide a high level of service
Be transparent, open and honest
What is the difference between a client and a customer?
A customer purchases a good or service, but with a client a protective ongoing business relationship is formed.
What does “soft landings” refer to?
A transition to ensure the transition from construction to occupation is bump free and operational performance is optimised
What Quality Management Systems (QMS) can be implemented on projects?
- Project Execution Plans
- Project Control Plans
- Contractor Payment Schedules
- Standardised CA forms
- Procedural checklists
- Reporting templates
- Following industry guidance and advisory notes
- Following company policy and procedure
What is a Lesson Learnt workshop?
Review a recent failing or success on a project in order to put a procedure in place to prevent it from failing again, or to review and share the success with others
What is your company’s procedure for obtaining formal client feedback?
Client satisfaction surveys are issued at key project stages
How do you act upon feedback received from a client
Formally record the feedback
Share positives and negatives
Negative feedback needs to be verified and action needs to be taken to correct it
Ensure feedback is fed back to the Lessons learned process
Review feedback in 6 months (or in another suitable time frame)
What are KPI’s?
Key Performance Indicators
Used to measure supply chain performance and can be used to benchmark business performance against others
Provide examples of KPI’s
- Number of defects / snags
- Construction cost overrun
- Achieving project milestones
- Profitability
- H&S scores
- Environmental scoring
- Use of local labour
Why is it important to maintain client relationships rather than create new ones?
A large percentage of commissions are won through repeat business. Maintaining and building existing relationships will promote a positive image for the individual and the company
How do you maintain your clients expectations?
Agree on strategy / goals / timelines Be open and honest Offer advice and direction Understand expectations Regular communication
What is a complaint?
An expression of dissatisfaction. Complaints arise when expectations haven’t been met.
Does the RICS have rules for complaints?
Rule 7. (for firms)
A Firm shall operate a complaint handling procedure and maintain a complaints log. The CHP must include an Alternative Dispute Resolution (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 their insurance company?
ASAP
How would you deal with a complaint from a client?
- Acknowledge receipt of complaint
- Notify the Complaint Handling Manager
- Appoint a person to carry out an investigation
- Identify the outcome and a course of action to rectify
- Formally respond to the client, communicate the outcome
- If still unhappy, client has a right for separate review / mediation
- If still unhappy, client has right to refer to independent dispute resolution
- Communicate lessons learned internally
- Review at pre-determined date in future
Has RICS published information on handling client’s money?
Client money handling - professional statement - effective January 2020
What are the objectives of the client money handling professional statement?
RICS members and regulated firms understand their obligation to ensure:
- client money is safe
- client money accounts are used for appropriate purposes
- RICS regulated firms have the appropriate controls and procedures to safeguard client money
What is meant by client money?
Money of any currency that:
- An RICS regulated firm holds / receives on behalf of another person
- Is not immediately due and payable on demand to the firm for its own accounts
What information would you expect to see in a client’s brief?
- Services required
- Insurance required
- Term of appointment
- Duration of appointment
- Client procedures and policies
- Key drivers for success
What could be excluded form a consultant fee proposal?
- VAT
- Disbursements
- Dealing with claims
- Services that are not required
What might be included in a consultant fee proposal?
- Scope of service
- Basis of pricing
- Terms of appointment
- Information on team (incl CV’s)
- Project details
- Timescales
- Insurances
- Exclusions
How would you go about calculating a professional fee for a new commission?
- Understand client requirements incl. project scope, key project details, budget and scope of service
- Identify the seniority of resource and number of people required to deliver the service
- Assess duration required to complete the activities
- Apply daily / hourly rate
- Review total fee as a percentage against the project budget
Assuming you put together a fee proposal; a couple months into the project you realise you underestimated the resources to deliver, would you go back to the client and ask for more money?
- If the project requirements have increased then it would be reasonable to ask for a fee increase
- If the scope is the same it is a mistake, try to get it right next time and don’t reduce the level of service originally offered
Could there be any issues (from a client’s pov) with having all professional services delivered by one consultancy practice?
- Harder to be critical of colleagues
- Perceived conflict of interest
Could there be any advantages (from a client’s pov) with having all professional services delivered by one consultancy practice?
The team are more efficient as they work under the same policies and procedures
You have submitted a fee bid to a client. The client contacts you and explains that another practice quoted a lower fee, but they would like you to do the work. They ask you to lower your fee. What do you do?
- I would explain how the fee was calculated
- I would avoid entering a Dutch auction with another practice
- If the client would like a lower fee I would review the scope in order to understand where services could be reduced in order to provide for this
Once you and a client verbally agree the services to be provided, what would you do next?
Follow up in writing to confirm T&C, fee and scope of service
What is a consultant appointment document?
T&C for services being provided by a consultant to the client
RICS have a standard form of consultant appointment if the business doesn’t have their own
On what grounds might you ask the client for additional fees?
Events such as:
- Dealing with contractor insolvency
- Delay to programme due to contractor default
- Increased scope of service
When should you decline an instruction of a new work from a client?
- If there is a (potential) conflict of interest
- The instruction could require illegal or unethical action
- There is conflict with the RICS rules or standards
