Client care (L1-2)

Question 1

What is client care?

Answer 1

In general client care is looking after your client’s best interests, providing value for money and satisfying their needs.

Question 2

Why is client care important?

Answer 2

• To gain repeat business
• To avoid complaints and/ or claims
• To mitigate reputational damage to the RICS and your organisation

Question 3

How would you establish a clients brief/ needs/ objectives?

Answer 3

Defining a client brief at the start of any instruction or project is essential.

It will be based on discussions with the client as well as desktop research.

The brief should be recorded in writing and used to inform the agreed terms of engagement which may include headings such as:

• Scope of work
• Required outputs
• Deadlines and
• Reporting format

Question 4

Why is it important to understand the client?

Answer 4

Such that the service can be tailored to mitigate any misunderstandings, dissatisfaction and complaints.

Question 5

Give me an example of why and how you would tailor the service.

Answer 5

• Size of client’s business - A larger organisation may require a more detailed communication and reporting strategy given multiple levels of approvals and stakeholders involved

Question 6

What is the difference between client care and duty of care?

Answer 6

• Client care is creating a pleasant experience whilst duty of care is putting the clients best interests at the forefront.
• For example a client may wish to do something that would be illegal, impractical or impossible and the surveyor owes the client a duty of care to inform the client of that.

Question 7

What is a Duty of Care?

Answer 7

A duty of care is to ensure that another party does not suffer harm or loss that can arise from a breach of contractual obligations or Tort of Negligence.

Question 8

Why should you follow up verbal advice in writing?

Answer 8

So there is an audit trail which may be needed in the event of a professional negligence claim.

Question 9

When and why is it important to avoid using jargon?

Answer 9

Surveyors should avoid using jargon when advising or communicating with those who will not understand it to avoid dissatisfaction, misunderstanding and complaints.

Question 10

How would you avoid using jargon?

Answer 10

• Simplifying a contractual process using a timeline for example such that terminology which may be unfamiliar to the stakeholder is avoided

Question 11

What should be included in an organisations complaints handling procedure?

Answer 11

As a minimum it should include:

• Contact details for the person whom deals with complaints
• A request that complaints are made in writing
• The stages of the complaints handling procedure (noting that the RICS requires a minimum of 2 sages)
• The timescales for considering the complaint

Question 12

When should feedback be obtained?

Answer 12

Throughout at the end and after the engagement to get well rounded feedback.

Question 13

What is a communication strategy?

Answer 13

It is written at the start of a project in the project execution plan and sets who needs to be informed of what and when. It also gives details of who is in what role and gives contacts details.

Question 14

What is stakeholder management?

Answer 14

It is the process by which you organise, monitor and improve your relationships with your stakeholders.

The first step is to identify who they are.

Some may have high power and high interest in which case you manage them closely whilst on the opposite end of the spectrum others may have low interest and low power in which case you monitor them.

Question 15

What measures should be taken to try and avoid PI claims? DUARUK

Answer 15

• Don’t advise outside your field of experience
• Use RICS guidelines
• Avoid poor management and excessive workloads
• Record recommendations and advice given
• Use proper letters of engagement, scope of services and terms of engagement
• Keep detailed records of meetings, conversation, etc

Question 16

What is a compliant and why is this a serious topic area for surveyors?

Answer 16

• It is a statement that a situation is unsatisfactory or unacceptable to the client
• it is important to take complaints seriously as they can:
• Damage reputation
• Indicate breaches of RICS standards
• Carry legal, financial and insurance risks

Question 17

When should you decline an instruction of new work from a client?

Answer 17

• If there is a Conflict of Interest
• If you are not acting in the Client’s best interests e.g. can’t resource the job or not competent enough to provide the service
• Or it is illegal

Question 18

How would you proceed if a client was insistent that you continued to work for them despite a conflict of interest?

Answer 18

• Check their understanding of reduced impartiality
• Agree working procedures to manage the conflict
• Seek a letter of instruction to continue
• Keep them updated of any risks

Question 19

What is a Client brief?

Answer 19

• It is a formal statement of the objectives and requirements of the finished project

Question 20

On receipt of a formal compliant from a Client in writing what would you do?

Answer 20

• Acknowledge receipt of the complaint
• Issue a copy of the complaints handling procedure
• Report the complaint to a senior member or designated complaints handler
• Notify the PII provider inline with policy requirements
• If unable to resolve the complaint it would be referred to the RICS independent redress mechanism

Question 21

On one of your projects, how did you go about establishing the
client’s objectives? *****

Answer 21

Defining the clients objectives at the start of any project is essential.

It will be based on

-Discussions with the clients e.g. open ended questions
- Desktop research
- Client questionnaires

Question 22

How did you ensure you fully understood these?****

Answer 22

• Define measurable objectives
• Ask for specific examples or benchmarks
• Undertake scenario testing with the client

Question 23

How were the timescales decided for production of the cost reports?

Answer 23

This is undertaken by our managing QS each year and involves liaising with
- The client’s PMO to establish when the cost reports need be submitted internally to allow them to be inputted into CPMSS and
- The Contractor to establish reporting cut offs i.e. when the cost information will be available each month such that there is adequate time for review meetings to take place before they are submitted internally each month

Question 24

How did you go about identifying the key stakeholder?

Answer 24

o By undertaking a stakeholder analysis which involved:
o Identifying the key stakeholders and their interest in the project
o Assessing the influence of, importance of and level of impact upon each stakeholder and
o Identifying how best to engaged stakeholders
o This allowed me to identify the key stakeholder being PMO

Question 25

What is your company’s procedure for dealing with complaints?

Question 26

How do you measure your level of client care?

Answer 26

o Through regular client feedback
oThrough the use of KPIs
o KPIs make clear what is expected for good performance and success on the project, they may include
o Meeting deadlines
o Reporting withing given timeframes or
o Agreeing a certain percentage for settlement within budget
o To be effective, KPIs need to be reviewed regularly and performance improved accordingly

Question 27

How do you ensure the client understands the level of information and/or service you are providing to them?

Answer 27

• Avoid use of Jargon
• Check thier understanding by asking questions, requesting feedback or asking them to repeat or sumarise information you have provided to them
• Regular check ins

Question 28

What process needs to be in place as a company for dealing with complaints?

Answer 28

• The rules of conduct specify that it is mandatory for all RICS regulated firms to
  o Publish a complaints handling procedure
  o Which includes an Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism and
  o They must maintain a complaints log
  As a minimum, the procedure should include:
  o Contact details for the person whom deals with complaints
  o A request that complaints are made in writing
  o The stages of the complaints handling procedure (noting that the RICS requires a minimum of 2 sages (S1 senior member of staff or designated complaints handler, S2 referred to independent redress mechanism) and
  o The timescales for considering the complaint

Question 29

Can you tell me what your own company’s complaints handling procedure is?

Question 30

How would you obtain details of your client’s objectives on a project?

Answer 30

• Defining the clients objectives at the start of any project is essential.
• It will be based on
  o Discussions with the clients e.g. open ended questions
  o Desktop research and
  o Client questionnaires

Question 31

How can KPIs assist in delivering good client care?

Answer 31

o They make clear what is expected for good performance and success on the project, they may include
o Meeting deadlines
o Reporting withing given timeframes or
o Agreeing a certain percentage for settlement within budget
o To be effective, KPIs need to be reviewed regularly and performance improved accordingly

Question 32

What have you learnt from understanding how your company establishes fees?

Answer 32

o It is not something I have had experience with, given I am employed by the client organisation.
o However, I am aware that
o Agreeing fees in instrumental in client care
o They should be proportionate to the work undertaken
o The surveyor should be able to justify how they are calculated
o They come in many forms including
 Fixed percentages
 Hourly rates or
 Can be performance-based
o Fees should be recorded in the terms of engagement
o Factors impacting on Fees include
 Size of project/ appointment
 Type/ complexity
 Location
 Conditions of engagement e.g. PII, Warranties
 Current market/ economy

Question 33

How has this assisted you in providing good client care?

Answer 33

o Able to calculate fees accurately and proportionate to the work undertaken
o I am therefore able to justify how they are calculated fostering trust between the firm and the client
o I also ensure these are agreed upfront and recorded in the terms of engagement so there are no unexpected costs for the client

Question 34

What are terms of engagement?

Answer 34

*Every single client instruction must be formalised in writing, using terms of engagement.
*These set out the key terms agreed between the client and surveyor, in addition to limitatiosn on libaility and other caveats applying to the instruction
*A surveyor should never rely on a verbal agreement, as this would not provide evidence of the instruction and scope of work in the case of a professional negligence claim

Question 35

What information is contained in a client brief?

Answer 35

*It should be recorded in writing and used to inform agreed terms of engagement
*As a minimum the brief should include
- Scope of work
- Required Outputs
- Deadlines and
- Reporting format

Question 36

What are the typical terms and mechanisms contained in an appointment document?

Answer 36

• Scope and Standard
  *Project timeline
• Payment
• Insurance and liability
  *Intellectual Property
  *Dispute Resolution
  *Novation
  *Termination