My role within the half hourly commercial electricity smart metering team makes sure that the whole process runs smoothly from start to finish. We work closely and building stable trusted relationships with energy suppliers and clients meaning good communication skills are essential, both my email and by telephone. The role is computer based, working with and managing inbound and outbound flows, creating internal and external reports, and using multiple computer programmes in order to process these flows and reports correctly. The workload is tracked and maintained using multiple excel spreadsheets, and having knowledge of key formulas and formatting is essential to the team’s success for making these spreadsheets easy to interpret. A key duty is resolving problems that prevent the delivery of data flows which need to comply to industry standard SLAs. There are many different teams within this company that all interlink together, such as the scheduling and data retrieval teams, to make sure the metering process runs smoothly and this teamwork is key to the company’s growing success.

I briefly worked for one of Wales’ largest employers, Dwr Cymru Welsh Water, a not-for-profit organisation and the only water supplier within Wales. Their not-for-profit nature makes my role on the Debt Collections team important to the business. Within this role it is essential to have good IT skills as it is computer based, whilst being able to use various different programmes at once. It also requires quick adapting to change as the business is constantly updating and policy is constantly changing. On my team there were approximately 30 people, all of whom work together well to achieve the targets and company goals that are expected from us both as a team and individually. The most important skill for this role is communication, via telephone to customers and face to face with colleagues. Dealing with inbound and outbound calls, the ability to switch between the two quickly and efficiently is critical, whilst also documenting detailed notes on each customer that is spoken to. Every call that is taken or made has a problem to be solved, whether it being a query about their bill, their payment plans or gathering information on their personal circumstances in order to help the customer fully. I have to be firm with customers who are not willing to co-operate but also understanding and sympathetic when the need arises for it.

I have worked part time as a retail sales assistant for Clark’s Shoes in Bridgend for over two years. I continually achieve my sales targets, I have completed in-house training courses and I am trained children’s shoe measurer and fitter for Clarks nationally. I identify new opportunities for improvement within sales, marketing and displays. I have developed new interpersonal skills, my ability to work well under pressure and my own perseverance and motivation working within the Clarks chain of shops. Being afforded the opportunity and trust to work on my own initiative has also improved my confidence when dealing with my managers, my peers and when resolving customer enquiries and complaints. My outstanding knowledge of shop products, my negotiation skills, self-confidence and personality ensures I deliver a first class customer service at all times in a courteous and professional manner.