Job Description

Title: Customer Service Representative

Location: Hermanus, Western Cape

Remuneration: Ranging from R200k to R280k per annum (salary based on qualifications and experience)

Industry: Financial Services

Reports to: Team Leader

Key Requirements:

The candidate needs to have proven expertise in business and technical facets of the role including the following:

• Minimum requirement: Grade 12 or equivalent.
• Exposure to or theoretical knowledge of FAIS & FICA legislation required.
• Minimum 2 years experience in a reasonably complex process-orientated environment, preferably within Financial Services industry recommended.
• Tertiary qualification in Financial Services would be a definite advantage.
• Knowledge and experience with sales techniques/strategies to meet customer/business needs and objectives.
• Proven ability to be self-motivated and work autonomously, while also working successfully within a team.
• Proven organisational skills including the ability to prioritise work to ensure deadlines are consistently achieved.
• Strong attention to detail and follow-through.
• Excellent telephone manner and confident on the phone.
• High degree of initiative and motivation.
• Demonstrated inclusive, collaborative and engaging approach; including the ability to consult, facilitate, negotiate and influence a broad range of people at all levels in a medium sized corporate environment.
• An ability to work under pressure in a rapidly changing environment.
• Solid stakeholder management skills and ability to develop trusted and enduring relationships with customers.
• Sophisticated communications skills, both verbal and written (English and Afrikaans) with excellent grammar and spelling.
• Ability to write clearly, courteously and professionally as well as heightened e-mail etiquette.
• Strong interpersonal skills coupled within a resilient yet enthusiastic life disposition, including the ability to remain calm in dynamic situations and project with sunny poise and aura.
• Demonstrated and applied knowledge of relevant regulatory and compliance frameworks.

The Role:

The Customer Services Representative (CSR) is a key member of the Sales & Operations team reporting to the Team Leader. The role is responsible for end-to-end delivery of customer outcomes and will facilitate and administer processes necessary to achieve mutually agreed customer outcomes. It will furthermore act as conduit between business and customers (after customer accepts quote for service/s), taking responsibility to ensure information is supplied to the business in a prompt fashion whilst keeping customers informed on progress until outcomes are successfully achieved. The incumbent will liaise with customers, internal staff, external service providers and partners.

Key Accountabilities:

Deliver customer solutions

Insurance:

• Facilitate the surrender of customer retirement annuities held with South African based insurance companies.
• Facilitate the surrender of all other customer held policies with South African based insurance companies.
• Facilitate the transfer of customer section 14 funds and/or Preservation fund solutions and/or transfer of pension to new retirement annuity.
• Obtain final values for financial products (e.g., policies).
• Identify and facilitate cancellation of cessions on customer policies and/or change of ownership.
• Administer paid-up policies.
• Handle communication with bank and/or insurer regarding cession cancellations and paid-up requests.
• Execute retirement claims, retirement investments and deferred pensions.
• Support Financial Planning and Investments specialist to institute new investment/s for customers.
• Support Financial Consultants (FC) to obtain customer specific information regarding the insurance and/or investment products they have in South Africa. Work collaboratively with Financial Consultants (FC) on all matters that will enable value to be realised for the customer and business alike.

FICA & Banking:

• Facilitate the FICA compliance requirements with the customer, identification, and verification of the client in terms of natural person as primary customer.
• Facilitate the opening of the relevant bank account for the customer and process on the Bidvest Bank API system.
• Facilitate and obtain the required asset and liability documentation from the customer to enable us to apply for the relevant Tax Clearance Status Pin.
• Facilitate and obtain the required Tax Residency Certificate from the customer. The certificate of tax residency from the foreign revenue authority or a letter from the authority that indicated that the customer is regarded as a tax resident in that country is required by SARS to withdraw from a Retirement Annuity Fund.

Customer communication:

• Obtain sign-off from Financial Consultant/s (FC) on the processes to commence that will enable the business to meet their service outcome obligations as agreed to with customer/s.
• Establish good customer report and maintain a professional relationship end-to-end.
• Provide clear, accurate and consistent communication, enabling customers to respond with information, feedback, documentation, etc. in a prompt fashion.
• Guide and assist customers with the completion of their Personal Data Form (PDF) or similar.
• Regularly follow-up with customers to reduce service turn-around time.
• Keep customers informed on progress.
• Connect customers with internal specialists (if necessary) and follow-up on progress of service rendered.
• Ensure customer notes are entered into CRM system.
• Ensure all assigned open notes and emails are adequately addressed within agreed timeframes and closed/saved when resolved (actively manage open notes and emails).
• Update electronic customer files with the appropriate documentation.
• Adhere to the companys customer communication guidelines.

Learning and development:

• Available and willing to learn existing and new processes added to the companys suite of products/services.

Compliance:

• Comply with all company standard operating procedures (SOPs), policies, guidelines, and procedures.
• Comply with all regulatory rules including but not limited to FSB, FAIS and SARB.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIS):

Proficiency in this role may be measured using some or all the stated KPIs; but, also not limited or restricted to those indicated in below table.

• Lead Time - To actively manage and continuously improve process turn-around-time.
• Revenue Realised - To direct effort on outcomes, adding value to customers and the business respectively.
• Customer Service Cancellations - To work collaboratively with Financial Consultants (FC) to ensure customer requirements are met. Getting this right will contribute towards the reduction of rework and improvement of process turn-around-times.
• Quote Accuracy
• Quality of Customer Interaction and Communication - To promote effective customer communication and interaction (to establish high quality customer relationships to ignite cooperation and urgency towards achieving outcomes).
• Quality of Communication and Interaction with Sales & Customer Services Staff - To promote effective communication and interactions with Sales & Customer Services staff.

Key Relationships:

Internal and external relationships; level of interaction and purpose.

Internal (Primary)

• Team Leader - to seek advice, direction and guidance on delivery of successful customer outcomes.
• Sales & Customer Services team members - to ensure customer requirements are met within expected timeframe and quality standards.
• Financial Consultant/s (FC) - to ensure customer needs and requirements are well understood and changes in customer circumstances are acknowledge and appropriately actioned and dealt with.

Internal (Secondary)

• CRM system (Salesforce) support - to liaise with subject matter experts to ensure the system is continuously improved to ensure more effective processes and data integrity.
• Business Intelligence & Reporting - cooperate with subject matter experts to enhance customer insights capability, organisation wide.
• Risk and Compliance - to consult and seek advice on financial / business risks, controls, mitigating actions and response.

External

• Service providers and partners.

Core Competencies:

We have identified the competencies that are required to be successful. These competencies help define how we do our role and recognise the behaviours that we need to display daily. The required competencies for this role are:

• Managing relationships - Works to build and maintain warm, friendly and constructive relationships with colleagues and business partners; is responsive to the needs, feelings and opinions of others.
• Positive attitude - Display an optimistic and positive approach in all areas of the business and view change as an opportunity to develop and grow.
• Ability to plan and organize - Able to prioritize and plan multiple tasks and yet be flexible and adaptable in revising plans and priorities on short notice to achieve objectives.
• Sense of urgency - Able to cope with pressure and show ability to deal with urgent matters.
• Action orientation - Initiates action to achieve objectives within set deadlines and pro-actively takes responsibility for achieving work objectives and shows willingness to go the extra mile.
• Decision-making - Able to reach a conclusion or decision, whether it be to further an investigation or for purposes of recommendation / escalation to management.
• Resilience - Able to tolerate and persevere in a reactive environment. The tolerance to deal with conflicting information. Displaying the perseverance, energy and drive to persist, despite interruptions and unforeseen / unexpected changes until tasks have been successfully completed. Able to deal with ambiguity.
• Systems knowledge - Familiar and proficient with MS Office (Outlook, Word and Excel). Sound understanding and proficiency with the employers CRM system (Salesforce).
• Product knowledge - Advanced knowledge of the products and/or services the employer offers to their customers locally and internationally.
• Adaptability - Willingness to learn and adjust to a changing work environment.
• Co-operation & teamwork - Co-operative in planning and striving to see that the goals and objectives of the company are being realized.

Additional Information:

• Employment Engagement - This is a one-year fixed contract position. The incumbent will be employed under an employment contract which specifies employment terms and conditions including salary.
• Workplace Health and Safety - The role holder of this position must comply with workplace health and safety requirements and policies. As part of your role, you will also ensure other team members also comply with the companys workplace health and safety requirements and policies.
• Risk and Compliance - As a primary role-player in the process of complying with regulatory requirements your responsibility is to be conversant with, and to implement the requirements specific to your role; including the continues identification, analysis and escalations of risks within your team. As part of the normal performance review cycle, you will also encourage and reward open and transparent reporting of errors and behaviours which contribute positively to the desired risk and compliance culture.

This description is a general statement of required major duties and responsibilities performed on a regular and continuous basis. It does not exclude other duties as assigned.

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