Provide Reception Services

1. Understand the purpose of reception services in a business environment: 1.1Explain the purpose of the receptionist role as the first point of contact between the public/client and an organisation:

The receptionist that the customer meets/speaks to first needs to give a good impression of the company, they need to appear very professional, this can be portrayed in many different ways including personal appearance and how you are seen to act towards customers. If on the front desk then when anybody comes in they will see you first, you will need to be seen as mature, initiative and show you have respect for other employees and the customer basis. Regardless of any situation you will need to have a positive attitude and be dependant towards your employer. Without these features that have been mentioned the customers that are approaching the company are not going to want to stay around or do any work with the company if the first port of contact is hard to work with, it will give off the impression that the whole company is going to be like that to work with. Being on the front desk the employee should be willing to have a laugh with a customer if they are the jokey type, but you must tread carefully with this as if they take something that you have said in the wrong way if could lead to yourself being in a lot of trouble. Whereas if the customer takes this the correct way then this would improve their impression on both you and the company as they will see the staff as nice and fun people.

1.2Explain the purpose of presenting a positive image of self and the organisation: If you the employee are presenting a positive image then this will automatically present a positive image for the company, this is due to the fact that a good company would employee good and positive workers. Whereas being negative, not being helpful, nor friendly will push customers away, which could quite easily lead to the termination of your job. If customers are leaving or not showing an enquiry because of your attitude then the boss is not going to want to keep you employed. This needs to be done for the public to have trust in your company, for instance when working for a Plumbing/Electrical company they need to have trust and faith from the beginning to trust strangers to enter their homes to complete works that need to be done.

To keep a positive image the best way is to be professional at all times, if necessary wearing uniform but if there is no uniform then making sure what you are wearing is smart and appropriate for the business and customers to see you in. You also when meeting and greeting people be polite and if there is a procedure for when people come in for meetings then be sure to follow that, for example, giving them a seat, explaining if they have a wait, offering tea/coffee. When answering the phone this should be the same as above, if there is a procedure be sure to follow it, even if it is including how to answer the phone, with what to say to the customer, e.g. “Good morning/good afternoon, Trident Plumbing and Heating, Alice speaking” also while on the phone be sure to answer any questions that you can, and if you cannot then make a note of the questions, the caller’s name and number and give them a call back when you do have the answer. The same should be done if the caller phones up to talk to somebody that is not currently in the office. See 1.1

1.3Explain how to present a positive image of self and the organisation: See 1.1 and 1.2. This is important for customers approaching the company, as first impressions really do count. If the customer sees someone that does not look up to the same standard as everyone else there then they will have their doubts. Dressing smart is part of being professional but not all of it, a positive image is also including how you’re sat at your desk, how clean your desk is, how clean the office is and also how you present yourself. If you’re smiling then the whole place appears more welcoming, whereas being miserable is quite the opposite and just pushes customers away. All thoughts should be positive, once you start having negative thoughts you put yourself down which reflects on how you act towards others.

Accept the fact that everyone does have flaws and that is just part of being human, once you accept this you will realise that it’s not all as bad as it seems. Instead of focusing on everything that you are unable to do, focus on everything that you excel in, if you’re struggling with a task then ask for help and don’t let that put you down. Don’t bully yourself, don’t second guess yourself, if you expect too much of yourself then you’ll be disappointed when you don’t achieve this. You also cannot blame yourself for everything that goes wrong, not everything is going to be your fault, in some cases when you are 100% wrong apologising is a good quality, but you shouldn’t feel the need to apologise for everyone else’s mistakes. All of these aspects add to a positive image, which is very important in any company, you need to do all these things for both yourself and also the business; the happier you are the happier the customers are going to be.

2. Understand the procedure to be followed when providing reception services: 2.1Describe the structure and lines of communication in an organisation: Structure and communication both depend on the size of the business, the larger the business the more ways of communication and the wider structure. Flat structures are the most common for smaller businesses, this just allows key staff members to work directly with directors and owners, when the company grows there would be different departments which would mean that staff members would be speaking to people that are at a hierarchy. The structure when people are working together on a task is different again, both parties need to make sure that they discuss what they are doing on their work, this is to stop both workers to do the same work and missing a large or small chunk.

The larger the business is the more lines of communication, people use emails, phones, memos, notes and letters, there are more means of communication large selections of these are used at all businesses, more used at some than others. The larger the business the larger means of communication, when trying to get in touch with a large amount of staff instead of sending out lots of emails separately it is easier to just send 1 email to a group of people. This way if anybody feels the need to reply then the reply will go to all people involved in this email, this way if there are any questions then they can be answered quickly and easily to everyone also everyone will see the question so it will not need to be asked more than once. This is a good structured way of getting a message out to everyone.

2.2 Explain how the structure in an organisation affects lines of communication: Depending on the size of the company is dependent on how the structure will affect the lines of communication. The larger the company the more organised that everyone needs to be when communicating, if they do not communicate correctly, then people are going to be told the same information over and over and will end up getting fed up by it. Whereas on the other end of the scale, somebody may not be told a piece of crucial information due to other employees thinking that they’ve already been told. In small companies there are less people to communicate with, if it is all in one office then it is expected that pretty much everyone speaks to one another and all information will be relayed around.

Everyone in the company needs to make sure that important information is relayed, not everything can be trusted by word of mouth, things may get misunderstood or somebody may tell someone something completely different and incorrect. To solve this as well as people telling one another they should also write the information down, in the format of either a letter, note or email, this way there is solid proof that this has been sent and the person receiving the information cannot say that they have not received the information. This is not only making sure that the person receives this but also to cover your own back with the fact that you have evidence that you have sent/spoken to the employee therefore cannot get any blame.

2.3 Explain the purpose of entry, departure, and security and confidentiality procedures, including own responsibilities: The receptionist needs to be able to control the entry of visitors, all that arrive and leave would need to put down their details and the times that they arrive and leave. This is for security purposes just in case there is some sort of crime, this will then arranges any necessary alibi. The receptionist needs to know how to handle angry customers, therefore if the manager feels the need to give certain employees training then they should do. At most places there will be a signing in book and once this is filled out they will receive a visitors pass, this then will give them access to where they need to go, and will not need to be asked by other members of staff who they are or where they are heading. As for confidentiality the receptionist is responsible for this, the documents that have any customers or employees details on must be retained and locked away, if these get out without the persons permission then the receptionist could be in a lot of trouble, the receptionist needs to lock valuable information away to make sure that this doesn’t happy, a good filing system with a lock is very suitable to avoid this happening.

2.4 Explain how to carry out entry, departure, security and confidentiality procedures in a reception areas: See 2.3. This is simple stuff for instance the entry and departure as mentioned before if there is a visitor’s book then this is easy enough to just sign in and out, if the receptionist keeps hold of the book for confidentiality then none of the publics/employees information is available to the public. This is the same with using filling cabinets once again. With security the receptionist will be able to kick the public out if they are causing issues, if it is someone that is causing a lot of issues then the receptionist should be the one that calls for help, even if it is to call the emergency services. Put all office equipment away once it’s been used, make sure that cameras are installed around the office and that they are all working, this way if anything is stolen then at least the thief can be identified. If any of the public’s items are left behind or misplaced in the office be sure to keep them in a lost and found box for a long period of time so that if the comeback they will be able to get their items back.

2.5 Explain the purpose of health and safety procedures when providing a reception service, including own responsibilities: Making sure there are safety procedures are in place is very important when it comes to the public, if for instance there is a wet floor and no wet floor sign up and somebody slips then they would be able to try to sue. Therefore making sure that health and safety procedures are put in to place is very important. This includes putting any hazardous items away, e.g. the hoover after hovering; if the wire is left then this could be a trip hazard. Anything that is a hazard should be noted and put into a risk assessment. If there are any accidents in the work place then they will need to be logged in the accident book, even if this is a small accident it needs to be noted down just in case a small cut could become an infection.

If you yourself have left something out that is a hazard then it is your responsibility to put this away, you cannot always expect others to clean up after you else something will end up getting left behind and someone could end up hurt. At any organisation there needs to be somebody that is a fully qualified first aided, this is for other peoples safety, if there is somebody that is hurt then the sooner you can get a first aided to them the better, even if it is to only bandage up a cut or could even be something as bad as a broken bone. There needs to be someone that has been trained and will regularly receive training as theirs runs out.

2.6Explain how to carry out health and safety procedures in a reception area: See 2.5.
To carry these procedures out you as the receptionist need to be very conscious of the people and what is happening around you. If there is an incident near you then you need to be able to call the relevant person to help you sort this – e.g. first aider – unless you yourself are able to sort the issue. You also need to be able look and notice if there are any issues around that could be seen as a health and safety issue, if you notice these then they need to be sorted as soon as possible, if you are able to move something before it comes a health and safety risk then this will reduce the chance of others getting themselves injured or worse. There are plenty of things that can just keep everyone a little safer, for instance, once floors have been cleaned with a mop and bucket making the floor wet be sure to put up a wet floor sign, putting up the sign does not take much but with the size and the colour people will notice this.

2.7Describe the emergency procedures and your role within them: Any emergency procedure that the receptionist has to control needs to be handled and controlled, if there is a visitor that is in for a long period of time then they will need to know where all fire exits are, where they will need to gather if the fire alarm does go off, that they need to leave calmly and quickly. They will need to ensure that the fire exits have been lit and are in a place that everyone can see clearly. They need to remain unblocked and easily accessible; therefore if someone decides to pull something up in front of a fire exit then the receptionist should deal with this professionally. The receptionist also needs to be able to remain calm and collected if there are any issues with a robbery for instance, if something bad happens then they need to be able to control the situation, they need to be able to keep any visitors calm and try to get help if necessary.

This is very similar as to if somebody went down ill suddenly they would need to be the first to phone the emergency services and get a first aider from the work place of the scene as soon as possible. The receptionist needs to make sure that everybody gets out okay, this is why there should be a visitors book, this way if there is a fire then when everyone is evacuated they can read through the book that has been provided and check that everyone did get okay. They also need to ensure that they are not the only ones that are trying to remove any visitors, and need to be able to contact the correct staff to help then evacuate the building. All fire extinguishers and fire/smoke alarms need to have checks regularly, meaning that the receptionist will need to organise this for the company.

2.8Describe the types of problems that may occur with visitors, including conflict and aggression: If a visitor becomes aggressive they may shout at you, swear or could lead to threating you or trying to hurt you, verbal aggression can lead the violence. If it is something that can be smoothed over throughout a conversation then that should be the first port of call. Within large organisations on desks will sometimes be an emergency button which once pressed will send alarms to the emergency services, this are used not only for receptionists but also used in banks and bars typically. Being a receptionist there is normally a fairly large desk between you and any visitors, this is good if there is some sort of issue between a visitor and the receptionist then at least there is a gap between yourself and the drama. Understanding on how to try to calm down the visitor and defuse the situation is a good skill. Although having this skill is a good idea and plan the first port of call, should be to try to call the emergency services, if it is a case of someone threatening you then the best thing to do is to get yourself some help, if they are larger than you they will be able to overpower you quite easily.

Lots of different places have issues with angry visitors, including hospitals – when they are unable to get an appointment, schools – where they may disagree with a teacher and offices – where this is the same as above where a visitor may just disagree with the receptionist and cause a scene. In some areas of work it is useful to learn some self-defence, where you would need to start lessons to learn this. If you still feel like this is out of league and you would be in danger then you need to make sure that you can get yourself help from your colleagues. If it is just a case of the visitor being angry due to another one of your colleagues not doing something correctly, or in the time scale allotted to them then see if you can arrange for this colleague to meet the visitor and discuss any issues but be sure that this is all in a public place if the visitor is getting out of hand. It is important to insure that you yourself do not get angry at the visitor that is angry to begin with, if this is the case then it will only make things worse in the long run. Sometimes it is not the visitors fault if they become suddenly angry, it could be a health issue and it would be very useful to be able to be able to tell the difference between the two outbursts.

2.9 Explain ways of dealing with problems and when to refer them to an appropriate colleague: See 2.8.

3. Understand Ways of improving reception services and developing own role: 3.1Explain the purpose of suggesting ideas for improving a reception area: Suggesting ideas to the box shows that you’re a team player rather than just an individual that doesn’t think about anything else in the office. Offering new suggestions helps everyone make new progress and also improves the way that the company is run, as more people will put suggestions forward. If your work friends start to put ideas forward then be sure to make sure you listen, their ideas could be brilliant and not be heard. Everyone needs to work as a team player and listen and make inputs, there is no point talking over other people and not letting them have their say as this will make you look bad anyway. If someone’s idea isn’t the best then speak to them about it, do not try to put them down and tell them that it is a bad idea instead try to give them pointers and offer suggestions as to how it could be improved.

Be sure to do this in a nice way else you will be seen as somebody that is very spiteful and people won’t choose to come to you with their ideas. As well as good ideas in front of house making you look better to the boss, also the happier that you are in your work place then the happier you will be to work in that environment. The environment that you work in you need to be happy in, you wouldn’t want to work in a messy office all day long, whereas keeping it clean and tidy keeps people more focused on their work. Therefore suggests to improve the area could be as simple as keeping it clean to completely changing the layout.

3.2 Explain the purpose of carrying out additional duties, if applicable and give examples. As mentioned in 3.1 an additional duties that can be carried out could be setting up a cleaning rota, if there is no cleaner then setting up a rota to clean the office, hoover the offices, clean the kitchen and do the dishes. This way with a rota people are fairly taking turns so nobody will feel like they are doing everything and believe that it is unfair on them. Additional duties, even if they are small just take a little bit more off of somebody else’s plate. This is going to make you appear even more helpful, anything that you can do to cut down someone else’s work load will always be a help and this will also make you come across better to your boss. Something else that could be classed as additional duties is within your job description it may be listed as ‘Receptionist’ answering the phones. An additional duty with this is greeting people when they come into the office, stuff that is just obvious that you would be doing it and that you do it without thinking about it. In some offices there may be boards that have jobs that are needed to be done, this then is for other people to take into their own hands and help around the office and do the jobs, if there is this then it is worth writing your name next to a job once it has been done. This then will stop anyone else from doing these jobs so that there is no time wasted in them being done twice.