Career Development
In the past, DaC has provided initial staff induction training, then relied on supervisors to ensure call handling quality. However, with only limited call monitoring and no follow up training, it was impossible to achieve consistency across every team or ensure staff remained motivated long term.
   Daren explained: "Without continual development, even the most efficient staff can become stale, disengaged and lack motivation. By its very nature, Call Centre work is often repetitive, yet it is also extremely challenging, demanding the effective management of diverse customer needs and expectations. To keep staff engaged and involved in the organisation, it is essential to provide career development."
   Dial-a-Cab works hard to keep staff motivated, getting people to move around the Call Centre to handle outbound as well as inbound calls. However, to really motivate and support employees, DaC decided to offer Call Centre staff the opportunity to attain a Level 2 National Vocational Qualification (NVQ).
   "NVQs are a great way of benchmarking performance against the industry standard," said Daren, "the qualification both enables staff to be assessed on their existing skills and hone those skills further. It also provides us with performance standards and a clear

LEVEL 2 NVQ FOR DAC CALL CENTRE STAFF!

structure to support on-going process improvements within the Call Centre."
   The Society turned to training organisation Best Practice to deliver NVQ workshops and staff assessment. Daren explained that whilst the majority of DaC training is handled internally, NVQs demand lengthy and intensive staff assessment. Best Practice employs highly experienced assessors who work closely with the staff to help them through the NVQ process.
   Furthermore, the government is strongly committed to ongoing professional development, offering funding through a variety of bodies such as the Learning & Skills Council and Train to Gain. Daren explained it was often time consuming and complex to access this funding.
   "Best Practice has many years of delivering NVQs to a variety of organisations," he added, "both with and without government funding. That experience streamlined the process of applying for funding. Whilst we are committed to delivering career progression through nationally recognised qualifications, the ability to harness government funding without doubt boosted Board level commitment to the project."

Staff Commitment
Some Dial-a-Cab staff had initial reservations about ‘going back to school’ amid fears of the amount of work involved. However, Best Practice was able to allay those fears and has tailored the NVQ programme to meet our specific needs. This has included the removal of the cross/up selling module since these skills are not required at Dial-a-Cab. In addition, Best Practice has streamlined the number of workbooks from six to three, enabling the entire NVQ to be achieved within three months.
   Daren continued: "By reducing the time taken to attain the NVQ, DaC can ensure individuals continue to be motivated throughout the process and critically, just lose a few candidates to natural wastage. To date, 46 Call Centre staff have achieved NVQ Level 2 qualifications, with eight team leaders also taking the Team Leader NVQ. After initial reluctance, the company now has a waiting list of employees keen to join the programme."
   Dial-a-Cab will also be embarking on a 12-week course NVQ programme with our taxi drivers under a government-funded programme from Go Skills. DaC drivers will attain an NVQ Level 2 in passenger transport – encompassing customer service, dealing with difficult customers and passengers with

Business Growth
Customer response to the NVQ programme has also been positive, with a recent customer satisfaction survey identifying clear improvements in service quality.
   "The availability of Contact Centre staff with NVQ Level 2 qualifications is proving extremely competitive in the tendering process and has contributed to the acquisition of several large corporate customers in recent months," said Daren, "and as a result, overall call volume has increased by 20 to 25%. To support this rapid growth, we moved to DaC House, creating an 80 position Call Centre - almost double the previous capacity."
   Daren ended by saying: "Without a doubt, the availability of the NVQ programme has helped DaC attract a higher calibre candidate for new positions. There is now a clear career development path. Individuals with Level 2 qualifications can then take Level 3 qualifications to achieve the skills required to become a team leader or supervisor and pave the way for promotion. The overall morale of the Call Centre has improved with customer expectations continually improving as the licensed taxi industry faces ever-increasing competition. Without doubt, the NVQ programme has not only reinvigorated the level of engagement within the Call Centre and brought the team into the Dial-a-Cab corporate culture, but has also boosted the professionalism of our front line staff and the quality of customer service."
   Chairman Brian Rice told Call Sign: " We are extremely pleased with the number of staff participating in the NVQ programme to-date and the continued interest in development that can only help to enhance the quality of our call takers and our overall reputation. DaC are committed to staff training and producing the best-qualified staff within our industry for the benefit of not only clients, but also for our organisation. It is now through our work with Best Practise that we are able to clearly demonstrate our position at the forefront of the industry."
   Among NVQ staff successes were:
   Team Leading Level 2 NVQ: Natalie Cleal, Jago De Langen, Teresa George, Alexander Livingstone, Nicola Owen and Paulette Semper.
   Contact Centre Operations Level 2: Julie Taylor, Jacqueline Franklin, Sue Coates, Vivienne Clark and Virginia Hewitt.