FAQs
Here are some of the questions we are asked most frequently and our answers. You can select a topic that interests you or scroll down the whole page.
About ICS Continuous Professional Development | About ICS Customer Service Forums | About ICS FirstImpressions | About ICS FirstStep | About ICS JobsBoard | About ICS ServCheck | About the National Occupational Standards and NSVQs | About UKCSI |
About ICS Continuous Professional Development
Who is ICS CPD available to?
CPD is available to Individual Members of the Institute at Bronze, Silver or Gold level. You can become an Individual Member through either:
- achieving an ICS Communications, Solutions or Innovations Professional Award, or
- achieving an NVQ/SVQ level 2 or 3 in Customer Service, or
- achieving an NVQ/SVQ recognised by ICS which contains a significant component of customer service, or
- having successfully completed an ICS accredited assessment and development programme.
Will there be CPD for other categories of Membership?
ICS does plan to develop CPD for other categories of Membership in the future. All Members will be personally written to when CPD applicable to them is launched. Also, look out for updates in customerfirst and on this website.
What is the CPD period?
CPD has an annual cycle in line with the Membership year. You can apply for CPD within the first three months of the start of your Individual Membership year. Your completed CPD documentation should be sent to ICS during month 11 of your Membership in order for it to be assessed. Please note that early or late submissions cannot be accepted.
How long does CPD take?
CPD would take between 8 and 11 months to achieve, based on your registration date and the need to submit CPD in month 11 of your Individual Membership year.
Is there a cost involved?
CPD is a benefit of Individual Membership and is available at no extra cost.
Can I still do CPD if I have not applied within the first three months of my Membership?
As CPD is tied to the annual cycle of your Individual Membership, you would need to wait until the renewal of your Membership to apply. An application form will automatically be included with your renewal letter.
Do I need to have a CPD Manager?
Yes. Your CPD Manager must be identified before you register for CPD. Their name and email address will need to be supplied on your application form. Your CPD Manager will be required to complete a brief statement on the Personal Profile document confirming that you have met the CPD requirements before you submit to ICS.
Who should I chose to be my CPD Manager?
Your CPD Manager should be an individual from your workplace – perhaps your line manager, team leader or supervisor – who is in a position to support you with your CPD.
Must I have a CPD Mentor?
You may want to have a person other than your CPD Manager that you can discuss progress with or use as a 'sounding board' as you identify examples for your CPD Log. In this case we are suggesting that you identify a CPD Mentor but this is your choice.
What if my CPD Manager or Mentor changes during my CPD year?
This should not create a problem but you will need to arrange a 1:1 meeting before they finish in the role. In the 1:1 they will need to complete the Support Statement in the Personal Profile document as far as they can in support of the CPD work you have undertaken until that date. A sentence can then be added in your Personal Profile to state what has happened and to introduce your new CPD Manager or Mentor. Your new CPD Manager or Mentor will then complete the Personal Profile in the usual way when you are ready to submit it to ICS. All statements on the Personal Profile document will need to be submitted to ensure that ICS are aware of the change.
What materials will I receive from ICS when I register?
Usually within two weeks of receiving your CPD registration you will receive a welcome letter from ICS enclosing the CPD CD that contains all the instructions, information and documentation you will need in order to start.
What do I do if I feel I am not getting the right level of support from my CPD Manager?
It is your responsibility to proactively engage your CPD Manager. Ensure you book in some time to discuss CPD with them and help them understand what support you need. If you still feel you are not receiving the support you need, you can seek alternative support by changing your CPD Manager (see question above) or engaging a CPD Mentor.
If your line manager cannot support you through CPD, think about engaging your supervisor or team leader or possibly someone from within your Training & Development Team. It should be someone who can offer you the support you need and who will be able to comfortably complete the CPD Manager Support Statement at the end of your CPD period.
If I change job or employer can I continue with my CPD?
Yes, provided you can agree a new CPD Manager within your new employment. You should also sign off your CPD work so far, as explained in the previous answer above.
What materials will I receive from ICS when I register?
Usually within two weeks of receiving your CPD registration you will receive a welcome letter from ICS enclosing the CPD CD that contains all the instructions, information and documentation you will need in order to start.
What materials will my CPD Manager receive when I register?
Your CPD Manager will receive a welcome email from ICS, including details of the role and responsibilities of a CPD Manager, a copy of the CPD Professional Standards and a CPD Manager Support Record.
What if I don’t have access to a CD drive?
Your organisation may have the facility to save the documents onto their intranet or a shared drive; alternatively perhaps someone may be able to print them out for you. Otherwise, you can request a printed version from ICS. The templates for completion have been designed to either be typed or handwritten.
Do I have to complete the forms electronically?
No. The majority of people will complete their CPD electronically but if you prefer you can print the documents and then fill them out by hand
Does ICS provide materials in different formats to meet different needs?
Materials are provided on CD as standard. ICS can provide other versions in terms of format or print size upon request and would be happy to discuss how we may be able to meet any individual needs you may have.
What do I get on completion of CPD?
On successful completion of CPD you will receive an ICS certificate confirming your achievement and, subject to renewal of Membership, you will be able to use the designatory letters applicable to your Membership level. For Bronze and Silver Members this will be PMICS and for Gold Members who are already entitled to use PMICS, this will change to MICS.
What do the designatory letters MICS and PMICS stand for?
- MICS = Member of the Institute of Customer Service
- PMICS = Practitioner Member of the Institute of Customer Service.
Can I use designatory letters after my name when I complete my CPD?
As long as your Individual Membership remains current, you will be entitled to use your designatory letters.
What support will ICS provide?
As well as the CPD materials, ICS will send you emails of support during your CPD period. Typically these will include a reminder of the stages you should be at and may also include or refer to customer service related articles of interest.
What do I need to do to complete CPD?
CPD is about enhancing your knowledge, understanding, skills and behaviour through recording and reflecting on your learning at work. It might also include learning from activities in your personal life.
During your CPD period you will:
- reflect on your strengths and development needs through the completion of a self-assessment form
- use the CPD Log to plan, monitor and review your progress with your CPD activities
- record the impact and benefit of your CPD activities in the CPD Personal Profile
What do I need to submit to ICS on completion?
You will need to submit a full set of completed documents to ICS:
- Helping You Think About Yourself for CPD
- CPD Log
- CPD Personal Profile (including your CPD Manager's Support Statement and, if applicable, your CPD Mentor's Support Statement).
When do I submit my completed CPD to ICS?
You should aim to have everything completed, including the final meeting with your CPD Manager and Mentor (if you have one) by the end of month 10 of your Individual Membership. This will allow time for you to prepare and submit your CPD before the end of month 11 deadline.
CPD must be submitted to ICS no later than the end of month 11 of your Membership.
How do I submit my application for CPD attainment?
Your completed application can be sent to us in one of two ways:
- by emailing a full set of documents to: cpd@icsmail.co.uk
- by posting a photocopy of the full set of documents to:
Institute of Customer Service,
FREEPOST ANG 2768,
COLCHESTER
CO1 1YT.
How long will my CPD submission take to process?
Once received by ICS, it will be processed within 15 working days.
How will I be notified that my CPD meets with the ICS requirements?
You will be sent a letter of confirmation together with your CPD certificate, your application to renew your Individual Membership and a registration form for next year’s CPD.
Does my organisation have to be a Member of ICS for me to do CPD?
No. CPD is accessible to you because you are an ICS Individual Member. You will, however, need the support of a CPD Manager from within your organisation. You may wish to advise other people within your organisation that you are taking this next stage in your development, e.g. your ICS Professional Awards Manager, your Coach, etc.
I am an ICS Individual Member, do I have to do CPD?
No, CPD is optional. It does however offer you the opportunity to demonstrate that you have continued to develop personally and that you deliver service in line with the ICS Professional Standards in Customer Service.
I am a Customer Service NVQ level 2 holder who cannot achieve the next level qualification in my current job role. Can I do CPD?
Yes. CPD is suitable for you provided that you are or become an ICS Individual Member. NVQ/SVQ achievers at level 2 or 3 in Customer Service can join ICS at Bronze and Silver Membership level respectively. When you become a Member you will receive a CPD registration form. If you are already a Member we will be writing to you shortly but you can also download an application from this website.
About ICS Customer Service Forums
Can representatives of non-member organisations attend these events?
ICS Customer Service Forums are an organisational member benefit. They are not open to non-members. However, reports of these forums are available in the Events section of the website.
About ICS FirstImpressions
What are the benefits of this course?
ICS FirstImpressions provides delegates with a foundation in the knowledge,
understanding and skills needed to become a customer service professional.
Who is ICS FirstImpressions meant for?
Individuals who are working in a customer environment and want to begin the journey to
becoming a Customer Service Professional by developing their customer service
knowledge, understanding and skills.
About ICS FirstStep
How much does each test cost?
For organisations that are not ICS members, it is £40.00 per test.
Special terms are available for ICS member organisations.
Quantity discounts are also available to both member and non-members.
Please give me some more information about ICS FirstStep.
It is a 75 question online questionnaire that takes the participant approximately 20 minutes to complete. There are three customer service tests available relating to specific customer service roles. These are:
- inbound call centre
- face to face
- help desk - generic.
The results compare your applicant directly with the top customer service performers in a sample of ICS Members, all of them major UK organisations. The data produces a low, medium or high rating for seven key areas, which are:
- problem-solving
- assertiveness
- helpfulness
- confidence
- diligence
- empathy
- sociability.
About ICS JobsBoard
How much does it cost to use ICS JobsBoard?
There is no charge to jobseekers.
Charges for employers depend on the style of advertisement. As an example: - a semi-display advert (text and logo) costs £350 - a display advert (full page pdf) costs £600 However, there are quantity discounts and also special rates for extended periods of advertising (the normal is 4 weeks).
There are also opportunities to be the featured ‘job of the week’ and for banner advertising.
Details of charges for using ICS JobsBoard are best discussed directly by the employer with Jobsite. Call 0844 561 9172. ICS organisational members have access to special offers as a membership benefit.
Tell me about Jobsite UK, the company that is a partner of ICS to provide ICS JobsBoard
Jobsite UK are a leading UK internet recruitment company, founded in 1995. Their own recruitment site has over 60,000 job vacancies across all sectors in the UK. In addition to their main site, the company operates a number of specialist recruitment sites such as cityjobs.com (for jobs in the City of London), nhscareers.com (careers within NHS) and inhr.co.uk (careers in human resources). The ‘About us’ and ‘Jobsite Network’ pages at www.jobsite.co.uk give further information. The company is part of the Daily Mail Group.
About ICS ServCheck
Will staff understand the terminology used in ServCheck?
Over 5,000 staff have completed the survey. We've also published a guide which helps explain the intent of the various requirements.
The public sector use a different language in their dealings with each other which could affect their understanding of the requirements. How is that overcome?
A large number of public sector staff have understood the terminology sufficiently to have completed the survey. In addition, we are working with a Local Authority to ‘translate’ some of the terminology and, following consultation, we will introduce this as a variant.
About the National Occupational Standards and NSVQs
Is ICS the relevant body to approach to gain approval to offer the Customer Service NVQs/SVQs?
ICS does not deliver the NVQs or register accredited Centres for England and Wales. Once the National Occupational Standards become qualifications they are owned by Awarding Bodies who have the responsibility for the delivery and certification of the qualifications.
What are the requirements for the Northern Ireland frameworks?
The Framework for Northern Ireland is the same as England and Wales but we don’t promote it as, historically, it hasn’t been funded in N.I. and is not one of the Government’s priorities. If you are going ahead with it use all the documentation that applies to England and Wales, the system and the outcomes are the same. We will certainly still issue a completion certificate for Customer Service Apprentices in NI.
Are the NOS linked to Governments Customer Service Excellence Standard (formerly Charter Mark)?
No they are not the same thing. The Customer Service National Occupational Standards are measures of individual competence across all sectors whereas Customer Service Excellence is a measure of organisational performance primarily aimed at public services.
How does my organisation become an accredited Centre?
To become an accredited Centre to offer the NVQs/SVQs you will need to contact an Awarding Body who will take you through the Centre Approval process and advise you on delivery. They will also provide the student handbooks, etc, and verify the candidate’s work.
All Awarding Bodies offer the NVQs/SVQs as the same qualification. However, their prices, practices and processes may differ. We are not allowed to recommend one Awarding Body over another. If your organisation already uses one of these for other qualifications it might be easier for you to stay with the one you know. Otherwise, we would suggest you contact one or more and ask them to visit you to explain the process.
Each Awarding Body is easy to find on the internet – just type in their abbreviated name and you will find all the information you need including telephone numbers and email addresses. In the list of Awarding Bodies, the number next to each Body is the qualification number for the Customer Service NVQ/SVQ at each Level.
What would be involved in the process of gaining an NVQ in Customer Service?
Although we develop the Standards that customer service NVQs are based on we do not deliver the NVQs from here, they are owned by Awarding Bodies e.g. City and Guilds, OCR / EDI etc. You would need to contact your local Learning and Skills Council who can advise you of the training providers in your area.
Where can I find a list of Awarding Bodies that offer the Customer Service NVQs/SVQs?
A list of Awarding Bodies that offer the Customer Service NVQ/SVQ is available in the Qualifications section of our website.
Is ICS a Standards Setting Body?
ICS is the Standard Setting Body for Customer Service and our role is to develop the National Occupational Standards with the Frameworks and Assessment Guidance for the NVQs/SVQs.
I have been told by my manager that the Vocationally Related Qualifications (VRQ) type of technical certificate negates the need for The Employment Rights and Responsibilities (ERR)
The Employment Rights and Responsibilities (ERR) were introduced by the Secretary of State in 2003 and requires all apprenticeship frameworks to incorporate material covering:
- the rights and responsibilities of workers (including equal opportunities legislation)
- the organisation, disciplines and representative structures of the industries concerned
- the impact on the sector of public law and policies.
An apprentice must complete this checklist to be able to claim a Customer Service Apprenticeship Completion Certificate.
Can ICS can recommend any particular resource materials to support the Customer Service Level 2 NVQ?
The only recommendation is for a book called Best Practice Guide for Customer Service Professionals by Stephanie Edwards and can be ordered from the ICS online shop or from Amazon. This book is only valuable to Level 2 Candidates who are hoping to gain NVQ or Technical Certificate in Customer Service and is a revised edition.
About UKCSI
How can we improve our response rate for UKCSI?
There are a number of ways that response rates can be improved:
- ensure that a letter of encouragement is sent to customers before the survey link is distributed
- place a link to the survey on your website
- publicise the survey in all correspondence to customers during survey period and give link
- follow-up communication to potential respondents thanking them if they have responded and encouraging them if they have not
- place a PC in public area and encourage visitors to use it
- offer a small prize for response
- consider a paper-based survey (extra cost)
- use your own customer satisfaction measurement if you have insufficient email addresses
Do we need extra respondents for our UKCSI customer satisfaction survey?
The responses of 100 customers are included as standard because this will normally produce an accurate representation of your customers views. You may wish to have extra responses if you have a customer base which is large and very diverse. However, please bear in mind that a larger response requirement may need a much larger pool of customers to draw from. Please contact us if you wish to discuss this area.