Exit Memo: administrative officer, customer resolution

We asked members of the Apolitical Community to write-up a prospective “exit memo” for their role to increase visibility of the different kinds of work being done across government.

**Your job title: **Administrative Officer, Customer Resolution

How would you describe your job to a friend? I mainly deal with queries from customers regarding payments made to farmers in respect of the Basic Payment Scheme. I deal with queries that have been made via stakeholders, such as the National Farmers' Union or the customers' members of parliament (MPs). I compare the customer's application to data held in our systems, identifying anomalies and making the necessary corrections. I sometimes have to hand off to other teams depending on the nature of the issue: for example, land may need to be re-digitised by our mapping team.

I also arrange for ad-hoc payments to customers who may be suffering hardship and or where animal welfare has become an issue. My role requires strong analytical skills to determine anomalies within the claim, good communication skills at all levels and the ability to build strong relationships with colleagues within and outside of my team.

What are your daily/weekly/monthly responsibilities? Daily processing of claim data to progress adjustments through the different scheme years. Keeping an accurate record of actions for audit purposes and management information. Manual payment processing on an ad-hoc basis. Weekly review of outstanding cases, chasing other teams for progress updates. Daily managing of complaints queue and allocating these to the correct team for action. Dealing with emails daily and ensuring any actions are carried out or escalated.

What does your successor need to know to succeed? In order to succeed I think you need to enjoy problem solving and have strong analytical skills. The aim is to thoroughly check the claims and correct all errors found. A detailed response to the customer is essential to prevent further queries and escalation to the complaint or appeal stage of the query progress. As cases come via MPs, the minister or stakeholders, they have a high profile and can be scrutinised at a high level, therefore it is important that a quality service is provided. Strong communication skills via telephone or in writing are essential, together with being well-organised as updates can be requested at any time by various interested parties.

What are some current projects you're working on? One case I am working on relates to a customer who has challenged the results from an inspection that was carried out in which the department found several ineligible areas of land within a parcel which the customer disputes are eligible to claim under the scheme rules. I am currently checking the inspection report and comparing it to our data within our Land Management System, so have handed off a query to our mapping team and am awaiting a response.

I am working on another case where I have asked our Policy Team to consider accepting a claim from a first time claimant who has omitted to complete all the necessary paperwork. If they feel it meets the criteria under the scheme rules "Obvious Error" provision, they will instruct whether or not it can be accepted and if so, will advise me what is required from the customer to progress the claim.

Want to increase visibility for your work, and help colleagues learn about your role? Inform the Apolitical community and submit your own exit memo here.

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