The Helpline Adviser role
The Helpline adviser role is challenging, interestingand one which requires a variety of skills to deal with the range of different queries received each day. Helpline advisers have to be patient, excellent communicators and be able to empathise and be assertive while being impartial, courteous and tactful.
A Helpline adviser’s duties are carried out on the telephone and advisers are rostered to take calls for up to 7 hours most days where there are no offline activities. Calls can last anywhere from 3 minutes to over 60 minutes, some long calls can be draining but the average Helpline call is around 6-7 minutes.
A Helpline adviser will speak to between 30 and 60customers in any day. These queries can cover any area of employment law or employment relations and may come from employers or employees or from representatives of either of the two parties. These may include solicitors, accountants, Trade Unions, Citizens Advice Bureau, relatives or friends etc. Most callers are grateful for our help but occasionally you have to give people information they don’t like – for example, they have no rights in their situation and people may become angry.
Helpline advisers are given full training in employment law and customer service skills. They constantly improve their knowledge and skills through continuous professional development, for example through reading and sharing knowledge with colleagues.Managers provide regular coachingwhich helps to develop advisers and improve the quality of their calls.
An Adviser’s working week is scheduled centrally using a rostering system managed by a rostering team. Advisers can state preferences but a typical week would include a mixture of shifts ending at 5pm, 6pm and 8pm. A Saturday shift of 9 – 1pm is worked approximately one in five weeks. The shifts are sent out four weeks in advance and there is scope for Advisers to swap with each other using the rostering tool but Advisers are expected to work the shifts they have been allocated between 8am – 8pm and Saturday 9am – 1pm.
The best thing about the job is that you are helping people make their working life better and there is no paperwork or ‘in tray’ so at the end of the day, your last call ends and your work is done. The role is also one which can bring great job satisfaction and there are opportunities to get involved in other aspects of helpline work - for example through tutoring and the role of deputy manager – as well as wider Acas work.
Like many operational roles within Acas a helpline adviser is at the sharp end of the work that we do; championing our messages of early dispute resolution, and promoting business effectiveness, but at its most fundamental level it’s about helping people.