Customer Service Advisor

Are you passionate about delivering exceptional customer experiences? Are you confident in your communication skills both verbal and written? Can you deliver an exceptional customer experience every time? If so, we’d love to hear from you! Join our Customer Service team and be the first point of contact for our customers when they need us the most, regardless of communication channel.

Working Hours/ Shift Patterns: You will work 37.5 hours per week including 3-4 weekends out of 8. If you work a weekend shift, you’ll get time off in the week. Our opening hours: Monday to Friday 08:00 - 19:00, Saturday 09:00 – 17:00 and Sunday 09:00 – 13:00.

Training: Our 12 week training programme is delivered face to face in the office. The first 8 weeks focus on core learning, followed by continued in‑office support through to week 12 as you build confidence and embed your skills. Your training will consist of learning both our Customer Service journeys (telephony and digital) so you’re fully equipped to support customers across all channels. After completing the full programme, you’ll receive sign‑off from a trainer or team leader before moving to hybrid working and into your permanent team.

Holiday Allowance During Training: To ensure you gain the maximum benefit from our training programme and feel fully supported as you begin your career, holiday will be limited during the initial training period. One day of holiday is permitted within the first 4 weeks. From weeks 5 to 12, holiday requests will be reviewed on a case‑by‑case basis.

Our approach to Hybrid Working: With hybrid working, you have more flexibility, as you usually only have to visit our office once a week and work remotely for the rest of the time. You can always opt to work from the office more frequently if that suits you better. When we organise training and events you may be required to attend in person for the duration.

Salary: The starting salary is £26,230, plus a comprehensive benefits package. Upon completing the training and coaching period, which typically lasts 12 weeks, the salary will automatically increase to £26,550. There will be further opportunities for salary progression up to £29,500, depending on your commitment to personal development and career growth.

Location: Our fantastic Bexhill office, which is next to the seafront, and only a short walk from Collington station.

Your role: Our Customer Service department is searching for a dedicated Representative to manage telephony communications. In this Customer focused role, you’ll be the first point of contact primarily handling inbound calls. You will assist customers with various inquiries, ranging from providing information about our products and policies to adjusting and adding additional products. As you grow in the role and demonstrate key competencies, you'll have the opportunity to expand your skillset by engaging with customers through our digital communication channels, where business demand requires.

What we're looking for in a Customer Service Representative:

• Self-motivated individuals who focus on customer outcomes, uphold our values, and take pride in their work.
• Effective communicator both written and verbal to ensure we support customer to make an informed decision.
• Someone who's accountable, thorough, and pays attention to detail.
• Someone who can demonstrate flexibility and resilience through navigating change and continuous improvement.
• Is comfortable navigating and utilising multiple IT systems to achieve work objectives.
• Continually evaluates customer needs to determine the appropriate channel for communication.

What we offer: Join us and you’ll find a different way of doing things. We call it the 4Cs. So, we focus on getting it right for our colleagues, customers, company and community. As one of our colleagues, you’ll be helping to drive our growth, so in return, we’ll give you all the support, training and development you need. That includes initial in-house training on our products and systems, as well as taking live calls alongside an experienced colleague, and regular, on-going training tailored to your individual needs. Not to mention plenty of recognition and rewards, and the scope to voice your ideas and put them into practice. And the chance to develop your career across our business, with opportunities for secondments, or to become a coach.

Benefits you’ll receive:

• Up to 5% annual discretionary Bonus
• Hybrid working (1 day per week in the office with the option to do more depending on your preference)
• A fantastic open plan modern office
• We promote a relaxed, friendly & diverse working environment
• 'Harrys’ - a great onsite restaurant, with a wide range of choice at breakfast and lunchtime & an on-site Costa coffee
• 25 days holiday and bank holidays equivalent (plus buy and sell up to 5 days)
• Pension match up to 10% of your salary
• Life insurance (4 x base salary)
• Discounted Hasting Direct products
• Discounts & cashback with well-known retailers
• Tech scheme, cycle to work, health assessments, and skin check - on completion of probation
• Refer a friend scheme - earn £500 for every friend you refer
• We will provide you will all the tech that you need! Including a brand-new Microsoft Surface laptop

As a Disability Confident employer, we’re committed to ensuring our recruitment processes are fully inclusive – what this means to you is if you’re applying for a job with us, you’ll have fair access to support and adjustments throughout your recruitment journey. For this position, we’re regrettably unable to accept applications through the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) due to the extremely high volumes of applications we receive. However, what we put in place for these positions instead in order to remove barriers is an opportunity for all candidates to complete first stage assessments, in the form of some online exercises, which we can also provide adjustments for on a case-by-case basis. For more information on the DCS, please visit our inclusive business page on our careers site. If you require any reasonable adjustments to be made throughout the assessment process you should contact the recruitment team at recruitmentteam@hastingsdirect.com prior to starting any assessments, in order that adjustments can be considered.

Hastings Group is an equal opportunities employer which means we treat people fairly. We welcome applications from all suitably skilled persons regardless of their gender, age, race, disability, ethnic background, religion/belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or marital/family status. Please also note that we have a thorough referencing process, which includes credit and criminal record checks. At Hastings Direct, we’re committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, we encourage you to be open with us. Our recruitment team is here to provide the support you need to ensure a fair and accessible experience for all.