Applying for a job in the Civil Service and told you will be assessed on the behaviour Managing a Quality Service? Unsure what that means and looking for questions with example answers for inspiration?

Managing a Quality Service is one of the Civil Service 9 core behaviours included in the success profiles framework. It is a key competency and one that is required at all levels in all departments. Indeed, outside of the Civil Service and Government the ability to manage resources and to deal with clients and customers effectively is a key skill.

About The Managing a Quality Service Civil Service Behaviour

First, let’s look at the formal Civil Service definition which is:

To deliver service objectives with professional excellence, expertise and efficiency, taking account of diverse customer needs.

Managing a Quality Service relates equally to the way you complete your daily work right up to controlling large teams and delivering major projects.

It relates equally to how you complete your own area of work right up to managing large teams and delivering major projects.

What Does Managing a Quality Service Mean?

Put into simple terms, managing a quality service is all about completing your job and meeting your objectives in the most efficient and effective way.

It can involve providing the best possible service to others both external or internal such as other departments, teams or stakeholders.

Depending on the role, it may require dealing directly face to face with customers. For example, a DWP Work Coach role brings direct contact with clients and Managing a Quality Service would be an essential behaviour.

Managing a Quality Service Interview Questions

Here are a small selection of interview questions related to Managing a Quality Service taken from the InterviewGold online training system. How would you answer?

• Can you describe a time when you have been proactive in finding a solution to a problem encountered by your customers. (Get answers)
• How do you measure performance in your role/department and what initiatives have you implemented recently which were particularly successful?  (Get answers)
• Describe a time when you had to work exceptionally hard to provide great service. What did you do and what was the outcome? (Get answers)
• Describe a time when you added maximum value to the delivery of public services and outline how you would achieve this in our department. (Get answers)
• Tell me about a time when you went above your normal duties to help a customer or colleague. What was involved and what was the result. (Get answers)
• Talk us through a scenario where you have used technology to manage client contacts and improve customer servicing? (Get answers)

The panel will listen for key positive behaviours and they will score your answer based on what they hear. They will note words or phrases or actions that tick these boxes and that demonstrate your ability.

They will also listen for a demonstration of relevant strengths and you can find these in your interview invite. Your answer must be well formed and sufficiently detailed to score well.

How to Answer Managing a Quality Service Questions

As mentioned above you may be asked to demonstrate Managing a Quality Service in a number of ways both on your application in the form of a behaviour statement and in the interview when answering questions. We will show you how to answer questions about Managing a Quality Service successfully by firstly giving you some  here are some tips on how to show this competency and secondly we talk about the format to use when structuring your answers.

How to Demonstrate Managing a Quality Service

So, just how would you can demonstrate Managing a Quality by referring to everyday tasks and projects where this skill is required.

• In your day-to-day work and in the examples you talk about in the interview or on the application you will need to show that you plan, organise, deliver and adapt your service in an effective way.
• You must show that you provide excellent customer service and you take the diverse needs of the clients you’re dealing with into account.
• Clearly demonstrate excellent planning, organisational and time-management skills. Overall show that you are reliable and efficient in your tasks. Be aware of and apply accepted frameworks, such as risk-management within a project for example.
• Use your communication skills to gather information from your clients, to anticipate their needs and resolve issues.
• For senior posts, it’s about creating a working environment that encourages excellence. Promote efficiency in the delivery of the service while also making sure that the service is as cost-effective and as appropriate as possible.
• Value for money is a key component of this behaviour especially for senior candidates with experience of procurement and resource allocation. Show an ability to get maximum benefit for expenditure.

Correct Structure to use when Answering

You must use the STAR formula or method when answering questions about Managing a Quality Service or indeed any of the other core behaviours. This works great both when creating a behaviour statement or simply giving an answer in a video or face to face interview.

The example you choose must be relevant, strong and must clearly demonstrate this competency so as to score high marks. In our coaching practice, we so often hear weak examples being used when in fact candidates have much better achievements they can talk about.  A top tip is to review your achievements both inside and outside of work or even in volunteering roles to get a great example to talk about.

Managing a Quality Service Examples

For both the application and again in your interview, your answers must clearly show your experience with this behaviour. To do that you must choose a strong, relevant example to talk about. Format it correctly, emphasise the behaviour clearly and show that you are competent.

Managing a Quality Service can be demonstrated in many forms both inside and outside of work and here are some potential scenarios to help refresh your memory when choosing your examples.

Can you recall a time when you….

• Dealt with a particularly difficult customer complaint and personally managed it to ensure the customer got the highest level of service.
• Did something extra to improve the level of service you gave a client, perhaps went over and above what the customer expected while always working within your policy and procedures.
• Adapted the way you completed a task or serviced a customer so as to get a better result or complete it faster or to a better standard.
• Did something to increase productivity, profits or save costs while maintaining top quality.

Managing a Quality Service – 250 Word Statement STAR Sample

Here is a sample answer for Managing a Quality Service using the STAR formula. This example is for a junior post and is circa 250 words. See here how you can get detailed STAR examples personalised to you and your target job. For all levels from Fast Stream, AA/AO, EO, HEO, SEO to G7/6.

How to get your target Civil Service job with InterviewGold

The InterviewGold online interview training platform covers Civil Service interviews, Success Profiles and behaviours in detail. It is designed to rapidly bring your interview skills up to date and help you answer brilliantly whether on an application, in an interview or during an assessment centre.

Here are just some of the ways in which InterviewGold will help you succeed in your Civil Service interview.

• Our advanced Answer Builder will create TAILOR MADE answers to any question for application and interview.
• Practice with Civil Service blended, technical and strengths mock interviews with likely questions.
• Use the expertly written and detailed STAR sample interview answer templates both 250 words and longer to guide you.
• Detailed personal statements and answers for behaviour and suitability statements.
• Expert lessons covering the 9 Civil Service behaviours, examples to choose and what to say.
• Learn how to give a brilliant presentation.
• Review your performance with the powerful webcam recorder module and repeat until perfect.