What is ICS qualified individual membership?
I was attracted by the access to information, ideas and research. I was surprised to receive a call at home informing me that I’d been accepted as a Companion Member, but that was typical of a very personal approach that impressed me. Now I always look forward to receiving all ICS information, especially customerfirst – I have quite a library now and regularly share them with colleagues to inspire ideas. We also use ICS research to inform some of our own strategies and plans. Read more about Shirley Thorne, Companion Member
Our qualification shows that you’ve achieved a national standard in customer service and gives you independently recognised customer service professional status. It’s a clear statement about your achievement and potential.
To become a qualified member of ICS, you need to have been assessed against ICS standards for the level of membership you want to apply for. The generic term customer service professional is used to cover all qualified members.
Who are customer service professionals, and what do they do?
Customer service professionals do all sorts of jobs and work in all sorts of organisations. Their main responsibility is often to make sure customers get a high standard of service. This responsibility may be very clear from their job title – for example, customer service assistant or customer services officer. But even where their job isn’t quite so obviously about customer service – shop assistant, receptionist, hospital porter – customer service professionals understand that satisfying customers is at the heart of what they do.
Customer service professionals are also employed in leadership and management roles. This may involve setting their organisation’s strategy for customer service, or leading a team that delivers service direct to customers. Other customer service professionals provide support, for example by training people who are still developing their customer service skills.
Trends in the labour market mean that customer service professionals are in ever-greater demand. So more and more job and career opportunities are becoming available to them.
There are three broad categories of qualified membership:
Practitioners
For people who deliver customer service to a defined national standard
Assessors, developers and trainers
For people who support customer service practitioners and help them bring their customer service delivery up to a defined national standard
Leaders and managers
For people who lead and manage customer service and create an environment where customer service practitioners can meet a defined national standard
Student member
For people who are working towards a qualification or other programme of learning and development that is recognised by ICS
You can read more about each level of membership in each category and what you need to do to become a member. Or, if you know which level of membership you want to apply for, fill out the individual membership registration form.