Make telephone calls to customers — Highfield Qualifications End-Point Assessment Marketing & Sales Revision

    This element explores the practical skills required to initiate and conduct effective telephone conversations with customers, a vital competence in recruit

    Topic Synopsis

    This element explores the practical skills required to initiate and conduct effective telephone conversations with customers, a vital competence in recruitment resourcing. Candidates must demonstrate the ability to prepare for calls by researching client or candidate backgrounds, setting clear objectives, and anticipating potential queries. Through structured call handling, they apply active listening and questioning techniques to achieve call outcomes while maintaining a professional and compliant approach.

    Key Concepts & Core Principles

    Exam Tips & Revision Strategies

    Common Misconceptions & Mistakes to Avoid

    Examiner Marking Points

    Make telephone calls to customers

    HIGHFIELD QUALIFICATIONS
    vocational

    This element explores the practical skills required to initiate and conduct effective telephone conversations with customers, a vital competence in recruitment resourcing. Candidates must demonstrate the ability to prepare for calls by researching client or candidate backgrounds, setting clear objectives, and anticipating potential queries. Through structured call handling, they apply active listening and questioning techniques to achieve call outcomes while maintaining a professional and compliant approach.

    1
    Learning Outcomes
    5
    Assessment Guidance
    6
    Key Skills
    1
    Key Terms
    6
    Assessment Criteria

    Assessment criteria

    Highfield Level 2 NVQ Certificate in Recruitment Resourcing (RQF)

    Topic Overview

    The Highfield Level 2 NVQ Certificate in Recruitment Resourcing (RQF) is a vocational qualification designed for individuals working in recruitment support roles, such as resourcers or recruitment administrators. This qualification focuses on the practical skills and knowledge required to source candidates, manage job vacancies, and support the recruitment process effectively. It covers key areas like candidate attraction, screening, compliance checks, and maintaining accurate records, ensuring learners can contribute to the efficiency and success of a recruitment team.

    This qualification is part of the Marketing & Sales sector within Highfield Qualifications, reflecting the critical role recruitment plays in business growth. By mastering these competencies, students enhance their employability in the recruitment industry, where demand for skilled resourcers remains high. The NVQ is assessed through work-based evidence, making it directly relevant to real-world scenarios and enabling learners to demonstrate their abilities in a practical context.

    Understanding this qualification helps students appreciate how recruitment resourcing supports wider business objectives, such as talent acquisition and workforce planning. It also lays the foundation for career progression into more senior recruitment roles, such as consultant or manager. The content is structured to build confidence in using recruitment systems, complying with legal requirements, and delivering a positive candidate experience.

    Key Concepts

    Core ideas you must understand for this topic

    • →Candidate sourcing: Using job boards, social media, networking, and databases to identify potential candidates for specific roles.
    • →Screening and shortlisting: Reviewing CVs, conducting initial interviews, and assessing candidates against job specifications to create a shortlist.
    • →Compliance and legal requirements: Understanding right-to-work checks, data protection (GDPR), and equality legislation to ensure fair and lawful recruitment.
    • →Record keeping and CRM systems: Maintaining accurate candidate and vacancy records using recruitment software to track progress and support reporting.
    • →Client and candidate communication: Effectively liaising with hiring managers and candidates to manage expectations, provide updates, and gather feedback.

    Learning Objectives

    What you need to know and understand

    • Understand how to make telephone calls to customers, Be able to plan telephone calls to customers, Be able to make telephone calls to customers

    Assessment Criteria

    Key criteria assessors look for in your portfolio

    • Award credit for demonstrating a structured call plan that includes a clear objective, identified decision-maker, and tailored questions relevant to the recruitment need.
    • Look for evidence of a professional opening: prompt greeting, clear identification of self and organization, and confirmation of purpose and availability.
    • Assess the candidate's use of open and closed questioning to gather information, clarify requirements, and check understanding throughout the call.
    • Evidence must show the ability to handle objections or unexpected responses calmly, using empathy and repositioning the call focus as needed.
    • Expect a clear closing: summarising agreed actions, confirming next steps, and thanking the customer in a courteous manner.
    • Check that post-call records are updated accurately and promptly, including any follow-up tasks and compliance notes (e.g., GDPR consent).

    Assessment Guidance

    Guidance for achieving higher grades

    • 💡Provide a portfolio of evidence that includes call planning documents, annotated call recordings or detailed witness testimonies from assessors, and samples of post-call communications.
    • 💡Showcase a variety of call types (e.g., initial contact, follow-up, handling a complaint) to demonstrate versatility and depth of skill.
    • 💡Include a reflective account or log for each call, explaining your choice of techniques, what went well, and what you would improve.
    • 💡When being observed, speak clearly, use the customer’s name, and actively signpost key stages of the call (e.g., ‘I’d like to summarise what we’ve discussed so far’).
    • 💡Ensure all evidence aligns with current data protection legislation and your organisation’s policies, as assessors will check for legal compliance.
    • 💡Provide specific examples from your workplace to support your evidence. For instance, describe a time you sourced a hard-to-fill role using a creative method, and explain the outcome.
    • 💡Ensure you reference relevant legislation, such as the Equality Act 2010 or GDPR, when discussing screening or data handling. This shows you understand the legal context.
    • 💡Use your CRM system reports or screenshots as evidence to demonstrate your ability to maintain accurate records and track candidate progress.

    Common Mistakes

    Common errors to avoid in your coursework

    • Launching into the call without adequate preparation, leading to a lack of focus and missed opportunities to gather key information.
    • Failing to establish rapport at the start, which can make the customer defensive or disengaged.
    • Dominating the conversation instead of listening actively, resulting in failure to understand the customer's real needs.
    • Not confirming or clarifying information during the call, leading to misunderstandings and incorrect data recording.
    • Neglecting to summarise agreed actions before ending the call, causing ambiguity about next steps.
    • Omitting mandatory compliance statements (e.g., data protection, call recording) where required, risking regulatory breaches.
    • Misconception: Recruitment resourcing is just about posting job ads. Correction: It involves proactive sourcing, screening, compliance checks, and relationship management, not just advertising vacancies.
    • Misconception: Compliance checks are optional or can be rushed. Correction: Legal requirements like right-to-work checks are mandatory and must be completed accurately to avoid penalties and ensure ethical hiring.
    • Misconception: Record keeping is unimportant admin work. Correction: Accurate records are vital for tracking candidate progress, demonstrating compliance, and improving recruitment strategies.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Common questions students ask about this topic

    Before You Start

    Prior knowledge that will help with this topic

    • •Basic understanding of the recruitment industry and common job roles.
    • •Familiarity with using computers and standard office software (e.g., email, spreadsheets).
    • •Some workplace experience in an administrative or customer service role is beneficial but not essential.

    Key Terminology

    Essential terms to know

    • Understand how to make telephone calls to customers, Be able to plan telephone calls to customers, Be able to make telephone calls to customers

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