Article Sidebar

Submitted
August 1, 2023
Published
July 2, 2024
Download
DOWNLOAD PDF
Statistic
Read Counter : 169

Main Article Content

Abstract

Customer service is a core competitive edge in any service industry, including the retail banking sector. However, retail bank customers, especially in Angola, often complained of standing in long queues waiting to be served and difficulty handling technology while transitioning to online banking. This qualitative single-case study used competency-based theory to develop a framework for the customer service training competencies of a selected retail bank in Angola. Purposeful sampling was employed to select eight participants, including bank employees and customers who voluntarily participated in this study. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews using WhatsApp calls and audio recordings. It was thematically analyzed using the HyperResearch software. The emerging themes included change, customer service, responsiveness, human resource process improvement, managerial competency, customer relationship management, and online banking. The findings have implications for bank employees’ training and development of the identified competencies needed to redefine the future of customer relationship management and different dimensions of managing customer satisfaction for proactive business recovery.

Keywords

Customer service Training competencies re-engineering post-Covid 19 era Framework Angola

Article Details

Author Biographies

Edivaldo Abel, Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies, Philippines

Edivaldo de Jesus Abel is currently a PhD Business candidate at Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies (AIIAS) in Silang, Cavite, Philippines. He is the founder, Chief Finance Officer, and Membership Coordinator of the Qualitative Research Association of Africa (QRAAF). His current research interests include talent management, organization effectiveness, digital evangelism, research methodology, training and development, entrepreneurship, and branding image.

Kepha O. Pondi, Pacific Adventist University, Papua New Guinea

Kepha Pondi, PhD, is the Dean of Research and Postgraduate Studies at Pacific Adventist University, Papua New Guinea. His research interests include interdisciplinary research, social capital, finance, and organizational development.

 

How to Cite
Abel, E., & Pondi, K. O. (2024). A Framework of Customer Service Training Competencies for Proactive Business Recovery in a Post-COVID Era: A Case Study. Pan-African Journal of Education and Social Sciences, 5(1), 120–132. https://doi.org/10.56893/pajes2024v05i01.10
Download Citation
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)
BibTeX
Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC

References

  1. Agha, S., Alrubaiee, L., & Jamhour, M. (2012). Effect of core competence on competitive advantage and organizational performance. International Journal of Business and Management, 7(1), 192. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijbm.v7n1p192
  2. Anjum, S., & Ali, T. (2018). Role of effective training and development programs in achieving high professional performance in the Asian banking industry. Journal of Finance, Accounting, and Management, 9(2), 1-10. https://shorturl.at/dkYGV
  3. Armstrong, M., & Taylor, S. (2020). Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice (15th ed). Kogan Page.
  4. Baicu, C. G., Gârdan, I. P., Gârdan, D. A., & Epuran, G. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 on consumer behavior in retail banking. Evidence from Romania. Management & Marketing, 15(s1), 534-556. https://doi.org/10.2478/mmcks-2020-0031
  5. Barodiya, P., & Chauhan, A. S. (2015). Impact of Retail Banking on Indian Economy. International Journal of Scientific Research, 6, 3295-3299. https://shorturl.at/JcGtG
  6. BBC Africa. (November 2016). Why Zimbabweans are spending the night outside banks. Retrieved from https://shorturl.at/agyA1
  7. Bhat, S. A., Darzi, M. A., & Parrey, S. H. (2018). Antecedents of customer loyalty in banking sector: a mediational study. Vikalpa, 43(2), 92-105. https://doi.org/10.1177/0256090918774697
  8. Bick, G., Abratt, R., Möller, D. (2010). Customer service expectations in retail banking in Africa. South African Journal of Business Management, 41(2), 13-28. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajbm.v41i2.515
  9. Bin Atan, J., Raghavan, S., & Mahmood, N. H. N. (2015). Impact of training on employees’ job performance: A case study of Malaysian small medium enterprise. Review of Management, 5(1/2), 40. https://shorturl.at/UQjK9
  10. Biswas, S., Carson, B., Chung, V., Singh, S., & Thomas, R. (2020). AI-bank of the future: Can banks meet the AI challenge? McKinsey & Company.
  11. Bloomberg, L. D., & Volpe, M. (2018). Completing your qualitative dissertation. A road map from beginning to end. Sage.
  12. Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, D. J. (2018). Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed). Sage.
  13. Darjana, D., Wiryono, S. K., & Koesrindartoto, D. P. (2022). The COVID-19 pandemic impact on the banking sector. Asian Economics Letters, 3(Early View), 29955. https://doi.org/10.46557/001c.29955
  14. Das, J., & Jain, P. K. (2018). Level of job satisfaction in private sector banks: a comparative study of various private sector banks of Guwahati. SUMEDHA Journal of Management, 7(3), 29-39. https://shorturl.at/nwURD
  15. Deshpande, S., & Munshi, M. M. (2020). The impact of soft skills training on the behavior and work performance of employees in service organizations. IUP Journal of Soft Skills, 14(1). https://shorturl.at/HTeGY
  16. Dessler, G. (2020). Human resource management (16th ed). Pearson.
  17. Dikshit, A., & Jain, T. K. (2017). Employee Retention, Training and Development in Banking Sector: A Review Paper. Training and Development in Banking Sector: A Review Paper (May 18, 2017). http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2970490
  18. Dong, Y. (2021). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the banking sector: Evidence from China and the US. (Publication No. [Master thesis, Jönköping University]. https://shorturl.at/PFUFl
  19. Elnahass, M., Trinh, V. Q., & Li, T. (2021). Global banking stability in the shadow of Covid-19 outbreak. Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, 72, 101322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intfin.2021.101322
  20. Fuller, R. P., & Rice, R. E. (2022). Nonprofit organization communication, crisis planning, and strategic responses to the COVID‐19 pandemic. Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing, 27(3), e1750. https://doi.org/10.1002/nvsm.1750
  21. Ganesh, A. (2012). A Study on training and employee development in commercial Banks. Journal of Commerce & Accounting Research, 1(2), 1-13. https://shorturl.at/XN7Ww
  22. Gangrade, S., & Jain, R. K. (2018). Factors affecting customer retention in banks: an empirical study. Prestige International Journal of Management and Research, 10(4), 124-130. https://shorturl.at/oMdII
  23. George, E., & Zakkariya, K. A. (2015). Job-related stress and job satisfaction: A comparative study among bank employees. Journal of Management Development, 34(3), 316-329. https://shorturl.at/qfwvy
  24. Gioia, D. A., & Pitre, E. (1990). Multiparadigm perspectives on theory building. Academy of Management Review, 15(4), 584-602. https://shorturl.at/6xe5A
  25. Groth, M., Wu, Y., Nguyen, H., & Johnson, A. (2019). The moment of truth: A review, synthesis, and research agenda for the customer service experience. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 6, 89-113. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012218-015056
  26. Jayanthi, D. V., & Anupama, R. (2020). The impact of customer knowledge management and customer satisfaction on customer trust and loyalty in the banking sector. Our Heritage, 68(10), 50-56. https://shorturl.at/DMbgE
  27. Haapio, H., Mero, J., Karjaluoto, H. (2021). Implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on market orientation in retail banking. Journal of Financial Services Marketing, 26(4), 205-214. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41264-021-00099-9
  28. Heyes, J., & Stuart, M. (1996). Does training matter? Employee experiences and attitudes. Human Resource Management Journal, 6(3), 7-21. https://shorturl.at/PaY2y
  29. Hinson, R. E., Adeola, O., Nkrumah, K. O., Agyinasare, C., Adom, K., & Amartey, A. F. O. (2019). Customer service essentials: lessons for Africa and beyond. IAP. https://shorturl.at/WW827
  30. Islam, R., Ahmed, S., Rahman, M., & Al Asheq, A. (2020). Determinants of service quality and its effect on customer satisfaction and loyalty: an empirical study of the private banking sector. The TQM Journal, 33(6), 1163-1182. https://doi.org/10.1108/TQM-05-2020-0119
  31. Kazira, A. E. (2014). The relationship between Human Resource Management Practices and employee commitment in retail banking of Standard Chartered Bank of Kenya (Doctoral dissertation). University of Nairobi, Kenya. https://shorturl.at/mLyV9
  32. Lewis, B. R., & Mitchell, V. W. (1990). Defining and measuring the quality of customer service. Marketing intelligence & planning. https://shorturl.at/Fp06L
  33. Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Sage.
  34. Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (2013). The constructivist credo. Left Coast.
  35. Loke, S. P., Taiwo, A. A., Salim, H. M., Downe, A. G., & Petronas, U. T. (2011). Service quality and customer satisfaction in a telecommunication service provider. In International Conference on Financial Management and Economics. IPEDR, 11(2), 23-29. https://shorturl.at/leW9c
  36. Ludin, I. H. B. H., & Cheng, B. L. (2014). Factors influencing customer satisfaction and e-loyalty: Online shopping environment among the young adults. Management Dynamics in the Knowledge Economy, 2(3), 462. https://shorturl.at/wlVBg
  37. Luo, C. C., Wang, Y. C., & Tai, Y. F. (2019). Effective training methods for fostering exceptional service employees. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, 2(4), 469-488. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTI-01-2019-0013
  38. Masanja, N. M. (2019). Human resource manual: A practical guide for human resource practitioners. Retrieved from https://shorturl.at/gO9F9
  39. Maggon, M., & Chaudhry, H. (2018). Exploring relationships between customer satisfaction and customer attitude from customer relationship management viewpoint: An empirical study of leisure travelers. FIIB Business Review, 7(1), 57-65. https://doi.org/10.1177/2319714518766118
  40. Marcu, M. R. (2021). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the banking sector. Management Dynamics in the Knowledge Economy. https://tinyurl.com/4uyw3hn2
  41. McClelland, D. C. (1973). Testing for competence rather than for “intelligence.” American Psychologist, 28(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0034092
  42. McClelland, D. C. (1998). Identifying competencies with behavioral-event interviews. Psychological Science, 9(5), 331-339. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40063317
  43. Merriam, S. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education. Jossey-Bass.
  44. Merriam, S. B., Tisdell, E. J. (2016). Qualitative research is a guide to design and implementation. Wiley.
  45. Milan, G. S., Slongo, L. A., Eberle, L., De Toni, D., & Bebber, S. (2018). Determinants of customer loyalty: a study with customers of a Brazilian bank. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 25(9), 3935-3950. https://doi.org/10.1108/BIJ-08-2017-0231
  46. Miles, D. A. (2017, August). A taxonomy of research gaps: Identifying and defining the seven research gaps. In Doctoral student workshop: finding research gaps-research methods and strategies, Dallas, Texas (pp. 1-15). https://shorturl.at/9AkkM
  47. Mirabile, R. J. (1997). Everything you wanted to know about competency modeling. Training & Development, 51(8), 73-78.
  48. Muchemi, L. W. (2017). Factors contributing to the adoption of Internet banking in Commercial Bank of Africa, Kenya (Doctoral dissertation). Maseno University. https://shorturl.at/oQDAP
  49. Mutsonziwa, K. (2015). What matters to South African bank customers? A case study of four main South African banks. PRIMA: Practices & Research in Marketing, 6. http://www.publishingindia.com/
  50. Naude, P., & Rudansky-Kloppers, S. (2016). Perceptions of customers regarding their expectations of service quality in South African full-service restaurants. The International Business & Economics Research Journal (Online), 15(2), 55. https://shorturl.at/gsDFN
  51. Odoardi, C., Cangialosi, N., & Battistelli, A. (2022). HR training practices and innovative work behavior: a moderated mediation model. International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management, 22(1-2), 1-18. https://shorturl.at/hPNGq
  52. Okharedia, A. A. (2014). Level of customer satisfaction: an analysis of Vodacom services in Gauteng province of South Africa. Journal of Business and Retail Management Research, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.24052/JBRMR/159
  53. Rahman, Z. (2006). Customer experience management—A case study of an Indian bank. Journal of Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management, 13(3), 203-221. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.dbm.3240298
  54. Ravitch, S. M., & Carl, N. M. (2016). Qualitative research: Bridging the conceptual, theoretical, and Methodological. Sage.
  55. Rensleigh, C. (2010). Customer perceptions on Internet banking information protection. South African Journal of Information Management, 12(1), 1-6. https://shorturl.at/krnVI
  56. Sahinidis, A. G., & Bouris. J. (2008). Employees perceived training effectiveness relationship to employee attitudes. Journal of European Industrial Training, 32(1), 63-76. https://doi.org/10.1108/03090590810846575
  57. Saunders, M. K. N., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2019). Research methods for business studies (8th ed.). United Kingdom: Pearson Education Limited.
  58. Seetharaman, P. (2020). Business models shift: Impact of Covid-19. International Journal of Information Management, 54, 102173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2020.102173
  59. Soltani, E., & Liao, Y. Y. (2010). Training interventions: Fulfilling managerial ends or proliferating invaluable means for employees? Some evidence from Iran. European Business Review, 22(2), 128-152. https://doi.org/10.1108/09555341011023498
  60. Surve, A. A. (2020). Impact of artificial intelligence in human resource management [Doctoral dissertation, Doctoral Dissertation]. University of Mumbai). https://shorturl.at/KLy8f
  61. Ukonu, I. O., & Dialoke, I. (2016). An assessment of training as a tool for developing human resources in Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria. Journal of Management and Training for Industries, 3(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.12792/JMTI.3.1.1
  62. Vijayalakshmi, B., & Sailaja, M. (2016). A study on contemporary challenges and opportunities of retail banking in India. Global Journal of Finance and Management, 8(2), 131-141. https://shorturl.at/MdU6T
  63. Vives, X. (2017). The impact of FinTech on banking. European Economy, (2), 97-105. https://shorturl.at/K39jf
  64. WHO. (2020). Coronavirus disease (COVID 19). https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
  65. Woods, S. A., Patterson, F. C., Koczwara, A., & Sofat, J. A. (2016). The value of being a conscientious learner: Examining the effects of the big five personality traits on self-reported learning from training. Journal of Workplace Learning, 28(7), 424-434. https://doi.org/10.1108/JWL-10-2015-0073
  66. Yin, R. K. (2016). Qualitative research from start to finish (2nd ed.). The Guilford.
  67. Zeithaml, V. A., Berry, L. L., & Parasuraman, A. (1988). Communication and control processes in the delivery of service quality. Journal of Marketing, 52(2), 35-48. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1251263