Customer Relations - Complaint Analyst Review

The internship on the whole was okay, nothing special. The first couple of weeks was filled up by statutory training, which was somewhat enjoyable as it provided myself with an insight into the laws and regulations that Lloyds Bank have to abide by, and what they are changing about their approach to be a bank for the future. The latter part of the internship was very much the same tasks day on day with the odd bits of struggle, which kept it somewhat enjoyable. My position was a complaint analyst and when one reads that title you can safely say it must be boring. However, I wouldn't say it was boring, more so mundane. The reason being is that once I got up to speed regarding complaint analysis I felt that I could push on and do something further. Alas, the time constraints of the internship being only 10 weeks actually limited the scope of what I could work on. As such, its arrived to the point where I have become proficient at all tasks that have been assigned to myself as most days it is the case of repetition.

For the first part of the internship I felt like a fish out of water, and that my colleagues did not really understand my value or role within the business/team. However, as the weeks went by I felt that the began increasing their affinity towards myself. Which I have to say has been enjoyable. Another point to mention is that I have a valuable task that is mine to own for the latter part of the internship. Of which my team see the value in my role, as this task takes something off of each of their plates; to the point they trust myself solely to complete a good job on it. Which has been interesting as I have senior members in my team coming to myself to explain my decisions and in turn teach them something too.

Throughout the entirety of the internship I have felt that I have adequate support from my supervisors. I have felt that any concerns/issues I have had during this internship have been carefully considered and dealt with grace and decorum. As well, despite the work being somewhat mundane and repetitive, my team have always ensured that I had something to keep myself busy.

Each day varied, some days I felt rushed, other days I felt it moved too slowly and I wished the day ended already. Overall, I would say it was somewhat boring, as most days I often found myself repeating the same tasks, just altered slightly differently. But there were some bright sparks sprinkled in that made some days busier and more enjoyable.

On reflection, not a great deal. Now this seems like a negative but in truth its actually a positive. The reason being is that the team I interned with is a very niche area of the bank, and there is only so much responsibility an intern like myself could be tasked with; in a 10 week period. That being said I have a task which links myself to all my team members where I create a database for them to dip into should they need too.

Prior to entering the internship I felt that I was proficient in Excel. However, I quickly learnt that during this internship my current skill-set on most office related software was at an intermediary level. As such, I feel that the tasks I have been provided have been extremely beneficial in developing those skill-sets which will serve to be invaluable during my degree, as Excel will be used extensively during my dissertation.

The general atmosphere was quiet most days since Lloyds introduced agile working whereby one can work from home most days. Despite this being the case there were days where one could feel the hustle and bustle of working in a bank. However, if I had to provide an overall review I would say it was more quiet and relaxed than go-go-go. Of which I preferred as it meant that my mind could get a rest and enjoy and a quiet day at the office.

Firstly, they never provided real reasons for my allocation which was highly annoying. They just said its due to your business area that you chose. Secondly, I felt they never took into account my concerns for being close to home, as my commute to work adds an extra hour to get to my home town which is a fairly large distance from where I work. As well, a fair majority of those who went through the internship process were provided the wrong internship in a business area they didn't want in locations that they did not specify, nor express an interest in. Furthermore, when it came to information being provided for the internship and my role it was very minimal and lacked any real insight such as financial support, or support in general.

I feel as though Lloyds invested a reasonable amount into myself, nothing special. However, it wasn't the bank that made the investment in terms of personal development, it was my team members more so than anything. I feel though if I didn't have this team, my personal development would've stagnated and I wouldn't be more outgoing or forthcoming about requesting work, or questioning processes.

The future employment opportunities within the bank are promising as there is a multitude of graduate placements that each provide a different flavour of what life at Lloyds is like. However, for myself whilst opportunities are a plenty, places and roles within the bank are highly volatile as such I feel that my skills would be better suited elsewhere where employability is higher.

There was minimal interaction between those based in Leeds/Halifax during this internship. The reason being a fair majority were based in Halifax and by the time all of us arrived back at our accommodation it was past 6pm, and the majority just wanted to rest. Which for myself I didn't complain. However, as the saying goes 'your twenties are the best times of your life', so when assessing that saying against the social scene it was pretty poor. As a result, I feel that Emerging Talent could've and should've done more to ensure that the interns integrated well, and developed social relationships.

The cost was reasonable. However, there were very few amenities close by, which was annoying as it meant that you had to fair while into the town centre to enjoy what the city of Leeds offered. In terms of socialising, it was again the very same, if one wanted to have a night out with their flatmates they again had to travel a distance to enjoy their time.

The nightlife was as dead as it could be. The accommodation had a no noise/minimal noise after 11pm, which meant that any fun died down pretty quickly. As well, most of the night clubs again were a fair distance away from the provided accommodation, which meant an expense to travel to those locations. Of which no one felt like doing.

You're kidding me right? The only places where opportunities were in abundance would most likely be London as the accommodation provided was centralised and close to a lot of amenities. As well, those based in London had Shoreditch within walking distance. Where as in Leeds if you wanted to enjoy watching the cinema, rock climbing, watching sports etc. you had to travel a fair distance before any noteworthy opportunities popped up.