Challenge

In their final year of studies, students often become anxious of transitioning to a professional workplace. For Professional Advisors (including financial planners, accountants and lawyers), there is also the challenge that clients do not always provide all of the information required to develop effective solutions. Thus, professional advisors must have the ability to ask the right questions in order to develop effective solutions for their clients. As a means to develop student confidence, enhance understanding on the types of professional communication required in the workforce, and highlight the importance of collecting information from clients, a client interview assessment item was introduced into this course.

Approach

A five per cent assessment item was introduced to develop student confidence and their communication and research skills. In the client interview, students individually interview the client (in this circumstance the lecturer acting as the client) to “ascertain further facts” in order to later develop a business letter of advice.

A week prior to the interview, students had received a brief client email that outlines the potential tax problem. Students are then tasked with formulating the relevant questions which they will ask the client, and reflect upon how they will conduct themselves in this 10 minute interview. This includes the initial introduction, how they will phrase the questions and when and how they will probe for information.

Support resources

Students are provided with a marking criteria which assesses them on their technical knowledge and their evidence of transferable skills. Some examples include:

• Advisor listened to client.
• Advisor was professional in his/her conduct.

The criteria sheet is available in the Support Resources section below.

Prior to the interviews, an industry professional presents to students and explains what makes an effective client interview and provides students with tips and techniques.

Outcomes

In particular, there are three positive outcomes that have been evidenced with the implementation of this assessment item:

1. Increased student confidence - despite students initial apprehension with this assessment item, overall student confidence is enhanced at the conclusion of this assessment item.
2. Concrete example for graduate interviews - the client interview provides students with a tangible example of enhancing their professional communication skills when they are interviewing for graduate positions.
3. Low weighting of assessment item - as a consequence of the low weighting of this assessment task (5 per cent), students do not feel an overwhelming pressure to not make mistakes. This assessment item provides students with a valuable learning opportunity to learn from their mistakes and improve upon in the second component - the business letter of advice.

Implement

If you are thinking of implementing this approach, consider the following:

• Start small and don’t overwhelm students. Ensure that the weighting of the initial assessment item is relatively small, and provide opportunities for students to implement lessons learned.
• Incorporate guest lectures within class time. Ask guest lecturers to provide some practical tips and techniques for students to consider when conducting client interviews.
• Participate as the client to help reassure your students. Especially if this is the first time that your students are encountering this type of assessment item, it is important to ensure that it is a safe learning space.
• Emphasise how this / these skill/s are vital for students success as professionals.

Griffith Graduate Attributes

This assessment item aligns with the following Griffith Graduate Attributes: Knowledgeable and skilled with critical judgement; Effective communicators and collaborators; Innovative, creative and entrepreneurial. This assessment item provides students with the opportunity to undertake research within their discipline, communicate professionally with a client and to create questions that enable them to develop effective solutions for their clients.

Support Resources

• 3108AFE Taxation Planning. Marking Criteria Sheet.

  This criteria sheet is provided to students prior to the client interview.

Contributed by

• Griffith Business School
  Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics
  Associate Professor Brett Freudenberg
  (07) 373 58071
  b.freudenberg@griffith.edu.au
  http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4592-8606
  Griffith Experts profile

Preferred Citation

Freudenberg, B., & Learning Futures. (2019). Client interviews to enhance students’ professional skills. Retrieved from https://app.secure.griffith.edu.au/exlnt/entry/5025/view