And the call centre awards keep rolling in…

Last week saw a couple more award ceremonies take place in the call centre industry.

Read on to find out the winners at the North West Call and Contact Awards and the National Outsourcing Awards…

The winners of the 4th Annual North West Call and Contact Centre Awards, hosted by comedian Lee Hurst, were revealed at the glittering gala dinner held on the 15th October, 2009 at the Palace Hotel, Manchester.

Liverpool Direct showing off their award

The Viva Las Vegas themed dinner was organised by the University of Central Lancashire’s, CallNorthWest, the leading support organisation for call and contact centres in the North West.

Tom Kirby, Director of CallNorthWest said, “What a fantastic evening to celebrate all that is great about call and contact centres in the North West. Winning a prestigious North West Contact Centre Award has increasingly become a target for many organisations. This clearly demonstrates the wide recognition of CallNorthWest as a benchmark for excellence.”

The event defied the economic downturn by attracting over 450 call and contact centre professionals from across the region, an increase of 25% on the year before.

The event was sponsored by Synapse Academy, a training organisation that offers under 24-year-olds the opportunity to earn while they learn.

The entertainment was provided by Martin Fox as “Elvis” and the Las Vegas Show Girls who were on hand to add a touch of glamour to the evening.

There were 15 winners who each received a glass award and a bottle of champagne.

The first winner of the evening was Alison McRory from Greater Manchester Police who was crowned Agent of the Year. Alison’s examples of going above and beyond were exemplary, with performance statistics that could only be described as incredible.

Top individual honours went to Annette Ritson from Expotel who scooped the award for Contact Centre Manager over 50 seats, credited with turning around the fortunes of the centre in dramatic style.

Christine Burns from Pontins claimed the Contact Centre Manager of the Year, under 50 seats, in what was a closely fought category. The judges had never seen so much passion for a job as Christine had shown.

United Utilities took two gongs for Team Leader of the Year and Best Customer Experience Award.

It was two for O2 who picked up both Best Utilisation of Technology and Business in the Community Awards.

Liverpool Housing Trust won Team of the Year and it looked like every one of them was there to collect it! Arguably the biggest cheer of the evening that literally raised the roof!

Liverpool Housing

QVC were hailed as ‘astonishing’, ‘very impressive’ and ‘amazing’ on their way to picking up Contact Centre of the Year (over 50 seats), Private Sector.

The QVC Team

In contrast the Contact Centre of the Year (under 50 seats) went to Burnley Borough Council who came out on top for leading the way in customer service, in a category containing no less than six finalists.

Impact Partnership capped the evening off by winning Contact Centre (over 50 seats) Public Sector. The centre was described by the judges as “having the warmth of a family home.”

The team at Impact Partnership

Full List of Winners:

Agent of the Year

• Winner – Alison McRory, Greater Manchester Police
• Highly Commended – Barbara Martin, Liverpool Housing Trust

Team Leader of the Year

• Winner – Sue Offord, United Utilities
• Highly Commended – Sharon Bustin, TNT Express UK

Trainer/Coach of the Year

• Winner – Nina Hickson, Cheshire Constabulary

Support Person of the Year

• Winner – Fiona Heron, Adecco / IBM
• Highly Commended – Kirsty Hargraves, Burnley Borough Council

Contact Centre Manager of the Year under 50 seats

• Winner – Christine Burns, Pontins Ltd

Contact Centre Manager of the Year over 50 seats

• Winner – Annette Ritson, Expotel Limited
• Highly Commended – Andy Lang, Greater Manchester Police

Company Awards

Best Utilisation of Technology

• Winner – Telefónica O2 UK Ltd
• Highly Commended – United Utilities

The team at Telefonica O2 UK Ltd

Best Outsourced Partnership

• Winner – Expotel & DWP
• Highly Commended – iQor & BBC TV Licensing

Best Avoidable Contact Programme (public sector)

• Winner – Liverpool Direct Limited

Best Customer Experience Programme

• Winner – United Utilities

Business in the Community Award

• Winner – Telefónica O2 UK Ltd

Team of the Year (under 25 members)

• Winner – Customer Service Centre, Liverpool Housing Trust

Contact Centre (under 50 seats)

• Winner – Burnley Borough Council
• Highly Commended – Office Link

Contact Centre (over 50 Seats) Private Sector

• Winner – QVC UK
• Highly Commended – Carole Nash Insurance Consultants

Contact Centre (over 50 Seats) Public Sector

• Winner – Impact Partnership

Can you spot anyone you know if the photos?  if so, let us know and we will add their names in.  Thanks !

The winners of the 6th annual National Outsourcing Association Awards (NOAAs) in association with Invest Northern Ireland were announced in a glitzy central London ceremony last night. The awards evening, held at the exclusive Park Plaza Riverbank hotel, was hosted by comedian Hugh Dennis and attended by the best and brightest of the outsourcing industry.

Over the last six years, the “NOAAs” have become a landmark in the acceptance of outsourcing as an essential business practice and recognise the efforts of companies or people who have shown excellence in the field of outsourcing.

The 16 categories, which encompass every area of outsourcing, attracted hundreds of applications. The best entries were whittled down into a shortlist by a panel of outsourcing experts and the overall winners were as follows:

BPO Project of the Year

• NHS Shared Business Services

IT Outsourcing Project of the Year

• Capgemini

Financial Services Outsourcing Project of the Year

• Capita

Public Sector Outsourcing Project of the Year

• Capgemini

Telecommunications, Utilities and High Tech Outsourcing Project of the Year

• Firstsource

Firstsource celebrate winning their award

Offshoring Operation of the Year

• Exigent

Outsourcing Professional of the Year

• Brodies – Andrew Rigby
• NHS Shared Business Services – Peter Coates

Outsourcing Service Provider of the Year

• Exigent

Outsourcing Contact Centre of the Year

• Capita

Outsourcing Advisor of the Year

• Stephenson Harwood

Offshoring Destination of the Year

• Philippine Trade & Investment – Philippines

Outsourcing End User of the Year

• AstraZeneca

Award for Innovation in Outsourcing

• IBM

Award for Best Practice in Outsourcing

• Centrica

Best Academic Achievement

• Graham Jump – Consolve Consulting

Award for Corporate Social Responsibility

• Centrica

Speaking at the awards, Martyn Hart, Chairman of the NOA, commented, “These awards are a great way for industry professionals to come together and celebrate success in outsourcing. Outsourcing has remained relatively steady during 2009 despite the recession and this positive performance this should be acknowledged. Looking forward, 2010 promises to be an interesting year, with the predicted uptick  in the private sector set against inevitable cost cutting throughout the public sector. Though nothing is set in stone, it remains clear that following best practice will continue to increase the possibility of outsourcing success, whether for business enhancement or business necessity.”

Related Pages

Winners of the European Call Centre Awards 2010

  

North West Contact Centre Awards – winners announced

  

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