Call centre good news round up

good-news-185 There is lots of positive news in the call centre industry this week. Companies expanding, new members of staff being appointed and awards being won. Here is a quick round up for you…

Kwik Fit Insurance employee Tom Cooper, from Bellshill, has been named Scotland’s Unsung Hero at the 2009 Call Centre Hero Awards in London. He is pictured here receiving his award with Brendan Devine.
tom-cooper-and-brendan-devi

This special award recognises an employee who has made an outstanding contribution that is rarely recognised but is essential to making the workplace a happy place to be.

Tom, 65, has worked at Uddingston-based Kwik Fit Insurance for 13 years as a Facilities Assistant where he oversees the smooth running of the entire site which includes the nursery, training academy, staff restaurant and main sales floor which houses more than 950 staff.

Tom is on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year managing the massive Kwik Fit Insurance operation. This year, however, will be his final year of full-time employment before cutting back his hours as he moves towards a well-deserved retirement.

Although Tom’s main responsibilities include managing security and general maintenance of the buildings and facilities, his willingness to go that extra mile for his colleagues was one of the main reasons he was nominated by Facilities Manager, Julie Paul.

Amongst his extra curricular activities, Tom is an integral part of an initiative designed to enable young people with learning difficulties to work in mainstream employment through mentoring and supervision of training.

Julie said: “Tom regularly multi-tasks and goes that extra mile for staff here at Kwik Fit Insurance, carrying out tasks that make all our lives a little easier. He regularly makes minor repairs to our fleet of 300 cars, which saves the company time and money on breakdown and maintenance costs. He is also an active volunteer of our Charities Committee helping to raise tens of thousands of pounds every year for some great causes in our community.”

Julie added: “Tom visits our affiliated local charities through the Youth Fellowship where he has been a leader for 25 years, including the National Children’s Hospice, Tak Tent Cancer Support, Redburn Primary and Stanmore House. He even shaved off his moustache, a permanent feature for over 40 years, raising more than £500 for charity!”

Tom said: “It’s a fantastic honour to win the Unsung Hero Award. My time at Kwik Fit Insurance has been extremely enjoyable and the varied nature of my role is one of the main reasons behind this. It’s great to have been nominated by my peers and is testament to the positive morale amongst staff.”

“Tom should be congratulated on his achievement. He has shown to be a committed, outstanding role model for his peers at Kwik Fit Insurance.”

Kwik Fit Financial Services Group Managing Director, Brendan Devine, added: “Tom’s loyalty to KFI is unquestionable and the impact he has had on our business, both in terms of morale and its day-to-day operation, is second to none.

“His ‘can do’ attitude and good nature make our centre a better place to work and he deserves to be recognised for the dedication and enthusiasm he brings to his role. Tom is soon to move to part-time hours as he begins to enjoy his retirement and KFI will be a quieter place without him. We believe this award will provide a fitting highlight to Tom’s career with the company.”

Since the recent takeover of itCampus by Software AG the UK team continues to expand. The latest phase of this plan has been to grow the headcount of the sales function.

Mark Brier

Mark has over 20 years’ experience in the contact centre industry having worked in the UK for a number of dialler manufactures including Noble/Amcat, Touchstar and Davox.

He comments that:

“After meeting Rob Denbeigh and the UK staff, it was an easy decision to join itCampus. Good people and good technology have been put together, so this means that when I’m promoting itCampus, all the clients, both new and existing, can trust that we will give them our best and more. The proposition is really powerful and I’m really proud and excited to be representing a great solution, backed up by a first-class team.”

Rob Denbeigh

Rob Denbeigh (UK MD) comments:

“I am delighted that Mark has chosen to join us in our quest to become the UK’s leading supplier of outbound technology. We have set ourselves some very ambitious expansion plans and need to recruit the best people in the industry to realise them. Mark quite obviously fits the bill. Mark fully bought into our customer-focused philosophy of maximising agent talk time, lowering the customer’s financial risk and giving customers the flexibility to choose between a SaaS or premises-based solution.”

RESPONSE, the Glasgow-based customer contact centre outsourcer, has strengthened its senior management team with the appointment of a new Director of Operations.

With over 12 years’ industry experience, Justene Donnelly joins from beCogent, and brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the RESPONSE operation.

Reporting directly to Managing Director, Brian Bannatyne, Justene will be responsible for managing all client operations across fives sites as well as the performance and insight, service assurance and quality departments.

Chris McIlduff, who held the post previously, has transitioned to a newly formed role of Customer Solutions Director, utilising his vast wealth of industry experience to develop and define client propositions for RESPONSE. Chris remains a member of the RESPONSE Board of Directors.

Brian Bannatyne said:

“We are delighted to welcome Justene to the team at RESPONSE. Her outstanding experience will be invaluable in helping us continue to deliver excellent results and service to our clients.”

“I am also pleased to announce that Chris will be continuing his great work with RESPONSE as Customer Solutions Director and I am confident he and Justene will continue to drive our business forward.”

Justene added:

“RESPONSE is a leading provider of contact centre and business process outsourcing services in the UK, so I am delighted to be given the opportunity to join the organisation and work alongside such an experienced team.”

5 Aug 2009

Filed under Call Centre News