Take Five - Lesley Lindsay
In this, the final editorial in our series of interviews with call centre managers across the globe, we’ve interviewed Lesley Lindsay, CSC manager at Telereal Customer Services Centre in Aldershot, England, and winner of the 2007 Call Centre Management Association (UK) ‘Manager of the Year’ award
How have call centres changed since you started working in the industry?
We have become more reliant on technology, for example, more call centres have introduced interactive voice response (IVR) systems and workforce management technology.
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This allows us to monitor our call flows much better and ensure our teams are where they are meant to be, at the right time. It also ensures our customers’ calls are answered and that our customer satisfaction is increasing.
In addition to the technology, there has been a big drive in giving people career progression within the industry through things like the Institute of Customer Service awards programme, national vocational qualifications (NVQs) and other professional qualifications. This is in line with the need to ensure call centre personnel are highly proficient and skilled, as the expectations of customers has increased so much in recent years.
What do you think call centres will be like in ten years’ time?
Where in recent years call centre work has been seen as a low-skilled occupation, I believe it will become a highly skilled environment in the future.
The recent bad publicity surrounding offshoring has only highlighted the importance placed by customers on excellent customer service. Moving forward, the companies that have offshored will be re-evaluating those decisions in the future as the only thing that is different between most call centre providers is the customer service given by their individual agents.
What is the best aspect of your job?
All of it! Every day is different in my current role. I don’t know if I’ll be dealing with bomb threats, ‘welcome backs’ or system issues.
Other than my operational management requirements, the best part of my role is my team. They are number one for me. They have drive, commitment and passion for the role, which make it a great place for me to come to every day.
Based on your own experience, what advice would you give to those entering the call centre workplace for the first time?
You must have passion, commitment and a drive for customer service, and a willingness to learn all the skills you require to move forward within the industry. You may start as an agent, but you can - in the future - become the director of customer services. Reach for the stars, I say!
What book or professional course would you recommend to others in the industry?
Mary Gober’s training courses and books cover customer service and the psychology of language. What I especially like is the way she teaches people how to use positive language - something that reflects very positively on the way agents handle calls.
The increase in customer satisfaction is overwhelming, and - once we started using her methodology in our centre - the reaction from my team was great.
I’d highly recommend her.
Lesley Lindsay is CSC manager at Telereal Customer Services Centre in Aldershot, England
Website: www.telereal.com
