Welsh contact centre stars receive top awards

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Five Welsh contact centre employees have received top accolades for helping to pull their industry through the recession.

Anita Lush, Andrew Bradshaw, Roy Werrett, Donna Walker and Sarah Sturla were recipients of a prestigious Welsh Contact Centre Award at a glittering ceremony last Thursday (11th February) at City Hall in Cardiff.

Tim Vincent, Roy Werrett of British Gas, winner of the team leader category and Ian Williams

The five were presented with their awards by television presenter Tim Vincent. Guests were also treated to a performance by singing sensation Shaheen Jafargholi (top picture).

The Welsh Contact Centre Awards, which have been running for 12 years, celebrate the excellence of individuals, teams and companies working within Wales’ 160 contact centres. Despite the effects of the recession, the industry still employs 30,000 people and pumps £400m a year into the Welsh economy.

Tim Vincent, Sarah Sturla of ING Direct, winner of the agent category and Dan Tyte

Anita is an employee at HSBC Direct in Swansea, Andrew at Yell Ltd. in Newport, Roy at British Gas, Donna at Vertex Data Solutions and Sarah at ING Direct, all in Cardiff.

Tim Vincent, Anita Lush of HSBC, winner of the manager of more than 100 people category and Stifyn Parry

Anita won the Manager of a team of over 100 category, Andrew the Manager of a team of under 100, Roy the Team Leader, Donna the Support Person and Sarah the Agent award.

Six company awards were up for grabs along with the individual prizes. These were won by Gladiator Insurance for Retention, British Gas for People Development and Support Team, Black Horse for Customer Service, Barclays for Best Use of Welsh, Dŵr Cymru for Resource Planning, and the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) at Her Majesty’s Prison Service (HMPS) for Shared Services.

Tim Vincent, Andrew Bradshaw of Yell, winner of the manager of less than 100 people category and Karina Voisey

Andrew Bradshaw, who has worked at Yell Ltd. for two and a half years, said: “I feel very honoured to have won this award and I feel it is recognition for the hard work everyone in our Newport office has put in over the past year.

“Obviously the recession has been a challenge for most businesses but we remain a very customer-centric organisation that believes its customers value a high-quality service. By managing the call centre effectively and ensuring our people are empowered and coached properly I believe we have achieved the right balance between delivering a cost efficient operation coupled with an excellent customer experience.”

Tim Vincent, support person winner Donna Walker of Vertex Data Science and John Trace

Sandra Busby, managing director of the Welsh Contact Centre Forum, said: “To be even a finalist in these awards is a huge achievement because competition is so stiff. This year the entries were of a higher standard than ever, and I put this down to individuals and companies striving for higher standards during these tough economic times in a bid to hold onto their customers.”

17 Feb 2010

Filed under Call Centre News