Award winners at The European Call Centre & Customer Service Expo 2012

The “best and brightest” shining stars of customer service were revealed at a glistening awards ceremony held in the London Hilton on Park Lane.

Guests were treated to a comedy sketch from host Seann Walsh as well as a performance from the ACM Gospel Choir before the serious business of recognising the individuals and teams.

Winners on the night included:

Best customer service in financial services

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This company demonstrated a high level of engagement with their staff, leading to high levels of customer service. This was especially focused on investment in customer community forums.

Best high street, travel and leisure customer service

Newport City Council
The innovation and creativity in consistently exceeding customer expectations was what caught the eye of the judges, as well as a truly people-centric environment and team ethic.

Best improvement strategy

Staples
Staples impressed the judges with a very clear vision of a new scheme to transform customer service and employee engagement, which was clearly communicated, results-focused, and fun.

Best newcomer

Lizzie Chadwick – Virgin Media
Lizzie displayed real dedication and personal sacrifice in her drive to create amazing experiences for customers – as well as an infectious enthusiastic approach and imaginative thinking to bring the brand alive.

Best online customer service

Charles Tyrwhitt
This inspirational organisation has a culture of constant feedback from customers and employees that is used to inform the business – resulting in happier customers and increasing revenues.

Best use of technology

Aviva
Aviva blew the judges away with its comprehensive communication strategy to make sure that the new solution achieved the best possible results for front-line staff as well as customers.

Complaints team of the year

Client Relations – Barclays, Wealth and Investment Management
In the difficult world of complaints, it can be difficult to be positive and passionate – but this winning team displayed positivity by the bucket load and an infectious passion for customer service.

Front-line team of the year

GreenAcres Woodland Burials
This team left the judges feeling quite emotional, thanks to the inspirational stories of individuals constantly going above and beyond for the customer experience. They also demonstrated a strong teamwork ethic that helps them deliver exceptional service.

Innovation of the year

CPP Group Plc – Phonesafe
The judges were impressed by a truly transformative innovation that was delivered through careful planning and excellent training and communication – and has resulted in significant savings for the business.

Manager of the year

Amanda Wilson – Aviva Life
An inspiring leader, Amanda has not only led phenomenal success in her department, but has worked tirelessly to change the mindset of senior directors and promote the importance of customer service to the entire business.

Support professional of the year

Julia Killen – Legal & General
The judges were impressed with Julia’s drive for success and the way she tackled a challenging special project with professionalism and dedication – making her truly indispensable to her team and company.

Support team of the year

Daisy Wholesale – The Network Operations Team
This team took customer focus to a whole new level, with a powerful mix of dedication, passion and innovation.

Team leader of the year

Aimee Jones, Virgin Media
With a passion for teaching others and a clear focus on the importance of customer service, Aimee impressed the judges as someone who will be a leading figure in this industry in the future.

Young professional of the year

Liam Dyson, Everything Everywhere
For someone so new to the world of customer service, Liam blew the judges away with his commitment, dedication and a clear understanding of how his individual performance impacts on the success of the business as a whole.

Best outsourcing partnership

Concentrix & Cisco
Going far beyond a client/outsourcing relationship, this partnership has been courageous, collaborative and committed to staff engagement. The potential for development across both companies has engendered a strong network and an overwhelming sense of unity.

Outsourcer of the year

FirstSource
From a very strong field of entrants, Firstsource stood out by clearly demonstrating where they had added value over and above the service they were contracted to deliver – and the way it genuinely engaged with both employees and clients.

Best customer service operation

QVC Deutschland Inc. & Co. KG
QVC Deutschland delivers an exceptional experience for its customers, regardless of the communication channels. You get the feeling that the employees love their work and the employer loves its employees! Not satisfied with 99% customer satisfaction, they are striving to achieve 100%.

Employer of the year

Merthyr Tydfil Contact Centre
In spite of significant changes they have faced in recent months, this centre has continued to grow its employee engagement activities and its great work within the community. The leadership team has conceived and skilfully executed a recruitment strategy and an enviable employee development programme.

Large contact centre of the year (+100 seats)

Lebara
Lebara really has pushed out the envelope and created something truly inspiring. A unique culture, centred around the customer and the provision of the best possible customer experiences. Innovative approaches to recruitment, training, staff development and performance management. On top of this, a whole team of totally engaged and committed employees to an extent the judges have rarely, if ever, encountered.

Small contact centre of the year (-100 seats)

RHP
The winner of this award has used its size to great effect, aligning strategic goals with customer interactions. Reacting with flexibility to customer needs, this organisation has listened to customers and front-line teams to deliver an exceptional level of service.

Customer service business leader

Sian McGregor, Virgin Media
This category is very special because it has been voted for by all of you! The finalists were each interviewed on camera, and you have been voting in your thousands for the winner. And the individual who has come out on top is nothing short of an inspiration. An incredible leader, Sian has worked tirelessly to put customer service at the very heart of everything the organisation does.

Lifetime achievement

Don Hales
Don Hales has achieved a phenomenal amount in his 30-year career as a business leader. Through his directorship at several well known companies, he has done so much to put customer service on the boardroom agenda.

Congratulations to all of the winners.