Throughout 2011, approximately 3,000 TELUS team members participated in customer first day, an opportunity to experience the “frontlines” for themselves, taking them from their day-to-day roles and job shadow a frontline team member to empower a customer first approach across the organization.
I had the opportunity to visit the Barrie call centre collections department shadowing client account manager John Hill. His training as an air traffic controller may be why John works through his calls with a sense of calmness that immediately puts his customers at ease.
John has been a client account manager for just over three years as an at home agent. “I’m really enjoying the balance that working from home offers,” said John. “With an ailing parent, it gives my family a level of comfort being close to home and allows me to get some personal things done during my breaks.”
Photo: John Hill, Client Account Manager, shown here at his TELUS office desk (thanks for coming into the office John!)
TELUS has implemented an at-home-agent program within many of their call centres across the country. “It’s important to ensure you also foster team engagement when your team is remote,” says Leigh Nettleship, team manager of the client account team. “We have a team meeting once per month where everyone comes into the office, to talk about work processes, but also get a chance to interact face-to-face. We also encourage our team members to participate and to work together as a team in office charity events, food drives, or other volunteering activities.”
“You need to have a personality to work from home and not feel isolated from the social factor of work as well as the self discipline to work on your own,” adds John. In fact, the at-home-agent program includes an application and rigorous interview process that ensures the agent is a right fit for the program.
My personal experience at the Barrie Call Centre enabled me to see first-hand how the customer first mindset directly impacts our clients.
A big thank you to John, Leigh and the Barrie call centre team for making me feel welcome!
