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ATA Awards

2009 National Winners Comments

CONTACT CENTRE OF THE YEAR >120FTE

GERRY O'SHAUGHNESSY - A&G INSURANCE SERVICES, QLD

We entered several staff in each of the individual categories as well as the > 120 fte centre category. This was a large commitment of time & effort for many of our staff, however moving through the planning, preparation and execution of the nominations was challenging, stimulating and ultimately rewarding for all involved. There have been several benefits for our company in participating in the awards process or journey. The questionnaire alone was a good benchmarking tool to step through and caused us as a management team to reflect on many of our current practises. The individual reports issued to all participating centres in 2009 were very worthwhile and allowed us to see how we rated against our peer centres. The nomination process for individuals (self & peer) allowed many staff to experience the process of selling themselves to a peer & management group and ultimately to an external judge. This experience gained has been recognised as invaluable and has helped kick start several careers, previously hidden. Our organisational skills were tested,stretched & improved when trying to represent our business in such a short presentation timeframe, but we managed !!

The benefits in winning the award are numerous. It validated our belief that we run a pretty good operation. It added to the confidence levels of our own external business partners, who place their customers in our care. The win was well received by the rest of our business, many of whom contributed to the awards process. This will help with our ongoing relationships when business planning, career pathing or when looking for some extra support. We redesigned our recruitment advertising pitch to incorporate the "national winner" theme and this has proved fruitful, with a higher than average response rate already seen. But the major benefit was that our staff got to share in the success, their confidence & engagement levels increased & they all want to play again this year !!.

CONTACT CENTRE OF THE YEAR 50-120FTE

MARNEE ROSE - IAG LIFESTYLE & LEISURE, NSW

IAG-Lifestyle and Leisure’s entry into the ATA Awards was initiated and developed by staff and supported by Management. Lifestyle and Leisure thrives on allowing our staff to take the lead and run with their ideas and entering the ATA Awards for 2009 is a testament to this.
We feel Lifestyle & Leisure won the 2009 ATA Awards due to our commitment to staff engagement and the development of our people. Our entry into the awards and then our win showcases the determination, drive and enthusiasm displayed daily by all staff in our Business unit.
The outstanding benefits of participating in the ATA Awards have been Staff empowerment, Staff Engagement and Customer Satisfaction. If we can create an environment where staff look forward to coming to work, feel like they make a difference and have fun while they are here this will be reflected in their level of dedication to our customers, they will hear this in our interactions with them and they will want to deal with us. Other benefits have been networking with other companies which has given us some great ideas to implement here, We have loved sharing our initiatives with other call centre’s and we have been able to leverage this success and align key messages into our marketing material.
Throughout the process we have found the ATA staff and members to be extremely professional and supportive. They made this a truly enlightening journey.

CONTACT CENTRE OF THE YEAR <50FTE

ANDREW WOOD - CITY OF STIRLING, WA

The ATA awards in our opinion are the most valuable Contact Centre awards in Australia. The experience of entering last year’s awards has proved invaluable and has benefited every team member. The awards entry and judging process enabled team’s both internal and external to the Contact Centre to come together with purpose which forged great working relationships whilst raising the profile and importance of the Contact Centre to the organisation and wider community.

In being considered for this prestigious award the City of Stirling Customer Contact Centre was assessed against comprehensive grading criteria and to be recognised as the National Champions was an absolute honour given the number and calibre of entrants in the ATA awards.

We strongly believe entering the 2010 ATA Awards is a worthwhile investment and look forward to seeing you at the industry’s “Night of Nights” in September.

TELESERVICES CHAMPION OF THE YEAR

DINA KOTSOPOULOS - BT FINANCIAL GROUP, NSW

Being recognised and nominated for an ATA award on behalf of BT Financial Group was a great honour and totally unexpected. The written application and interview process was challenging because it’s hard to articulate why you feel you should win over other high quality candidates. It made me reflect on why I work with the company, and how I align to its values, high performance culture and customer service philosophy. I learned so much about myself and the process reinvigorated my passion for what I do. Attending the awards nights both at Star City and Doltone House was a surreal experience; being surrounded by people who have the same goal as you is inspiring. For me, winning the State and National awards was just the icing on the cake – the real value came out of self reflection and for that, I’m very grateful to the ATA.

TELEPROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR

RAMONA ANSELL - ENERGEX, QLD

Participating in the ATA Awards Program gave me the chance to benchmark my capabilities against others within the Contact Centre Industry and to know that I'm on the right track with my career. Throughout the process I met so many amazing people from other Contact Centres around Australia and this provided an opportunity to share experiences which I can bring back to my workplace. I am so proud to have represented ENERGEX as the QLD winner and was completely overwhelmed when I won the National Award. ENERGEX is such a great place to work and it is definitely due to the fantastic training, support and management that I was successful. I'm now able to pass on my learnings to this year's nominees and also show to other teleprofessionals the rewarding achievements that are on offer.

TEAM LEADER OF THE YEAR

SAMANTHA DELANEY - FLEXIRENT CAPITOL, NSW

Winning the 2009 National Award has been an amazing experience. Not only have I developed a new network of ATA Friends, but I’ve developed as a person and as a leader. The ATA process was definitely a challenging one, it forces you to review all that you do and how it can translate to the ATA Process and also how you compare to the rest of the industry.
The process allowed me to share the entire experience with my team and my colleagues and it was a journey that the entire company followed and supported.

Despite the challenges and the nerves , it truly is a rewarding experience, and one I strongly encourage people to participate in, if given the opportunity.
I have walked away from this experience a more confident person and I’m motivated and committed to encouraging others to be part of the 2010 awards experience and help them see why they are the best at what they do. Before ATA I always thought I was a good leader, but I thought I didn’t do anything special , “just my job”, the awards process has showed me, everything I do is special and I want to help other people find that for themselves.