Two Welsh Water employees have been presented with top awards for their outstanding work in Welsh Water’s contact centre over the past twelve months.
Continuous Improvement Manager, Laura Jones was named Support Manager of the Year, while Support Person of the Year was awarded to Welsh Water’s Customer Experience Insights Analyst, Shaun Collins, (a joint victory shared with Gemma Spencer of Blackhorse Finance) at the Welsh Contact Centre Awards.
The Welsh Contact Centre Forum Awards, which celebrates Wales’ unsung contact centre workers, took place online this year and recognised teams and individuals that have gone above and beyond to deliver services in one of the most challenging years to date. In March of this year, Welsh Water overhauled its entire contact centre operation to allow all phone-based agents to work from home – around 2,000 people.
Both Laura and Shaun are part of Welsh Water’s Continuous Improvement team, which looks after customer insight, service delivery, quality excellence, and ongoing training for contact centre staff. The team monitors and responds to customer feedback in order to make improvements to the services delivered to Welsh Water customers.
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic the team has made some substantial changes to improve services, for example identifying vulnerable customers that require extra support, and automating internal processes so customer queries can be resolved more quickly and smoothly.
Speaking of her win, Laura Jones said:
Our team plays a key role in helping Welsh Water evolve and improve our services; something that’s been more crucial than ever this year as all kinds of companies have had to respond to the ever-changing environment created by the pandemic.
My team are incredibly dedicated to making improvements for customers and committed to consistently striving for changes for the better. They’ve gone above and beyond this year to show that we can cope with any challenge that’s thrown at us, and we will continue to deliver and improve on our excellent services for our customers around the clock.
Managing Director of Household Customer Services, Sam James commented:
At Welsh Water, we are immensely proud of each and every member of our retail operation; from call handlers to the social media team, to those working behind the scenes to put processes in place that help our customers. It’s been a challenging year for any contact centre, and it’s been a real privilege to lead a team so willing to step up and go the extra mile to support our customers more than ever.
Laura and Shaun’s wins are thoroughly deserved, and I couldn’t be more pleased that their contributions have been recognised through the Welsh Contact Centre Awards.