Celebrating the work of those on the front line of customer service
Sharing a little of yourself to build a connection can make a world of difference to a customer in need.
Each of our award winners for the April to June 2023 quarter have been nominated by their leaders for taking the time personalise their interactions with customers. Shweta Nagpal from Sydney Water has been recognised for consistently taking an empathetic approach to her customer interactions, and for supporting her team in developing these skills as well. Meanwhile, we hear the stories of Brian Chi (from Curtin Connect) and Annie Walsh (ANU’s Future Student Enquiry Team), who each made an impact on their customers when they shared their own experiences.
You can read Shweta, Brian, and Annie’s stories below. Congratulations to you all!
CSBA congratulates the April-June 2023 Most Customer Focused Award winners.
Shweta Nagpal – Sydney Water Corporation
“Shweta is an absolute joy to manage”, say Selena Kirk, Team Manager for Sydney Water’s Contact Centre. “During her time here, she has excelled in every aspect of her role. She maintains control on every call and is always friendly and professional. She ensures she shows empathy when required and goes above and beyond to ensure our customer are taken care of.”
“Shweta understands that she is representing Sydney Water and our customers have nothing but praise from them”, say Selena. Customers frequently take the time to write in or speak to a manager to praise her. She has been described as lovely and caring for providing a fantastic, personalised level of service, with one customer even saying that Shweta was wonderful, and that he would love to have someone like her working for him!
“These are just a few examples of the amazing work Shweta does to make our customers feel important, valued, and special. It’s these attributes that make Shweta the wonderful operator she is today, and I have no doubt, there will be many opportunities for her in the future”, says Selena, after revealing that Shweta passes on her knowledge to her colleagues, and is now helping to shape new team members as they join the organisation. Shweta is not only teaching processes and policies, but also skills in call control, professionalism and empathy to reinforce the quality framework.
“Shweta consistently receives high scores in CSBA’s QA assessments and it’s no surprise given her work ethic and dedication. I have nothing but praise for Shweta and the hard work she has put in since starting at Sydney Water. It’s a joy to listen to her with our customers and I know if I was on the other end of the phone, it would make my day!” We love to hear about such dedication to improving the customer experience, Shweta! Keep it up!
– The nomination was received from Selena Kirk, Team Manager Contact Centre
Brian Chi – Curtin University
Jack Harris, Curtin Connect Quality Coach, says of Brian, “He exemplifies the values of Curtin University in all of his interactions with students”, but Jack went on to cite a recent example where Brian exhibited empathy, knowledge and clarity when advising a particular student who was experiencing multiple personal issues, that were obviously negatively affecting their studies. Brian walked the student through their options and discussed the feasibility of each given the specifics of the situation. He patiently addressed the student’s study concerns and provided options for a refund to assist financially, while facilitating a connection between the student and the university’s Wellbeing Services team to provide the student with additional emotional support.
“While Brian provided a lot of critical detail to the student, he summarised all of the information he had conveyed to solidify the student’s understanding of their best course of action”, which is crucial after supplying a raft of detail to a customer, particularly one in such a vulnerable position.
“We are very fortunate to have him assisting students on the frontline”, says Jack. And we agree. Thanks for being there to support a customer in need, Brian!
– The nomination was received from Jack Harris, Curtin Connect Advisor (Coach)
Annie Walsh – The Australian National University
“Annie has set herself apart with her authenticity, which shines through during her successful interactions with our future students and their parents”, says Lyuxia Yang, Enquiry Team Leader at The Australian National University. “Annie addresses enquiries with a holistic approach and well-rounded understanding of her customers’ situation. And she is always generous in sharing her own experience which helps her build personal connections.”
Lyuxia explains that Annie, having experienced moving to another state away from family and friends herself, uses those experiences to make future students (and their parents) feel more at ease with the daunting prospect of moving interstate to study. “She utilises her knowledge of the University’s support systems along with her personal stories, to resolve her customers’ concerns.”
A wonderful example of Annie’s ability to connect with others can be drawn from a Careers Expo in Victoria that she attended, talking to many students who were interested in studying at ANU. Several months after this event, Annie led a Campus Tour where a student approached her and greeted her personally, remembering her from the Careers Expo. The student’s experience with Annie at the event had been so positive that they had travelled interstate with the specific aim of attending our Campus Tours to experience the Campus in-person. We are sure that Annie’s personalised approach contributed to this and many other student’s positive experiences with ANU. Congratulations Annie!
– The nomination was received from Lyuxia Yang, Enquiry Team Leader
Nominations are open for the July- September 2023 awards
We’re currently accepting nominations for the April- June 2023 CX Agent of the Quarter awards and encourage all of our clients to nominate agents and frontline staff whose work deserves to be celebrated.
The awards are about celebrating the members of your team who work to create better customer experiences and nominations can be based on a variety of different reasons including:
- Excellence in the use of a specific SenseCX measure.
- Consistent improvement in SenseCX assessment scores.
- Embracing a SenseCX behaviour for the first time – moving the dial away from 0%!
- Sharing tips or information with the team about how to achieve specific SenseCX behaviours.
- Embracing a new technique or behaviour to enhance the experience for customers.
- Handling a complex enquiry really well.
- Showing a genuine passion to improve a customer’s experience.
- Transcending customer expectations – going above and beyond for a customer.
- Finding the perfect balance between people and process for the good of a customer.
- Showing real leadership and judgement to reflect your organisation’s customer-focused culture or customer promise.
- Stepping up to report an issue that was impacting customer experience.
- Finding a creative and/or innovative way to solve a customer’s problem.
To nominate a member, or members, of your team simply complete this nomination form.
