This repeat business client applied for the senior level role of Chief Recovery Officer in State (NSW) Government. Four selection criteria required addressing with a maximum of one page per criterion. He was once again successful in gaining a job interview. Following are excerpts from two of the criteria.
A proven track record of success in leading and developing high performance teams in complex environments with a strong focus on customer service, service delivery and commercial viability.
In my current role as Assistant Director, Client Services within the OOO’s Client Services Branch, I am responsible for the effective management of a large high volume call centre and four debt recovery and debt mitigation businesses, comprising over 320 staff located in three locations in eastern NSW. The call centre has 175 staff, receives over one million calls a year and now consistently exceeds its agreed service level measures.
When I was appointed to this position approximately 15 months ago, the call centre averaged a service level of 55%. I worked closely with the call centre manager to develop and implement a range of initiatives to improve the client experience. This has resulted in a significant increase in the service level to over 90% for the past 10 months; and an overall improvement in the operational effectiveness of the call centre by shifting the focus on first call resolution. I encourage a continuous improvement culture with an emphasis on reducing the number of avoidable calls and improving the clients’ experience and accessibility through the introduction of web-based self-service options. The emphasis on first call resolution, reducing the number of avoidable calls, appropriate resource levels, and self-service options reduces the costs associated with servicing the clients, and has the additional benefit of allowing resources to be assigned to activities which increase fine resolution.
Exceptional interpersonal skills in communication, negotiation, conflict resolution and presentation skills with the proven ability to liaise, collaborate and negotiate with a range of stakeholders.
In all the roles held, I have often been placed in a position where it was necessary to resolve conflict between parties with differing and strongly held views. I negotiated in situations where stakeholders held entrenched positions. This included industrial situations with staff and unions and professionally-related disagreements. By identifying the core issues and removing the emotive issues, I successfully achieved workable outcomes to the satisfaction of all concerned stakeholders. I have negotiated service level agreements with stakeholders, contracts with service providers, and supply contacts.
Upon commencement in the role of Assistant Director, Client Services I immediately identified that OOO did not have the best working relationship with its parent organisation, SSS. The relationship between OOO and the corporate service areas within SSS often boarded on toxic. Consequently, a high level of distrust between the parties was evident. The poor relationship had a detrimental impact on OOO’s ability to meet key performance targets. I overcame this situation within a matter of months and went on to successfully maintain an ongoing cooperative relationship with the other divisions within SSS. The was primarily achieved through engaging with the other areas within OSR, identifying the key influencers and engaging them in open discussion to identify and remove roadblocks and returning a high level of trust to the relationship. The change in the relationship was evident in the enthusiasm of other divisions of SSS in readily engaging with OOO’s Client Services Branch. Moreover, the effectiveness of the Branch improved both in the areas of debt resolution and staff satisfaction. The improved relationship was also cemented and documented in recent organisation-wide staff satisfaction surveys.
I’m here to help market you!
Cheers,
Annie Cerone
