South West industry calls up entries for excellence awards

A multi-million pound a year industry employing some 52,000 people in the West is set to recognise the excellence in its ranks.

The West’s contact centre industry operates mainly in the highly technical and challenging sectors of finance and insurance.

Now the skills of some of the best people who work in the challenging industry and the centres where they work are to be singled out for praise.

The South West Contact Centre Forum (SWCCF), the employer-led organisation, has launched its inaugural South West Contact Centre Awards (SWCCA) and is calling for entries.

The Forum says the aim of the awards to raise awareness, improve perceptions and standards within the industry as well as creating a competitive environment.

SWCCF chairperson Colin Jones, Head of Contact Centre Operations at the Chelsea Building Society, Cheltenham, said: “The mature contact centre industry in the South West supports a wide range of people in a whole host of challenging and highly demanding careers.

“The work people employed in contact centres in the West have done over the years to help support the financial services and insurance sectors in the West has been truly remarkable.

“The new awards will go some way to give recognition to the truly exceptional individuals, teams and centres that make up the West’s contact centre industry.”

Award nominations for entries close on Thursday April 9. The awards event will be staged in Bristol on Thursday, June 4.

SWCCF Ltd. Managing Director Jane Thomas said: “The South West Contact Centre Awards offer the chance for employers, employees and anyone else associated with contact centres in the West to be recognised for the important work that they perform.

Ms Thomas said: “For the contact centre industry in the West to reap its just rewards it’s vital that best practice is shared, innovation encouraged and new technologies adopted across the entire industry.

“These are the keys to delivering the high quality service demanded by customers. They are means by which the industry here in the West can continue to grow.”

Areas covered by the awards include best support person, agent, team leader, supervisor, manager and also people development, staff retention, support team, customer service and resource planning

Picture caption: Backing the awards: Jane Thomas, Managing Director of the South West Contact Centre Forum with Forum Chairman Colin Jones.

13th March 2009