GLASGOW, Scotland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DVLA, which plays a critical role in keeping Britain’s roads users safe, beat off fierce competition to win the coveted title of ‘Customer Contact Centre of the Year’ in the CCA Excellence Awards which recognise world class professional achievement in customer service.
DVLA, which also won the ‘Most Effective Training Programme’ award, is recognised as a leading practitioner of good customer service within the public sector. It has had a five year successful partnership with CCA since first achieving Global Standard© accreditation in 1997.
It was a triumphant night for Barclays Wealth and Investment Management, a leading global wealth manager, which won five awards, more than any other single organisation. The judges said: “There is a strong customer focus within Barclays along with great leadership..they should be very proud of what they have achieved.”
Barclays picked up awards for ‘Contact Centre Team of the Year: B2C’ and ‘Overall Team of the Year’ for its Global Client Service Centres operation, as well as winning ‘Best Customer Experience Centre of the Year’ - a category sponsored by Invest Northern Ireland. Barclays also celebrated the individual success of Amanda Cradden who won ‘Team Leader of the Year’ and ‘Overall Professional of the Year.’
CCA Chief Executive Anne Marie Forsyth said: “These were the most hotly-contested awards CCA has ever held - a huge congratulations to the winners who truly represent the very best in customer service. DVLA’s success in particular underlines the valuable role CCA Global Standard© plays in driving continuous improvements. It was inspirational to see the passion for pleasing customers which shone through all of the submissions this year.”
LV=, the UK’s largest friendly society, scored a double victory, winning the award for ‘Great Places to Work’ while Peter Sinden, Director of Sales & Service was named ‘Director of the Year.’
Broadcaster, internet and telephony group Sky also had a successful night, winning the ‘Back Office Customer Service Team of the Year’ award as well as being highly commended in a further three categories.
Individuals recognised for their special achievements included Stacey Gowran of T-Mobile who was named ‘Agent of the Year’ and Cheryl Black, CCA special adviser and former chair of Industry Council who was presented with a special ‘Lifetime Achievement’ award. Cheryl, who received the award in recognition of her tireless work and passion in driving service improvements, remains a key contributor to CCA’s research programme.
Nationwide Building Society won the award for ‘Corporate Social Responsibility in Customer Contact’ which was sponsored by Parseq, a business process and technology specialist providing value-add, technology-led services.
The awards ceremony and dinner, in which winners were announced in 20 categories, was hosted by comedian Hugh Dennis, star of BBC sitcom ‘Outnumbered’.
Chairman of CCA Excellence Awards Committee, Andrew Mends said: “In terms of the quality and number of submissions, we are reaping the benefit of the hard work and commitment shown by the membership and CCA to sharing best practice and driving standards higher. Once again we have seen a raising of the quality bar and more submissions than ever. On behalf of the judges I would like to congratulate the winners who have succeeded in standing out in such a world class field and also all of the shortlisted entrants who continue to make these awards the real pinnacle of achievement in our industry."
Sponsors included overall awards sponsor Verint, a leader in analytics-driven workforce optimisation software and services; and gala dinner sponsors Aspect, a global provider of next generation customer contact technology and solutions; and Plantronics, a leader in audio communications equipment and solutions. HGS, the UK-based customer management outsourcing business was the hospitality sponsor.
David Parcell, Managing Director EMEA and Corporate Officer of Verint Systems said: “CCA Excellence Awards champion the successes and outstanding achievements of individuals, teams and businesses. Verint is proud and delighted to be the overall awards sponsor, supporting CCA in its goal to drive high achievement, encourage talent and recognise excellence."
Mark King, SVP Europe and Africa at Aspect said: “ Aspect is honoured to be main sponsor of the CCA Gala Dinner & Excellence Awards for the second year in a row. The awards unite all those who work together to make the contact centre industry the thriving entity it is today. This special event rewards those who provide exceptional services and the winners deserve the recognition that these awards will provide.”
Paul Clark, Plantronics Vice President for North Western Europe and sub-Saharan Africa, said: “Plantronics is proud to sponsor this year’s CCA Excellence Awards dinner. Delivering a superior customer service is vital to supporting business growth, and it is essential to recognise the achievements of those who excel in these crucial roles. We are delighted to be a part of highlighting both the individuals and businesses responsible for providing a superior customer experience.”
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NOTE TO EDITORS
Full list of winners
CCA Excellence Awards 2012 sponsored by Verint
BEST CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE CENTRE OF THE YEAR sponsored by Invest Northern
Ireland
WINNER = Barclays Wealth and Investment Management
HIGHLY
COMMENDED = LV=
CONTACT CENTRES: GREAT PLACES TO WORK
WINNER = LV=
HIGHLY
COMMENDED = Everything Everywhere
MOST EFFECTIVE TRAINING PROGRAMME
WINNER = DVLA Contact Centre
HIGHLY
COMMENDED = Capita BBC Audience Services
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN CUSTOMER CONTACT sponsored by Parseq
WINNER
= Nationwide Building Society
HIGHLY COMMENDED = Bank of America
PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR: AGENT
WINNER = Stacey Gowran, T-Mobile
HIGHLY
COMMENDED = Nick Kkafas, Serco
PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR: TEAM LEADER
WINNER = Amanda Cradden,
Barclays Wealth and Investment Management
HIGHLY COMMENDED = Sarah
Mottram, Sky
PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR: MANAGER
WINNER = Isobel McKendry,
Telefónica UK Ltd
HIGHLY COMMENDED = Alexis Ward, Barclays Wealth
and Investment Management
PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR: DIRECTOR
WINNER = Peter Sinden, LV=
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
WINNER = Cheryl Black
BACK OFFICE CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAM OF THE YEAR
WINNER = Analysis and
Incentive Team, Sky
HIGHLY COMMENDED = Sales Quality Team, Sky
CONTACT CENTRE TEAM OF THE YEAR: B2B
WINNER = Demand Management
Team, HMRC
HIGHLY COMMENDED = Capita/O2 Business to Business Team
CONTACT CENTRE TEAM OF THE YEAR: B2C
WINNER = Global Client Service
Centres, Barclays Wealth and Investment Management
HIGHLY COMMENDED
= Digital UK, MGt Plc
CUSTOMER SERVICE COMPLAINTS TEAM OF THE YEAR
WINNER = CPM UK Ltd
HIGHLY
COMMENDED = Sky
BEST OUTSOURCING PARTNERSHIP
WINNER = City Park Technologies &
American Express
HIGHLY COMMENDED = RESPONSE & Hiscox UK & Ireland
BEST TECHNOLOGY PARTNERSHIP
WINNER = NewVoiceMedia & SHL
MOST
EFFECTIVE USE OF SELF SERVICE
WINNER: NHS Business Services Authority
MOST EFFECTIVE USE OF
SOCIAL MEDIA
WINNER = Tesco Customer Service Centre
OVERALL PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR
WINNER = Amanda Cradden, Barclays
Wealth and Investment Management
OVERALL TEAM OF THE YEAR
WINNER
= Global Client Service Centres, Barclays Wealth and Investment
Management
OVERALL CENTRE OF THE YEAR
WINNER = DVLA Contact Centre
About the Customer Contact Association:
CCA is the leading independent authority on customer contact. Almost 900 organisations currently subscribe to CCA membership services. This equates to a network of over 5,000 senior practitioners, employing between 35%-45% of the contact centre population in the UK.
CCA Global Standard(c) has a proven track record of being an effective solution to real challenges concerning customer experience and offers valuable assistance in a timely and cost efficient way.
For further information visit www.cca-global.com
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