Interview with CCiNZ Award Winner - Tony Sumner

2011 CCiNZ Award winner Tony Sumner talks to us about his experience of entering and winning this year's award for Contact Centre Manager of the Year (over 50 seats). 

Meridian Energy is a renewable generator and developer in New Zealand. Meridian Energy generates electricity from wind and water in New Zealand, wind in Australia and solar in the United States of America.  In New Zealand, the company is the largest electricity generator, owning and operating seven hydro stations and four wind farms across New Zealand. They also retail electricity to over 20,000 residential, rural and business customers.

Tony, describe your contact centre, your role and responsibilities for us
The Meridian Contact Centre is located in Christchurch.  We have 85 people in five teams (New & Move, Accounts & Payments, General & Billing, Agri & Business and eServices) servicing inbound calls and e-contacts from our residential, rural and business customers.  As the Contact Centre Manager I am responsible for ensuring we deliver an outstanding customer experience and achieving business targets.

Tell us about your career path and how you’ve come to be in your current position?
My first job out of university was as a contact centre CSR with Inland Revenue. In the 15 years since then I’ve progressed into customer service leadership roles in a several countries and industries.

What are some of the biggest challenges that you regularly face in your role?
The biggest challenge I face is creating a customer experience that sets us apart from our competitors.  Attracting and retaining the best people, encouraging investment in new technology and integrating with other parts of our business are all areas we’re constantly focused on.

How did you find out about the 2011 CCiNZ Awards and why did you enter this year?
I found out about the CCiNZ Awards when I went to last year’s conference.  I am very keen for us as a contact centre to use external bench marking so we can reference how we are doing.  There seemed no better way to encourage my team to do this than leading by example.

How long did it take you to complete your award entry and who was involved?
I completed my entry over a week spending around an hour each evening crafting my response to each of the categories.  My wife would proof read each section and suggest amendments. I also had my team review the final entry.

Tell us about your award entry, what was it about?
The main focus on my entry was about setting clear targets and goals which will make a significant difference for our customers and the coaching, development and support which goes into creating a team that delivers the results.

Tell us about your experience when putting the award entry together
It was great to look back at all we as a team had achieved over a very challenging 12 months and also to remind myself of the areas that we still need to work on.  The feedback from the judges was also very valuable in confirming that we were on the right track.

What does it mean to you to win the CCiNZ award?
It’s very fantastic to be recognised by the industry’s professional body as someone who is working in a way that is seen as best practice.  It is also however a reflection of the great team of people I work with who produced the excellent results which I was able to incorporate into my entry.

Have you or your company celebrated this achievement in some way?
My company has featured me in an internal news article on our intranet and they put on drinks one evening to celebrate.  I have also received personal notes of congratulation from our CEO and other people from right across the company.

What will you do with your award?
I’m also keen to share my experience so if anyone wants to come for a visit or to give me a call they’re more than welcome!

Would you recommend other contact centre professionals enter the awards – and why?
Entering in the award is a very good way of taking time to think and analyse what you are doing in your role.  It will give you a frame of reference and guidance on what areas you need to be concentrating on.

Was the feedback from CCiNZ judges about your award entry helpful?
Yes – great to be able to get the input of impartial experts in to how you are doing.

Are there any other comments that you would like to make about your experience?
The NZ contact centre industry will grow and develop with people sharing best practice ideas and developing a strong industry body.

Thank you to Tony and his team for entering the CCiNZ Contact Centre Awards this year and for taking the time to talk to us.

Meet Tony and the other winners of the 2011 CCiNZ Awards at our Winners Showcase events in Auckland and Wellington. Register now to secure your place and find out how to create an award-winning entry and spotlight the achievements of you and your company in the 2012 CCiNZ Awards.