Interview with CCiNZ Award Winner - Gayl Roden

2011 CCiNZ Award winner Gayl Roden talks to us about her experience of entering and winning this year's award for Contact Centre Team Leader of the Year.

National Bank New Zealand provides award winning financial solutions for a range of customers, including Personal, Business, Commercial and Institutional and Rural.

Gayl, describe your contact centre and your role and responsibilities for us
Our Contact Centre is vibrant, energised and multi cultural. We have two sites – Auckland & Wellington. We employ over 700 people across both sites from generalist roles, specialist roles and leadership roles.Both sites look after ANZ & National Bank brands.

I lead one of our Personal Banking Services Specialist teams and I play a leading role with my peers in the Personal Banking Services leadership team. I have been an integral part of the development and growth of this new initiative within the Contact Centre.

My passion is to develop and grow a high performing and highly engaged team. I focus on developing my team of 15 people to consistently deliver exceptional customer service experiences. I am responsible for motivating, challenging and inspiring them though personal development planning, observation coaching and training in order to deliver outstanding sales and quality results.

How long have you been in the contact centre industry?
I have only been in the Contact Centre industry 21 months. During this time I have made it my mission to build relationships and network to gain an understanding of our contact centre. I have a great appreciation for all people that work in all contact centres.

Tell us about your career path and how you’ve come to be in your current position?
I joined the National Bank as a Banking Consultant just over 13 years ago, when I emigrated from the UK to New Zealand. I had banking experience in the UK and was a top performing Banking Consultant. I have proactively looked for opportunities to develop and grow within the organization.

I decided that there were massive opportunities to influence the service we provide our customers, through leading and developing others. I then moved into leadership roles within Branch Networks. I have been a branch manager at several branches and had a great time successfully opening two new branches and building new high performing teams. I’m proud to say the strategies I used were implemented for all future new branch openings.

When the exciting challenge of leading a new Specialist team within the Contact Centre came along,I was very motivated to be part of a new leadership team, a new customer initiative of offering our full range of personal services over the phone, building a new team in a new environment plus the added opportunity to lead the initiative and change within my existing branch region. I thought this is a great opportunity for me and have never looked back.

So here I am,enjoying the energy and vibrancy of a top performing Contact Centre, having utilised my existing leadership skills in a new environment and built a top performing Specialist team.

What are some of the biggest challenges you face regularly in your role
Time management and forward planning is key to spending valuable time with each team member. Ensuring that the time is beneficial to their individual personal development and goals is another challenge. Also, making sure that we have time to discuss their successes and link to the part they play in our business. And of course making sure that “stuff” and admin doesn’t get in the way.

How did you find out about the 2011 CCiNZ Awards and why did you enter this year?
As I am new to the contact centre environment, my manager told me about the awards and encouraged me to apply. I wanted to show that your personal skills and experience are transferable as long as you are committed to your role and people, take the time to understand your new environment, are willing and able to adapt.

How long did it take you to complete your award entry and who was involved?
I find it very hard to write about myself. If the entry was about one of my team it would have been much easier and quicker for me. I spent quite a lot of time answering the questions and I asked my manager to review itbefore I submitted my entry.

Tell us about your award entry, what was it about?
My entry was about the key contributions I have made to the business, my successes and how I have achieved these through developing my people. Also how I have supported the business by stepping-up into a senior ANZ manager role in our Wellington contact centre for a month. During this time, how I developed the Team Leaders, made successful changes to the business and impacted results.

Tell us about your experience when putting the award entry together?
It was a great possess to go through - it made me stop & take stock. I have very high standards and usually take what I do for granted, as it’s “business as usual” for me. It really made me think about the journey I have been on so far, how much I had learnt in a short time, the part I play in the leadership team, how I have achieved my personal and team successes along with reconfirming where my passions lie.

What does it mean to you to win the CCiNZ award?
This is a very prestigious award, so being new to the contact centre environment, it is amazing to winthe CCiNZContact Centre Team Leader of the Year. It has been quite a humbling experience to have received so many personal congratulatory emails from people I have worked with over the last 13 years - all of which I replied to.

Have you or your company celebrated this achievement in some way?
I have been feature in the contact centre communications, the Personal Banking Services newsletter and congratulated at our leadership meeting. Also via our website, a personal acknowledgement from Contact Centre General Manager Robyn Elston and Kerry Thomson, General Manger Retail Networks. Additionally, the ANZ news and events team posted my award, photo and personal profile on our ANZ internal website, which also resulted in congratulatory emails from people I have never met, including the manager of ANZ Contact Centre in Australia.

What will you do with your award?
It has pride of place on my desk at work.

Would you recommend other contact centre professionals enter the awards – and why?
I definitely recommend that other people enter the awards. It is an opportunity to showcase yourself and the company you work for.

Take it as a massive compliment when someone suggests you should enter. It gives you a great opportunity to look at yourself, your successes and achievements. Don’t assume that everyone does what you do and how you do it. Other leaders and aspiring leaders have told me that they find it really inspiring and motivating.

It has been an awesome experience and the impact on my team was great.

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

Meet Gayl 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.