The finalists for the 17th Welsh Contact Centre Awards have been announced by the Welsh Contact Centre Forum (WCCF), ahead of March’s event in the capital city.
The awards, headline sponsored by Red Contact Centres, have been hosted by star names including Alan Carr, David Walliams and John Barrowman in recent years and organisers are keeping the names of 2015’s celebrity guest under wraps.
The awards, which for the first time will be held at the Wales Millennium Centre, celebrate both individuals and companies for their achievements over the last twelve months in Wales’ thriving contact centre industry.
A 700-strong audience at the glitzy ceremony will include finalists from organisations including Media Wales, Admiral, Principality Building Society, British Gas, Molson Coors, Deloitte, Barclays Home Solutions, Tesco, Gladiator, Virgin Media, Firstsource, Connect Assist, Legal & General, HSBC, RCN Direct and Blackhorse.
Phil Atwell, 42, is a finalist in the ‘Contact Centre Manager of the Year’ category. Phil has been the contact centre manager at Dwr Cymru Welsh Water, in St Mellons, Cardiff, for four and a half years, following a 13 year stint at Vodafone.
Phil said: “I was really chuffed to be nominated for this award, and feel as though I am already a winner. I would love to actually win, so I can share the success of a fantastic year with the wonderful people at Dwr Cymru who made this nomination possible.”
Nicky Hopkins, 41, from Swansea joins Phil in the ‘Contact Centre Manager of the Year’ category. After 20 years’ service at HSBC, working in numerous roles within the UK branch networks as well as contact centres across the UK and in Jersey, Nicky progressed to her current role of manager 12 months ago.
Nicky says: “My team are delighted with my nomination as it reflects well on the hard work of the each and every one of them. We’re all really excited to see what happens on the night.”
Other managers up for the award include Cherri Fowler of 118 118 Money, Kelly-Anne Ralph of PHS Group, Caroline Shears of Tesco, Wendy Crotty of Barclays Partner Finance and Victoria Crawford of Sinclair Group.
Sandra Busby, managing director of the Welsh Contact Centre Forum, said: “It’s hard to believe it, but the Welsh Contact Centre Awards are 17 years young this year. The shortlist we’ve announced today is stronger than ever and testament to the resilience and vibrancy of one of Wales’ most important sectors.
“The Welsh contact centre industry is one of the only to have seen continued growth and inward investment over the past few years, bringing around £650m a year into the Welsh economy. These awards are the perfect way to highlight and promote the industry and the contribution it makes to Wales.”
The finalists will be honoured, and winners announced at the Welsh Contact Centre Awards ceremony and gala ball at the Wales Millennium Centre on Friday 6th March 2015. A Twitter competition will run before the event where guests can win prizes by guessing the identity of the celebrity host.
Further sponsors include Centric, British Gas, Media Wales, TSW Training, Legal & General, Shaw Trust, CGI, HSBC.
For further information on the awards Click Here
The Finalists
Trainer of the Year
Helen Bieri – Blackhorse Finance
Jacqui Turner – Tesco
Lisa Baker – Serco Companies House
Carole Miller – Molson Coors
Sean Sweeney – CGI
Ashley Willis – Admiral Swansea
Louise E Jones – HSBC
Contact Centre Manager of the Year
Caroline Shears – Tesco
Phil Atwell – Dwr Cymru
Nicola Hopkins – HSBC
Kelly Anne Ralph – PHS
Cherri Fowler – 118 118 Money
Wendy Crotty – Barclays Partner Finance
Victoria Crawford – Sinclair Group
Support Manager of the Year: HR/Comms/Engagement
Keith Osborne – Firstsource
Ian Roberts – Admiral
Sue Williams – BT Bangor
Victoria Luke – Dwr Cymru
Support Person of the Year: MI/IT
Stewart Buse – British Gas
Keng Francis – Media Wales
Shaun Collins – Dwr Cymru
Geoff Williams – Firstsource
Rhys Davies – Legal & General
Rachel Roberts – Gladiator
Simon Marsh – SSE
Helen Parker – BT Newport
Support Person of the Year: HR/Comms
Heather Adams – RCN Direct
Aaron Shaw – Lloyds Banking Group
Ruth Tofton – ERS
Team Leader of the Year
Nicola Howells – EE
Andrew Holding – SSCL
Deborah Ashley – Firstsource
Leah Doran Hughes – Serco Companies House
Sarah Allen – Tesco
Jamie Gooden – Virgin Media
Kelly Grey – Virgin Media
Sam Mapstone – Dwr Cymru
Leighton Davies – CGI
Sales Agent of the Year
Martin Grennan – Firstsource
Sam Hall – Media Wales
Adam Dixon – Media Wales
Lisa Yarnold – PHS
Liam Glockling – Barclays Home Solutions
People Development
Firstsource
Tesco
Admiral Swansea
Lloyds Banking Group (Halifax)
ERS
Customer Service Award
Blackhorse Finance
Tesco
Serco – Hodge House
Dwr Cymru
HSBC
British Gas
Technology/MI/Facilities Award 6
PHS
HSBC
Blackhorse
SSCL
CGI
Admiral
People Engagement
RCN Direct
Tesco
Barclays Partner Finance
SSCL
ERS
Diverse Workplace
Firstsource
Barclays Welsh Language Unit
British Gas
Barclays Home Solutions
Lloyds Banking Group
Connect Assist
Support Team of the Year
Firstsource – HR Team
Tesco
HSBC
Virgin Media
Firstsource – Resource Team
SSCL
CGI
Legal & General
Outsourced Contact Centre of the Year
Firstsource
SSCL
Connect Assist
Contact Centre of the Year Inhouse
Student Finance Wales
Molson Coors
Sinclair Group
Deloitte
Barclays Home Solutions
Tesco
Gladiator
Virgin Media
Good Luck to all of the nominated Finalists – Ed
