Press release Greater Manchester - North West Call and Contact Centre Awards

17th October 2008

For Greater Manchester based publications a review of the winners of the 2008 North West Call and Contact Centre Awards.

For immediate release
O2 Best Business in the Community

The winners of the 3rd Annual North West Call and Contact Centre Awards were revealed on the 16th October at the Crowne Plaza, Liverpool.

After beating hundreds of entries from across the region, over 360 staff and supporters from the 29 organisations that made it through to the finalist stage, gathered for the glittering presentation. Hosted by TV’s Jason Wood and organised by the University of Central Lancashire’s, CallNorthWest, the organisation responsible for supporting the call and contact centre sector in the region.

Tom Kirby, Director of CallNorthWest says “This year’s awards received an overwhelming response, each and every winner is a wonderful example of how call and contact centres are achieving excellence and we are delighted to be able to recognise everyone’s hard work and dedication. They should all feel very proud of their achievements.”

Amongst the winners were Salford based Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and Bury based O2.

O2 was awarded top honours in the Best Business in the Community category Fiona Kinder, Customer Service Manager for Blackpool Pleasure Beach and member of the judging panel said “there was a real sense of pride at O2 that was quite moving, everyone was empowered to engage in activities for causes close to their hearts, it was clear that everyone was having a lot of fun!”

O2 made it oh 2 when Eileen Duffy triumphed in the Agent of the Year Category. A working mum who has been with O2 for 7 years was described as “little Miss Sunshine” by the judges.

Anthony Mellor from HMRC scooped the award for Best Trainer of the Year. A runner-up last year Anthony’s persistence paid off as he was presented with a glass trophy and a bottle of bubbly by Professor David Hamblin, Dean of Lancashire Business School.

Call and Contact Centres are important to the economic prosperity of the region employing 4.8% of the North West workforce (149,175). This makes the North West of England the centre of excellence for Customer Management.

ENDS

Note to editors:
Pictures
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Presented by Liz Allman from HBOS to Eileen Duffy, O2, winner of the Agent of the year award.
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Professor David Hamblin, Dean, Lancashire Business School, University of Central Lancashire, presents to Anthony Mellor, HMRC, winner of the Trainer of the Year category.
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Presented by (second from left) Fiona Kinder, Customer Services Manager, Blackpool Pleasure Beach to the team at O2 Bury site as winners of the the Business in the Community Award.

The North West Call Contact Centre Awards
Now in their 3rd successful year, the North West Call and Contact Centre Awards highlight and reward ‘Excellence’ in North West Call and Contact Centres.

For further information, photographs and interviews please contact:

CallNorthWest – Alison Hitchen 01772 229853 ahitchen1@uclan.ac.uk
To find out more about CallNorthWest, visit www.callnorthwest.org.uk

About CallNorthWest

Since 2003, CallNorthWest has been actively working with the North West call and contact centre sector, striving to support the critical success factors that drive the sector to achieve excellence. Through the support of the North West Development Agency and hosted by the University of Central Lancashire, CallNorthWest is ensuring that the North West remains a sustainable location for call and contact centres.

The winners are:

Individual Awards

Agent of the Year
Eileen Duffy, O2, Bury

Team Leader of the Year
Steven Johnson, Vodafone

Trainer/Coach of the Year
Anthony Mellor, HMRC

Support Person of the Year
Christelle Philips, Glen Dimplex Home Appliances

Contact Centre Manager of the Year (under 50 seats)
Anne Barrowclough, Air Products PLC

Contact Centre Manager of the Year (over 50 seats)
Sue Sixsmith, Vertex


Company Awards

Best Use of Technology
Lancashire Constabulary

Best Induction Training Programme
Carole Nash

Team of the Year (under 25 team members)
Merseytravel

Contact Centre (under 50 seats)
Liverpool Housing Trust

Contact Centre (over 50 seats) Private Sector
Vodafone

Contact Centre (over 50 seats) Public Sector
Cheshire Police

Best Recruitment Campaign
Cheshire Police

Business in the Community Award
O2, Bury

Most Effective Service Transformation Project
Lancashire Constabulary