Press Release For Immediate Release - 4th Annual North West Call and Contact Centre Awards

16th October 2009

The winners of the 4th Annual North West Call and Contact Centre Awards, hosted by comedian Lee Hurst, were revealed at the glittering gala dinner held on the 15th October, 2009 at the Palace Hotel, Manchester.

The Viva Las Vegas themed dinner was organised by the University of Central Lancashire's, CallNorthWest, the leading support organisation for call and contact centre's in the North West.

Tom Kirby, Director of CallNorthWest said, "What a fantastic evening to celebrate all that is great about call and contact centres in the North West. Winning a prestigious North West Contact Centre Award has increasingly become a target for many organisations. This clearly demonstrates the wide recognition of CallNorthWest as a benchmark for excellence."

The event defied the economic downturn by attracting over 450 call and contact centre professionals from across the region, an increase of 25% on the year before.

The event was sponsored by Synapse Academy, a training organisation that offers under 24 year olds the opportunity to earn while they learn.

The entertainment was provided by Martin Fox as "Elvis" and the Las Vegas Show Girls who were on hand to add a touch of glamour to the evening.

There were 15 winners who each received a glass award and a bottle of champagne.

The first winner of the evening was Alison McRory from Greater Manchester Police who was crowned Agent of the Year. Alison examples of going above and beyond were exemplary, with performance statistics that could only be described as incredible.

Top individual honours went to Annette Ritson from, Expotel who scooped the award for Contact Centre Manager over 50 seats, credited with turning around the fortunes of the centre in dramatic style.

Christine Burns from Pontins claimed the Contact Centre Manager of the Year, under 50 seats, in what was a closely fought category. The judges had never seen so much passion for a job as Christine had shown.

United Utilities took two gongs for Team Leader of the Year and Best Customer Experience Award.

It was two for O2 who picked up both Best Utilisation of Technology and Business in the Community Awards.

Liverpool Housing Trust won Team of the Year and it looked like everyone of them was there to collect it! Arguably the biggest cheer of the evening that literally raised the roof!

QVC were hailed as 'astonishing', 'very impressive' and 'amazing' on their way to picking up Contact Centre of the Year (over 50 seats), Private Sector.

In contrast the Contact Centre of the Year (under 50 seats) went to Burnley Borough Council who came out on top for leading the way in customer service, in a category containing no less than 6 finalists.

Impact Partnership capped the evening off by winning Contact Centre (over 50 seats) Public Sector. The centre was described by the judges as "having the warmth of a family home."

Full List of Winners

Individual Awards

Agent of the Year Winner - Alison McRory, Greater Manchester Police
Highly Commended - Barbara Martin, Liverpool Housing Trust
presented by: Anne Hanrahan, Senior Operations Manager, Telefonica O2 UK

Team Leader of the Year
Winner - Sue Offord, United Utilities
Highly Commended - Sharon Bustin, TNT Express UK
Presented by: Stephen Lewis, Manager of Centre Operations, Cable & Wireless

Trainer/Coach of the Year
Winner - Nina Hickson, Cheshire Constabulary
Presented by: Tom Kirby, Director, CallNorthWest

Support Person of the Year
Winner - Fiona Heron, Adecco / IBM
Highly Commended - Kirsty Hargraves, Burnley Borough Council
Presented by: Dharma Kovvuri, Dean, Lancashire Business School

Contact Centre Manager of the Year under 50 seats
Winner - Christine Burns, Pontins Ltd
Presented by: Helen Barker, Contact Centre & Customer Care Development Manager, Derbyshire County Council

Contact Centre Manager of the Year over 50 seats
Winner - Annette Ritson, Expotel Limited
Highly Commended - Andy Lang, Greater Manchester Police
Presented by: Adam Anderson, Training Manager, Ai Claims

Company Awards

Best Utilisation of Technology
Winner - Telefónica O2 UK Ltd
Highly Commended - United Utilities

Best Outsourced Partnership
Winner - Expotel & DWP
Highly Commended - iQor & BBC TV Licensing

Best Avoidable Contact Programme (public sector)
Winner - Liverpool Direct Limited

Best Customer Experience Programme
Winner - United Utilities

Business in the Community Award
Winner - Telefonica O2 UK Ltd

Team of the Year (under 25 members)
Winner - Customer Service Centre, Liverpool Housing Trust

Contact Centre (under 50 seats)
Winner - Burnley Borough Council
Highly Commended - Office Link

Contact Centre (over 50 Seats) Private Sector
Winner - QVC UK
Highly Commended - Carole Nash Insurance Consultants

Contact Centre (over 50 Seats) Public Sector
Winner - Impact Partnership

ENDS

For further information please contact:

CallNorthWest - Alison Hitchen on 01772 229853 or email:- ahitchen1@uclan.ac.uk

Note to editors:
Further photos of winners available on request from contact listed above or online at the link below.

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.

About the Call and contact centre industry in the North West
Call and contact centres are important to the economic prosperity of the region employing 4.8% of the North West workforce (149,175) in over 650 centre's.