Profile: John Meyer, Australian Unity
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What do you do?
I manage the inbound service team in our contact centre. We have a motivated team of about 70, supervised by six inspiring and innovative team leaders.
What results are expected in your position?
My first goal is to empower staff to make as many positive experiences for our members and customers as possible. Technical statistics and service levels are important, however, it is the delivery of service that my team members focus on.
What has been your biggest career highlight to date?
Being asked to move to Melbourne to support a new service strategy and structure in this contact centre. Prior to that, I would say a highlight is having staff who stayed almost five years in the centre because of how much they enjoyed the environment and culture we had created together.
What is the best and worst thing about your job?
The best is having staff enjoy their day with you at work. A challenge which is typical for everyone in our industry, is managing peak calls from campaigns at short notice.
Any tips on how to get and stay ahead?
Focus on your staff and listen to their concerns - hear everything they say. I hold regular meetings with direct team members to ask about issues they are experiencing. We get process and environment changes quickly just by listening.
Enjoy what you do – you need to have passion and drive in this environment. If you enjoy what you do, people around you in turn, will enjoy what they do.
How do you encourage loyalty with your staff and clients?
I make sure my teams are treated with respect as colleagues working toward one common goal. I like to think that everyone has some participation in decisions that affect their daily roles and how we deliver service.
Loyalty in our member and customer base stems from the high-trust services we provide, and there are a lot of members who have been with Australian Unity for decades. As a mutual organisation, we also have a high level of member engagement in the company and its operations.
What do you think employees want from their employer?
We have a strong people culture at Australian Unity. Staff members are regularly surveyed to find out engagement and satisfaction levels. We also ensure we work towards ‘adult to adult’ relationships and instil a culture of integrity and teamwork. The survey results show us that employees really value the supportive environment and feel that they belong as part of the Australian Unity community.
What does your company do for its staff that you feel is different from what other companies provide?
We have excellent training, career opportunities and employee-led programs including ‘fun@work’, ‘community@work’ and ‘active@work’. Much of the success of these programs is due to the high-level of staff ownership of activities, in managing events or participating. I believe however, that it is our culture of innovation and active change that allows staff to become involved with new ideas and process changes. We really engage people to help the business move forward.
What are the biggest human capital issues your industry is dealing with? …and what should be done about it?
We are always looking at ways to keep our turnover low and our morale high. With the varying styles of employees out in the market, it’s about hiring the best attitude and then training the other competencies. I believe if we hire a great communicator with a positive disposition, then we’re nearly there.