Profile: Shaun Grainger, SalesForce Australia
 |
Shaun Grainger
|
What do you do?
I am the Contact Centre Manager for the DEST (Federal Department of Education, Science and Training) contact centre. The contact centre’s primary function is to manage a variety of referral lines and information lines for DEST.
The contact centre handles inbound and outbound phone calls, fax queries, email queries and fulfilment services. Its customers are key stakeholders within DEST: schools, students, parents, overseas callers and members of the Australian general public.
What results are expected in your position?
We provide our clients with a competitive service that is in line with their internal goals. My aim is for the contact centre to provide a service that:
- Performs its functions in an impartial and professional manner;
- Is openly accountable for its actions;
- Provides frank, honest, comprehensive, accurate and timely advice to the Government; and
- Delivers services impartially and courteously to the Australian public.
Its aim is to ensure that Australians understand the policy directions of Government, their intent and how services can be accessed.
My role is to oversee the contact centre and ensure it is meeting the industry and contractual standards. As well as this, I analyse the business processes and technology, and develop more efficient ways of operating.
As an added duty, I actively participate in providing feedback to the client on ways to improve the accessibility and information available to their customers.
What has been your biggest career highlight to date?
There are two major highlights of my career to date:
|
2005 |
Winning an ICSP (International Customer Service Professional) Award for Contact Centre Champion for individual performance |
|
1997 |
Nomination for the Young Australian of the Year Award for dedication and support in Community Service |
What is the best and worst thing about your job?
The best thing about my job is that I’m doing something I’m passionate about and working in an environment that allows me to challenge my skills and myself.
The customer service industry is a challenging and rewarding career, and has become a well-respected profession and industry to work in.
The worst part of my job is that it can be very intense and reactionary at times. What keeps me going in those times is that there is always light at the end of the tunnel. These times are learning opportunities to test my skills and knowledge.
Any tips on how to get and stay ahead?
The first thing is to have a clear goal and direction that you wish to pursue. And also to set yourself a career plan and let your managers know about it!
I have a passion for project and people management, and have a personal goal to pursue quality and depth in my work. If you go the extra mile and take advantage of every opportunity to learn, you will always be improving your abilities and knowledge.
The following attributes have helped me get ahead and stay ahead:
- Flexibility and adaptability to new environments;
- Ability to focus on communication;
- Positive decision making guided by clear ideals, standards and conviction;
- Conscientious, professional, with a `can do’ approach to my work; and
- Confident, energetic and enthusiastic personality always helps.
You can learn from others’ mistakes and successes but it is important to try things for yourself. I have always strived to do better than I’ve done before rather than better than what others have done. This helps me focus on my abilities and skills and allows me to assess my areas of growth and areas requiring more development.
How do you encourage loyalty with your staff and clients?
It is about actively listening to the needs of employees and clients. By openly giving them opportunities to give me an understanding of what they want, I hope to provide a positive workplace. My aim is to empower and educate employees so they have more confidence in their decision processes.
I manage with the rule ‘Speed of the Boss’. I try to remain calm and confident at all times and empower employees to be the master of their own destiny. I believe they should feel comfortable to talk to me at anytime and I endeavour to chat with them on a weekly basis to get a feel on how they are travelling.
Each team member has his own style of work and different skills to offer. It is important to have regular contact with all members of my team and discuss their personal and work goals and their passions. We work together to find opportunities for them to play a role in the big picture of the business. This gives them a sense of pride and ownership in the business.
SalesForce has a long list of awards, all showing our commitment to the industry and recognising our company’s best practice within contact centres.
What do you think employees want from their employer?
As employees spend as much as a third of their life at work it is important to recognise some basic needs.
Employees want an employer who:
- Listens to their ideas to improve productivity in the work environment;
- Congratulates and rewards them for a job well done;
- Communicates with them regularly and keeps them informed; and
- Provides a work environment that is free of discrimination and allows individuality.
What does your company do for its staff that you feel is different from what other companies provide?
SalesForce has built a culture around the above key employee needs and developed the formula of success with the 3 Fs: Fun, Focus and Fulfilment.
Having FUN means you will feel good about coming to work, having FOCUS will help you be productive and achieve targets - leading to personal and professional FULFILLMENT.
In 2004 and 2005, SalesForce was selected as Best Employer in the highly regarded Hewitt Best Employer Survey of Australian businesses. It was nominated amongst the top ten best employers in 2001 and 2003.
What are the biggest human capital issues your industry is dealing with? …and what should be done about them?
Recruiting and investing in the right people for the job – generation Y is still generally misunderstood. We are doing our best to work with this care free and transient group!
Your employees are your most valuable assets - understanding what makes them tick is vital.
Investment in the development of employees and rewarding great work will assist to maintain high standards and reduce loss of skills.
The right recruitment and training is the key to our success. SalesForce has developed its own recruitment process, which has contributed to its success in the industry.
