Profile: Wayne Funnell, ARC Contact Centre
WAYNE FUNNELL
Contact Centre Manager
ARC Contact Centre
Number of years in role: 6 years
Number of staff and or seats: 65 staff
What do you do?
I’m responsible for the strategic direction and day to day function of the contact centre. The day to day functions include – HR, working with budgets, relationship management with the rest of the organisation and external suppliers.
Describe a typical work day.
There is no typical workday! As a Contact Centre Manager you get interrupted so many times from people in the contact centre and also people externally. So despite planning, there is no typical day.
What results are expected in your position?
To ensure the contact centre meets the KPI’s. These include; grade of service, abandonment rate, customer satisfaction, and the budget.
How did you get here? What has been your career path?
I was the Contact Centre Manager for AGC Finance (now GE Finance). I began there as a Team Leader. I’ve held a variety of roles within Customer Service and a variety of positions within each organisation. I’ve taken every opportunity that has existed. Customer Service positions I’ve held include: working in the Parking Section of the Auckland City Council, working for a small outsource contact centre, and setting up Information Services for charities.
What's your career highlight?
Winning the TUANZ Contact Centre of the year (under 50 seats) award in 2004.
What's the most unusual thing that's happened to you at work?
The saddest thing is having a staff member pass away.
What's the best and worst thing about your job?
Best – people contact. Diversity of people.
Worst – Dealing with people who are very bureaucratic.
How important is it to plan your career? Have you?
Very important. I made a strategic decision to get into the contact centre industry. I put myself into positions that would advance me and am always aware of planning the next step.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
An Architect.
What is your dream job?
Working for myself developing property. Buying large blocks and building on them.
What is the most important factor in a successful career?
Passion and believing in what you’re doing.
Any tips on how to get and stay ahead?
Never give up! You might get knocked back but you’re not a failure unless you stay down.
How do you maintain balance between your work and personal life?
My wife reminds me! Managing a contact centre that works 7 days a week means it can be hard to switch off, I found this particularly hard when the job was new. Now I can switch off and if there is a major event on I will just phone in to see how it is all going.
How do you encourage loyalty with your staff and clients?
With staff – we provide a pleasant environment where staff are nurtured and feel cared for. We’re concerned about their development holistically. In this tight market it is challenging to have loyalty with such competitive salaries being out there for the employees.
With clients – we make sure they’re an integral part of the business and really understand our business needs.
What are the important qualities required to be a good manager?
- Strategic focus
- Ability to wear many hats
- Good EI (Emotional Intelligence)
- Good relationship building skills
What do you think the biggest issue in your field is - and what should be done about it?
- Recruitment of staff in terms of the tight market and competitive salaries.
- Technology – being able to keep up with what is happening with technology. Filtering through what technology is actually cost effective for your organisation. I have to ask myself, is this technology what the customer wants and will it enhance the customer experience.
If you could invite five people, living or dead to dinner, who would they be?
- John Maxwell
- Edward de Bono
- My wife – Olwyn
- My Pastor – Ray Watson
- Winston Churchill
Who has been the biggest influence on your career? And who do you admire the most?
Biggest influence - My Pastor in terms of where I’m meant to be, setting goals, stepping outside the square.
Who I admire most – my manager (Jaine Lovell-Gadd). She is so supportive and inspiring. We think alike.
What or who are you incapable of working without?
Passion! Without passion what are you doing? What’s the reason for doing it, you’re just on a treadmill if you’re not passionate about what you are doing.
What do you think employees want from their employer? And what does your company do for its staff that you feel is different from what other companies provide?
I ask this question when interviewing people and employees say they want respect, they want to be treated as an individual and they want friendliness.
I don’t think there is anything that the ARC Contact Centre does differently. Feedback we get from external people is that there is a really good atmosphere and our staff are friendly.