Profile: Sharon McCaffery, BT Financial Group

SHARON MCCAFFERY
Platform Team Manager
BT Financial Group

Number of years in role:  3

Number of staff / seats:  16

What do you do?
I look after BT’s Platform Customer Relations Team, one of our senior phone teams.   The team takes inbound calls from investors and financial advisers on our Wrap and Margin Lending products.

In addition to managing the team I also represent Customer Relations to other parts of the organisation and build relationships with our clients and advisers.

Describe a typical work day.
A typical day means I ensure our team is providing a great customer experience to anyone that calls us.   This includes managing our service standards and monitoring our phone calls to ensure that we’re not only getting the quantity right but also the quality of the service we provide.

A key part of my role is also to be an advocate for our customers and the team to other parts of the business.

What results are expected in your position?
My objectives are primarily based on ensuring we meet our service standards and provide a superior customer experience.   The Platform team is a senior team in Customer Relations, and the results expected of the team are high.

How did you get here? What has been your career path?
I’ve been lucky to have a wide breadth of experience in BT, covering many product sets and skills.

Like most of the management team in Customer Relations, I started in one of the contact teams as a Contact Resolutions Consultant, in 2000. I then progressed to a Team Manager role and have managed all of our product lines, non phone teams and our quality team.

What's your career highlight?
Definitely the career development I’ve enjoyed in BT Customer Relations – I’ve been lucky enough to have moved into dream roles and worked with a lot of outstanding people.

The opportunity to set up and implement our quality management team was a highlight as it allowed me to develop project management skills and take a strategic view of our customer service.

And of course, a recent highlight would be winning the NSW Team Manager of the Year Award at the 2005 ATA Awards – a wonderful surprise and one that I’m incredibly proud of.

What's the most unusual thing that's happened to you at work?
There have been too many!  But I’d say recently, getting up at 5am to exercise with colleagues at Boot Camp could be classified as unusual!

What's the best and worst thing about your job?
There’s no worst thing about this job – I sometimes only wish there were more hours in the day!

The best aspects would be the opportunities that BT provides me with to learn.  It’s a very supportive organisation that encourages learning and development.  There’s also a fantastic team environment within the Customer Relations area – which makes it a really fun place to work.

How important is it to plan your career? Have you?
For me personally, I find planning very useful as it helps you to establish your goals and where you want to go.   It’s important however not to be too rigid that you pass up unexpected opportunities.  Sometimes you’re presented with choices that may not be in your immediate plans, but can be really interesting opportunities.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
I always wanted to be a flight attendant – which I did.   After three years though, I decided to do something different.  This is how I ended up moving to Australia and working at BT.

What is your dream job?
An actress!  I think the closest I get is the different roles I take on, on a daily basis.  Receiving the NSW Team Manager Award did feel a little like the Oscars!

What is the most important factor in a successful career?
I would say the key factor is to follow your dreams.  Have a passion for what you do and you can’t possibly go wrong.

Any tips on how to get and stay ahead?
I think everyone is different but for me, things I try to do are to stay positive – and take inspiration from those around me and learn from them as well.  There are so many opportunities to learn from situations and people, whether they’re positive or negative experiences.

It’s important in our industry that you can adapt to change.  Both the financial and call centre industries are always changing in terms of technology or best practice.

How do you maintain balance between your work and personal life?
It can be quite challenging in this role, because you can’t “switch off” at the end of the day. I’m often thinking about work when I go home.  The key is to establish priorities and make sure you stick to them.

BT as an organisation is very focussed on ensuring a positive work life balance for employees – so this support certainly makes it easier.

I also make sure I exercise regularly to clear out the cobwebs!

How do you encourage loyalty with your staff and clients?
It’s pretty much the same approach, I listen to what people tell me, act upon this and look for opportunities to exceed their expectations.

Good communication and taking the time to get to know the individual is the key

What are the important qualities required to be a good manager?
For me a good manager is someone who inspires me and creates a supportive and encouraging environment that enables people to excel in what they do.  A good manager provides open and honest communication and recognises the achievements of the team and its individual members.

What do you think the biggest issue in your field is - and what should be done about it?
I think most people would agree it’s first call resolution – how to measure if we are achieving this and the tools to manage it.  What can be done about this issue is to better empower staff and ensure you have the right technology to help them deliver first call resolution.

If you could invite five people, living or dead to dinner, who would they be?

• Clint Eastwood
• Neil Finn
• Madonna
• Christopher Reeve
• Bill Clinton

– in no particular order!  It would certainly be a lively discussion.

Who has been the biggest influence on your career? And who do you admire the most?
My current and previous managers have provided fantastic career direction and support at every point in my career at BT. I’ve been encouraged to take risks and opportunities and to follow my own instincts.

My mum would be the person I admire most and people that follow their dreams and inspire others along the way.

What or who are you incapable of working without?
The who – my team, my follow team managers at BT and our customers.
The what - energy, constant stimulation, and I couldn’t’ work without lots of challenges!

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?
We know what our employees want, because we conduct monthly surveys, a detailed annual survey and regularly hold focus groups – so we don’t’ have to guess.

They’ve told us they want more learning and development opportunities, clear objectives and regular feedback, recognition of their skills and contribution.   They want to feel valued and feel they are making a worthwhile contribution to the organisation.

At BT we have some wonderful programs for our employees, including a comprehensive community program, where employees can take one day off work each year to support a charity or their community.    We have a strong reward and recognition program both within the Contact Centre and the organisation as a whole.  And we’re very focussed learning and development for our employees.