CallMasters

You'd have thought having to move hundreds of contact centre staff to homeworking and get used to a whole new way of managing teams and customers was enough to do during a global pandemic. Not so for Teachers Mutual Bank and Tim Powell, who launched a digital bank Hiver aimed at essential workers.

On top of that they've been rolling out the NPP (New Payments Platform) Pay 2 project and transforming their internal culture with a new management approach and performance framework that fosters autonomy, communication, and innovation. It certainly sounds like a busy couple of years. 

I've know Tim for a number of years through Auscontact, of which he is also a Non Executive Director. He's a consummate finance, CX and contact centre professional with 20 years' experience. Listen to our wide-ranging discussion here:

This one was a special honour. As will need no introduction to most of you, Fiona is the long-term CEO of Auscontact and has been one of the leading lights in our industry for several decades. I've been lucky enough to know and work with Fiona for a number of years so I was excited to get the chance to interview her before she retires in a few weeks.

We talk through the future of the contact centre, and its increasing importance as a strategic asset for the business a whole. We also look at the incredible changes like working from home that have happened in the last few years, and Fiona has great some advice on how to balance company and employee needs.

On a personal note I'd like to thank Fiona for her services to our industry, and I'm extremely grateful for her support and input throughout my career. I'm sure thousands of us feel the same.

On the future of work and using what we learned in lockdown to become better managers

In this episode I talk with Matt Penman, General Manager Customer Service at Auto & General, and Executive Director of Auscontact, about whether homeworking is here to stay, and how the pandemic has changed him for the better as a manager. 

In this extraordinarily open interview Matt talks about how working from home and lockdowns helped him better understand his own strengths and weaknesses, and changed the way he manages his team.

We also talk about the future of work in the next few years. Working from home is here to stay, just not for all businesses. Instead, each employer will offer a different mix of office working, homeworking, and hybrid jobs and employees will choose one that suits them.

In this very special episode we speak with Jodie Bedoya from collections and vulnerability training specialists eMatrix.

We briefly discuss some of the latest training trends, including micro-training and how to tailor L&D content for hybrid workers.

Jodie then explains the Federal Government's BAC (Boosting Apprenticeships Commencements) wage subsidies, which allow businesses to access $28,000 per person for training.

The programme is open for applications until March 2022. Drop me an email at [email protected] for details and I will put you in touch with Jodie. Or visit https://ematrixtraining.com.au/.

In this latest episode I talk with Trent Poupard from conveyancing.com.au and Deep Blue Company about how he has been engaging with his team during lockdown. We discuss intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation, and how great leaders help their team members find purpose and achieve their goals.

This episode I'm joined by Angus McArthur, Human Resources Business Partner at Panthera Finance Group. We discuss the challenges of managing staff remotely during the pandemic, and how Panthera has overcome these, as well as tips for recruiting in a tight labour market.

As Victoria and NSW announce their vaccine mandates we talk with Nick Tindley, Workplace Law Partner with FCB HR, to find out what you need to do as an employer to return to work safely and avoid fines.

If you have any questions for us or for Nick, feel free to book a 15 minute slot and we'll be happy to help in any way we can.

You can also email your questions for Nick here.

In this first ever episode of CallMasters we talk to experienced contact centre and customer experience leader Spiz Constandinou about how his Australia Post team has kept up with customer demand during the pandemic, and how he has managed them remotely dealing with issues around motivation and mental health.