We spoke with Angharad, an employee who has rapidly advanced both within and outside our organisation.

When Angharad started in our multiclient department in May 2019, she never imagined she'd become our first customer contact professional on-site. She took off like a rocket from day one, and just a few months later, she began working on-site at Intratuin. It was an environment where she learned a lot.

My drive: to solve the problem from start to finish.

In my first assignment at Intratuin, I immediately noticed that working on-site is different from the multiclient pool where I gained experience at ContactCare. Many organisations use our multiclient solution for first-line questions. This means collaborating with a second line for more in-depth queries. As an on-site customer expert, you resolve the problem entirely. With the knowledge and experience I've gained through the ContactCare Academy, I knew how to ask the question behind the question and be patient when faced with resistance.

“People often ask questions. However, you quickly realise that's not the real problem. In that case, you search for the question behind the question.”

Fully relieving customers gives a very satisfying feeling. For me, this work is a full-time job. I don't study alongside this, making it all the more important for me to know that I've completely helped someone.

Starting as a professional on-site

I was the first to hold this position on behalf of ContactCare. At first, it was a bit of a trial. I was pleased that ContactCare gave me this challenge. I left my familiar space to take steps beyond the door. It felt like a mature yet thrilling step.

After a conversation with our HR department, I went to meet the client. I decided to go for it, because the conversations were so enjoyable. The client was equally enthusiastic. After a week, I was in full swing!

Throughout my learning pathway and experience, I have been able to assist people effectively. Not just over the phone but also on the work floor. At first, that was difficult. I started as a young employee in a team with a slightly older demographic. After a while, colleagues got to know me better. This gave me more room to share my knowledge, and I was even allowed to train new employees.

If someone doesn’t come from the customer contact world, the learning curve is much steeper. By mentoring them, I can pass on knowledge, providing new employees with a stronger foundation to conduct conversations effectively.

I have learned a great deal at Intratuin. Within ContactCare, I'm used to working with a set script. That script includes the solution and the framework within which we operate. At Intratuin, more creativity was required from customer experts. Intratuin is a franchise chain. Therefore, it was crucial that communication between branches ran smoothly. A fixed procedure is not always possible in this context. This allowed for creative solutions to be devised. In this form of communication, as a customer expert, you hold both an advisory, strategic role and an operational function.

Heard by my client

At Intratuin, an investigation was conducted into where improvements could be made within customer service. The main goal was to better organise processes. For this improvement, I was interviewed to share my experiences about ContactCare and how this knowledge could be utilised within Intratuin. I felt truly heard by my client. During the time I worked there, I noticed that increasingly clear processes were being developed, and tools were provided to make conversations better and faster.

Because so much time was invested in improving the processes, I felt compelled to contribute. There was no procedure yet to train people. In my spare time, I drafted a procedure to ensure that information could be shared with people from a central point. Intratuin indicated that this was highly valued. Colleagues, in turn, appreciated being trained by me.

“The best part is helping people further. Both in customer service and your colleagues. I think that's where I draw the most strength.”

A new employee needed extra guidance. I helped this person by advising from my own experience. The fact that someone has so much trust in me to help is fantastic! During my performance review, my supervisor stated that this was highly appreciated. “Yes!”

Remote, but still part of ContactCare

In the first year, I worked most of my hours for Intratuin. I enjoyed that over time, more people from ContactCare began working at Intratuin, and there was still regular contact with ContactCare. Additionally, I was still invited to parties and events within ContactCare. And at Christmas, the management team was at my door with a Christmas package! So, although I'm less involved with the organisation, I still feel very connected to my team. ContactCare is a very 'young' company, with many young people working there. I can relate well to that. With external clients, people tend to be somewhat older. You learn a lot from them, and it's enjoyable—I even made friendships—but you notice you're in a different life stage. Having the balance between an external organisation and ContactCare is pleasant. I feel that I work at ContactCare and am also engaged in improving my work experience.

A new assignment

During future assignments, I want to take more initiative. I know that at first, I tend to be slightly more reserved. I hope to continue sharing my experiences within other organisations to improve customer contact with my new clients. Soon, I will be starting with a new client. I hope to gain a lot of freedom there to help people further within that organisation as well.

Does such a career appeal to you as well? Then check out werkenbijcontactcare.nl