BUSY BEAVERS MEAN TOP YEAR FOR TELNET

If you've been hearing the sound of sleigh bells in the call centre lately, it's not Santa. It's another sale and another reason to celebrate what has been a great year for Telnet.

Divisional manager Kim Marie has been managing the outbound teams this year and says it has been 'full-on' for her.

She says some major changes have been happening this year including more training for agents and that has shown benefits with dramatic improvements in service and a better quality of calls.

"We’re working with our clients to ensure we deliver a good result, which means plenty of coaching for the agents and tweaking scripts etc."

Some new projects have come in while other longer term projects have grown.

We're well into the busiest time of the year and the call centre has been "jam-packed" with agents. Which has meant the noise has been reaching record levels.

"It’s been great. Lots of activity which has presented opportunities for people to stand out," Kim Marie says.

Many of the new agents are travellers from overseas in New Zealand on a working holiday and they have certainly reaped the benefits of being part of a multi-cultural team. And it has been interesting for customers too, who Kim Marie says seem to get a kick out of hearing the different accents.

She says some agents have come from a range of backgrounds and with different experiences and it has been delightful watching the interactions within the teams and the friendships forming.

Some agents will be off for a well-earned break while others will be working over the Christmas period.

As for Kim Marie, she is looking forward to her own well-earned break with family, and where she’s going, work will definitely not follow.

"No Blackberry, no cellphone, it’s going to be bliss."