Highlights for me were the fabulous Jackie Clarke (who is now my favourite diva from Gisborne), the bopping Beat Girls whose tunes inspired some very inventive dance moves and, as usual, the fantastic open-hearted spirit on the night. As I was organising all the winners to be photographed, there was a continuous stream of people coming up and congratulating them – often people who had been finalists for the same award.

You can check out the official photographs of the winners here.

This is what the judges said about each of the winners:

Manager of the Year, fewer than 25 seats – Paul Eastwood, Coca Cola Amatil.

The judges said Paul Eastwood displayed the attributes of a strong leader, taking his team to new levels of customer satisfaction and performance. His initiative and personal development, engaging and motivational style has seen a dramatic turnaround in staff and management. The team’s morale, results and their internal visibility and importance to the organisation, not only contact centre metrics have dramatically improved, but also wider business savings and improvements have been initiated.”

Manager of the Year, 26-75 seats – Louise Wilson, APN NZ

The judges of this category said Louise has led huge strategic change in a challenging environment.  This has been achieved by innovative and aggressive business case development followed by a fast paced, well planned implementation.  This has resulted in a very engaged, high performing team.

Manager of the Year, 75+ seats – Jason Strangwick, Sitel New Zealand Ltd

The Judges said Jason exhibited outstanding Leadership with an emphasis on both quality and customer satisfaction, both of which permeate throughout his business.

Trainer of the year – Joanne Lynch-Blosse, TelstraClear

The judges felt that Joanne showed excellent interpersonal skills which are essential in the role of a successful trainer, along with a passion for ensuring the best for her team.

Team leader of the year – Kirsty Walker, Amway

The judges told us that Kirsty displayed all of the criteria in this category.  They described her attitude, understanding of the role, vision, leadership, knowledge, and display and evidence of the attributes required as outstanding.

Workforce manager of the year – Emma Stanaway, Amway

The judges feel that the Workforce Manager is a very complex role that requires a mixture of high degree of people skills, understanding of technology and statistics and overall business requirements which Emma demonstrated exceptionally.

Emma has demonstrated to the judges her ability to carry out this role, to be able to communicate and gain agreement with colleagues and Management and achieved the required results for her Contact Centre which is paramount to success.

Outsourced contact centre of the year – Telnet Services Ltd

All of the judges agree that the finalists all exhibited 3 key factors that set them apart.  These were:

• Pride in the open and transparent nature of the relationships with their customers
• Key business drivers being delivering outstanding customer satisfaction
• Development and emphasis on their people

But what set Telnet Services apart was their ability to demonstrate how they deliver outstanding value to their clients across every facet of their business

Contact centre of the year, fewer than 25 seats – Hanover Group Ltd

The judges tell us that Hanover displayed consistency, leadership and results.  Integral to the achievement of some tough financial targets and outstanding customer satisfaction levels, the team at Hanover has led, championed and driven their business success. With a strong understanding of operational effectiveness Hanover has engaged and empowered their staff through initiatives and retention strategies. From all angles, focusing on the people more than traditional contact centre measures, they have managed to retain staff, train them, achieve targets and customer satisfaction measures, as well as significantly contributing to the financial success of the business overall.

Contact centre of the year, 26-75 seats – Cigna Life Insurance NZ Ltd

According to the judging panel the Cigna contact centre stood out as well rounded across all areas of the judging.  The team clearly demonstrated an effective employment strategy, with energized, engaged staff and strong leadership.  Their reporting and results were outstanding.  Their final presentation was well constructed, making them deserving winners!

Contact centre of the year, 75+ seats – Sitel New Zealand Ltd

The judges noted that customer satisfaction and focus on this is the driving force at Sitel.  This was clearly evident in every facet of the business the judges considered, and set Sitel apart from the other entrants.