Unrivalled in Developing People, what it means for me
It’s a bold statement
To state that you strive to be “Unrivalled in Developing People”, meaning you are always putting people at the forefront of everything you do, is certainly setting a high bar. So how has Kura been working towards this goal? Well for me personally, it all began in April 2015 when I started here as a Customer Service Advisor. This was a “stop gap” job, something to pay the bills until I decided what I wanted to do with my future, and I suspect that many others have had the same mind-set when joining a contact centre. My perspective, however, changed almost immediately. I found that here there was a visible will to invest in people. By that I mean, people really wanted to see others succeed and develop in their role. After a few months, I became a Graduation Mentor, supporting new advisors as they began their own customer support journey. Soon after I moved into a support role, which involved helping advisors within their specific client team, drilling into the quality of our service and focusing on the continuous improvement.
From here, my development continued
The harder I tried, the more people wanted to help me succeed. I was given an opportunity to step up into a Team Manager position and I was supported by an Operations Manager and three experienced Team Managers with my next step. I became more interested in advisor progression and engagement, and to see someone whom you have worked with succeed and further progress within their own career, is truly rewarding. Many of the advisors I helped three years ago are still part of Kura, and some have even moved into support or management roles.
Future Managers
Once I became a permanent Team Manager I continued working with my people, pushing them (to get the best from them) and supporting them when needed, mirroring how I had been developed. I then had the chance to step up as an Operations Manager, focusing on Extra Care. I found the learning curve here to be far steeper than anything I had experienced before. I made mistakes, but I learned from them and I was always supported. It was a fantastic opportunity that gave me a different perspective of the operation, and how to help others work towards our Vision.
Do I believe that Kura can achieve its goal?
Absolutely. When your CEO transparently targets 40% of his yearly commitment on ‘People’, you can be sure we are on the right path.
When you are working as part of a company that puts so much emphasis on its people, it’s not difficult to get caught up in this culture. With a Leadership Team that focuses on the quality of coaching our advisors receive, rather than always talking about metrics etc., it’s an ethos that is driven from the top down.
Michael Brothers
Team Manager, specialising in Social Media
Citypoint, Glasgow