Customer Service Operations Manager

Area: Sandton

Package: Negotiable/Market Related

Purpose of position: To develop and drive the Digital customer service operational strategy including defining structure, technical platforms, business processes and KPI’s to ensure customers get world class service.

Job Description:

General responsibilities:
• Determine call center operational strategies through conducting customer and business needs assessments, concluding performance reviews, capacity planning, and cost/benefit analyses; identifying and evaluating latest technologies; defining user requirements; establishing technical specifications and production, productivity, quality, and customer-service standards.
• Maintain and improve call center operations across all call centers by monitoring system performance; identifying and resolving problems; preparing and completing action plans; completing system audits and analyses; managing system and process improvement and quality assurance programs.
• Accomplish call center human resource objectives by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, assigning, coaching, counseling, and disciplining employees; administering scheduling systems; communicating job expectations; planning, monitoring, appraising, and reviewing job contributions; enforcing policies and procedures.
• Meeting call center financial objectives by estimating requirements; preparing an annual budget; scheduling expenditures; analysing variances and initiating corrective actions.
• Prepare call center performance reports by collecting, analysing, and summarising data and trends.
• Maintain professional and technical knowledge by tracking emerging trends in call center operations management; attending educational workshops; reviewing professional publications; establishing personal networks; benchmarking state-of-the-art practices and participating in professional organisations.
• Accomplish organization goals by accepting ownership for accomplishing new and different requests; exploring opportunities to add value to job accomplishments

Contact Centre Management
• Ensure in SLA call resolution and customer feedback across all call centres and social media platforms
• Providing appropriate and timeous feedback on trends, issues and requirements to Management
• Achieving agreed contacts logged vs. contacts handled ratio
• Measuring and evaluating staffing schedule efficiencies
• Implementing and monitoring appropriate Contact Centre efficiency enhancement initiatives
• Improving quality of all actions, processes and procedures within Contact Centres
• Implementing appropriate Quality Assurance initiatives
• Achieving Contact Centre performance measures, e.g. call quality, available time, number of calls handled, AHT, abandon rate, error rates, etc.
• Achieving agreed first call resolution rate within Contact Centres
• Achieving agreed productivity ratios within Contact Centres
• Achieving agreed first call resolution ratio within Contact Centre

Risk and Compliance
• Ensure department meets legislative requirements and company standards

Staff Management
• Ensure that the team structure is resourced by motivated & empowered staff & lead by sound performance management & transformational leadership practices
• Engage in Talent Management
• Develop Individual Development Plans to enable employee career plans
• Manage non-performance through performance process
• Manage Team Delivery based on performance plans
• Foster team building
• Ensure that the training, development and motivation of staff in the regions is implemented as well as coach and mentor store contact center managers to ensure that all staff are encouraged to maximize their capability and contribution
• Ensure optimum staffing levels are maintained

Team Leadership
• Facilitate the creation of accountable, full service teams who understand and strive to meet the needs of all stakeholders
• Role model behavior and motivate team members
• Take full responsibility for performance of all direct reports, motivating and managing them in relation to quality standards and agreed benchmarks and objectives, focusing on all aspects of sound people management:
o Recruitment
o Development
o Remuneration and Reward
o Performance Facilitation
o Career path planning
o On-the-job training, coaching & mentoring


Qualifications and Experience
• A bachelor's degree or equivalent
• At least 5 years of experience in customer contact centres at a strategic and operational level
• Familiar with a variety of the field's concepts, practices, and procedures.
• Management/ Team Leader experience in similar environment
• Customer Focus,
• Customer Service,
• Verbal Communication,
• Informing Others,
• Process Improvement,
• Problem Solving,
• People Skills,
• Teamwork,
• People Management,
• Managing Processes,
• Driving Excellence