National Post 1999 © August 21, 1999 - Written by David Steinhart
Everyone agrees MasterCard's call centre manager is outstanding. You can't run a great call centre without great people. Just ask John Carver, whose employees at Bank of Montreal's MasterCard call centre nominated him for their industry's manager of the year, and he won. This, in an era when people spend their days talking to automated voices, machines and whatever else will act as a substitute for a human being.
"The staff sent in answers to some type of questionnaire, and I kind of laughed when they did," Mr. Carver said. "To say that I'm surprised I won this is a big understatement. I'm shocked." The Call Centre Management Association (CCMA), dedicated to the recognition and support of call centre management professionals, made Mr. Carver, 54, the inaugural winner of its first annual manager of the year award. Following a Canada-wide nomination process, each candidate was assessed against industry criteria, which reflected their contribution toward employees, employer, customer, self-development, industry and community.
Mr. Carver will represent Canada at the Incoming Call Centre Management Conference that runs from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2 in Chicago. He will be recognized for his outstanding contribution to the profession. He will also be the first Canadian to be recognized at this event. "I'm off to Chicago at the end of the month and obviously, I have to thank the people I work with because even with great technology, you can't run a successful call centre without great people".
With ongoing advancements in technology, call centre management is becoming an increasingly complex position within any organization. With corporate focus on customer service, it is becoming more and more the responsibility of the call centre manager to ensure that customer expectations are identified and that customers have a positive and professional experience when contacting the company. The CCMA said that while all candidates demonstrated skill and professionalism, Mr. Carver's achievements clearly identified him as Canada's outstanding call centre manager for 1998. The CCMA called Mr. Carver's selection as manager of the year an important step forward in the evolution of the association. The CCMA officially launched last month.