Company: Experian Consumer Services, Inc., Costa Mesa, CA
Entry Submitted By: Edelman
Company Description: ConsumerInfo.com, Inc. was founded in 1995 to give consumers quick, easy and inexpensive access to their credit profile. It is now the leading provider of online consumer credit reports, credit scores, credit monitoring and other credit-related information. As part of the Experian family, it continues to develop innovative products to help consumers better understand and manage their credit.
Nomination Category: Customer Service Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Customer Service Team of the Year

Nomination Title: Experian® Data Breach Resolution Call Center

Tell the story about what this nominated team achieved since January 1 2012 year (up to 525 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

Established in July 2009, the Experian® Data Breach Resolution Call Center, located in Allen, Texas, delivers excellent customer service in every interaction with their customers, with the goal that each person walks away with the feeling of protection. The call center is built on the philosophy of E3: Exceptional Experiences Every time, which allows the team to retain internal and external customers, attract large partners and continue to drive continuous improvement at every touch point.

Since January 2012, the call center has delivered outstanding results, including:

o Handled 1,020,572 calls, compared to 711,000 in 2011, at the 450 seat call center in Allen, Texas
o Customer call ratings resulted in an overall satisfaction score of 8.1, based on a 10 point scale, which is 17 percent above the industry average
o August 2012 Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 31, a 91 percent score increase from the 2011 score of 17, compared to the average industry NPS score of 5 – 10
o 2012 Customer Membership Retention Rate 51.8 percent, an increase of 4.2 percent from 2011

As part of the E3 initiative, all key operations staff members on the call center team are certified by Customer Operations Performance Center (COPC) in High Performance Management Training (HPMT). The training serves as a framework for continuous improvement that uses process improvement and analytics to identify opportunities for reducing costs, improving quality, while generating revenue and improving the overall customer experience.

These trainings resulted in:

o Revamped “quality processes,” which resulted in an increase of contact quality by 10 percent in all areas
o Revamped “reporting processes,” which indicated that 33 percent of all reporting quality and service level metrics showed improvements, up from zero percent of metrics 8 months ago
o Promoted 20 people as a result of their career development program, which allowed 47 people to shadow support positions
o Received less than .005% customer complaints based on 2012 call volume

The ability to quickly change and adapt, combined with the philosophy of E3, is why the team remains successful. The call center continues to create exceptional and valuable experiences in every interaction, with an emphasis on maintaining trust with their customers, employees and clients.

Of note, the team also donated over 350 hours to a wide variety of community initiatives, including volunteering at local shelters and churches, sponsoring coat, food and school supply drives, and participating in Relay for Life and the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. The importance of community work and giving back aligns with the team’s philosophy of E3.

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Provide a brief (up to 125 words) biography about the leader(s) of the nominated team:

Tamara Pierce is the Site Director of the Allen Contact Center. Tamara has been with Experian Consumer Services for over 12 years and has held various positions with in the corporate facility as well as the Contact Centers.

Her expertise is in forming and developing strong leadership teams, driving culture and core values in a site and creating high performance management processes.

Sam Kiriakos is the Operations Manager of the Allen Contact Center. Sam brings over 9 years of management/leadership experience in the Finance and Contact Center industries, with expertise in building strong team cultures and leadership teams with a customer service mindset.  He is a leader, mentor, and motivator, recognized for proactively and efficiently directing a team to deliver results under stringent timeframes.