Company: Blackhawk Network, Pleasanton CA
Company Description: Blackhawk Network delivers branded payment programs to help meet today’s most challenging business objectives. We collaborate with our partners to innovate, translating market trends in branded payments to extend reach, build loyalty and increase revenue. We offer a full portfolio of comprehensive services to ensure the success of our partners’ branded payment programs.
Nomination Category: Customer Service & Call Center Awards Individual Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Customer Service Manager of the Year
 Nomination Title: Alexander Dickman
- Which will you submit for your nomination in this category, a video of up to five (5) minutes, explaining the achievements since July 1, 2021 of the nominated woman, OR written answers to the questions? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video. If you are submitting written answers to the questions for this category, provide them in the spaces below.
- Briefly describe the nominated individual: history and past performance (up to 200 words):
Total 184 words used.
Alex started with BHN at the end of 2019 as a Back Office Support II Representative and worked directly with partners on financial restaging statements and low-level settlement inquiries. Alex showed immense potential and within a year was promoted to Team Lead where he had oversight to our top tiered Back Office support team, but this didn’t stop Alex from reaching for the stars, he continued to progress and succeed and later was promoted to Supervisor of the back-office team where he now had oversight of the local Reno Back Office support teams. This is consistent with Tier II and Tier III Support for our Retail and Digital Distribution Partners. Within a Year Alex was able to grow is role when his manager at the time was promoted into our Account Management organization and Alex stepped up to the plate to be promoted to Manager of Back Office. Over the last 4 years Alex has shown an aptitude for success, and partnership not only within his team but cross functionally. His willingness to jump in and assist wherever he can is a truly appreciated.
- Outline the nominee's achievements since July 1 2021 that you wish to bring to the judges' attention (up to 250 words):
Total 250 words used.
Over the last couple years Alex has been instrumental when it comes to managing the Reno Back Office team. He has assisted with streamlining efforts, cost reductions and cross-functional support, working along side his leadership team as we build out a shared services model with BHN to move transactional work from various internal teams to our Customer Service team.
1. Settlement Operations – Shared Services
Alex worked with our settlement operations teams to migrate their current support model from BHNTASK (a generic task type with low sophistication) into CS case forms. This allowed Customer Service to triage these tickets and close any inquiries related to customer service, as well as a handful of inquires where we trained the CS team to take over for the settlement team directly actioning 61% of tickets form this team saving the settlement team around 75K in operational expenses.
2. Returned Mail Process Improvements:
Alex worked with our mail and customer service management application teams to create several enhancements regarding returned mail support, including standardizing the case form, being able to track card by card details, and building automated reporting that was previously handled via external tools such as excel or QuickBase. This has impacted nearly 70,000 cases over the last two years. With these enhancements, we were able to cut the handling time down by (2 minutes) per case, resulting in savings for BHN of over (69,840 x .89 x 2) =$124,315.20 in operational costs in the last 2 years
- Explain why the achievements you have highlighted are unique or significant. If possible compare the achievements to the performance of other players in your industry and/or to the nominee's past performance (up to 250 words):
Total 242 words used.
Alex has an eye for data and process improvements that translate through to overall performance. He has been instrumental in elevating his team to a place where they have become an enterprise resource for support, weather it pertains to standard customer service requests, or elevated requests such as technical invoice restaging, settlement issues, privacy concerns, complaints management, and fostering an environment where opportunities present themselves to employees to gain valuable experience in our Customer Success organization.
The examples provided in the support documentation help to articulate the aptitude and advantage Alex has assisted BHN and the Customer Service team with over the last 2 years to drive a “one team” mentality and align with our mission statement of delivering a totally seamless solution for our customers. He has been able to knock down barriers and cross train members with the Customer Service organization to give our B2B business a single point of entry for a multitude of requests, streamlining the intake process for clients interacting with BHN and triaging these requests behind the scenes to present a unified support model.
Alex and his teams have always held themselves to a high standard. He prides himself on providing exceptional service and fosters that environment within the various teams he oversees. Overall, Alex and his team have met their SLA, QA and Productivity numbers consistently over the last couple years, which directly reflects why we feel he is an ideal candidate for this award.
- Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 90 words used.
The attached supporting document further articulates the extraordinary job Alex has done for BHN and the multiple successes he has achieved in the last couple years. It also showcases the outstanding performance standards he and his team have accomplished, sustaining performance and exceeding expectations as he delivers on our promise of service excellence. The supporting documentation gives various examples of projects Alex has led to streamline and reduce costs within our organization. We are very grateful to have such an amazing employee as Alex supporting our business, employees, and customers.
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