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Company: Marsh U.S. Consumer
Company Description: Marsh is a world leader in delivering risk and insurance services and solutions to its clients. Though leadership and innovation for clients and the insurance industry — introducing and promoting the concept and practice of client representation through brokerage, the discipline and globalization of insurance and risk management services and many other innovative tools and service platforms.
Nomination Category: Customer Service & Call Center Awards Individual Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Front-Line Customer Service Professional of the Year

Nomination Title: Cheryl Pulley, Customer Service Specialist III

Tell the story about what this nominee achieved since the beginning of July 2011 (up to 500 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:

Every championship baseball team has a “closer”—the relief pitcher you can depend on to pick up the always-tough final outs of close games. For the last 10 years, like Mariano Rivera with the New York Yankees, Marsh’s go-to “closer” for its growing and complex group of insureds in the healthcare industry has been Customer Service Professional Cheryl Pulley.

Cheryl not only takes her own calls but also takes ownership of escalated issues handling difficult conversations, and works to resolve any outstanding issues in a positive, professional, and timely manner.

Today’s customer service operations enable us to measure a representative’s performance with definitive metrics. The following numbers paint a true picture of Cheryl as a superior, highly regarded professional:

•Through nine months of 2012 Cheryl has serviced 7929 calls, or almost 900 calls per month.
•Her quality assurance average is an exceptional 99.83%. If she were a baseball relief pitcher, that would translate into nearly 100 saves out of 100 opportunities!
•Over her 10-year span, more than 8 out of 10 calls Cheryl has handled as a front-line representative have been resolved on one call, exceptional for this type of insurance, which focuses largely on professional liability coverage.
•Her average time spent on a call is an industry top-tier 8 minutes. Far exceeding expectations.
•Cheryl has the ability to effectively handle in incoming call and process any requests simultaneously. Less than 4.5% of Cheryl’s calls require additional follow-up work outside the inbound call.

Besides her documented expertise with customers, Cheryl also is a Subject Matter Expert for the team. She mentors new representatives and tests new IT system updates, working with IT professionals to improve service.

With all her accumulated expertise and people skills, it’s no wonder she has been offered promotion after promotion. She has turned them down, preferring to remain on the front lines and continue to engage with customers. Not only does this bring Cheryl personal and professional satisfaction but also enhances Marsh’s well-deserved reputation as an end-user-centric company.

“She’s one of those rare people who prefers to stay where she is because she really enjoys it,” marvels Kyle Prendergast, Assistant Vice President and Operations Manager.

Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the nominee:

July 2002 to present - Customer Service Specialist III, Marsh

•Performs all aspects of the Customer Service position while exceeding call center standards.
•Completes special projects.
•Follows up on leads and Internet applications to assist in producing sales.
•Mentors and provides feedback to other team members.
•Coordinator’s backup.
•Holds appropriate license for the position

June–December 2002 - Customer Service Representative, Sears Card Center

•Handled inbound calls from clients regarding credit card accounts, increasing credit limits, issuing credit to new clients, etc.

March 1978–November 2001 - Client Service Associate, Principal Financial Group

•Administratively responsible for pension contracts such as Individual Retirement Annuities, Tax Sheltered Annuities, HR-10 Plans, etc. 
•Assisted customers on plan administration, including education on plan design, compliance, and contract services.