We sat down with a few women from around The Bristan Group to find out their stories and journey to where they are now. In this article, we chat with Voice of the Customer lead, Sarah Parkes, who has been at Bristan for 9 years.
How did your journey at The Bristan Group begin?
I joined The Bristan Group in 2015 as a Team Manager in the Contact Centre. And I loved it! It was no secret that I didn’t have any knowledge of taps or showers at the time (you just lift the handle and water comes out, right?), but this didn’t stop me from being given the chance to be an effective leader.
From the day I started I felt empowered, supported and encouraged to do what I thought was right for my team, our customers and the business, all whilst building strong relationships with the Bristan team.
What’s one of your proudest achievements so far?
In the contact centre I was given the opportunity to design and implement an employee recognition scheme, which was part of a larger initiative to increase employee engagement. I was so proud that this resulted in entry into the Top 100 Companies to work for, and winning gold at both the Customer Experience Awards and UK Contact Centre Forum Awards. I even got the chance to present our engagement strategy to a roundtable of industry experts, showcasing our alternative view of contact centre management.
How did you progress from your first role?
I moved into the digital team and managed a Live Chat transformation project which increased customer satisfaction and reduced repeat contacts. It made me realise that I wanted to make more of a difference at the Bristan Group, and so it was the start of my journey as a customer experience professional.
Not knowing what to do next, I sought advice from the Marketing Director, who was always approachable, extremely motivational, and happy to help. Through encouragement and coaching, I set out a plan which would allow me to develop the skills and experience I needed. I was even supported in completing a Digital Marketing course which would allow me to gain a deeper understanding of our customers.
How did you develop from there?
Following lockdown, I moved into a new role managing customer surveys and reviews. I used insight to identify improvements, and from this, developed a quality strategy for consistent experiences, an escalation process to ensure root causes were addressed, and supported a new onboarding process for employees.
What’s your role now?
I’m now the Voice of the Customer Lead, accountable for the Voice of the Customer Strategy and framework to drive decisions throughout the whole business. Not only do I get to talk to our customers to gain valuable insight, but I also get to work with extremely talented people such as our designers, who use that insight to create the perfect product.
Look out for more of our International Women’s Day articles, featuring other women from around The Bristan Group.
