Clare Sears Email & Phone Number

Burton Upon Trent, England, United Kingdom

Core Responsibilities Leading and managing the Customer Services and Internal Sales departments to ensure exceptional service delivery and customer satisfaction. Developing and implementing strategies to enhance customer experience and retention. Overseeing the resolution of customer inquiries, complaints, and escalations in a timely and effective manner. Collaborating with cross-functional teams to identify opportunities for process improvement and optimise service efficiency. Managing manufacturing-related customer service responsibilities, including handling inquiries, coordinating product support, and ensuring seamless communication between manufacturing and customer service teams. Providing guidance, support, and training to Customer Services staff to maintain high standards of performance and professionalism.Key Achievements: Enhanced department productivity by aligning personnel with suitable roles, resulting in a 30% increase in output. Streamlined departmental structure to establish focused teams for Key Accounts, Order Processing, and Customer Care, fostering support and accountability. Implemented procedural changes in order processing, resulting in a 40% reduction in error rates and increased profitability. Facilitated career progression by promoting two employees to Senior positions through succession planning initiatives. Ensured business continuity by collaborating with IT to enable remote work capabilities, mitigating potential disruptions. Spearheaded regular meetings with the IT team in America to facilitate system development discussions. Implemented a centralised email address for the Internal Sales Team, promoting collaboration and visibility. Successfully integrated a specialised role into the team following the closure of the Milton Keynes office. Collaborated with Sales to deliver comprehensive management reporting and optimise contract terms to minimise fines and penalties

Nottingham, England, United Kingdom

Core Responsibilities: Responsible for the management of five departments and two satellite offices. Attendance of monthly board meetings, recognising areas of the business in need of support and new direction.  Writing and enforcing processes and procedures, within ISO9001 standards. Setting objectives, KPI’s, competencies, and monitoring behaviors.  Making commercial decisions, to create positive outcomes for both the business and the customer.  Producing accurate monthly reports and presenting them at board meetings, to demonstrate the success of my teams. Mentoring, coaching, supporting, and encouraging managers and supporting all team members on a professional and personal level.

Nottingham

My current position is a hybrid of Customer Service Manager and Operations Manager. I am responsible for Customer Services, Sales Order Processing, Telephone Account Management, After-Sales, Reception and Facilities. I have 4 direct reports, which consist of 2 Sales Office Managers (one based in Nottingham and one in Scotland), a Telephone Account Manager – Team Manager and Company Administration Manager. I also have 26 indirect reports.I report to both the Sales Director and Operations Director as my expertise encompasses both areas. I am part of the Senior Management Team, Warehouse Development Team, and the IT Focus Group where I helped develop and launched an “Intranet” – now widely used within the business.I have significant experience and knowledge of internal systems and have been pivotal in the development and automation required to enable the business to progress to the next level. This was achieved by targeting and then reducing the amount of manual intervention required and also ensuring each order is commercially viable.Due to the nature of my position I also have the opportunity to visit customers either as a point of escalation for customer complaints or to discuss ways in which we can develop the relationship by offering unique solutions tailored to the customer.

Newark

As Customer Services Manager, I had 3 direct reports and 10 indirect. The bullet points below represent the responsibilities I held. However over the years I managed the Order Processing and Loyalty Teams in conjunction with Customer Services. • Attending customer meetings reviewing service delivery, resolving any queries and building relationships• Meeting with business partners and 3rd party suppliers reviewing SLA’s and business practices • Escalations and problem solving• Customer Complaints Champion for Timico Group• Writing customer satisfaction surveys in order for marketing to distribute – twice yearly• Setting objectives, KPI’s, competencies and monitoring behaviours• Chairing team and operational meetings. Creating open lines of communication in a forum to discuss current issues and devise new processes to eradicate errors.• Writing and enforcing processes and procedures and working within and to ISO9001 standards• Continually striving to improve service delivery, processes whilst containing overheads and resource• Recruitment and disciplinary procedures• Assessing training requirements and arranging delivery within a given budget• Delivering 121 reviews on a monthly basis• Writing yearly business plan, agreeing a strategy with director and implementing accordingly• Producing monthly reports which include: Overview of the month, KPI’s, call statistics, overtime, major/minor incidents, improvements• Signing of credit notes, refunds and making commercial decisions within agreed sign-off level• Mentoring, coaching and encouraging my Team Leaders and supporting all my team members whether they require professional or personal assistance • Budget Management for branded clothing across the Timico Group

United Kingdom

I was given the responsibility for managing all loan/trial devices as Vodafone were making losses in this area. There were no procedures in place, stock control was non-existent, and devices weren’t being cleared down and reused - generally in a mess.We changed the focus of the department, revamped the image, delivered exceptional service and became a USP for Vodafone’s sales team.Processes and reports were written to help retrieve stock, sell off or put back into stock for re-use. The department went from strength to strength. On the back of this achievement I was promoted to Operations Manager responsible for Loan and Rental Departments. When the time came to leave Vodafone I had 3 direct and 14 indirect reports and responsibility for 2 offices – Newark and Hayes.Key Achievements: Achieved 98% in employee satisfaction survey ‘Assess your manager’. Instrumental in the organisation becoming as USP for Vodafone’s sales team Used initiative to implement procedures and stock control, to minimize the loss rate in loan/trial devices.

United Kingdom

My role was to supply short-term hire of mobile phones, pagers, 2-Way Radio’s, satellite phones and mobile fax machines. I was given a blank canvass and made it my own. I implemented processes, reviewed rates, introduced new products, built relationships with new suppliers and always looked for a new opportunity. If a customer required a solution, I would supply it. Overall I was responsible for: • Making commercial decisions • Researching the market, our competitors and setting our rates accordingly• Building customer relationships and becoming their preferred supplier of choice• Attending customer meetings, writing proposals and signing business• Attending events and hiring out phones to international travellers• Invoicing, Purchasing, Stock Control• Processes and system development• RecruitmentOver the years the department grew as did the revenue and on average we achieved rental sales of over £800,000 per annum.. In December 1999 – the Millennium our sales exceeded one million pounds. By 2002, I was responsible for 2 offices - Newark and London. I would travel once a week to the City and had 7 direct reports.