Mark Herbert Email & Phone Number

Hythe, Gb

Folkestone

Something I do in my spare time!Currently chair the Discipline comittee and am the "Responsible Officer" overseeing all financial matters on the multi million pound budget.

Folkestone/Thanet/Hastings

Accountable for the Resource, Planning and MI for Saga Holidays, Saga Services, Saga Personal Finance and Direct Choice Insurance. Around 2 1/2 thousand staff spread across multiple workgroups and sitesDuring 2003/4 Saga embarked on a period of major expansion and I was employed to create a Contact Centre Planning team. This team, of just 16 people, manages the entire planning cycle from Long term forecasts through shift preparation, to effective “post match” analysis.§ Implemented Workforce management system (QMax) for over 2200 (multi-site) call centre staff and as a consequence reduced availability dramatically. The productivity improvements alone achieved a payback in under 1 year.§ Automated the skilling of agents to ensure full FSA compliance.§ Introduced industry leading, intra-day call management strategies…§ Published all MI (real time and historical) on a bespoke website, designed and implemented within my team.§ Re-deigned call scripts halving the average time to answer and dramatically improving the customer experience at this most vital touch point.Oversaw the growth in headcount in just a few years from less than 1000 to more than 2500

Turnover >£1bn, staff 7000Following a major initiative aimed at bettering service levels and improving the quality as well as number of customer touch points, I was recruited with the specific brief of bringing a strategic edge to what, historically, was a highly tactical role. Specific successes and projects as follows;·In 2002, achieved the best annual ‘service level’ scoring that Sales that had yet to achieve, by better matching supply with demand. ·Improved productive sign-on by 35% through the introduction of real time and historic adherence modeling.·Successfully introduced workforce management system that fundamentally improved the incumbent administrative processes, with a subsequent leveling of proportionate availability throughout the day/week.·Empowered operational management to proactively book non-demand activity through the provision of accurate Hotspots reports.·Pioneered the introduction of professional qualifications for Operational Managers (the Open University’s Call Centre Management module of their MBA) and external resource management qualifications for my staff.·Implemented a system of TOIL (Time off in Lieu) throughout Operations.·Reduced the reliance on overtime by 80%, thorough improvements to staff intra-day optimisation techniques.·Instrumental in setting up Call Back Manager project team.

Employed by the world's largest Call Centre Service provider to work in its Consultancy arm (SITEL Consulting, formally known as the L&R Group). In my time with this company I conducted many consultancy tasks including the following:Introduced a major change management program at Lloyds Pharmaceuticals. Project managed the development of a major new Contact Centre audit product "The Cultural Audit" and oversaw its implementation in Orebro (Sweden) and Toronto (Canada).Managed the implementation of a performance improvement scheme at Northern Electric.Conducted full operational audit at General Electric's European Call Centre at Slough.Procedural review for Disney's European operation. This review enabled me to identify and subsequently rectify many process-related issues.Seconded as a Business Analyst working with Philips's global call centre implementation team in Amsterdam overseeing the transfer of their Customer Care Centres into the SITEL organisation.Developed an in-house forecasting / scheduling model, that was subsequently packaged and sold to many organisations.Published in Call Centre Europe and Intouch Magazines.Ran forecasting workshops for local authorities.Was a tutor on the OU's CCM course

Turnover: £98 Million, staff: 600I was recruited following a major re-organisation and specifically tasked with re-building and managing the 70 staff Direct division of this travel agency chain.Introduced a new effective recruitment policy.Instigated a team structure with coach supervisors looking after a small team of fully empowered staff.I have devised and implemented a training strategy, which contains modular style units, which, with inducements and a new career structure, encourage open learning by the staff.Achieved a halving of abandoned rate.Effective advertising on Teletext where I had 15 pages advertising holiday products.Account managing our major corporate Travel Clubs (such as Sears, Selfridges and Royal Bank of Scotland). Improved the use of CCR and IVR functions improving service given to customers.

Turnover £400 Million staff 2500 I was approached and subsequently recruited as Call Centre Operations manager looking after 200 staff handling over 10000 calls per day.Managed the transition from set up to full operation of Holiday division.Introduce a new rostering system. This included reserve shifts and resulted in a major improvement in staff productivity.Introduced incentive schemes and call handling documents.Project manager in charge of the use of Sitel, Eurotunnel's out-sourced tele-marketing bureau. Doubled conversion rates and achieved a tenfold increase in insurance sales!