EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR: - Customer Service Institute of Australia

Woman of the year
Sdregas has worked in the
telecommunications industry
for the past 19 years. She joined
Optus in 1996 as their Financial
Services Representative. “One of
the things that made my career
at Optus so rewarding is the fact
that my personal values and the
values of the company are in
harmony,” she said. Now fronting
the Customer Care Infrastructure
team Sdregas, along with a strong
support network, has managed
to spear-head the customer
focused values which resulted in
one national and six state Service
Excellence awards in 2010. “I have
never thought of it as one person
that has spearheaded this positive
culture. I may front it, but cultures
are always a group dynamic,” she
said.
Optus’s values revolve around
several key processes: Customer
focus simplifies the experience
of the customer and assures they
will be treated with the upmost
respect and dignity. “Our values
start as an ongoing dialogue with
our customers. To do that right
we made sure we understood that
customers weren’t a big bucket of
the same character. Listening to
an individual needs makes all the
difference,” Sdregas said. To bench
mark their customer satisfaction
Optus engages in daily contact
with their client base. “We need
to hear the good news and the
bad. This means we have a frank
and honest relationship with our
customers,” Sdregas said.
Challenger spirit encourages staff
to take calculated risks, stand
up to the status quo and seek
innovative ways to do business
with their customers. “Not only
is this something I allow, it’s
something I encourage. We will
always be a challenger brand and
we must never lose sight of that,”
she said. In the spirit of challenge,
Optus deployed a brand new
satellite for Australia and New
Zealand. The Optus 10, launched
in March, is the largest satellite
in the company’s expanding fleet
and Australia’s history. “Challenge
is part of our process. It leads us
to discovering new and exiting
levels,” Sdregas said.
Team work, Integrity and Personal
Excellence guarantees the Optus
employee will provide the client
with premium customer care
and receive, in return, the same
premium standard of work place
ethic. Optus promises potential
employees an environment “that
appeals to the very best people in
the industry and provides them
with a satisfying workplace.” It
lists several employee benefits
to “encourage our people to
achieve their best – personally and
Award Winner
professionally.” “It is important to
have that team dynamic and that
strive for excellent service, both
external and internal,” Sdregas
said.
Optus No!
Optus detected a five per cent
decrease in customer complaints
in 2010 and is continuing to
maintain a steady decrease in 2011.
However managing the demands
of roughly nine million broadband
internet connections, 11 million
land lines, and the increase of
smart phone and mobile internet
usage, there is bound to be margin
for error. Although the TIO has
audited efforts from Australia’s
larger telco’s and their handling of
customer complaints Optus, even
with it’s affirmative culture is not
free from scrutiny.
!!April 2011 "#$"%%"&$"!!! '6