The BGL Group, a leading distributor of household financial and insurance services, gave the BBC an insight into its contact centre operations recently, for part of an upcoming miniseries. Aiming to show the public how fantastic their workplace is, the BGL Group opened their doors to Strictly Come Dancing 2018 winner Stacey Dooley and TV crews for two days.
The contact centre experience will feature in “The Nine to Five” with Stacey Dooley, which supports a group of 16 to 18-year-olds as they explore job opportunities in different industries. In every episode, the team tries out a different role. For the BGL episode, we get an inside look at what it means to work in a modern contact centre.
Nominated by the Contact Centre Management Association
The BGL Group was appointed for its spot on the show by the Contact Centre Management Association. They believe that the business best demonstrates industry practices, and also displays a commitment to career development. The BGL, Customer Services group, is a winner of the North East Contact Centre of the Year award 3 years in a row. It was also named the best large centre in the EU during 2017.
As a multi-award-winning enterprise, the BGL Group was thrilled to show off its contact centre and demonstrate how the call centre environment has evolved. The makers of the programme placed particular focus on the efforts that the company makes when recruiting and retaining new starters. They also highlighted the efforts the BGL Group tool to develop and support employees.
According to the BGL Customer Operations Director, Aidan Dale, the team did a great job of showing the young people in the programme what it’s like to deliver excellent customer experience.
Showcasing the Contact Centre
Mark Brannen, an Associate Director of Operations for Wakefield and Sunderland, plays a critical role in the episode. He said that having a film crew on site for 2 days was a lot of fun for the team. He hopes that anyone watching the programme will see how fun and exciting it can be to work in a contact centre.
Currently, around 700 staff make up the BGL services team in the Sunderland branch, and the business is also spending on a brand-new technology hub at its Sunderland base, set to create 40 new digital jobs. Additionally, there are around 1,300 people currently distributed through the contact centres for BGL in Sunderland, Wakefield, and Peterborough.
