In the latest of our blog series, we spoke to Claire Macbeth, Head of Customer Contact Services.

Claire holds a communications degree, which she has effectively applied throughout her extensive career in the housing sector, including roles at North Lanarkshire Council, Glasgow Housing Association and West of Scotland Housing Association.  She shares insights on managing multiple teams at Bield, provides updates on customer services and walks us through the successful implementation of the new contact centre.

Q: Can you give us a brief introduction to yourself and the team?

A: I've worked for Bield for nearly three years, and I've been in my current role for just over a year.  Currently, I oversee three teams.  This includes our newly launched Customer Contact Centre, the Cx Development Officers, and the Business Services team. 

The Customer Contact Centre consists of an excellent team of dedicated Customer Contact Centre Advisors who are expertly managed by our Customer Contact Services Co-ordinator.  Our Cx Development Officers play a key role in ensuring our housing management system, Cx, is continually reviewed and enhanced to meet our organisational needs.  Our Business Services team look after both of our offices in Glasgow and Edinburgh.  The Business Services Assistants keep our offices running smoothly, while our Business Services Officer supervises and keeps all our office staff safe.

My background is in housing management and system implementation, having worked at Glasgow and West of Scotland Housing Associations, and later as a consultant for a housing software provider.  At Bield, I initially managed the transition to our new housing management system.  Now, my focus is on improving tenant services, with our recently launched Customer Contact Centre already making a big impact.  I’m excited to continue building our digital offerings to better serve our tenants.

Q: What sets Bield apart from other housing associations?

A: We really do stick to our core values.  Bield, as an organisation, is really passionate about acknowledging tenants as individuals.  That's one of the big things that strikes me because what we do is relatively niche in that we mainly support older people.  So, I think seeing people as individuals and enabling people to have fulfilling lives as long as they can, in their own homes, is crucial.  Also, there is a real desire to create communities and opportunities where customers actually do have their voices heard, which resonates with me as an individual.

Q: You’ve just launched the Customer Contact Centre, how’s that going?

A: The Customer Contact Centre is a new service that has been in operation for three months.  It's something that had been discussed within Bield for a few years before I joined, so getting it over the line and operational has been fantastic.  We’ve already seen massive improvements with the number of calls being answered and managed a lot quicker and more efficiently than before we implemented the new service.  Often, our customers prefer talking to us over the phone rather than online or via email.  They want a person at the end of the phone, who can help with their queries, so we set up the Customer Contact Centre in a way that makes things as simple as possible. 

There’s someone to answer the phone as the call comes in, no selecting option 1 for a certain team.  If all the Advisors are busy on other calls, which doesn't happen very often, there's an option to leave a call back request and the system will automatically call the person back when an Advisor becomes available. 

One of the key achievements is that people are now able to contact Bield successfully and are receiving assistance quickly, which is the most basic thing the service was set up to provide.

We also set up a short questionnaire to gauge initial customer feedback, and the responses have all been super positive. 

Q: Undoubtedly, there are challenges.  Could you discuss any recent hurdles and how you've overcome them?

A: Working in a front line customer service role comes with its challenges, and this is something we continue to work through as a team.  The calls our team answer can range from repair requests to questions about housing applications, office opening hours and everything in between. 

We’ve been working hard to continually remind the team how important and significant their role is.  One of the most gratifying things that we've been able to reflect on in the past couple of weeks is that the team is actually quite settled.  Having people with diverse backgrounds come together has been fantastic as we’re all able to learn from each other.

We’ve also introduced a structured approach to one-on-one meetings, making sure that staff have the opportunity to openly discuss their roles, performance and any challenges they face. 

Q: What are your plans for the future?  Are there any new initiatives or projects on the horizon?

A: We’re working towards developing the My Bield customer portal to simplify our online housing application process.  Currently, we have an interim online application available on our website, but the goal is to enable applicants to register on My Bield and submit applications for housing there.  This is something the Cx Development Officers are working hard to achieve. 

We are also looking to develop My Bield over time to include additional features.  So, potentially, people might be able to raise a complaint or report issues like incidents of anti-social behaviour.  As we shift to more of an elderly population, there will inevitably be more demand for our services.  There’s loads of opportunity to build our offering.  We’re focused on developing our digital platforms and embracing continuous improvement. 

Stay tuned to hear more about the other teams working behind the scenes every day to support our tenants and team.