In Their Own Words: Paige Brough, SVP Corporate Communications, HearUSA
THE BUSINESS CHALLENGE
Our call center isn’t just an extension of marketing. It bridges the gap between multiple departments. The best solutions come when everyone from marketing to IT works together. You can imagine how differently a marketing person and a highly technical IT executive think. I was charged with putting together the call center — upgrading systems, adding processes, increasing functionality. But cultural and structural issues were getting in the way.
WHY CHOOSE LIZ KISLIK?
It was a huge, added bonus that Liz’s scope of work extended beyond customer service development to include larger-scale organizational issues. A lot of consultants don’t want to listen. They have their way. Liz is amazing at looking at things analytically, making recommendations, and assessing people’s true potential and value. She has a knack for getting anyone to open up to her.
WHAT HAPPENED?
BIG PICTURE UNDERSTANDING LEADS TO SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE
Initially, I brought Liz in to develop strategies for hiring and setting up our call center infrastructure. But after meeting with senior executives, she observed there wasn’t much synergy. We had some highly competitive, dominant personalities. It was a delicate situation.
Liz didn’t waste any time. Just two weeks into the process, leaders from different departments were sitting down, having logical conversations, and making productive decisions — without worrying about who won or who had the upper hand.
Liz could have just focused on the job at hand, and set up the call center. But she wanted this project to be successful. She quickly intuited that we needed to start by resolving some underlying organizational design, cultural, and structural issues.
Liz showed a great deal of integrity in taking this approach. She stacked the deck for us to succeed.
DIRECT BENEFITS: TALENT AND TRACKING
Within a few months, the call center was set up for success, too. We had the right people with the right skill sets in the right positions. We implemented tracking and monitoring techniques to make sure agents performed and continued to improve. Are they closing more sales? Are they booking more appointments? How many customer service complaints do you have, and how many escalate? Now we know.
HOW LIZ WORKS – DIFFERENTLY
QUICK INSIGHT, WISE COUNSEL
Liz coached me, the CEO, the VP of IT, and several others. People were taken aback by her observations. It only took her a few minutes to produce insights that others took years to uncover. It was all positive, of course, and she knew her boundaries. People who used to be resistant really began to listen and open up to feedback. It was amazing to see her do this, over more than one time period, with many types of people.
CONSTRUCTIVE, PRACTICAL FEEDBACK
I’ve worked with others like Liz — professionals who do coaching and mentoring. What’s different about Liz is her delivery and her presentation. Whether her feedback is positive or negative, it’s always constructive. And it’s always well received. Even if it’s not what you want to hear, her feedback is never off-putting. That’s really important. After all, if someone’s going to be brutally honest, you need to hear it in a way that lets you take it to heart and use it to become a better person. Liz is genuine. You can tell she truly wants you to succeed. She puts her heart into every project.