Going for the Gold: Motivating High Performance in the Customer Service Center

Motivating A Customer Service Center

For nearly three quarters of a century, the film industry has honored its best and brightest with a much-coveted award: the Golden Globe. Winning this shiny globe on a cylindrical pedestal signifies to the world that the winner has achieved a major milestone in the entertainment industry. Winners become the stuff of legends.

While our industry is a far cry from the entertainment industry, and our HQ offices in Tacoma, Washington are a long way from Hollywood, there are some striking similarities. Like the entertainment world, the work we do requires people with passion, heart, vision, talent, and tenacity—and the commitment to getting the job done, no matter what. And so, four years ago, we decided to create a unique award, one we could bestow yearly that would honor employee achievements, especially when those achievements contribute to giving our customers the best experience possible.

Enter the Golden Phone Award, or GPA.

Just like the Golden Globes ceremony, our Golden Phones ceremony is a major production.  We bring in a red carpet and photo screen, and the ceremony itself involves a lot of cameras, videos, presenters, commercials, jokes, dancing, food, and glamour.

What we’ve come to see is that earning the GPA both validates and motivates. It rewards the kind of attitude and behavior that sets certain companies apart from others. Without a doubt, the GPA award reinforces the qualities needed to be known as a customer experience leader.

And so, on GPA day, we come together to honor the entire team, and in so doing, we recognize the winners of the awards, reflect on the year—the highs and the lows of the customer service center—and, most importantly, remember why we do what we do and that we are in it together.

The Golden Phone Awards captures the different elements it takes to deliver a remarkable and thoughtful experience to our customers. We understand that it starts and ends with our employees.  Ultimately, even though the employee “wins,” the customer is the winner.

The Award Categories

So who wins what? We present 10 different awards:

• The Wingman Award: This person consistently delivers an outstanding performance in a supporting role.
• The Trailblazer Award: This person is recognized for his/her outstanding achievement and innovation in pushing the Customer Service Center forward.
• The Agility Award: This person is incredibly adaptable and is willing and able to do anything in whatever position he/she is put in.
• The Mover & Shaker Award: This is a determined, tenacious person, one who doesn't take “no” for an answer.
• The Customer Experience Award: This person has had a great customer experience story, and consistently goes above and beyond to create an amazing experience for their customer.
• The Golden Heart Award: This person is always there for the team, is helpful, and quick to take care of people in need.
• The Unifier Award: This person has the ability to unify a team of people to positively meet a common goal or mission.
• The Up All Night Award: This after-hours person keeps the Customer Experience alive while the rest of us are asleep.
• Work, Play, and Life Award: This person keeps a healthy balance between work, play and life and is always wanting to be better and grow professionally and personally.
• Be “The Experience” Award: This person demonstrates the five core attributes of Continuant on a regular basis. These attributes are:  Unity, Integrity, Loyalty, Positivity and Innovation

Each year, when the ceremony is over, I love seeing how winners proudly display their golden phones on their desks. Without a doubt, for the winners, this award is validation of a job well done. But there’s another benefit for the company as a whole, and that is knowing that each winner has embraced our unique culture that is focused on an incredible customer experience.

Rhonda Parmiter is VP of the Customer Experience at Continuant