How did you get to where you are now?
Basically, I’d spent a few years doing various bits and pieces and wanted to get back into full-time employment. I’d also done some basic computer courses, having bought a computer for my kids to use at home, so I wanted to put what I’d learnt to good use.
I saw Halifax advertising for their contact centre (which must have been about four years ago now) and went for it. The brand name was definitely a big draw and I’d been a customer of theirs for years and always liked the service.
What’s your role?
I work part-time as a member of the mortgage servicing team. My main role is to help customers with any queries they have about their mortgages. This could involve anything from helping them change the direct debit for their mortgage and working out mortgage repayments to explaining to customers in their own terms how their mortgage works.
I also refer customers to specialists if they have a query that requires more detailed information. For example, I might pass them onto our customer options team who can provide detailed advice about all the various mortgage products we have, or the further advance department who talk to customers interested in borrowing some more money against their mortgage to build an extra bedroom or put on a garage.
What training did you receive?
I spent four weeks, learning about the phone system and the different products and services I’d be talking to customers about. In my case it was all to do with mortgages.
Towards the end of the four weeks I spent a day listening to a few calls to get a feel for the sort of things I’d be dealing with. Then I joined the mortgage servicing team for real.
These days, new starters are given more time to learn how to deal with live calls. They spend three weeks in the Contact Centres development centre, which is a separate training area, where they can call on the expertise of their trainers if they get stuck.
The support you get is fantastic – there’s never a time when you have to deal with something on your own. Plus the more you do it the more confident you get and the better you get.
"The brand name was definitely a big draw."
What sort of benefits do you get?
I’d have to say one of the biggest benefits for me personally is the hours I can work. My current shift is 9 to 3 Monday to Friday and one Saturday every two weeks (for which I get a day off in the week). I used to work full time but wanted more time to spend with the kids.
Plus as part of the Flex benefits package, I get the opportunity to buy extra holiday out of my salary, which is great for the summer holidays. All in all when you take into account the hours I work and the fact I can take that extra holiday I think it works out that I get the equivalent of 8 weeks holiday a year. Not bad eh?
On top of the holidays and the hours, I think the share options are fantastic. The one option that stands out for me is the share kicker. Basically you can choose to take your annual bonus in cash or as 25, 50, 75 or 100% shares. Then after three years Halifax will add an extra 50% worth of shares onto what you’ve saved. So if you bought 300 shares with your annual bonus, after three years, the company will give you an extra 150 for nothing.
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