In a career spanning over a decade, Lizah Kinyua has stood out as an epitome of self-motivation and excellence. As the curtains draw on customer service week 2023, we look at Lizah’s proactive approach to providing excellent customer service and building solid brands.
Here is her story
Tell us about yourself:
I am a self-motivated, proactive, result-oriented individual. I have been in the contact centre industry for 15 years. I am an expert and continue to sharpen my skills in :
- Contact centre processes and technology
- Exceptional customer experience
- Brand building and maximizing sales and repeat business through excellence in customer service.
- Maximizing my team’s and my own potential as I meet the company’s vision, mission and goals.
Provide an overview of your experience and background in managing contact centre operations:
I have previously headed my own consultancy firm offering audit, training, recruiting and set-up services for contact centres. We managed to onboard several clients; Madison insurance, Liberty Life Insurance, Caroga Diagnostics, Maridady Motors etc. Before then I worked for CCI Kenya where I was the campaign manager in charge of 7 campaigns; Chloride Exide, Auto Express, and Britam Insurance.
How do you approach the challenge of optimizing customer service levels while maintaining operational efficiency in a contact centre environment?
I do this through 5 major strategies:
- Defining clear service Level objectives
- Providing comprehensive training for the agents
- Setting quality assurance
- Monitoring measures
- Empowering decision making
- Measuring performance
What drives you to ensure the contact centre team consistently meets or exceeds key performance indicators (KPIs)?
Some of the things that give me this drive include my personal reputation, brand reputation and building customer trust. Additionally, my drive for for success stems from career development, people growth and Operational efficiency which leads to cutting costs and improved resource utilization.
On work-life balance, what are your hobbies?
I love a good read, indulging in fashion, travelling and going to the cinemas.
How did you know about Africa 118 Inc. and what attracted you to the company?
I got to know about Africa 118 years ago through my former employer; CCI. What attracted me to the company was the confidence they had in the solutions they offer and the determination to share it with the world. I saw this in the few individuals I interacted with at the time.
Can you share a story about a time when you made a significant impact on an individual customer’s experience, and how it affected you personally?
I once had an irate client call into the call centre. This was escalated to me by one of my agents. After I had a long conversation with the client I realized that their issue was not so much about the promises we hadn’t kept in terms of providing the solution he had paid for, his main issue was lack of communication.
He said he would not have been so irritated if we had been more transparent with what challenges we were facing internally that caused delayed delivery. I was able to relay this to the concerned department and the client is now happy. This taught me a personal lesson; in service, not everything will go as planned. However, authenticity and integrity will always make up for failures and disappointments.
What are the solutions that Africa 118 Inc. is providing across Africa?
Africa 118 Inc. is the leading digital marketing agency for SMEs in Africa. Our core mission is to amplify the digital footprint of these businesses through unparalleled services such as:
- SEO
- Lead generation
- Customer support services,
- Data solutions
- Digital marketing solutions.
What do you love most about working at Africa 118 Inc?
The opportunities to expand one’s knowledge in their line of work and create networks. Besides that, Africa 118 Inc., has embraced a diverse culture that opens doors for employees in Africa to learn and develop in line with the changing global marketing scene.
What is your favourite Quote?
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” Maya Angelou.
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