Sarah Smith

Experience

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  Barclaycard

  Nov 2006 - Dec 2013

  Recruited to benchmark the quality of complaint calls against pre-determined standards in relation to exhibited behaviours and customer interactions that drive the customer experience. Managing own case load of appointed agents on a monthly basis for onshore and offshore. I also completed Barclaycard’s ‘Prepare to Lead’ team management succession programme; courses attended; ‘Crucial Conversations’, ‘Influencing’, ‘Effective Teams’, ‘Coaching’ and ‘Time-Management’ in my own time.• Barclaycard subject matter expert on complaints.• Managed own case load of approx. 60 colleagues for complaints; 2012- increased margin of pass rate by 10% from 85% to target of 95% in 12 months; maintained average of 95% within 2013• Organise and lead targeted call listening and calibration sessions to ensure consistent service delivery; validate issues and inform business change - recognise and promote role-model call quality results.• Drive performance by providing feedback and coaching to front line colleagues & operational management to ensure focused improvement against these objectives is targeted and driven.• Deliver quality insights to diverse stakeholders in an effort to drive customer experience enhancements and process improvements onshore and offshore.• Partner with coaching and learning to develop Quality Training materials and help up skill call centre agents. • Analysing data, recognizing key highlights and trends, structuring reports from the data findings and offering recommendations and delivering solutions to key stakeholders to improve the customer experience – highlighting risks to the business through risk based monitoring.• Additionally, I managed the whole of the departments; data and monitoring logs, timesheets, holiday log, productivity tracker and processing daily data. I also liaised with other departments – i.e.: built a department complaint tool for a Barclaycard brand and external audit logs. Show less Recruited to manage all aspects of Barclaycards customers accounts. I worked as a level 1 account manager from December 2006 – November 2007 through an agency. I then returned for another year as agency staff as a level 2 account manager in April 2008 before becoming a permanent member of staff within Barclaycard. The level of authority that I had within this role was equivalent to a small Barclays branch manager.• Negotiating, devising and arranging repayment plans and keeping an accurate record of all agreements.• Reviewing accounts and recommending further actions; Issue any enforcement actions necessary within accordance.• Chasing up missing payments and any other outstanding charges from customers. • Managed income and expenditure for customers; assisting in debt management; high level of negotiating with customers in debt up to 7 months; providing advice and assistance to customers on debt related matters.• A* rated within the company on personal development plan for targets met. Show less

  • Complaints SME - Quality Assurance Analyst

    Aug 2010 - Dec 2013

  • Collections Account Manager

    Nov 2006 - Aug 2010
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  Fiat Spa

  Sept 2011 - Mar 2012

  UK Market Customer Relations Executive

  Recruited to represent Fiat Auto Group based in Arese, Italy in an international customer service centre. On a daily basis we would deal with UK customers. I decided to move away after finishing university to travel and worked at Fiat Autogroup for six months whilst living in Milan.• Valuable experience working in the UK automotive industry; managing inbound and outbound customers cross-departmental communications in the native language through various channels; telephone, email, live chat, written correspondence, fax and text, using various software programs such as call tools and systems for administering vehicle warranties (eSigi/GWA)• Provided efficient and effective solutions to a wide array of customer queries and issues, with the ultimate aim of leaving them with a positive impression of the brand after each communication managed; help promote the company, inform customers about services that would suit them, suggest products they may be interested in• Gained useful insight into the automotive industry in the UK; experience of working as part of a team in a fast-moving, multi-national environment• Wide range of knowledge acquired for the role; represented 5 different brands for 4 different departments – complaints, information, gestures of good will and e-mails whilst managing personal case load - managed own monthly budget for GOGW given to customers Show less

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  Charles Stanley & Co. Limited

  Mar 2014 - Sept 2014

  Office Manager

  • Supported four Investment Manager’s; front of house for all telephone, letter correspondence and e-mail queries from wealth clients and external business• KYC; Due Diligence Checks (DDC & EDD); monitoring and updating KYC files with new, missing and updated information to satisfy compliance requirements on both individual accounts as well as various business entities• Data gathering and preparing documents; reporting for a range of individual investment customer accounts• Idenifying and verifying customer source of wealth and source of funds Show less

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  Capita

  Oct 2014 - Jan 2015

  Investment Support Consultant

  • Investment Review Project - Front line end to end complaint handler• Required to talk through technical details of various investment products responding appropriately •Ensuring compliance with legal, regulatory, ethical and social requirements to build and maintain excellent reputation for the client

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  Huntswood

  Jan 2015 - Jun 2016

  • Reviewing complex matured Interest Only Mortgage products which have matured • Unconfirmed Home Sale - acquiring and reviewing relevant documents reviewing for litigation • Confirmed Home Sale – conducting quarterly reviews of property sales; investigating if satisfactory in line with policy; liaising with Solicitors, Estate Agents and customers • Independent Financial Advice – Dealing with customers who are seeking financial advice from third parties; establishing if aligned with client processes; repayment by re-mortgaging, equity release, pension etc. - dealing with complaints end to end per case load Show less

  • Matured Interest-Only Mortgages - Collections Consultant

    Feb 2016 - Jun 2016

  • Compliance & Audit Consultant

    Jan 2015 - Feb 2016
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  The Curve Group

  Jun 2016 - Apr 2017

  Mortgage Remediation Consultant

  • Mortgage Redress Campaign – Mortgage Remediation Project• High level end-to-end case review. File review, case ownership, letter creation, contact strategy design, customer engagement• Collections in the non performing, sub-prime, 2nd charge loan environment• High level negotiation and customer communication skills; resilient and confident in handling objections

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  Momenta Group Global

  Apr 2017 - Mar 2018

  • Big 4 project; monitoring Financial Assistance department, agents and processes ensuring quality standards• Proactively identify appropriate and inappropriate customer outcomes to enhance customer loyalty and satisfy regulatory demands; project focused on Root Cause Analysis for current, loans and business accounts• Offering oversight and feedback to the client to streamline processes and procedures; recommended remediation and end to end case management of own work load • Big 4 project; carrying out QC of detailed reviews to detect patterns, trends, and anomalies in various customer accounts and banking relationships• Scoring, Preparing and submitting a summary of findings for each individual review, including detailed recommendations for further action where required

  • Outcome Tester

    Dec 2017 - Mar 2018

  • Quality Assurance Consultant

    Apr 2017 - Nov 2017
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  The Very Group

  May 2018 - Dec 2019

  Business Risk & Assurance Manager

  • Worked closely with Fraud, Complaints, Operations, Compliance & Finance Departments• Business Risk and assurance partner for a various functions within The Very Group Financial Services• Responsible for delivering the business risk assessment process including Issue Management, Loss events, Risk Event Evaluation and scenario testing as well as for specifically allocated Programmes, Projects and other change activity• Supported the definition and delivery of the risk-based second line assurance plan providing oversight and assurance to Approved Persons, the FS Board and the wider group• Ensured FS products, processes and controls were compliant with relevant UK and European regulatory requirements, whilst ensuring fair outcomes for customers• Played key role in the production and delivery of regular testing/monitoring/insight and audit reports to effectively communicate risk management issues and internal control deficiencies• Thematic reviews resulting in business policy changes• Coaching and developing of first line network of Risk, Compliance, Data and Business Continuity coordinators**Resigned to take career break and travel Show less

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  VUS - The English Center

  Jan 2021 - Jun 2021

  English Second Language Teacher

  * English Language BA & TESOL• Planning, preparing and delivering lesson content provided by VUS• Preparing teaching material; classroom management • Helping students age 6-16 improve their English listening, speaking, reading and writing skills

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  Starcircle

  Jun 2021 - May 2023

  6 direct reports; leading integrated teams of 50+ talent acquisition sourcers - responsible for the OperationalManagement and Service Delivery ensuring clients are satisfied with Starcircle's services; tracking metrics, resolving issues - leading talent acquisition teams ensuring delivery is aligned with client expectations• Black belt in talent acquisition sourcing, internet recruitment & agile collaboration - knowledge of advanced Boolean techniques• Daily client liaison to gather requirements and set priorities• Support and collaborate with Sales and Customer Success in signing on, retaining and client base growth• Project Management and Delivery Cost; Prince2, Trello, Hubspot, Slack• Documenting SOP's, Process Documentation and Process Adherence Testing• Team Management, QA, Project Lead, Performance Reviews, Interviewing, Hiring, Training, Contract Renewals & Promotions Show less

  • Senior Delivery Manager

    Jun 2022 - May 2023

  • Delivery Manager

    Jun 2021 - May 2022
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  BDO UK LLP

  Sept 2023 - now

  SJP - St James’s Place WM Study Break TSB - Outcome Tester - Mortgages

  • Complaints Adviser

    Jan 2025 - now

  • Awaiting Contract

    Sept 2024 - Dec 2024

  • Outcome Tester

    Sept 2023 - Sept 2024