In a highly competitive market where brands are continuously competing for customer loyalty, contact center operations are gaining prominence when it comes to delivering effective customer services. Today, it has become vital in providing and delivering efficient customer service for brands.
By removing barriers of old-school scripted talk tracks and executing the necessary elements, SupportU delivers profoundly good customer service which converts issues into opportunities and establishes long-term brand loyalty. The company is the brainchild of Hui Wu-Curtis (COO) who holds profuse experience as well as expertise in the field of contact center operations. With SupportU, Wu-Curtis seeks to create a company based on simple principles and a belief that the success of an organization begins and ends with its people.
Steadily Climbing the Corporate Ladder
During college, Wu-Curtis undertook a part-time job working in a call center where she worked for a few months and left as she was not fascinated by the place to work. After a few years, she joined a call center as a supervisor and was determined to undertake a leadership challenge on effectively managing and developing the people. Since that moment, Wu-Curtis has worked in call centers and learned how to steadily climb the corporate ladder at different organizations. She progressed to a point where companies were seeking her guidance and assistance related to their call center concerns.
These positions provided her exposure to running global teams, understanding the global landscape, and innovating the customer experience or contact center space. Her career further progressed into more strategic executive-level positions and Wu-Curtis was eventually promoted to the CEO/President of small-medium size companies before she started her own business process outsourcing (BPO) company, SupportU.
Building an Empowering Global Culture
While working in hospitality, Wu-Curtis garnered enough knowledge about the functioning and challenges of a BPO. She applied these strategies from the brand perspective to BPO delivery strategies. Wu-Curtis understands the pain points of clients and their expectations from an outsourcing partner. She also believes that focusing on the client requirements, business goals and financial objectives can be achieved when employees are valued and earn a living wage.
With that said, SupportU’s business model is based on employee development, training and financial models that allow reallocation of the company’s budget to sustain its employee base while benefitting the clients. With SupportU, Wu-Curtis also wanted to start a woman, minority-owned BPO that was mission-driven. Being one of the few women minorities at the executive level, she set out on a mission to create an organization that embraces diversity and values people. Moreover, she wanted to create an opportunity to provide employment and development to the underserved population and provide them access to a job, advancement opportunities or similar career opportunities.
Unique Technology Stack
SupportU offers contact center services in customer service/support, inbound sales, technical support, and back-office processing. The company has a strong omnichannel solution with capabilities to service and support via chat, email, SMS text messaging, social media, and voice. SupportU differentiates itself from the competition by the way it designed its technology stack with the employees and leadership in mind.
In addition, SupportU undertakes total ownership and accountability for its clients’ brand, ensuring it continually delivers on performance and provides value by way of process improvements, cost savings or suggesting ideas for innovation. “Our technology stack enables us to extend to our clients and facilitate their company digital transition,” says Wu-Curtis.
‘Every Moment is a Teaching Opportunity’
Being at the helm, Wu-Curtis holds a unique approach to leadership. She adds, “My leadership approach has always been to mentor and teach people, arm them with the right resources and support, and give them the room to thrive and excel.” With a firm belief that every moment is a teaching opportunity, she holds everyone accountable to ensure that people’s actions are aligned with their words and vice versa. Moreover, Wu-Curtis empowers employees to think, understand the business, and make decisions while providing guidance and feedback.
Speaking of employee satisfaction, Wu-Curtis believes that providing an outstanding customer experience starts internally with the people. With that said, SupportU ensures its employees are well supported, which entails empowerment, having the right resources and the ability to make a living. The company also ensures that its employees feel valued and understand how they fit into its overall success, which results in them delivering incredible results and customer experience.
Investing in Learning Management Systems
SupportU’s operational models enable employees to establish work schedules that fit and accommodate their family and personal needs. Its performance and development processes provide real-time supportive mentoring and coaching rather than the traditional delayed punitive quality assurance and performance improvement model. The company’s agent wages are significantly higher than the industry norm and incentive compensation is based on deliveries within the responsibility of the individual employee.
“Our people’s growth and development are the core of our business model,” says Wu-Curtis. SupportU invests in learning management systems—externally in educational and certification programs and internally in mentoring and job rotations. The company aims to help its people grow, learn, and apply their new skill sets in the workplace.
Deciphering Necessities of Life
The necessities of life, according to Wu-Curtis, can be condensed into 3 goals: Earn, Learn and Return. Each of these requires commitment and focus and creates real satisfaction and growth. She adds that return is a significant component of SupportU’s culture as well as her personal belief.
Wu-Curtis further adds that it is hard to think of only one characteristic every leader should possess. However, she believes positivity is a necessity and emphasizes being a positive force for people, the community, and the industry.
Advising the leaders of tomorrow, Wu-Curtis suggests taking advantage of learning as much as possible while not being afraid to try things. She also emphasizes being introspective and building self-awareness to become a better leader. Lastly, she suggests being compassionate, empathetic, and kind.
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