2024 Planning Awards: Sam Collings at OVO Energy

Sam renewed the approach to recruitment and training. With her approach, the blend of weekend and remote workers has enhanced operational efficiency and relieved pressure on agents whilst improving morale. Embracing social media, they maintained service levels and reduced contact volume, achieving a 70% satisfaction rate and a 33% decrease in queries. Sam’s data analytics have driven continuous improvement, enabling personalised service and proactive customer engagement.

2024 Planning Awards: Alex Gold at OVO Energy

OVO Energy, under Alex’s leadership, tackled integration challenges, fostering a culture of empowerment and innovation. Alex prioritised team empowerment, laying foundations for strategic decision-making and operational optimisation, with his goal for Shared Services to become ‘The Brain of the Operation’. Assessing teams for skills and mindset alignment, coupled with a focus on recognition and feedback, reinforced a customer-centric approach.

2024 Planning Awards: Lauren Laycock at NFU Mutual

Lauren doubled the complaints department’s headcount, guided by data-driven insights to enhance efficiency. Lauren’s adept stakeholder engagement gained trust and elevated operational performance. Her journey underscores adaptability, collaboration, and a commitment to continuous improvement, resulting in tangible outcomes such as improved service levels and complaint resolution rates.

2024 Planning Awards: Kieran Ridley at Newcastle Building Society

Transitioning from operational backgrounds to strategic planning, Kieran embraced change and innovation while navigating integration challenges. He implemented Workforce Management solutions, streamlined processes, and introduced a centralised bereavement team to enhance service delivery and mitigate risks. With a focus on accuracy and efficiency in forecasting, he demonstrated resilience and adaptability in managing staffing levels and call volumes. Continuous learning and improvement underscore his commitment.

2024 Planning Awards: Cameron Croxon at Motorway

Cameron’s partnership-driven approach to workforce planning at Motorway showcases transformative outcomes. By prioritising collaboration, his team achieved a 13% FTE saving, equating to £1.3 million in savings. Challenges like manual administrative tasks were reduced by 23%. Cameron’s leadership style has an emphasis on delegation, integration, and continuous improvement, driving efficiency and skill development within the workforce.

2024 Planning Awards: Stephen Banim at indeed

Stephen implemented innovative forecasting methods, driving efficiency and cost reduction through leveraging data-driven insights. Collaborative solutions, guided by his effective communication style, helped tackle challenges such as integrating new features like chat. Stephen exemplifies the transformative power of experience and strategic thinking, setting a standard for excellence in modern workforce management.

2024 Planning Awards: Michael Ferrera at indeed

Michael champions accessible data presentation, pre-emptive issue identification, and real-time response strategies. His approachability and dedication to learning earn praise from stakeholders, while his collaborative spirit fosters a culture of innovation. Projects include self-scheduling implementation and a shift towards future-focused data analysis. Michael’s efforts not only streamline operations but also cultivate a data-centric culture.

2024 Planning Awards:Kat McCarron at Hiscox

Kat led initiatives to enhance planning for admin and outbound calling, improving efficiency and customer service. By scheduling dedicated admin time and implementing an outbound booking tool, agents experienced reduced pressure and increased productivity. Collaboration with the operations team streamlined referrals, while understanding underwriters’ workload improved processes and built stronger relationships.

2024 Planning Awards: Mohamed Nasr at emovis

Mohamed led the implementation of the Genesys system at emovis. Through comprehensive testing with a test team and frontline feedback integration, he was able to ensure the necessary adjustments for operational efficiency. Colleague commendations highlighted Mohamed’s strong planning skills and proactive attitude, with his innovative suggestions proving successful. His contributions exemplify a commitment to excellence and continuous improvement.

2024 Planning Awards: Zach Haddenham at eBay

Zach’s journey at eBay showcases the transformative impact of curiosity, collaboration, and innovation. From simplifying processes to implementing ground-breaking features, Zach’s proactive approach has not only solved long-standing challenges but also inspired others to embrace learning and teamwork, setting a blueprint for success in today’s dynamic customer operations landscape.

2024 Planning Awards: Iain McFarlane at DHL

Through streamlined processes and a commitment to continuous improvement, Iain achieved significant savings and operational efficiencies. By fostering a culture of learning and embracing challenges, Iain empowered his team to excel and innovate. He exemplifies the potential for personal growth within the organisation, with a focus on operational excellence and customer satisfaction.

2024 Planning Awards: Kristie-Leigh Armstrong at BT Group

Kristie-Leigh spearheaded a transformative journey in workforce management, with an  emphasis on communication, collaboration, and employee well-being. Through initiatives like Flexi-breaks, My Day and Uni-flex, she has helped shape a culture of accountability and inclusivity, reducing shrinkage and increasing coverage. Kristie-Leigh’s dedication to personal development and support for colleagues inspires others to embrace change, drive innovation, and prioritise the welfare of their teams.

2024 Planning Awards: Katherine Emerson at BT Group

Katherine’s shift pattern comparison tool has revolutionised shift planning, empowering team leaders and reducing reliance on planning input. Pre-launch, bespoke pattern requests surged at 10% monthly, dropping to a 3% overall reduction. Enhanced collaboration with operations ensured the tool was used to its full potential. The “Try Before you Apply” initiative streamlined recruitment into the planning team, allowing team members to understand what planning do and improving candidate selection.

2024 Planning Awards: Mark Lincoln at Aviva

Mark aligned working patterns with demand which led to improved service quality and a 9% increase in queries handled and he was able to recognise nuances between voice and chat scheduling to optimise agent efficiency. By leveraging both experiential knowledge and analytical tools Mark advocates for a blend of instinct and data-driven insights, with an emphasis on the importance of historical data for forecasting.

2024 Planning Awards: Wheatley Housing Planning Team

Wheatley Housing Planning Team is committed to enhancing operational efficiency and customer satisfaction through collaboration, automation, and strategic planning. Initiatives included streamlined communication, automating payroll processes, and implementing new telephony and WFM solutions. Challenges such as manual transitions and peak season volumes have been addressed with a focus on long-term strategies and cost efficiency. Process improvements have reduced processing times, while integration supports cohesive operations.

2024 Planning Awards: NFU Mutual Planning Team

NFU Mutual’s planning team evolved rapidly from a modest operation to a central strategic pillar within their organisation, overcoming scepticism, significantly increasing the team’s size and scope, and demonstrating the tangible benefits of strategic planning. Key to their success was establishing a strong, data-driven decision-making process, stakeholder engagement, and the ability to demonstrate the practical value of planning initiatives, leading to a broader acceptance and integration of the planning team’s efforts across the organisation

2024 Planning Awards: Leeds Bradford Airport Planning Team

This team revolutionised operations by adopting data-driven planning, refining stakeholder engagement, and streamlining processes, planning for security operations. Customer satisfaction saw huge improvements following queue times plummeting from 24 to 6.5 minutes and improved communication internally optimised resource planning and reduced errors. They removed inefficiencies, boosted employee satisfaction, and were able to attract high-quality recruits as a result. Through a culture of innovation and collaboration, they set a new standard for excellence in the aviation industry.

2024 Planning Awards: eBay Real-time Team

eBay’s Real-Time team has revolutionised risk management with its proactive approach and collaborative ethos. Quantifiable results show significant time savings and workload reductions, thanks to retiring outdated processes and implementing informative playbooks. Challenges that once hindered efficient risk management have been eliminated, promoting transparency and trust across the organisation. The team’s resilience in a rapidly evolving landscape has helped drive these improvements.

2024 Planning Awards: Benenden Health Planning Team and Steven Miller Planning Manager

This planning team, led by Steven Miller, defined clear goals, maximised technology, and fostered collaboration, achieving remarkable improvements. Their success extended to reducing attrition, improving offline availability, and gaining influence in IT planning. While transitioning systems, their collaborative efforts showcased their expertise, offering a blueprint for effective resource planning. The planning team consists of only three people, including Steven, which is testament to what they’ve been able to achieve and build upon in a relatively short space of time.

2024 Innovation & Transformation Awards: Driving Operational Excellence at TSB

The TSB Planning team have demonstrated the importance of collaboration, skill development, and innovative tools in driving operational excellence within organisations. By creating a culture of open communication, embracing upskilling initiatives, and leveraging data-driven insights, teams can enhance performance, drive innovation, and achieve sustainable growth. This transformation has seen the adoption of Power BI and the transition from using excel spreadsheets to the implementation of a real-time alert system.

2024 Innovation & Transformation Awards: Business Evolution at OVO Energy

OVO Energy epitomised the intricate balance between innovation and transformation, underscored by the team’s dedication to strategic planning, technological advancement, and people-centric growth. The journey towards staying competitive requires strategic planning, agile processes, and a people-centric approach. This case study provides the essence of this journey, highlighting the challenges, strategies, and future vision of a dynamic team.