The Agilio Awards were given out in a company-wide meeting at the start of February, with awards being given out to various people across the different divisions of the company.

We’re super happy that our very own Chris Walsh, Customer Engagement Manager of the SME team, managed to bag himself an award!

Chris was voted by fellow Agilians as the winner of the ‘Putting Customers First’ Award.

This award recognises the faultless and consistent effort that Chris always puts into his work, ensuring he's always providing the best customer service he possibly can. He really deserved this award and the company-wide recognition he received from winning it.

So, I asked Chris a few questions about his recent award win!

Upon winning the award, Chris said: "It feels really nice to be recognised for your hard work and input, but even more so from colleagues both in the myhrtoolkit team and across the wider Agilio group."

What  do you do in your everyday work that you feel has won you this award?

"I always try to represent myhrtoolkit and Agilio in the best possible light as I see my communication style as a representation of our culture, our values and basically, what we stand for. Even if I am speaking to a lead that isn’t going to proceed with one of our products or services, I want them to be able to speak of and reflect positively on the customer service journey they have experienced with us. It's good to leave a lasting impression.

"For our leads that do sign-up and our existing customers, the service that we offer in addition to the products is a big part of what we do and can often separate us from the competition. Maintaining that high level of service consistently, and across all different interactions, forms a large part of this, whether that be customer support, sales, or partner-related.

"The main principles I stick to are just to be polite, listen to the needs of our customers and prospects, and then deliver a thoughtful but concise response to get them back on track or provide them with the information or solutions they need to progress."

What would be the standout example in which you went the extra mile for a customer?

"There have been numerous times when perseverance has been required to help prospects/customers who have struggled to join online demonstrations, to help them explain about some of the main features in more detail and to answer any questions they have about myhrtoolkit.

"If I had to pick one example it would probably be for a small-medium-sized charity who wanted to improve the way they work by having an online HR system but were nervous about taking that next step. In this scenario, a lot of calls both before and after the product demo were provided so that they could feel assured about taking on the service and signing up to the platform. My relationship with that particular customer is still strong today, although our interactions are a lot less frequent."

And most importantly, how will you deal with the fame of being an Agilio award winner?

"For me, it's just business as usual; I’m here to help anybody, either internally or externally, that has any questions about the products and services that we offer and I will try to maintain a good level of customer service moving forward.

"Plus, it sounds like a cliché, but I see me receiving this award as a reflection of how we operate as a team. My colleagues, Simon and Juliette, have helped provide a great platform for our customer service, especially over the lockdown period, so it's important to recognise their contributions as well."