Brainier Solutions Helps Companies Embrace Employee Trainings

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Wed, Apr 11, 2018 @ 06:20 PM

Brainier Solutions, Inc. is definitely making an impression in the tech world, both with their foundational Learning Management Systems (LMS) and their customer service. Consistent care has earned them the 2017 Bronze Stevie® Award for Customer Service Department of the Year. This is their third year winning a Stevie Award for Sales & Customer Service.

brainier-1Brainier was founded in 1995 in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the United States with a mission to aid clients in continuing education and training, advancing skillsets, and expanding knowledge. They offer three different computer software packages: élan LMS, Chameleon 2.0 (developed by BI WORLDWIDE), and Legacy LMS.

Brainier Solutions serves small to large enterprises dedicated to training and investing in their staff. Their software packages offer an interactive, individualized learning portal accessible to employees at any time and on any digital device they choose.

They state, “Brainier programs are developed with the understanding that employees are not machines,” the company states. “They are people balancing needs, concerns, and interests in and out of the workplace. As such, we aspire to provide a curriculum that develops work-related skillsets and personal development attributes that promote success in every aspect of their life.”


The LMS offers access to courses in Drug and Alcohol Awareness, HIPAA, IT Skills, Legal Compliance, OSHA, PC Skills, SkillSoft, as well as access to other course libraries. Employees can study at their own pace in ways they can comprehend and succeed. LMS is sure to include blended learning options with interactive e-learning and multimedia resources. Success is measured by each individual’s testing and tracking.

Employers and their administrators can manage and coordinate trainings as well as keep track of each employee’s development and success. The LMS programs also offer internal social communication via blogs, file exchange, internal messaging, and live chat.

They are repeatedly recognized for their product and services by tech guru sites like TrainingIndustry.com and SoftwareInsider.com. TrainingIndustry.com cited Brainier Solutions as one of The Top 20 companies in 2017 for Learning Portals/LMS after several years of featuring them as a company to watch. SoftwareInsider.com assessed them as “Above Average” in almost every category. The Brandon Hall Group has awarded Brainier Solutions for Excellence in Technology for Learning Management and Unique Learning Technology every year since 2013.

Brainier Solutions’ excellent product and award-winning customer service mirrors the motivation behind their LMS systems. “To advance, you must inspire and invest in their [employee] development. In-house training not only motivates employees to improve, it also gives them the tools and knowledge to do so.”

Topics: customer service awards, sales awards, stevie awards for sales and customer service, customer service department of the year, solution provider awards, best sales team

The Stevie® Awards for Great Employers Issues Call for Entries

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Tue, Apr 10, 2018 @ 09:00 AM

The Stevie Awards has issued the call for entries for the third annual Stevie Awards for Great Employers, which honor the world’s best companies to work for and the human resources teams, professionals, suppliers, and new products and services that help to create and drive great places to work.

All individuals and organizations worldwide—public and private, for-profit, and non-profit, large and small—may submit nominations to the Stevie Awards for Great Employers. The early-bird entry deadline, with reduced entry fees, is May 2. The final entry deadline is June 6, but late entries will be accepted through July 18 with payment of a late fee. Entry details are available at www.StevieAwards.com/HR.

SAGE 2016 hall groupREVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE

An international judging panel of more than 50 executives will determine the Stevie Award winners. Finalists will be announced on August 15. Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners will be revealed and presented their awards at a gala event in New York City on September 21.

The Stevie Awards for Great Employers recognize achievement in many facets of the workplace. Categories include:

  • Employer of the Year Awards
  • HR Achievement Awards
  • HR Individual Awards
  • Solution Provider Awards
  • HR Team Categories
  • Solution Provider Awards
  • New Product & Service Categories
    • Software
    • Training Programs or Media
    • Curated Training Platform of the Year

Winners in the 35 industry-specific Employer of the Year categories will be determined by a unique blend of public votes and professional ratings. Public voting will take place from July 23–August 12.

Stevie Award winners in 2017 included Ad Exchange Group, Deutsche Telekom Services Europe GmbH, Gamelearn, Grubhub, IBM, KIND LLC, McAfee, Migros Ticaret A.S., Samsung Electronics Turkey, Wayfair, Workiva, and Yerra Solutions.

Topics: hr awards, human resources awards, solution provider awards, great employers, Buisness awards, employer of the year, Start-up, business developement

Judging Committee Heads Named in 2018 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Thu, Jan 04, 2018 @ 11:05 AM

Judging of the 2018 Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service will be conducted through January 15 by more than 150 professionals worldwide.  Their average scores will determine the Finalists to be announced in mid-January, and the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie-winner placements among the Finalists.

2018 Jury Chairs:  these professionals will lead the judging of the 2018 awards.

Customer Service & Contact Center Individuals
Chair: Lisa Oswald, Senior Vice President, Customer Service, Travelzoo, New York, New York, USA
lisa oswald.jpgLisa P. Oswald is senior vice president of customer service at Travelzoo and leads a global portfolio including customer and client services, product operations, and voice-of-the-customer programs in support of Travelzoo’s 28 million members worldwide. Lisa is a Director of SOCAP International, the customer care industry’s leading professional development association, and an Advisory Board member with Execs In The Know, a global community of customer experience executives. She is a Gold Stevie Award winner, and was named Customer Service Executive of the Year in 2013 by The American Business Awards.  She is extremely pleased to be serving the Stevie Awards community as a Judging Committee Chair in 2018.

Customer Service & Contact Center Teams and Customer Service Success
Chair: Art Gairo, Senior Vice President, Evolve IP, Wayne, Pennsylvania, USA

18 sascs cst_css chair gairo.jpgArt Gairo is a Client Operations Executive with over 20 years of experience in building, transforming, and leading world class customer service organizations. Art currently serves as Senior Vice President of Client Operations at Evolve IP, The Cloud Strategy Company™. In this role, Art is responsible for leading the entire client experience, while directly leading client care & support, technical services, project management, service delivery and client activations.  

Prior to joining Evolve IP, Art was the Senior Vice President and Head of Customer Experience at Broadview Networks, with responsibility for all Service, Repair, and Care Centers; the Enterprise Customer Support Division; Field Operations; and the Agent and Wholesale Support Divisions. Before joining Broadview, Art was Vice President of Customer Operations at ATX Communications, which was acquired by Broadview in 2006. Art was also Vice President of Client Implementation at Allegiance Telecom prior to his time with ATX Communications. 

A multiple award-winner, including for Customer Service Team of the Year, Art holds a 6 Sigma Black Belt Certification and dual Master’s Certifications in Lean 6 Sigma and Organizational Leadership from Villanova University. He is currently enrolled in the Executive Leadership Program at Notre Dame’s Mendoza School of Business. Art served as the Chair of the Customer Service Judging Committee in The 2011 American Business Awards.

Art told us: “I’m honored to be selected for the second time to serve as a Judging Committee Chair for the Stevie Awards. My first experience was a remarkable opportunity that provided me with many wonderful memories that I cherish to this day.  I look forward to having the opportunity to recognize the past year’s accomplishments by customer service practitioners around the world that truly demonstrate the capabilities of this ever-evolving industry.”

Customer Service Departments & Achievements
Chair: Matt Medina, Senior Director OF SMB Customer Service, Dun & Bradstreet, Tucson, Arizona, USA  

mattmedina.jpgAs the Senior Director of Customer Service at Dun & Bradstreet, Matt enjoys developing leaders and taking care of customers. In 2017, Matt was recognized for spearheading teams that resulted in improved Net Promoter Scores, handled millions of customer contacts at an 82% service level, and contributed over $100 million in sales, saves, and collections.

Matt was named Contact Center Manager of the Year in the 2017 Stevie Awards, and in 2007 was awarded the Scott Cook Innovation Award from Intuit for TurboTax Solutioneering.

In his spare time, Matt enjoys coaching high school soccer and watching Club Atlético River Plate.

New Products and Solution Providers
Chair: Ben Martin, Vice President, Client Support, Network Alliance, Reston, Virginia, USA

18 sascs np_sp chair martin.jpgBen Martin currently serves as a member of the Network Alliance executive management team.  He directs the Network Alliance Client Support Center, which specializes in offering white glove technical support, system management, and professional services for a wide spectrum of Cloud Desktop, Cloud Infrastructure, and Cloud VoIP environments.  Ben previously served as Vice President of Customer Care at Parature, Inc. (acquired by Microsoft), where he directed technical support operations serving Parature's global customer and partner network.

Prior to joining Parature, Ben was the Director of Investor Services at The Morino Institute Netpreneur Program, an organization dedicated to helping entrepreneurs fund and grow their technology businesses. During his four years at The Morino Institute, Ben worked with technology entrepreneurs, angel investors, and early stage venture capital firms to identify early stage investment opportunities within the Mid-Atlantic region.

Ben began his career in Information Technology as a technology analyst with the Advanced Technology Department of the American Chemical Society. He earned an MBA in Corporate Finance and an MS in Information Technology from The George Washington University in Washington, DC. He also holds a BS in Corporate Finance and a BA in Philosophy from West Virginia University.

Sales Achievements & Business DevelopmentChair: Jay Fortuna, President & Chief Learning Officer, Jado Solutions, Chicago, Illinois, USA

18 sascs sa_bd chair fortuna.jpgJay Fortuna has been helping transform the Learning and Development industry through a blended learning approach that incorporates micro-learning and other innovative techniques.  The curriculum and courses that Jay has created are not only effective and immersive, but are engaging and enjoyable.  Jay is becoming a recognized name in the Learning and Development (L&D) field and received multiple awards in 2017.  This includes winning the Gold Stevie Award for Sales Training Program of the Year, and Bronze Stevie Awards for Sales Training Product of the Year, and for Sales Training or Education Professional of the Year in the 2017 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Services for his work with the Horton Group. In addition, Jay and his team were named a Finalist by the Institute for Excellence in Sales (IES) for Sales Innovation of the Year.  Recently, Jay was named as one of Workforce Magazine’s 40 under 40 Gamechangers in 2017 for his accomplishments and the future impact that they believe he will have in the human resources and L&D arena.

Jay’s career started in an industry where many young men dream of working one day: professional sports.  Though his own dream had been to be a professional athlete, he instead learned many early lessons from his time as a Media Relations Intern with the Minnesota Twins that have helped him get to where he is today.  He received some words of wisdom from the team’s General Manager, which still resonate with him today: “Learn enough to become dangerous.”  As a result, Jay is a perpetual student of new trends and effective techniques that can be applied to L&D. 

The next steps in Jay’s career allowed him the opportunity to use his charismatic people skills and competitive nature to soar. He succeeded in multiple sales roles at Enterprise Rent-A-Car and various financial institutions, including JPMorgan Chase and Associated Banc-Corp.  At Associated Bank, Jay’s true passion for L&D was nurtured by his Director, Penn Vieau.  With Vieau’s coaching and mentorship, Jay was able to develop his craft as a facilitator and to garner a deeper understanding of how to run a successful L&D department.  Jay took the lesson’s that he learned from Associated Bank and joined HUB International, where he became Training Manager and was able to create the curriculum for the Business Development Team from the ground up.  Curt Vondrasek, a fellow Gold Stevie Award winner, encouraged him to embrace the Training Manager opportunity at HUB International. Jay launched a training program that took new inside-sales representatives and trained them to become successful sales leaders in their insurance verticals.  It was here that Jay continued to hone his craft of training Sales, Service, Leadership and Support staff through a blended learning approach. He teamed up with Chris Condon, VP of Sales Training for HUB International, and together with the Sales Force Development Team, they took on the Insurance Brokerage Firm’s largest goal, growing sales organically.  The early success achieved by this new approach brought attention to Jay’s talents, which propelled him to his next role, Director of Training and Development at the Horton Group.  Jay didn’t just focus on the issue of organic growth at the Horton Group: he helped the company modernize and reinvent their training as a whole, which has allowed the company to be recognized as an insurance brokerage firm industry leader from Assurex Global, the world’s largest privately held commercial insurance, risk management, and employee benefits brokerage group.

Jay is honored by the opportunity to Chair one of the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service Awards Judging Committee.  He tells us that he is looking forward to seeing the best that the world has to offer in Sales and Business Development.

Sales Individuals & Sales DistinctionChair: Tiffany Wagner, Global Process Executive for Account Planning, SAP, Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, USA

18 sascs si_sd chair wagner.jpgTiffany Wagner has worked in sales, consulting, and sales operations leadership roles in the software industry for 25 years.  Her experience crosses over both start-ups and fortune 500 companies.  She has been with SAP since 2006, and is responsible for the largest demand-generation program in SAP strategic and large enterprise accounts.

Tiffany won the Gold Stevie® Award for Software Sales Distinction in the 2017 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Services, and was recently asked to provide the keynote for Enterprise Ireland on Sales Planning.  

In her personal time, she volunteers at multiple non-profit organizations in the San Francisco bay area.

Sales Teams
Chair: Dan Stalp, President, Sandler Training, Kansas City, Missouri, USA

18 sascs st chair stalp.jpgDan Stalp is known as the consummate sales training professional. As the president of Sandler Training of Kansas City, he excels as a transformational sales trainer and sales coach, a highly sought-after speaker, and respected business writer. For more than 12 years, Dan has been one of the most successful sales trainers in the Kansas City metro area. He has built a loyal client base, many of which not only continue with him year after year, but also refer him to their clients and business associates. They do this because Dan has helped them become very astute and highly successful non-traditional sales professionals. In the 2017 Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service, Dan received the Gold Stevie Award for Sales Training or Education Leader of the Year in the Sales Individual Awards category.

Topics: customer service awards, sales awards, stevie awards for sales and customer service, business development awards, solution provider awards

The Stevie Awards for Great Employers Final Deadline Extended through August 9

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Thu, Jul 20, 2017 @ 10:00 AM

Second Annual Awards Honoring World’s Best Workplaces Continues to Accept Nominations

The Stevie® Awards, organizer of the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, announced today that the final entry deadline for the second annual competition has been extended to Wednesday, August 9. The Stevie Awards for Great Employers honors the world’s best companies to work for and the HR teams and professionals, HR achievements, new products and services and suppliers that help to create and drive great workplaces.

“We’ve received so many requests for individual deadline extensions that we’ve decided to extend the deadline for everyone,” said Stevie Awards president Michael Gallagher. The original final deadline was July 19. Gallagher emphasizes that no additional late fees will be charged for entries submitted through August 9, and late entries will not be penalized in the judging process. All organizations now have three more weeks to prepare and submit their entries.

SAGe female winners-1.jpgAll individuals and organizations worldwide—public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small—may submit nominations to the Stevie Awards for Great Employers. The 2017 awards will honor achievements since the beginning of 2016. Entry details are available at www.StevieAwards.com/HR.

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

Stevie Award winners in the 35 Employer of the Year categories will be determined by a unique blending of the ratings of professionals and the votes of the general public.

The Stevie Awards for Great Employers will recognize achievement in many facets of the workplace. Categories include:

  • Employer of the Year
  • HR Achievements
  • HR Individual Awards
  • HR Team Categories
  • Solution Provider Awards
  • More than 50 New Product & Service Categories

Professionals on three international juries will determine the Stevie Award winners. Finalists will be announced on August 16. Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners will be announced at a gala event in New York City on September 22.

Topics: hr awards, new product awards, best new product, solution provider awards, great employers

From Solution Provider to Solution Stevie Award Winner

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Tue, Sep 27, 2016 @ 11:10 AM

The 11th Annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service recognize the achievements of contact center, customer service, business development and sales professionals worldwide. Entries for the 2017 competition are now being accepted.

October 19 is the early-bird entry deadline with discounted entry fees. The entry deadline is November 16, but late entries will be accepted through January 11 with payment of a late fee. Winners of the eleventh annual competition will be announced at a gala awards banquet on February 24 at Caesars Palace Hotel in Las Vegas.

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

Today we will highlight the Solution Provider Awards categories.

SASCS_Call_for_entries_4-1.jpgThese categories recognize the achievements of solution providers for sales, contact center, and customer service professionals.

Information required for entries in these categories include:
(a) An essay of up to 650 words describing the nominated organization's accomplishments since July 1, 2015.

(c) Optional (but highly recommended), a collection of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges. At the very least you should provide a link to the organization's website.

  1. Sales Consulting Practice of the Year
    121. Sales Training Practice of the Year
    122. Sales Outsourcing Provider of the Year
    123. Incentive, Rewards, or Recognition Provider of the Year
    124. Customer Service or Call Center Consulting Practice of the Year
    125. Customer Service or Call Center Training Practice of the Year
    126. Sales or Customer Service Solutions Technology Partner of the Year
    127. Contact Center or Customer Service Outsourcing Provider of the Year 
    128. Leadership or Management Training Practice of the Year (new category for 2017)

Solution Provider Award winners in 2016 include: 

Sales Consulting Practice of the Year 
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
Sales Partnerships, Inc., Westminster, CO USA: A Beautiful Reinvention of Selling
SILVER STEVIE WINNERS:
EFG Companies. Irving, TX USA: Raising the Bar in Client Service
Imparta Inc., Austin, TX USA: Imparta Inc.
BRONZE STEVIE WINNERS:
Confero Inc., Raleigh NC USA: Leveraging mystery shopping and employee engagement for maximum sales
HGS, Lisle, IL USA: Improving Enterprise Sales with Speed, Effectiveness, and Visibility
Janek Performance Group, Las Vegas, NV USA: Janek Performance Group

Sales Training Practice of the Year 
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
Imparta Inc., Austin, TX USA: Imparta Inc.
SILVER STEVIE WINNERS:
iSpeak, Inc., Round Rock, TX USA: iSpeak and IGT
Janek Performance Group, Las Vegas, NV USA: Janek Performance Group
MarketBridge, Bethesda, MD USA: MarketBridge
Wilson Learning, Minneapolis, MN USA: Wilson Learning
BRONZE STEVIE WINNERS:
The Brooks Group, Greensboro, NC USA: The Brooks Group
Carew International, Inc., Cincinnati, OH USA: Carew International
MAVI Interactive, LLC, Doylestown, PA USA: "Waisimo" customer service training game with LC Waikiki
mLevel, Chicago, IL USA: mLevel's Partnership with Microsoft Azure
New York Community Bancorp, Inc., Westbury, NY USA: Building Business Customer Relationships

Sales Outsourcing Provider of the Year
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
Sales Partnerships, Inc., Westminster, CO USA: Sales Outsourcing Leader Wins Head to Head Yet Again
SILVER STEVIE WINNER:
Revana, Tempe, AZ USA: Revana - Integrated Sales and Marketing Solutions Drives Superior Outcomes for Clients
BRONZE STEVIE WINNER:
GuideWell Connect, Jacksonville, FL USA: Partnering for Success

Incentive, Rewards, or Recognition Provider of the Year 
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
MarketBridge, Bethesda, MD USA: MarketBridge
SILVER STEVIE WINNERS:
EXTRA Loyalty Solutions Co., Istanbul, Turkey: Tailored Loyalty Solutions for our Clients to Increase Their Sales and Customer Engagement
GuideWell Connect, Jacksonville, FL USA: Flexible Work Arrangements = Win-Win
BRONZE STEVIE WINNERS:
GuideWell Connect, Jacksonville, FL USA: Change Leaders Committed to Continuous Improvement
GuideWell Connect, Jacksonville, FL USA: Curtain Call - Top Performers Have Chance to Razzle Dazzle ‘em

Topics: customer service awards, sales awards, stevie awards for sales and customer service, solution provider awards, best solution providers

Solution Provider Award Opportunities

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Tue, Aug 02, 2016 @ 03:55 PM

The Stevie® Awards is accepting entries for the first annual Stevie Awards for Great Employers, which will honor the world’s best companies to work for and the HR teams and professionals, HR achievements, new products and services, and suppliers that help to create and drive great workplaces.

The final entry deadline for the Stevie Awards for Great Employers has been extended to Wednesday, August 10.

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

Today we will highlight the Solution Provider Categories—the categories that recognize the achievements of the providers of solutions that help to create and drive great places to work.

Human_Resources_puzzle-2.jpgThe information requirements for entries in these categories in the 2016 competition include:

a.  An essay of up to 625 words describing the nominated organization's achievement since the beginning of 2015.  Focus on achievements since that date.  Make reference, where appropriate, to supporting materials attached to your entry that support your claims.

b. Summarize in up to 10 bullet points (up to 150 words) the chief accomplishments of the nominated organization since the beginning of 2015.

c. Add to your entry up to 10 webpage links and up to 10 document uploads to support your case to the judges.  These might be press articles, press releases, videos, work samples, internal or external reviews, or employee feedback, for example. 

Solution Provider Awards Categories:

D01     Business Acumen & HR Strategy Solution Provider of the Year           
Recognizing the achievements of providers to the industry of solutions for diversity services, management consulting, outplacement, outsourcing, and relocation, among others.

D02     Employee Relations Solution Provider of the Year          
Recognizing the achievements of providers to the industry of solutions for arbitration/mediation/dispute resolution, awards and motivation, employee engagement, performance appraisal and management, and employee surveys, among others.

D03     Global HR Solution Provider of the Year 
Recognizing the achievements of providers to the industry of solutions for cultural awareness/cultural competence, global employment law, global outsourcing, and global relocation, among others.

D04     Health, Wellness and Safety Solution Provider of the Year        
Recognizing the achievements of providers to the industry of solutions for drug and alcohol treatment or testing, health promotion, recreation, safety, security, or wellness, among others.

D05     HR Technology Solution Provider of the Year     
Recognizing the achievements of providers to the industry of solutions for human resources-related systems, software or analytics.

D06     Leadership or Skills Development Solution Provider of the Year          
Recognizing the achievements of providers to the industry of solutions for assessment tools, certificate programs, distance learning, leadership development, or training materials, among others.

D07     Talent Acquisition & Retention Solution Provider of the Year  
Recognizing the achievements of providers to the industry of solutions for applicant assessment or tracking, background investigations, executive search, recruitment, recruitment advertising, or temporary staffing, among others.

D08     Total Rewards Solution Provider of the Year      
Recognizing the achievements of providers to the industry of solutions for child or dependent care, insurance, pensions/retirement benefits, and wage and salary administration, among others.

An international judging panel of nearly 100 executives will determine the Stevie Award winners. Finalists will be announced on August 17. Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners will be announced at a gala event in New York City on September 30.

Topics: hr awards, human resources awards, solution provider awards, great employers

The Stevie Awards for Great Employers Final Deadline Extended Through August 10

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Thu, Jul 21, 2016 @ 09:30 AM

First Annual Awards Honoring World’s Best Workplaces Continues to Accept Nominations

The Stevie® Awards, organizer of the world’s premier business awards, announced today that the final entry deadline for its new Stevie Awards for Great Employers has been extended to Wednesday, August 10.

The Stevie Awards for Great Employers will honor the world’s best companies to work for and the HR achievements, teams and professionals and human resources-related products and suppliers that help to create and drive great workplaces.

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

SAGE_Logo_C_SmallRK-4.gif“We’ve received so many requests for individual deadline extensions that we’ve decided to extend the deadline for everyone,” said Stevie Awards president Michael Gallagher. The original final deadline was July 20. Gallagher also stated that there will be no additional late fees for entries submitted through August 10, and late entries will not be penalized in the judging process.

Individuals and organizations worldwide—public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small—may submit nominations to the Stevie Awards for Great Employers. The 2016 awards will honor achievements since the beginning of 2015. Entry details are available at www.StevieAwards.com/HR.

Stevie Award winners in the 34 Employer of the Year categories will be determined by a unique blending of the ratings of professionals and the votes of the general public. Public voting is open now through August 10 at http://stevies-sage.secure-platform.com/a/gallery?roundId=1. 

The Stevie Awards for Great Employers will recognize achievement in many facets of the workplace. Categories include:

  • Employer of the Year
  • HR Achievements
  • HR Individual Awards
  • HR Team Categories
  • Solution Provider Awards
  • More than 50 New Product & Service Categories

An international judging panel of nearly 100 executives will determine the Stevie Award winners. Finalists will be announced on August 17. Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners will be announced at a gala event in New York City on September 30.

About the Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in seven programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 10,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 60 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com

Topics: hr awards, human resources awards, new product awards, solution provider awards, great employers

10th Annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service Announce Winners

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Mon, Mar 07, 2016 @ 10:00 AM

Winners in the tenth annual Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service, recognized as the world's top honors for business development, contact center, customer service, and sales professionals, were unveiled on Friday night at a gala ceremony in Las Vegas, Nevada attended by more than 500 executives from around the world.

The complete list of Stevie winners by category is available at http://www.StevieAwards.com/Sales.

SASCS-2016-Delta-Group.gifDP DHL, with Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award wins for their operations in 29 countries, won the Grand Stevie Award trophy as the most honored organization in the competition for the third year in a row. Other organizations that took home Grand Stevies, in recognition of the sheer number of awards they won, include Carbonite, Inc., Delta Air Lines, eMoney Advisor, LLC, GuideWell Connect, iHeartMedia, John Hancock Financial Services, Lennox Industries, Inc., Marriott Vacations Worldwide, Sales Partnerships, Inc., and Visualize.

Carbonite and GuideWell Connect were the top winners of Gold Stevies, with five each. Winners of four Gold Stevies include Cisco Systems, HomeServe USA, Lennox Industries, Sales Partnerships, and WePay, Inc. eMoney Advisor,  and iHeartMedia, each won three Gold Stevie Awards.

Winners in the People’s Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite Customer Service, a worldwide public vote, were announced in February, and were presented to winners during the ceremony.

The presentations were broadcast live via Livestream, and the recording is available to watch online.

More than 2,100 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were evaluated in this year’s competition, an increase of 11% over 2015. Finalists were determined by the average scores of 115 professionals worldwide, acting as preliminary judges. Entries were considered in 59 categories for customer service and contact center achievements, including Contact Center of the Year, Award for Innovation in Customer Service, and Consulting Practice of the Year; more than 50 categories for sales and business development achievements, ranging from Senior Sales Executive of the Year to Business Development Achievement of the Year; and categories to recognize new products and services and solution providers.

More than 70 members of seven specialized final judging committees determined the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements from among the Finalists.

Topics: best customer service, customer service awards, sales awards, stevie awards for sales and customer service, business development awards, solution provider awards

The 2016 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service Name Chairs for Final Judging

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Thu, Jan 28, 2016 @ 11:24 AM

The Stevie Awards are delighted to announce the seven distinguished professionals who will chair the final judging committees of the 2016 (10th annual) Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service competition.

The Stevie Awardsfor Sales & Customer Service are the world's top sales awards, customer service awards, business development awards, contact center awards, and more.

Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie placements from among the Finalists will be determined in final judging, which is ongoing  Results will be announced at the 10th annual awards dinner in Las Vegas on March 4.  Tickets are on sale now.

The seven committee chair selections are based on the categories being judged. Final judging chairs helped to form their committees, each of which will be comprised of 5-20 other executives.  Here are this year's final judging committee chairs.

SALES TEAM/SALES ACHIEVEMENT/SERVICE PROVIDER
Chair: Rob Jeppsen, Senior Vice President & General Manager, HireVue Accelerate

HireVue, Inc., South Jordan, Utah

Rob-Jeppson.jpgRob Jeppsen is a senior executive at HireVue, a fast-growth technology company that is launching a game-changing tool for Sales Leaders worldwide, and aims to revolutionize how sales leaders coach their teams and develop the world's greatest sales teams. Prior to joining HireVue, Rob was the SVP of Sales at Zions Bank from 2005 to 2015, where he helped lead a team of about 300 commercial bankers in a full-service offering of products to help grow and manage businesses.

Rob loves moving the Sales needle and has worked for, and consulted with, many organizations on sales, sales processes, leadership development, and the commercialization of new products and services, with emphasis on the technology and financial services sectors. Rob also enjoys building and driving growth of emerging organizations. He sees relationship development, business development, marketing, and corporate strategy as key ways to engineer value in organizations.

Rob is invited to speak at over 100 events each year. His 6-course training series, The Business Performance Series, was recognized as "Sales Training Curriculum of the Year"​ in the 2012 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service and has been successfully taught to over 900 businesses. Since 2007, Rob has received 15 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service in categories such as Sales Team of the Year, Sales Coaching Program of the Year, Sales Process of the Year, Sales Director of the Year, and Senior Sales Executive of the Year.

SALES DISTINCTION/NEW PRODUCT & SERVICE
Chair: Mike Hart, Vice President, Sales, Lennox Residential

Lennox Industries, Inc., Richardson, Texas

Mike Hart serves as the Vice President of Sales for the residential division of Lennox International. Mike joined Lennox in 1994 and is responsible for leading the residential sales, business development, national account, and customer service teams in the United States and Canada.

16-SASCS-SD_NP-Chair-Mike-Hart.jpgMike has over 30 years of experience in sales, sales leadership, brand management, distribution, retail, general management, M&A, operations, and coaching with multiple brands and channels in the heating and air conditioning manufacturing industry. Mike also volunteers as a board member of the Air Conditioning Heating Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) Education and Training Committee. He also contributes as a board member on the sales advisory board and the marketing advisory board at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Mike has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and Marketing from the University of Maryland, and a Master’s degree from the University of Texas at Dallas. He spends his time mentoring and developing his team, profitably growing and exceeding sales, margin, and earnings objectives, implementing effective people processes, creating a culture of growth, accountability and teamwork, improving productivity and efficiency, providing effective sales leadership and coaching, as well as exceeding market share objectives. His 762 member sales team is responsible for $1.65B in revenue.

CUSTOMER SERVICE SUCCESS & CUSTOMER SERVICE/CONTACT CENTER ACHIEVEMENT
Chair: Jo Wimble-Groves, Business Support Director

Active Digital, Lamberhurst, Kent, United Kingdom

Jo Wimble-Groves is a Director of the successful Kent-based company Active Digital, an award-winning business mobile communications company. Jo has spent the last 20 years of her career working on customer experience and team strategy. Her commitment to delivering an exceptional level of service and building her successful team has led to a number of European and global awards.

16-SASCS-CSA-Chair-Jo-Ann.jpgSince starting the company aged just 16, Jo credits her success to an innate passion, dedication, and zeal for business, along with an intuitive ability to identify good opportunities. Jo was voted “35 under 35” in Management Today magazine in 2010. Active Digital also named one of the “Top 6 Customer Service Business Leaders in Europe” at the European Contact Centre and Customer Service Awards in 2013. The company also won the Gold Stevie Award for Front-Line Customer Service Team of the Year - Technology Industries in the 2015 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.

Established in 1996, Active Digital clients include Olympic teams and rugby clubs. Its core business is providing mobiles, tablets, fixed line, and apps to UK organizations of all sizes.

CUSTOMER SERVICE/CONTACT CENTER INDIVIDUAL
Chair: Michael Anthony, Managing Director

OnForce (a division of Beeline), Jacksonville, Florida, USA

Michael_Anthony_Cus_Service_CSI.jpgMichael D. Anthony is General Manager of OnForce, a strategic business unit of Beeline. He is an innovative leader with more than 20 years of experience in the technical services industry. He is a passionate customer advocate who believes that a client-focused culture is the key to growing a successful business.

Michael joined Beeline in 2005 and recently transitioned from his role as VP, Client Services with Beeline to lead the OnForce business unit. Michael is a veteran of the U.S. Navy and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in applied mathematical economics from the State University of New York at Oswego.

SALES INDIVIDUAL/BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Chair: Jackie Coffey, CHIE, Vice President, Telemarketing
GuideWell Connect, Jacksonville, Florida

16_SASCS_SI_BDChair.jpgAs Vice President of Telemarketing, Jackie Coffey is responsible for the overall direct-to-consumer telesales capability serving numerous clients in the health care vertical for GuideWell Connect. Coffey leads the multi-channel sales contact center specializing in new acquisition, welcome programs and retention for Medicare, Under 65, small group, and ancillary products.

Prior to GuideWell Connect, Jackie worked with Florida Blue for 22 years holding leadership positions in sales, marketing, and communications with Florida Blue. Before Florida Blue, Jackie held advertising and marketing positions with Shepherd Advertising Group, Mease Hospital, and other health care companies.

Coffey holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of Tampa, and she is a Certified Call Center Manager through Purdue University’s College of Call Center Excellence. Coffey is a Certified Health Insurance Executive (CHIE) and a 2013-14 graduate of the Executive Leadership Program sponsored by America’s Health Insurance Plans. In The 2014 International Business Awards, Jackie won the Bronze Stevie Award for Executive of the Year–Health Products & Services.

CUSTOMER SERVICE/CONTACT CENTER TEAM
Chair: Kadir Mustafa Öztürk, Executive Vice President, Alternative Delivery Channels & Digital Banking Projects

Intertech A.Ş., Istanbul, Turkey

After receiving his Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from Istanbul Technical 16-SASCS-CST-Chair-Kadir-Mustafa.jpgUniversity in 2000, Kadir worked at various companies on website development. In 2003, he started at DenizBank A.Ş. as a software engineer. In 2005, Kadir joined Intertech A.Ş. as a software engineer, fulfilling his duties in Internet Banking and Web Projects at Alternative Distribution Channels Department. He was named ADC Department Head in July 2010. In this position he has led many successful projects in Internet/Mobile Banking and CRM fields.

In August 2012, Kadir was promoted to the position of Executive Vice President in charge of ADC and Digital Banking Projects at Intertech A.Ş. He is responsible for Channel Management, Internet Banking, Mobile Banking, ATM and Kiosks, Call Center, User Experience, and Design Teams under the globally awarded inter-Vision product of Intertech A.Ş. He is currently running local and international banking projects.

Kadir is married with two children. He enjoys spending his leisure time on world cinema and history of moviemaking.

 

CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT
Chair: Rebecca V. Eclipse, Chief Customer Experience Officer, 
Globe Telecom, Inc., Bonifacio Global City, The Philippines

16-SASCS-CSD-Chair-Rebecca-Eclipse.jpgRebecca V. Eclipse is the Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Experience Officer of Globe Telecom, Inc., and heads the Office of Strategy Management and Customer Experience.  

Responding to the speed of change and evolution of the telecommunications space, Rebecca draws wisdom and insight from 5 years in consulting and over 25 years of experience in the telco industry–from financial management, revenue assurance and fraud, internal controls, and business operations to strategy development and management, process and quality management,and, more importantly today, customer experience transformation.

Topics: customer service awards, sales awards, stevie awards for sales and customer service, contact center awards, business development awards, solution provider awards