The Post: Customer Services Manager, Co-Ownership
The Post Holder: Victoria Dunn
HOW I BECAME A CUSTOMER SERVICES MANAGER
Reliability, warmth and good communication skills are all qualities required for Victoria Dunn’s role as a customer services manager with Co-Ownership.
Give a brief outline of your career to date.
Before taking up my current post as Customer Services Manager at Co-Ownership in January this year, I spent 16 years working in personal finance through various positions. My most recent role was as an Underwriting Manager, a position I held for 10 years. Managing a team of underwriters, we processed and made the decisions on personal finance applications for loans and credit cards, so it’s a role that had me well placed to transition into Co-Ownership to help manage the customer contact team and support people on their journey to homeownership.
What was your favourite subject at school?
I leaned very much toward the STEM subjects. I had a passion for the sciences – biology and chemistry in particular – and was strong at math too. They’re subjects that focus on rules and understanding how things work. There’s logic to them and that suited me.
Did you go on to further/higher education, if so what did you study and where?
After A-level I left education and moved. Returning to higher or further education is something I had always intended to do, but I was committed to progressing my career in the roles I found myself in which made returning to education difficult. But it goes to show that higherlevel and managerial roles are not only reserved for university graduates. There are alternative routes to get to the career destination you’re pursuing.
How did you get into your area of work?
My first professional role in personal finance was as a Customer Services Advisor for three years. During this time with my previous employer I progressed through several roles in the company from standard services, speciality and then finally managerial level. During this time, I set up a department looking at those in severe financial difficulty looking at ways to help restructure their accounts to get on top of debt. The core focus of my time in personal finance was identifying people in genuine need and helping them change their circumstances which is similar to my focus of helping who are unable to get a mortgage for any number of reasons to own their own home.
Is this what you always wanted to do?
For the most part of my career, certainly. I’m passionate about ensuring customers receive consistently high-quality service. That has underpinned every department and team I have led over the past 16 years. I’m most content when I’m in a role where I have the freedom and confidence of others to make necessary changes to improve processes for the company and customer.
Where there any particular essential qualifications or experience needed?
My current role as Customer Services Manager at Co-Ownership required a degree plus two years management experience or 4-5 years management experience in a customer services role.
Are there alternative routes into the job?
Not entirely. Even if you pursued the role through the route of graduating from university with a degree, there is still the massive need for realworld experience in customer services. It’s a must. Customer services roles, particularly at managerial level, are difficult to sidestep into.
What are the main personal skills your job requires?
It’s important to be a people person and a strong communicator. Homebuying is a massive commitment and it can be an emotional process for the buyer. It’s vital that we’re compassionate and understanding of each and every applicant’s circumstances. Reliability, warmth and openness are crucial too. Our approach to the homebuying process is one of ‘handholding’ – guiding the buyer with full support at every stage of the process.
What does a typical day entail?
There are massive changes being implemented at Co-Ownership as we digitise and simplify the application process for the prospective buyer and key stakeholders, so projects meetings to track actions, testing new processes and platforms and the development of training plans for our customer contact team occupies most of my day. It’s equally important to ensure that our current service levels do not dip as we implement new ones, so we are still welcoming and processing new applications.
What are the best and most challenging aspects of the job?
I feel like I’m making a positive impact to so many people’s lives. Previously, I worked in a corporate setting, but now at Co-Ownership I’m working with young people, families and more. The personal approach at Co-Ownership is incredibly rewarding as the homebuying process is an emotional journey. When you’ve handed someone the keys to their dream home there’s no describing the gratitude expressed.
One of the primary challenges is that the Co-Ownership product had not changed in decades. But above all it is a product that worked. The organisation is now in its 40th year and has supported over 27,000 people and families into homeownership. The changes we’re bringing into effect are simply new ways of processing and managing the application process for our tried and tested products.
Why is what you do important?
Customer contact is peoplefacing. Everything we do when engaging with a customer, whether that’s our online or printed communications, telephone and emails queries, or online chat via social media, it’s all representative of the Co-Ownership brand. We find that referrals and recommendations are a key driver for Co-Ownership applications, so it’s important we leave a positive and lasting impression of a supportive and prompt service.
What advice would you give anyone looking to follow a similar career path?
My advice would be to work hard in any role. Make sure you push yourself and showcase your potential by going above and beyond the call of duty to show your worth to a company. Demonstrate initiative and it will be recognised and rewarded. I didn’t have a degree qualification, so I needed to prove myself as a valuable recruit and get as much experience as possible. Develop yourself personally and step outside your comfort zone.
If you weren’t doing this what would you like to do?
A job that involved some globetrotting would be nice!
What is the one piece of advice you would give yourself on your first day?
Positivity is key.
Describe your ideal day off.
I’m a fairly active person, so I’d like to make sure there’s plans in place for a few activities with friends and family. A concert, theatre, just generally being out and about.
And finally, what’s the key to any successful job search?
Be open-minded. Unless you’ve studied a specialised discipline, try not to be too rigid in your job search as you could be ruling out a unique opportunity. But, it’s equally important to pursue roles that you’re suitably qualified for. If not, then now’s the time to start gaining valuable experience.