Customer Experience Magazine is profiling the top 10 Professionals and Influencers from our Top 50 CX Stars list.
Here we look at Number 8 in each category. Sharif-Paul Anton, of Samsung Electronics is today’s featured Professional, and our Influencer is Michelle Ansell of Douglas Jackson .
We welcome feedback on our CX Stars list, and all correspondence should be sent to paul@cxm.world.
Number 8
Sharif-Paul Anton
General Manager Customer Support at Samsung Electronics
With over 20 years of experience in customer support and contact centre roles in sectors including retail, travel and gaming, Sharif-Paul Anton is a CX Star with an eye for recognising talent, which has aided him in his roles over the years on awards judging panels.
The Watford-based professional is no stranger to awards success of his own, with his contact centre excellence in particular bringing himself and colleagues to victory and finalist positions in numerous industry honours events over the last 12 years.
Following success in senior global outsourcing roles, Sharif-Paul joined Samsung in 2013, where his skill for client-side relations could shine in his initial post as UK and Ireland Contact Centre Manager. He then moved to the position of Senior Manager, Customer Support, before accepting promotion to his current post last year.
A Six Sigma Green Belt, Sharif-Paul told CXM that his biggest inspirations to date in his career are those he works alongside and under over the years, displaying a commitment to teamwork and trust within the workplace, to the ultimate benefit of the customer.
“All have taken chances on me and given me opportunities which I will always be humble and extremely appreciative for,” he explained.
Sharif-Paul appreciates honesty, and is a staunch believer in keeping promises to customers.
Sharif-Paul says: “It is critical to treat each and every customer as an individual and to put yourself in their shoes.”
His instinct for customer care and promotion of personalisation is at the very heart of his CX strategy , and Samsung consumers are in safe hands as the ever-popular brand moves into an exciting new decade of electronics innovation.
Number 8
Michelle Ansell
As many working in the UK’s recruitment field will tell you, Michelle Ansell is one of the most highly regarded professionals there is, and her work in the last 15 years has brought the Customer Experience and contact centre sectors to a whole new level with her appointments for numerous firms.
That same skill in identifying top talent for her clients in her work at Douglas Jackson has been successfully transferred to awards judging roles, including the National Awards for Quality Planning and Insight and the UK Customer Experience Awards.
A true influencer, Michelle continues to share her knowledge and expertise in her prolific writing, contributing to blogs and online publications and providing insight and practical tips on everything from contact centre management to finding and retaining the very best employees.
Need advice on transferring customer ‘success’ to Customer Experience? Michelle’s got it covered. Want to know how the best questions to ask a potential customer service team leader in a job interview? You can bet Michelle has blogged on it.
That love of skill sharing was inspired by figures including recruitment legend Sir Alec Reed, who she met numerous times earlier in her career, and whose desire to educate others saw him found his own business school.
Michelle says: “Often, the fundamentals of Customer Experience can be missed or even forgotten. Money gets spent on new tools or technology, but your most powerful resource is your people.”
As a Managing Partner at Douglas Jackson, Staffordshire-based Michelle has assisted brands ranging from global players to disruptors and start-ups in their quest to fill vital roles and create supportive environments for their customers, and 2020 looks set to be another busy and highly successful year for her.
Click here for profiles of our Number 9 Professionals and Influencers.