Our team of Client Guides recently received an amazing new addition, when the lovely Rae moved across from Client Services to join the team and start her new role as an Energy Contract Enthusiast. You may recognise a few of the faces or perhaps if you could hear their voices, they may ring a few bells as they spend a lot of time talking over the phone with our clients helping them with their energy contracts.
The team are skilled negotiators and ensure our clients electricity and gas contract options are priced competitively. Each one has a different way of working, which helps us to carefully select a Client Guide to suit the needs of our individual clients. We’re proud to ‘celebrate individuality’ so thought we would share a little more about this amazing team of Swans who do incredible things every day.
Firstly, we have our Head of Client Relationships, Aimee Konieczny. She manages our team of Client Guides to ensure our clients have everything they need. During 2020, Aimee has enjoyed being part of an award-winning team. We recently won two customer service awards which is something we are very proud of in the challenging circumstances. Another highlight was splitting the team into large and SME as it means we can give our clients the attention they deserve.
Customer care for Aimee means giving each client interaction the attention it deserves. She said: “It means providing clients with enough time and space to reach their own procurement decisions, while being available to answer any questions or queries they might have. Regardless of size, contract value or account complexity, all customers are treated as individuals as they have a dedicated account manager who understands their business needs.”
One of the hardest things Aimee found working from home in 2020 was having her dogs join her on video calls. The youngest of her three dogs Jefferson, shouts at the postman and any delivery drivers which can be very out of the blue and distracting to people on the call! She always has to make a disclaimer when I’m on the phone or external Teams chat; ‘warning, this conversation may contain dogs’.
Andrew joined Indigo Swan in 2018 and already knew one of the Swans before he joined. Andrew’s favourite value is ‘how we do anything is how we do everything.’ He believes it has served us well during 2020 and we have learned to keep up the excellence through trying circumstances. For him, this value sums it up brilliantly.
When I asked Andrew if there was something he enjoyed about working for Indigo Swan during 2020 he replied: “Every cloud has a silver lining – the challenges that 2020 threw up also presented an opportunity to spend time with my family, especially as we welcomed my second son in June. I also have been rewarded with many new clients in a wide range of sectors, so it has been terrific speaking with them and helping them with their energy!”
Customer care means everything to Andrew. Having been in customer focussed roles, on and off. Since leaving school 25 years ago he understands the customer is the lifeblood of any business. If there is anything, he can do to make a customer’s experience better, he will do it.
Hannah, or Coops as she is more commonly known around the nest found the lack of exercise during lockdown particularly challenging. Pre COVID-19, she was part of our Ron’s Runners group and enjoyed getting together with the rest of the Swans for a weekly run. She struggles to motivate herself without the Swans cheering her on, so is looking forward to getting back to it!
When Hannah was younger, she wanted to be all sorts of things, and it pretty much changed daily. She said: “I wanted to be a paramedic, a teacher, a detective to name a few. I didn’t ever have one vocation that I’ve always wanted to be. I never thought I would end up in the Energy Industry and to be honest I don’t think I would have ended up here if it wasn’t that I really wanted to be a Swan first and foremost.”
In Hannah’s eyes, although 2020 was a tough year it brought us closer together as colleagues and a team. We’ve all had to be patient with each other as we navigate working from home and the friendships that have been formed are stronger because of it.
Lou is a big fan of horses and when she was younger, she always knew she wanted to do something along those lines, but never ended up pursuing it! It’s still a dream of hers, but for now she’s banking on winning the lottery so she can open her own horse sanctuary in the countryside.
Louise’s favourite value is ‘we celebrate individuality’. She said: “I always used to hate the whole ‘we’re a big family’ that you’d get in some companies, but it wasn’t until I worked for Indigo Swan that I truly felt what that meant. We are a big family, but we are all so different and yet it works. We always love finding out about obscure interests we each have, and everyone can share them without judgement. It’s what makes working for Indigo Swan such a unique and rewarding experience.”
For Lou, customer care means providing the best service to your ability and caring about what’s important for your customers. She understands how every customer is different in their requirements and being able to understand that and provide a level of care they really need is one of the most important things we can do. Lou is currently on Maternity leave, but she will be returning to the nest again later this year.
For Rae customer care is everything! She believes the world is a much better place when people are happy. When she manages to reach a positive ending to a complex query, she gets a huge feeling of accomplishment. This feeling is even better when the start of the journey begins with a negative and ends with a smile.
2020 was a strange year for us all. When I asked Rae what she enjoyed about working for Indigo Swan in 2020 she said: “I was furloughed, so all of my lockdown time was spent with my daughter. I never thought I would be given a golden opportunity to spend 5 months with her being home all the time. The home-schooling element had its ups and downs, but we made a lot of memories and really got to know each other as people. Precious moments that will be treasured forever!”
When Rae was younger, she wanted to Funeral Director. Now this might sound surprising to some, it’s probably not the most common role at the top of a child’s wish list, but knowing Rae the way we do, nothing surprises us! She loves the traditions that sit within that industry and she has always wanted to wear a Top Hat to work. A lover of all things Tim Burton, she loves to get dressed up in spooky outfits and her Christmas tree even has a Halloween theme.
There you have it, our amazing team of Client Guides and a little bit more information about what makes each of them so unique.
