LAURA URIAS

**** ******* ***** **

ROUND ROCK, TX 78665

CELL:512-***-****

djadaa@r.postjobfree.com

SUMMARY

Ten years in the customer service industry with a solid background in project management, managerial and communication skills. Consistently exceed goals and customer service expectations. Experienced in handling multiple business projects and initiatives and presenting facts to Senior Management. Managed projects that resulted in cost savings for the company including a recurring annual savings of $200,000 for one project. Skilled in recruiting, developing, and motivating staff members.

Strengths include:

•Management of Salaried Employees

•Business Process Improvement (BPI)

•Project Management

•Cost – Benefit Analysis

•Training Delivery

•Customer Service–Internal and External

EDUCATION

B.A. in Public Relations, University of Texas, Austin, TX

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

SEARS HOLDINGS CORPORATION, Round Rock, TX JULY 2001- PRESENT

Communications Manager (April 2009 - Present)

Responsible for maintaining call center policy and procedures and communication of changes/enhancements. Reviewed trends and issues to escalate opportunities to improve related processes across company formats. Managed all Communications Management Team functions and staff. Identified and drove initiatives as they related to the operations center. Maintained direct relationships with all internal call centers and vendors; served as the primary resource for policy and procedure updates.

•Established and maintained policy and procedure compliance audits.

•Worked with and supported other staff members in the areas of Quality, Compliance, Training and Reporting.

•Drove improvements in overall customer experience as it relates to the Home Services customer contacts through defect and compliance reporting.

•Created or assisted others in the writing of user documentation, instructions and procedures.

•Development of cost/benefit analysis to support above initiatives.

•Initiated and developed new processes to help grow the business and/or reduce operational expenses

Vendor Account Manager – Philippines (June 2008 – April 2009)

Single point of contact responsible for the day-to-day offshore operations of Home Delivery call types. Worked with vendors and Sears contacts to ensure that offshore call operations drove an exceptional customer experience, revenue growth and expense management.

•Ensured customer experience and call quality exceed established standards. Increased first call resolution by 15% in a 3 month time period by incorporating additional training.

•Developed and managed implementation of new initiatives that drove growth and improved the customer experience; one project resulting in $220K annual savings.

•Worked with training manager and vendor to develop and implement associate training. Oversaw development and execution of vendor staffing strategy.

•Assisted in development of key operating metrics and reporting processes. Monitored all operating metrics and business performance. Collaborated with vendor on a daily basis to address operating issues.

•Ensured vendor was in compliance with all contractual requirements.

•Developed overall operating strategy and standards with vendor including customer experience, training strategy, culture, associate policies and compensation policies.

Home Delivery Department Manager (April 2007 – June 2008)

Directly supervised call center Team Managers and coached for improvement around business metrics and quality standards. Drove performance through development and support of strategies tied with internal calibration sessions and conducting several bottom 25% coaching sessions. Conducted focus groups with hourly associates to identify areas of opportunity and look for ways to improve the customer experience.

•Directly responsible for the growth and development of 9 managers and 220 agents to ensure an increase in productivity goals, sales and revenue growth.

•Drove performance through development and completed weekly coaching and monthly development sessions with Team Managers.

•Conducted team audits by reviewing comprehensive performance against scorecard metrics and created action plans on a monthly basis.

•Inspected service level performance daily to ensure a consistent customer experience and make certain the proper balance existed in business performance.

•Facilitated meetings with key business partners to enhance the understanding of policy while driving profitability for the department.

•Accounted for consistent quality of associate/customer communications through quality monitoring, reviews, proper coaching, counseling, supporting and reinforcing all Sears' policies, procedures and promotions.

•Developed and maintained a positive environment by providing a high level of support, visibility and accessibility on the operations floor. Fostered an "open door" approach for open communication and created a highly motivational atmosphere for associates.

Strategic Consultant (December 2005 - April 2007)

Responsible for all project launches within the department including the initiation, planning, execution, control and the closeout and evaluation. Responsible for creation of training material and conducted T3 (Train the Trainer) sessions with 12 Unit Managers nationwide. Acted as subject matter expert for business partners and participated in feedback sessions with Senior Management.

•Conducted analysis that drove strategic business decisions and solved consumer issues including the launch of several initiatives resulting in $200,000 plus in annual savings while enhancing customer experiences.

•Managed up to 8 customer centric projects at one given time while serving as subject matter expert on complaint management for the enterprise.

•Single point of contact for Home Delivery business partners across the enterprise. Used decision-support tools and analytical abilities to identify trending, provide cost-benefit analysis, and enhance the overall effectiveness of the business.

•Responsible for managing Senior Reporting Specialist and ensuring all metric reports were accurate using analytical drill-down tactics when necessary.

Home Delivery Team Manager (August 2004 – December 2005)

Trained employees on specific computer systems, customer satisfaction and communication skills. Supervised, coached, and evaluated progress in all areas. Assisted with several key initiatives that drove productivity and revenue. Responsible for the launch of three new groups within the department and conducted all training.

•Received 2005 Presidential Performance Award by implementing processes that directly enhanced the customer experience by driving profitability within the organization.

•Developed robust training document to improve customer experience by empowering associates, resulting in $95K in savings.

•Responsible for the launch of three new groups within Home Delivery (Customer Service, Delivery Specialist and ROR operations). Conducted research of procedural knowledge of associates by creating multiple quizzes and facilitated focus groups to look for key areas of opportunity in the department.

•Developed STS document which implemented new tactics and increased save percentage by 83% over a three-month period.

•Accountable for writing and the implementation of new business procedures and curriculum. Conducted surveys and built reports for ROR Offline to improve business processes.

Escalation Specialist Manager (September 2001 - August 2004)

Managed the only escalation team in the 3rd Party network. Worked closely with business partners to ensure contractual obligations were met and fulfill high customer service standards. Responsible for the development of Escalation Specialists and was awarded for having the highest promotion rate in the center.

•Supervisor of 16-20 Escalations Specialists who resolved complex client situations for multi- million dollar clients.

•Hand selected to travel to our client’s headquarters to discuss the future of our business contract. As a result, we maintained our current business relations and ventured into new areas.

•Prepared persuasive presentation for Department Manager and Call Center Manager to create a new position to better support our business. This presentation resulted in the new role within 8-12 months.

TECHNICAL SKILLS

•MS Excel

•MS PowerPoint

•MS Word

•MS Outlook

•MS Project

REFERENCES

Available upon request

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