Published: September 20, 2024
At Unity, our mission is to help create a better society. By providing exceptional service to our customers at every touchpoint, we can help them to deliver positive social impact for communities across the UK.
Our Unity Connect Contact Centre team provides expert, front-line banking support to all our customers. With our UK-based call centre, customers are guaranteed to always speak to a person when they contact us, and not an automated message.
Recently, customers even had the chance to speak to Unity’s CEO Colin Fyfe, as he swapped the head office for a headset and joined our customer service team for the day.
Working alongside staff in our on-site call centre, Colin answered calls and spoke directly to customers to gain first-hand experience of our customer service on the front line. This hands-on approach reflects Colin’s commitment to gain a true understanding of the day-to-day responsibilities of our front-line employees, and the valued customers they serve.
“At Unity, we have a strong commitment to our relationship-based banking model, our customer-driven proposition and to delivering a positive banking experience. Our call centre team plays a vital role in this, providing expert, personalised support to all our customers.
“As such, this was an important opportunity to stay connected with our front-line employees. We acknowledge their achievements as well as listen to their challenges. I gained many crucial insights from my time with the team. This direct experience will help inform future strategic decision-making – from operational improvements to employee support and staff development.
“By speaking directly to our customers, I also gained a deeper understanding of their unique queries and banking challenges. These are all expertly handled by the call centre team every day. It was very insightful to see in real-time the exceptional service our team delivers. It’s important to discuss how we can continue to do better – listening, learning and putting our customers first in every interaction.
“I’m incredibly proud of the level of personal service delivered by Unity, and believe this is what truly sets us apart – from our dedicated Relationship Managers to our UK-based call centre team – and my one-to-one conversations with customers reiterated the value of this. It’s so important for us to provide ongoing support and guidance to our customers, with a human touch, particularly for those in sectors with unique banking needs, or who are infrequent users of banking services.
“I joined Unity as CEO at the beginning of the year and to have a thorough understanding of where I can make a difference, I felt it was important to understand how staff at every level of the business operate. At Unity, we’re committed to fostering an excellent organisational culture, so we can best serve our staff and customers. I’ve no doubt that the lessons learnt from this experience will help us continue to do so.”
Customer Service Advisor, Jayne Smith, assisted Colin during his time in Connect Contact Centre. She said: “I’ve met Colin several times in the office so I already know he’s very approachable. But, his interaction with customers was amazing! He was totally unfazed and had a great rapport with every customer he spoke to. They’d never have guessed he was the CEO!
“Our team ensures we get the right outcome for customers on every call. It meant a lot to us that Colin got a real feel for what we do. Our department is called Connect and ‘connect’ really sums up our team. No-one is ever too busy to help a colleague with a customer query – be that about a multi pay card or a new account opening.
“I joined Unity in January and it’s the most supportive company I have ever worked for. It’s honest and ethical and we’re all treated as individuals and respected as much as our customers are.”
Emma Beveridge is the Connect Contact Centre Lead. She added: “What we say and do for customers, we also live and breathe for staff. Colin spending time in Connect was great for the team. There was a real buzz in the office when he was here.
“Also, it’s so important to hear first-hand the type of queries we receive. This reinforces the work Unity is already doing to constantly improve our customers’ experience with us.”
At Unity, we pride ourselves on delivering high levels of customer service. If you have a query or would like to get in touch, we’re happy to help you find the answers. For more information and to speak to us, visit our contact page.
