Tom Cooper Scoops Scotland’s Unsung Hero Award

GLASGOW -

- Call Centre Hero Awards Honours Bellshill Man

As part of the UK Call Centre Week celebrations, Kwik Fit Insurance employee Tom Cooper, from Bellshill, has been named Scotland’s Unsung Hero at the inaugural 2009 Call Centre Hero Awards in London.

This special award recognises an employee who has made an outstanding contribution that is rarely recognised but is essential to making the workplace a happy place to be.

Tom, 65, has worked at Uddingston based Kwik Fit Insurance for 13 years as a Facilities Assistant where he oversees the smooth running of the entire site which includes the nursery, training academy, staff restaurant and main sales floor which houses more than 950 staff.

Tom is on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year managing the massive Kwik Fit Insurance operation. This year, however, will be his final year of full time employment before cutting back his hours as he moves towards a well deserved retirement.

Although Tom’s main responsibilities include managing security and general maintenance of the buildings and facilities, his willingness to go that extra mile for his colleagues was one of the main reasons he was nominated by Facilities Manager, Julie Paul.

Amongst his extra curricular activities, Tom is an integral part of an initiative designed to enable young people with learning difficulties to work in mainstream employment through mentoring and supervision of training.

Julie said: “Tom regularly multi-tasks and goes that extra mile for staff here at Kwik Fit Insurance, carrying out tasks that make all our lives a little easier. He regularly mends minor repairs to our fleet of 300 cars, which saves the company time and money on breakdown and maintenance costs. He is also an active volunteer of our Charities Committee helping to raise tens of thousands of pounds every year for some great causes in our community.”

Julie added: “Tom visits our affiliated local charities through the Youth Fellowship where he has been a leader for 25 years, including the National Children’s Hospice, Tak Tent Cancer Support, Redburn Primary and Stanmore House. He even shaved off his moustache, a permanent feature for over 40 years, raising more than GBP500 for charity!”

Tom said: “It’s a fantastic honour to win the Unsung Hero Award. My time at Kwik Fit Insurance has been extremely enjoyable and the varied nature of my role is one of the main reasons behind this. It’s great to have been nominated by my peers and is testament to the positive morale amongst staff.”

After announcing Tom as the winner, Jon Snow, the founder of the Call Centre Hero Awards and chair of the judging panel, said: “The Unsung Hero Award was hotly contested with 48 organisations from across the UK making 136 nominations across 5 award categories. We received many excellent nominations and the judging panel had some very tough decisions to make.

“Tom should be congratulated on his achievement. He has shown to be a committed, outstanding role model for his peers at Kwik Fit Insurance.”

Kwik Fit Financial Services Group Managing Director, Brendan Devine, added: “Tom’s loyalty to KFI is unquestionable and the impact he has had on our business, both in terms of morale and its day-to-day operation, is second to none.

“His ‘can do’ attitude and good nature make our centre a better place to work and he deserves to be recognised for the dedication and enthusiasm he brings to his role. Tom is soon to move to part time hours as he begins to enjoy his retirement and KFI will be a quieter place without him. We believe this award will provide a fitting highlight to Tom’s career with the company.”

Issued by The BIG Partnership on behalf of Kwik Fit Insurance.

Note To Editors

Kwik Fit Financial Services was launched in 1995 and has grown to become one of the UK’s leading car insurance (www.kwik-fitinsurance.com) distributors, as well as a major presence in home insurance (www.kwik-fitinsurance.com/home/home-insurance.html) and other insurance markets.

The company’s award-winning call centre in Uddingston, Lanarkshire, now employs almost 1000 people, and was named top insurer (17th overall) in the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For 2009.

Since its launch in 1995, Kwik Fit Financial Services has grown and developed into one of Scotland’s most dynamic contact centres.

Kwik Fit Financial Services is part of the Kwik Fit Group owned by private equity firm PAI Partners.

The philosophy of the business is to provide the best possible service to customers.

About

The Call Centre Hero Awards (CCHA) are organised by the Call Centre Clinic (the main trading brand of OneWeek Media Limited). The CCHA are the only national awards initiative for the UK call centre industry. The founding aim of the CCHA is to recognise and celebrate the careers and achievements of the frontline staff in call centre organisations. Entry to the CCHA will always be free and is open to all centres over 20 seats. All centres are treated equally, regardless of size or brand prominence.

For further information, please contact Michelle Holton or Charles Cameron at The BIG Partnership on +141-333-9585 Kwik-Fit Insurance 1 Masterton Way Tannochside Business Park Uddingston Glasgow Scotland G71 5PU +1698-786369

Source: Kwik Fit Insurance

For further information, please contact Michelle Holton or Charles Cameron at The BIG Partnership on +141-333-9585; Kwik-Fit Insurance, 1 Masterton Way, Tannochside Business Park, Uddingston, Glasgow, Scotland, G71 5PU, +1698-786369, Email: gordon.ross at kfis.co.uk