1. New Charters
ConnectionsWEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015Pick up your FREE copy now www.newcharter.co.uk
Great Homes, Great Neighbourhood, Great People
Awards
Edition
Chris Bennett
@NewCharterGroup
Julie Heywood, call
centre manager for
New Charter’s Connect
has made a big impact
since her appointment in
February 2014.
As a highly successful,
very experienced cus-
Call centre manager makes big
waves in first year in post
Julie’s Key
Acheivements
•Awarded 'significantly high'
performance within first year
of employment at New
Charter
•Improved Connect staff
satisfaction -100% feel Con-
nect is great place to work
and87%ofteamfairlyorvery
happywiththeirjob
•Completed Insights Discov-
ery Accreditation training on
behalf of New Charter to
complete profiling and 360
feedbackreports
tomer services and com-
munity involvement man-
ager, Julie has brought
some big ideas to the
team. From her back-
ground in training and de-
velopment as well as
performance manage-
ment, Julie has trans-
formed the team, aligning
them to fit better with the
business need which has
ultimately led to a higher
call rate.
Holding various contact
centre roles in well-
known companies such
as Morrisons, the NHS
and Bolton Council, Julie
brought a wealth of expe-
rience and knowledge to
New Charter, encourag-
ing them to broaden their
scope and take on new
services.
Julie has proven to be a
valuable asset to the
team and the organisa-
tion in the short time she
has been in position.
SEE PAGE 3
Connect Centre
Manager adds more
strings to her bow
SEE PAGE 4
Connect: Call Centre
Staff Special - Life in
Pictures

2. Great Homes, Great Neighbourhood, Great People
@NewCharterGroup
New Charter’s call
centre, Connect has
seen a significant in-
crease in performance
figures over the past
twelve months, which has
ultimately lead to better
customer service offered.
This increase is due in
part to changes in the set-
up of the team which is
now better aligned to
New Charter’s business
needs to fit with the types
of calls received. This has
seen the call rate in-
crease by 21.5% over the
past 12 months.
Call centre figures speak volumes
when it comes to performance
Chris Bennett The team have also
been working on the
call answer rate and is
currently performing
above their target of
93%, with further im-
provements coming by
increasing availability
within the team by
10%.
Julie Heywood, centre
manager has been the
driving force behind
these changes, confirm-
ing her commitment to
performance. Her re-
sults driven working
ethos has come to the
fore and the results are
proof of the pudding.
Pictured: Julie Heywood
2 WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

3. 3WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015
Great Homes, Great Neighbourhood, Great People
@NewCharterGroup
Knowing there is always
room for improvement;
JulieHeywoodismorethan
a contact centre manager.
Alwaysstrivingforpersonal
development, Julie goes
above and beyond her role
both inside and outside the
organisation.
Having completed an
Insights Discovery course,
Julie is now a fully qualified
insights discovery client
practitioner meaning she
shares key message to
create a real change with
theworkforcethroughteam
sessions and 1-2-1s.
More recently, Julie also
became a community
governoratStJamesHurst
Knoll primary school in
Ashton-under-Lyne, allow-
ing her to get into the heart
of the communities she
providesservicesto.Thisin
Connect Centre Manager adds
more strings to her bow
Tanya Edwards
turn has given her great
insightstobringbacktothe
team to provide better
customer service.
When it comes to helping
customers, Julie knows no
boundaries.Juliesupported
New Charter’s European
SocialFundprogrammeby
offering these customers
work experience place-
ments. By doing this Julie
provided the first step to
allow these customers to
get into the job market;
something which they may
have been struggling with.
Thisexperienceisinvalu-
abletothemasitincreases
their chances of gaining
sustainable employment.
Pictured: Team Leader John O’Neill with customers
Staff are shining stars in New Charter’s contact centre
Understandingtheneed
for personal and pro-
fessional growth is one of
Julie Heywood’s strong
pointsandthisisnoexcep-
tion when it comes to her
team.
Itstartsattherecruitment
stage, where Julie has de-
visedacentrededicatedto
finding the right team
members that de-mon-
strate a thirst for excep-
tional customer service.
The four stage recruitment
assessment centre also
provides an opportunity for
team leaders to step up to
the plate and develop their
own skills in areas such as
team work, leadership, re-
flection and compromise.
And the development
doesn’t stop there. Julie is
committed to allowing her
teamtoflourish.Numerous
members have gained
professional qualifications
such as NVQs; something
whichJuliehasactivelyen-
couraged.
Julie has also fully sup-
ported the talent manage-
ment of her team leaders
who are the next aspiring
managers.
He comments,
‘Julie is very honest
in her feedback and
as a consequence I
have been selected
for the Group’s
Talent Management
Programme. Julie
always supports any
time out required
and has ensured I
receive any support
that is needed.

4. Great Homes, Great Neighbourhood, Great People
@NewCharterGroup
Call centre rates soar for internal
satisfaction rates
Paula Thomas
Connect, New Charter’s
in-house call centre
hasprovedtobeahugehit
amongst internal cus-
tomers, according to a re-
cent satisfaction survey.
Over 73% of the internal
customers rated Connect
as ‘Excellent’ or ‘Very
Good’ in the first of its kind
surveytotakeplaceacross
the New Charter Group.
The aim of the survey
was to gain valuable
feedback in order to fur-
ther improve services
and raise the profile of the
Connect team amongst
the wider business,
showing how the team
are at the centre of the or-
ganisation.
Julie Heywood, Connect
Centre Manager was the
brainsbehindthesurveyand
wantedtodelveintohowthe
organisation viewed her
team in order to make valu-
able changes.Julie was
aware there was room for
improvement so felt that by
conducting a survey she
couldgettotheheartofwhat
wasneededfromabusiness
perspective.
Feedback from the sur-
vey has been extremely
positive including com-
ments such as, ‘All staff in
Connect are positive and
are always seeking to im-
prove the services they
provide’ and ‘Superb head
of service who is prepared
to see the bigger picture of
the organisation and has
made vast improvements
in working relationships
since joining.’
On the phones
Picture Above: Staff having fun on a team day
Above: Julie Heywood (left) takes part in team
selfie on fun day
Here’sabrieflookatwhat
life is like for Julie Hey-
woodandherteaminthe
Connect Call Centre.
Julie always makes sure
she joins in the fun with
her team, being a very
hands-on manager.
Connect: Call Centre Staff Special - Life in Pictures
4 WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

5. 5WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015
Great Homes, Great Neighbourhood, Great People
@NewCharterGroup
It’s all about building
new ‘Connect’-tions
Emma Birchall
The Connect team at
New Charter recently
integrated a number of
new services, raising the
profile of the team to
demonstrate how instru-
mental they are in provid-
ing valuable services.
As well as being the first
point of contact for cus-
tomers,Connect are now
well equippedfor collect-
ing revenue payments,
as well as offering guid-
ance and advice to cus-
tomers.
More recently the team
have also become the
main point of contact for
Gedling, a housing asso-
ciation based in Notting-
ham, and Threshold, a
housing advice and sup-
port charity. Both of these
now form part of the New
Charter Group.
These transitions have
taken place whilst Julie
has headed up the team,
with both proving to be a
huge success. Julie has
played a pivotal role along
with her team leaders to
make sure the move has
been as smooth as possi-
ble for both customers
and team members.

6. @NewCharterGroup
Connect team members pay
tribute to their inspirational
leader through poetry
Kelly Whittam
Proving she’s a cut
above the rest, Julie
Heywood, Connect Cen-
tre Manager has sparked
creativity in her team
through her leadership
style, so much so they
have put pen to paper
and written her a poem.
The poem brings to life
Julie’s infectious person-
ality and drive to offer the
best customer service
possible. It clearly
demonstrates how well
Julie is thought of by her
team as well as showing
just how ambitious Julie
is.
When asked to com-
ment, Jean Phillips, Con-
nect Advisor said ‘Julie is
approachableandsupport-
ive to all her team mem-
bers. She has a great
sense of fun and encour-
ages us to celebrate spe-
cial occasions such as
birthdays and occasional
themed days, which are a
welcome relief from the
daily routine. We had a
team day to London for all
of Connect, which Julie
organised along with the
Team Leaders. Recently
she attended our team
meeting for a discussion
where we were invited to
offer our opinions of any
changes to the depart-
ment, which shows she
will be including our
thoughts & ideas in future
plans.’
Pictured above: Julie Heywood
6 WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015
Great Homes, Great Neighbourhood, Great People

7. 7WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015
Great Homes, Great Neighbourhood, Great People
Inspirational leader poem
Here is a copy of the full poem:
Julie arrived over a year ago
With many strings to her bow
Coaching, leading, a driving force
She saw our vision on a different course
Quality, results, stats and staffing
Performance is key but we are still laughing
She strikes a balance between performance and fun
KPI’s have improved by a tonne
Julie’s got it all in hand
From Team Leaders to the awards stand
Behind the scenes with the IT Team
She’s made calls function like a dream
She talks, she listens, supports and cares
Apprentices, Directors, her knowledge she shares
A mentor, a friend, with an open door
A GREAT person, we all adore
Julie works within the rules
Protecting the Business and giving us tools
From data protection and compliance
“Be customer focused, it’s not a science”
Julie wanted to raise the bar
Her vision: recruits to jump this far
An assessment centre she devised
Success of which, was no surprise.
Culture changing, all down to her,
Themed days, sing a longs, she does not deter
Always positive, fair and fun
Our Connect journey has just begun
The reason for this nomination
Is to free us all from our frustration
For details, facts and things to know
Just ask Julie and watch her glow

8. @NewCharterGroup
Engagementdrives
improvementsat
NewCharter
Katy Davison
The call centre at New
Charter housing asso-
ciation is a hub of activity
fulloflaughter.Itisacentre
where performance is key
butdoesn’tlosesightofthe
factthatworkingisalsofun.
This is at the heart of the
call centre, being driven to
the fore by manager Julie
Heywood. Julie under-
stands that employee en-
gagement is pivotal to
having a happy workforce.
Where ever possible, Julie
encourages staff to come
up with ideas to better im-
provetheteamandmakes
sure these ideas are seen
through to fruition. Be-
cause of this her staff be-
lieve in her and look up to
her position.
Giving people responsi-
bility when they show
potentialissomethingJulie
actively encourages. Re-
cently, the introduction of
champion roles has given
team members the oppor-
tunity to specialise and
diversify in their roles.
When it comes to tar-
gets, Julie knows that
these must be realistic in
order to keep the team
on-board and achieving
their KPIs. After discus-
sion and coaching ses-
sions staff were set
individual objectives to
improve their call avail-
ability on the telephones.
All staff were set a target
to improve by 10%. Three
months in overall staff
have already improved
their Unavailability Rates
from 50.98% (October –
December 2014) to
40.86% (April – June
2015) = 10.12% improve-
ment.
8WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015
Great Homes, Great Neighbourhood, Great People
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