Kelly Customer Service Expert Agent for Working Solutions
Not everyone is cut out to work in an at-home contact center. It takes self-discipline and the ability to shut the whole world out. But for those who can make it work, it’s the perfect job. And, in Kelly’s mind, she found it.
A 15-year Working Solutions veteran, Kelly has certainly paid her dues. She began her career in a Columbus, Ohio hotel reservations center. While there, she met her husband-to-be, a freight-shipping professional. With the sponsorship of her company, Kelly went to a local, private college and got her degree in business operations.
From there, Kelly went on to work in corporate training for 20 years. Since moving to Working Solutions, she has worked on 10 client programs, including an office-supply company, a sporting goods retailer and a travel firm.
Why did Kelly land at Working Solutions? “My employer was taken over, and three unconventional contact center companies tried to recruit us.
“Two took a standard approach, treating us like employees. The third, which turned out to be Working Solutions, treated us as office-supply experts they wanted to hire. And that company’s recruiter happened to be its founder, Kim Houlne. There was no competition.”
And this is the reason Kelly loves Working Solutions. As an independent contractor, the firm treats her like she is a small business owner.
Right now, Kelly works on an account that provides resources to support the elderly and their families. “I love serving these people. I’ve found I need these people as much as they need me. My job is to not only provide the agent community with support but also to provide comfort and empathy on escalated family calls. And that’s not an easy assignment during this COVID-19 pandemic.”
Listening to Kelly, you get the idea that she works nonstop. She said this isn’t the case, however. “It is important to be able to shut yourself off,” she explained. “I need to shut down every night and put my work away. That’s probably the key to my patience and effectiveness.”
Kelly uses her free time well. Several years ago, after moving to Texas, Kelly’s husband became a pastor, and Kelly and their two children got to travel with him on missionary trips to places such as Peru, Africa, France and Cuba.
“We loved this travel and gained an appreciation for cultures around the world,” she remarked. She added that she and her husband continue to stay in touch with many of the pastors they met over the years.
So what is the perfect job? For Kelly, it is being an agent at Working Solutions. It gives her the ability to run her own business, the flexibility to balance work and family and a sense of empathy to approach work and life.
