Working for Spark - Customer support / Contact Centre

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6434 posts

Uber Geek

#1658650 26-Oct-2016 23:02

An org the size of spark would be recruiting for customer care people approx 100% of the time.
Turnover is high enough in those sorts of roles that they would pretty much always need more people.

So most likely they have the same ads that simply get their dates refreshed, updated and reloaded to seek etc so yeah. Probably just a typo. Most likely the starting date should be 25th November and wasn't updated from the previous months ad or something

(It's actually good to at least have dates on an ad. I see so many job ads with no closing date so you have no idea when you need to apply by)

jaidevp

331 posts

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Spark NZ

#1658655 26-Oct-2016 23:22

I've been at Spark for over 10 years now and I can say I have enjoyed every bit of it, there has been some up's and down's but as Neil has pointed out Spark are a great employer. They offer good benefits to staff and ensure we are well looked after, there are also plenty of career development opportunities.

I wasn't in a contact centre however my previous role was an operations one where my team provided support to the contact centres in mobile, back then (4 years ago now) my view was that the contact centres had good induction and training regimes for the amount of turnaround you see in the area, but you get out of it what you put in, so be prepared to upskill yourself to perform better for your role. I used to take it upon myself to regularly ensure I visit the 2nd tier teams and provide training on the new network, products or services that were coming out.

It has been such a turn around from when I started (Telecom), and I am pleased to see us offer customers some great value on our products/services and yet remain competitive in the current Telco market. So I'd say go for it!

goodfox

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1658658 26-Oct-2016 23:28

Thanks for your response jaidevp. Career progression would be my main aim, at the moment just need a foot back in the door.

I come from a background of being a 2ic in Provisioning team in a previous Telco, so have a fair bit of management skills to back up my CV as well as previous customer care / technical support.

MikeAqua

7785 posts

Uber Geek

#1658709 27-Oct-2016 08:35

When I'm waiting on hold or for a call back I always picture a bunch of people playing indoor cricket while many calls go unanswered.

Mike

Wheelbarrow01

1726 posts

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Chorus

#1658714 27-Oct-2016 08:41

dejadeadnz:

It's good to see that Spark's lack of professionalism extends to their recruitment practices. This ad was placed on the 14th of this month and the indicative start date is the 25th (yesterday). Now bear in mind that we had Labour Weekend and that 14th was a Friday. This means that even if Spark started shortlisting candidates on the Tuesday (18th) and giving interested candidates less than two working days to apply (which would hardly be ideal HR practice) and assuming that all interested candidates could attend a Wednesday interview and verbal offers made on Wednesday, I would still be highly suspicious that Spark had sufficient time to run MoJ checks for the successful candidates.

This is because even if services like CVCheck were used (and they pay to get MoJ checks done through them prioritised), results are typically not available for at least two to three working days. So one would hope that during the course of initial training (if the successful candidates did start on the 25th), these people had no access whatsoever to customer's private information or the opportunity to view their colleagues' or trainers' screens and exposing customers to the risks of identity theft or stolen information by people who were likely not yet properly vetted.

And even if you don't care about all this, what about candidates' right to have sufficient time to consider whether to accept employment and/or take advice on the terms offered? This is something that any semi-responsible entity will respect. And on such tight timeframes, you are reducing your candidate pool to the currently unemployed or desperate. That's hardly conducive to excellence in customer service.

Anyone at any reputable, publically listed entity (Spark perhaps excluded) engaging in such recruitment practices would be acting in blatant breach of company policy and should be looking at a disciplinary hearing. In places that I have worked in (I have been in senior risk/commercial management roles), the likely outcome is Group Risk getting very angry in conjunction with a senior HR manager and the person involved is staring down a final warning or even dismissal. The risk to the company and, more importantly, its customers is intolerable.

While your ranting skills are somewhat commendable, I note that Hudson was advertising this role as far back as 27 September (and possibly earlier), so your comments don't really have any merit. I count at least 4 adverts for this role currently listed by Hudson on Seek, with various dates of publication.

Many advertisers on Seek re-issue their advertisements to draw in more people who may have missed the first advert, especially if jobseekers are searching for jobs by 'latest listings' which I believe is the default.

The views expressed by me are not necessarily those of my employer Chorus NZ Ltd

Linkzor

45 posts

Geek

#1659104 27-Oct-2016 15:44

I've worked for Spark/Telecom for just over 6 years and they have been a fantastic employer towards me. During the February 2011 quake my manager personally went out of her way and provided support and care well beyond what I would have expected anyone else to and for that I am always eternally grateful.

Career progression here is excellent. Managers generally prefer to hire internally before looking external. Many of them are willing to give you a chance if you show the right positive attitude despite what you may lack in terms of experience or certifications.

PS - these are my personal views, not necessarily the views of my employer.

GregF

52 posts

Master Geek

#1659109 27-Oct-2016 15:56

MikeAqua:

When I'm waiting on hold or for a call back I always picture a bunch of people playing indoor cricket while many calls go unanswered.

I first started working for Telecom 20yrs ago on the 018 Directory phones at night. (It was a great job as a Uni student).

I remember doing just this - we'd hook all the headset extensions together, to make a mega-long headset cord. We could then play Cricket (plastic bat / soft ball / rubbish bin wickets etc).

When a call came in, it would auto answer, so we'd be calling out 'Welcome to 018, how can I help' while furiously running back to desk to search the database.

Clipping a desk and dead-legging yourself always caused my fellow team mates much amusement in the small hours.

@ goodfox - Skipping forward 20 years, I've been upskilled, trained, supported - they're an incredibly supportive group to work for.

I now run all the inbound traffic into Sparks contact centers, and build/maintain those lovely IVRs and agent routing - a very varied and challenging job, with a great team.

If you get into Spark, especially in Auckland, the opportunities are endless. Good luck!

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

dejadeadnz

2394 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1659242 27-Oct-2016 19:21

Wheelbarrow01:

While your ranting skills are somewhat commendable, I note that Hudson was advertising this role as far back as 27 September (and possibly earlier), so your comments don't really have any merit. I count at least 4 adverts for this role currently listed by Hudson on Seek, with various dates of publication.

Many advertisers on Seek re-issue their advertisements to draw in more people who may have missed the first advert, especially if jobseekers are searching for jobs by 'latest listings' which I believe is the default.

No kidding re: re-use of adverts. Everybody knows this. My point is what the supposed mistake (if it was a mistake) advertises to candidates who have a basic understanding of company's legal obligations and good risk management practice.

Spark's management of its external providers and the third party's professionalism are both highly questionable when their external provider is allowed to recycle ads without doing basic proofreading/re-checking. For many days on end, apparently no one at Spark nor Hudson gave a damn that Spark was looking completely silly as a result of numerous typos/grammatical errors in the ad, in addition to the dating error. But what do I know compared to your expertise, especially when I have actually worked in risk management to do with poor HR and recruitment behaviours.

The at times startling levels of defensiveness by telco staff when their companies' poor standards are pointed out is rather unfortunate, to put things mildly.

jeffnz

2870 posts

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Lifetime subscriber

#1659249 27-Oct-2016 19:43

I believe the OP was asking what it was like to work there, some seem to think its a good opportunity to take a poke at them. Be good if we could stay on topic

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alasta

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#1659256 27-Oct-2016 19:56

I went to a job interview there a few weeks ago for a senior capital planning role. It didn't progress because I was offered something else that suited me better, but Spark certainly came across well throughout the interview process.

hio77

12999 posts

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Lizard Networks

#1659257 27-Oct-2016 20:07

jeffnz:

I believe the OP was asking what it was like to work there, some seem to think its a good opportunity to take a poke at them. Be good if we could stay on topic

exactly this, originally i followed the thread for much the same reasons as the OP..

As for spark as a company.. last time i was there it was for something within Digital ventures so not exactly spark themselves however, the people there a great.

In terms of the impressions and general feel of the place, Spark are among my favorite experiences.

#include <std_disclaimer>

Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

johny99

495 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#1659259 27-Oct-2016 20:31

GregF that is awesome. How many calls did you get per night if you can remember.

quickymart

13977 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#1659291 27-Oct-2016 21:40

I remember being at Paging back in 1996, taking 1000 calls a day! I doubt it would be anywhere near that now. Text messaging (for the most part) killed that off rather quickly.

GregF

52 posts

Master Geek

#1659488 28-Oct-2016 09:34

018 in 1995 was cranking around 60k per day - it was when it was free. Day time reps were running ~1000 calls / day - nice simple requests. I found I'd be way under that doing nights - the callers were often on a bit of a hunt, and needed more time.

I did a lot of 4:30pm to Midnight, or midnight to 7am shifts. I was way down in the 400-600 range, less on the Midnight shift.

We also ran 111, that was interesting times at night.

It was good money for a student - almost a double win, as it kept me out of the pub spending it!

Wheelbarrow01

1726 posts

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Chorus

#1659494 28-Oct-2016 09:41

dejadeadnz:

Wheelbarrow01:

While your ranting skills are somewhat commendable, I note that Hudson was advertising this role as far back as 27 September (and possibly earlier), so your comments don't really have any merit. I count at least 4 adverts for this role currently listed by Hudson on Seek, with various dates of publication.

Many advertisers on Seek re-issue their advertisements to draw in more people who may have missed the first advert, especially if jobseekers are searching for jobs by 'latest listings' which I believe is the default.

The at times startling levels of defensiveness by telco staff when their companies' poor standards are pointed out is rather unfortunate, to put things mildly.

I wish to offer my most sincere apologies for startling you.

FWIW, I returned from overseas in 2008 and took a job at Spark's call centre "just until I find something better". Although not in the call centre anymore, I am still with Spark 8 years later and, startlingly, I still enjoy it every day.

The views expressed by me are not necessarily those of my employer Chorus NZ Ltd

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