OREANDA-NEWS. Two SSE Airtricity Gas NI employees have reached the final of the prestigious UK National Contact Centre Awards 2014. The winners will be announced at an awards dinner on 15th May at the Grange Tower Bridge Hotel in London.

SSE Airtricity Gas NI's Christina Martindale and Madeline Saggers have both been shortlisted for awards. Christina has been put forward for UK Customer Service Manager of the Year and Madeline has been nominated in the category of UK Team Leader of the Year.

The UK National Contact Centre Awards have been running for almost 20 years, recognising individuals who help their call centres to provide outstanding service. The awards have an excellent reputation within the industry for their extremely high standards.

Finalists are decided through a rigorous judging process. First, nominees are assessed across several areas, including their current role and personal progression, performance, recruitment, training and development, communication and culture. Once shortlisted, the nominees are visited by judges at their workplace. During the visit, the judges tour the contact centre before interviewing the candidate and their co-workers. The judging panel is made up of people who work in the industry full time, so they know exactly what it takes to deliver exceptional customer service.

SSE Airtricity Gas NI Customer Service Manager, Christina said: “I'm honoured to be in the final, especially considering how comprehensive the judging was. We were nominated by our colleagues in Dublin and we were then lucky enough to be shortlisted. The next step was a 360-degree assessment where they interviewed our managers and our direct reports. After all that, I was delighted when we got the email telling us that we were through. To have two nominees in the final is a fantastic achievement for the call centre. I'm really looking forward to the ceremony now!”