November 17, 2004 - Manitoba’s vibrant and growing contact centre industry celebrated its stars at a gala banquet November 17th, and more than 600 attendees turned out for the occasion, representing more than 50 Manitoba Contact Centre Association members.

A healthy crowd of 30 CUETS employees attended the event, eagerly awaiting the announcement of the winners in the four award categories of employee satisfaction, community support, work environment and training and performance management.

When all the festivities were over, including an inspiring performance from a local aboriginal dance troupe, CUETS had been selected the outstanding contact centre in the categories of Community Support and Training and Performance Management, and earned extra recognition for its work with the United Way of Winnipeg and for being named to the 2004 list of Top 100 Employers in Canada. It is the first year of recognition in the Community Support category and CUETS’ second award in a row for Training and Performance Management.

Two employees, Anna Sabramowicz and Maxine Robert, were singled out for outstanding individual performance and acknowledged with People Awards, the highest individual honour in the industry.

Shawn Flaman, CUETS Learning Services Leader, proudly accepted the award for Training and Performance Management, and applauded the contact centre management team and employees for their steadfast commitment to learning and development, even when faced with numerous other priorities. “I’ve always believed that significant investments in employee learning are a major contributor to a company’s long term success and I’m pleased to say that throughout CUETS, there is outstanding support and commitment to ongoing employee development.”

CUETS’ transition from new contact centre to industry prominence was not lost on Bob Lane, CUETS Vice President of Human Resources and a guest at the MECCA awards just prior to CUETS proudly opening its Winnipeg centre four years ago. “Back then, CUETS was a newcomer to both the Contact Centre Association and the province, and attendees at the event could be heard puzzling over the CUETS name, with most eventually deducing a connection to Canada’s credit union system. Times have changed, and CUETS is now among the most active and recognized contact centres in the association, which is quite a testament to the contact centre management team and all CUETS Winnipeg-based employees.”