TEAM LEAD 2585

Job Description - 311 - Team Lead (2585)
311 - Team Lead
Job Number: 2585
Classification Title: Public Service Rep II
Open Date: Jan 7, 2009
Closing Date - 11:00 p.m. on: Jan 14, 2009
Union: CSU 52
Number of Openings (up to): 3 - Permanent and Temporary Positions Full-time
Department:311 (Corporate Services Department)

Work Location(s) Edmonton City Centre West, 10205-101 St (200), T5J 2Y8
Description:
This posting is for one (1) permanent and two (2) temporary positions for approximately 11 months.

311 is a new City service where citizens only have one number to contact for information and City services. Working under a supervisor, Team Leads will provide support and guidance to the agents through outstanding leadership, facilitation and organizational skills. Team Leads are responsible for coaching and developing agents to deliver exceptional customer service and information to City of Edmonton citizens. They will assist Supervisors in establishing and meeting performance measurements and target goals for continuous improvement through coaching, feedback and documentation of agent progress and performance.
Team Leads will also be assigned additional operational responsibilities which may include one or more of the following: staff scheduling, staff training, overseeing escalations, handling escalations, knowledge management and service levels. All Team Leads are responsible for staff retention.

Scheduling: Preparing the 311 work schedule, ensuring that there is enough coverage.
Responsibilities include:
Compiling and analyzing statistical data for forecasting and scheduling workload activity and resource requirements;
Vacation planning and coverage;
Developing and implementing schedules to meet demand.
Training - Researching, developing, and delivering training modules to 311 agents.
Responsibilities include:
Developing the in-house training programs and make recommendations on external training programs;
Delivering training programs, or bringing in a third party to deliver training;
Ensuring that agents are kept up to date on training and have training plans in place;
Ensuring that agents are trained on bringing in revenue for the City. i.e. if someone calls and has questions about booking a facility for a wedding, the agent needs to be able to sell what the City has to offer.
Agent/Citizen Support - Answering escalated calls, as well as training and mentoring 311 agents assigned to the escalation desk.
Service Level - Providing on-floor support assisting agents with calls.
Responsibilities include:
Overseeing day to day call volumes;
Assisting agents with difficult calls/questions if they are unable to answer or satisfy the customer;
Dealing with numerous issues, demanding customers and short deadlines throughout the day;
Compiling reports for service level results;
Projecting volume levels and interacting with the scheduler in order to meet targets;
Supporting service delivery to achieve a high standard of accuracy, efficiency, effectiveness, and customer service.
Knowledge Management:
Ensuring that the scripting of the knowledge network is current and detailed in the system;
Reviewing what types of calls are being received by agents and identifying if certain forms or other types of information can be put up on the web so that citizens can access more web self-service options;
Ensuring that any communication going out to agents is delivered in an appropriate manner;
Responsible for all pre-work communication, meeting topics, content, maintenance and delivery.
Qualifications:
Completion of grade 12 or completion or an appropriate certificate program from an approved business school/college; Post-secondary education is an asset.
A minimum of five (5) years experience working in a call centre environment; including two years at the team lead level.
Call centre training and supervisory coursework.
Previous experience successfully leading call centre teams within a customer focused environment; Ability to develop a team in terms of professionalism and efficiency.
Previous experience providing performance appraisals.
Problem solving skills.
Ability and willingness to be trained for new skills and abilities.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office and experience with scheduling.
Proven ability to work under pressure in a fast paced environment.
Excellent communication (verbal and written) and interpersonal skills.
Ability to build relationships with direct reports, supervisors, and co-workers.
Equivalent combinations of education and experience will be considered.
Applicants will be tested
Note: A security clearance is a condition of employment. The successful candidate will be required to obtain a Security Clearance letter from the Edmonton Police Department.

Hours Of Work: 40 hours per week, Sunday - Saturday. 311 is a 24/7, 365 day operation therefore shift-work is required. Shifts are determined by call arrival trends with the bulk of all activity occurring between 8am and 8pm Monday through Friday. Overnight shifts (ie. 10pm to 6am) will require 2-4 staff on site. Similarly, weekend staffing will be much lighter than the Monday to Friday requirements.

Salary Range: 21B, Salary Grade: 015, $20.592 - $25.795 (Hourly), $1,647.33 - $2,063.58 (Bi-Weekly), $42,995.31 - $53,859.44 (Annually). The rates quoted are in accordance with a collective agreement between the Union and the City of Edmonton. This Union contract is currently under negotiation.

General: Civic Service Union 52 members are requested to send a copy of their application for this competition to the union office. The City of Edmonton thanks all applicants for their interest in this employment opportunity; however, only those candidates considered for the position will be contacted.

Human Resources Consultant: AA/MB

USA COLLEGES

On a tight budget? Apply to Harvard
‘Best Value Colleges’ report shows that top schools aren’t just for the rich
By Laura T. Coffey
TODAYShow.com contributor
updated 7:50 a.m. MT, Thurs., Jan. 8, 2009
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Those fancy-pants Ivy League colleges have gotten to be so expensive that only the wealthiest families can possibly afford them, especially during bleak economic times like these. Right?
Not necessarily.
A new report called “Best Value Colleges for 2009,” issued Thursday by The Princeton Review and USA TODAY, spotlights 50 public and 50 private colleges and universities that do an exceptional job of helping qualifying students to pay for their higher education.
This year, the University of Virginia in Charlottesville was named the No. 1 “Best Value Public College,” and Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pa., ranked as the No. 1 “Best Value Private College.” Both schools consistently meet 100 percent of the demonstrated financial need of their students — a trait shared by a number of schools featured in this year’s report.
The report’s authors stress that even in this dark economic climate, oodles of free financial aid can be snatched up by college-bound students and parents who know how to play the game and ask the right questions. They’re not talking about student loans that can saddle students with crushing debt loads for years to come; they’re talking about scholarships and grants that never have to be repaid.
“Don’t make the tragic mistake of crossing a school off your list because you’re intimidated by its sticker price,” said Rob Franek, vice president and publisher of the Princeton Review, an education company that helps students prepare for standardized tests such as the SAT.
“The best advice for a family that might be humbled by this process is to equip yourself with as much information as possible,” he added.
Counting the costsFranek highlighted a few examples from the report to show that those scary-looking sticker prices aren’t always as bad as they seem:
A single year of college at Harvard can appear to be out of reach for most families. The cost for tuition, room and board is $47,100, Franek said. “But here’s the interesting thing,” he said. “The average grant aid package at Harvard is $35,000. So that really cuts the price tag down.”
Likewise, a single year of tuition, room and board at Princeton costs $45,600. “But the average grant aid — that’s free money that you don’t have to pay back — is $31,600 a year,” Franek said. “At Princeton, they want to make sure that they remove finances from the equation. They’ll back you … so that they meet 100 percent of your need.”
To cite the report’s top-ranked public university as an example: The price tag for a year of tuition, room and board at the University of Virginia is $16,300 for Virginia residents. The average grant package for incoming freshmen is also $16,300. “They’ll meet 100 percent of your needs once you’re admitted, whether you’re in state or out of state. It’s amazing,” Franek said. “They will aggressively give you grants, scholarships and other non-loan options.”
Franek said too many parents and high school juniors and seniors have no idea that the top schools with the most recognizable names can actually be within reach for good students. As a consequence, they never even attempt to apply.
“When we asked parents and students to name their No. 1 fear about college, their fear was that they’d get into their school of choice but wouldn’t be able to pay for it,” Franek said.
Defining ‘value’As they researched schools for their “Best Value” lists, the authors of the report didn’t focus solely on price. They surveyed administrators and students at more than 650 public and private colleges and universities and considered a variety of criteria, including the quality of each school’s academics, the costs of attendance and the amount of financial aid available.
“We interviewed students on every campus and asked them, ‘Were your professors engaging? Did they encourage discussion in the classroom? Were they accessible after class?’ ” Franek said. “We also asked students if they were satisfied with their financial aid packages.”
In the final analysis, “Best Value Colleges for 2009” provides descriptions of each school along with hard numbers that parents and high school students can ruminate over together. Those numbers include the cost of attending each school, the average grant packages made available to students and the average indebtedness of graduates of each school.
“Value means not just that it’s cheap,” Franek said. “It means that it has an excellent academic environment, that the teachers are amazing, that students are engaged academically … That, in my mind, defines value.”
To see the entire “Best Value Colleges for 2009” report and access a database that provides in-depth details about each school, visit this USA TODAY site.
To learn how to fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in the first few months of 2009, click here, here and here.
© 2009 MSNBC Interactive. Reprints

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Top 10 Best Value Public Colleges
The Princeton Review's top 10 "Best Value Public Colleges for 2009" are:
1. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.
2. New College of Florida, Sarasota, Fla.
3. College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Va.
4. State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, N.Y.
5. Florida State University, Tallahassee, Fla.
6. North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C.
7. University of California – San Diego
8. City University of New York – Hunter College, New York City
9. University of Georgia, Athens, Ga.
10. The College of New Jersey, Ewing, N.J.

getCSS("3315076")
Top 10 Best Value Public Colleges
The Princeton Review's top 10 "Best Value Public Colleges for 2009" are:
1. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.
2. New College of Florida, Sarasota, Fla.
3. College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Va.
4. State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, N.Y.
5. Florida State University, Tallahassee, Fla.
6. North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C.
7. University of California – San Diego
8. City University of New York – Hunter College, New York City
9. University of Georgia, Athens, Ga.
10. The College of New Jersey, Ewing, N.J