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1) Proven Leadership: “We will find a way, or make
one.”
Chris is
a natural leader, in and out of the workplace. Throughout his career in the Medica call
center, he has shown a remarkable ability go beyond the normal expectations
of his position. As documented in
attachments #1-3:
- (1) Chris goes to bat for pregnant women. Despite vaguely-worded benefit
descriptions, and an initial rebuff, he insisted upon additional
research for pregnancy home-bound care.
Chris’ relentless “do it right” attitude saves a member hundreds
of dollars.
- (2) Chris
saves Medica from a small group PR disaster. A provider network issue leaves a
company owner doubtful of Medica’s commitment to excellence. Despite the provider ultimately being
out-of-network, Chris pleads valiantly on the group’s behalf,
successfully winning a benefit exception. The group’s broker confides in Chris
that he has “probably stopped the group from seeking insurance
elsewhere.”
- (3) Chris
fights for the rights of expectant fathers. In an unprecedented display of
selflessness, Chris exposes a loophole in Medica policy that unknowingly
punishes newly-hired expectant fathers.
As a direct result of his passionate arguments, Medica HR makes
sweeping changes, adding companywide protections to the male staff.
Outside Medica
Chris
launched his small business, the chrisMiller
band, in early 2004. By sheer
willpower and tenacious business know-how, he created a fully-solvent,
profitable business from the ground up.
CMB currently grosses upwards of $7,000 a month in total revenues, a
number which is projected to swell to $10,000 in the coming quarter:
- Chris
developed a public relations juggernaut in quick fashion, with the
release of www.chrismillermusic.net. His innovative creation of a virtual
agent, “ the Reverend Peter Vanilla,” stands as one of the local music
scene’s most successful phenomena; dozens of venues and booking agencies
work “directly” with Peter Vanilla for all CMB performance contracts.
- Chris
employs eight “real” people for this project, and is expanding. Current staff includes 4 full-time
musicians, 1 PR manager, and 3 “CMB Girls” under her command. All report directly to Chris, who
maintains their payroll, provides all musical direction, and personally
designs the various CMB merchandise they sell.
- Creating
a successful team means trying out new talent. In his search for band chemistry,
Miller has had to release several musicians, for which he makes no
apologies. He is determined to
succeed, whatever the cost.
2) He’s got “it.” No question.
Chris has a passion for his
job, and it shows. He takes pride in
his ability to connect with clients over the telephone; in a communications atmosphere
where face-to-face contact is impossible, people can still hang up knowing
their business is in great hands.
- Chris has been recognized many times
by clients, both written and verbally, for having “gone the extra mile.” Many times, he’ll actually steer
callers away from leaving positive feedback with his supervisor; be it
modesty, or simply knowing the hectic schedule his boss keeps, Chris
knows that when you’ve got “it,” outstanding service is the rule, not
the exception.
- Chris develops relationships with the
customer. Knowing that
Medica’s reputation is only as good as its 1st line of
contact, Chris has great respect for the overall company image. Despite leaving Customer Service, he
still works directly with several members, knowing this type of personal
assistance is the kind of service that keeps a company in high regards.
- He never has a bad day. Chris is a professional in all facets,
and that means never, ever
allowing negativity into his work.
Even under the duress of lack-of-sleep, illness, or just the
“blahs,” Chris always exudes optimism and a can-do attitude. For his clients, he’s always got “it.”
3) Chris knows what it takes to supervise.
Chris learned the basics of supervision long ago. They aren’t complicated guidelines, but for
them to be implemented, one must have discipline and the skills to be
successful. Chris does.
·
Provide
clear guidelines to your team.
Each person should know exactly what is expected of them. Nothing is as frustrating as wanting to do
a good job, but not knowing what a “good job” actually means.
·
Reward
excellence, and encourage/assist those who struggle. Motivation is perhaps the strongest force
on the planet. By learning what drives
a person, you can unlock incredible productivity, simply by starting their
engine. This ability to “light a fire” under vastly different people, is
unfortunately not a learned skill.
·
Be a
tremendous resource. As a
supervisor, there is no substitute for first-hand knowledge of your
area. If you know your job well, you inspire
others to succeed also. On the
occasion where an issue’s solution is not immediately found, one must know
how to get it, via:
1.
Company printed/online sources
2.
Human networking
3.
Getting creative
Resources #1 and 2 can be
learned, but not #3. Chris thinks of
creativity as a powerful enhancement to a normal person’s “it-level.”
4) Chris has highly sought-after skills.
Chris
takes pride in a set of abilities which set him apart from others. Over the years, he has honed these skills
into invaluable tools in the business world.
Some of them include:
- Peerless written skills- Call it
arrogance if you like, but Chris maintains that no candidate will have
better command of the English language, on paper. He can write effectively in a wide
range of styles, from press-release to fiction.
- The ability to “connect” –
Perhaps this trait was enhanced over the seven years of bartending
experience Chris boasts. Wherever
it developed, the skill was a mainstay in his previous job; over the
years, he brought this one-on-one connection to the thousands of patrons
he serviced. Chris once stated
about his current Service Center
position, “It’s a little like bartending over the telephone….without the
alcohol, of course.”
- Tech-savviness – Whether that’s
an actual term or not, Chris has it.
With a computer programming background, he cut his teeth on the
wild world of C++, Java, HTML, COBOL and Visual Basic. Now that he’s in a people-person job, this education
is impossible to overstate. He’s
effectively “learned how to learn;” as a result, Chris typically
navigates new platforms at a much faster rate than his coworkers. It is common for him to be a resource
to his colleagues, once he’s mastered a program.
- Thinking outside the box- Chris
will do whatever it takes to be successful, be it inventing a fictitious
band manager, or drafting unusual interview-aides for desired
positions. If it can get results,
no option is off the table.
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Chris Miller- Supervisor
Material
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