DAS's Jess Baldock named Rising Star for Quality and Improvement

Authored by DAS

Jess Baldock, Quality Assurance Specialist at DAS UK, has won the Rising Star award at the Forum 2024 Awards.

Jess was recognised in the Quality and Improvement category for her contributions to the DAS contact centre; since joining the Quality Assurance Team in 2021, she has transformed their approach to QA by providing face-to-face feedback and making herself approachable and accessible to call handlers.

The Forum lauded Jess for “embark[ing] on a transformative path, shifting the QA role from policing to nurturing, focussing on relationship-building, approachability, and tailored feedback”.

"In the customer service and QA sector, Jess Baldock’s journey with DAS has become a source of inspiration." - The Forum

They also acknowledged that Jess’s innovations had led to “remarkable improvements in team morale, agent performance, and the overall perception of the QA function”.

The performance of contact centre callers has improved greatly since Jess took up her position, with the numbers of call handlers achieving “exceeding” or “outstanding” scores increasing from 8% to 22%. Her approach has now been adopted more widely across the department.

The Forum said that Jess’s story “offers valuable lessons for enhancing employee engagement and redefining quality assurance processes”.

Phil Anderson, CEO at The Forum, said: “[These awards] are presented to the rising stars of our industry; four individuals that have demonstrated a desire not only to improve their own knowledge and behaviour, but to drive forward improvements in their teams and organisation with their peers. The judges used words like collaborative, innovative, creative and passionate when describing these individuals.”

Jess said: “This award is definitely a career highlight for me. To be recognised and have the work that I introduced appreciated is not only reassuring but also makes me feel immensely proud of what I have achieved. It’s also a huge confidence boost having Gabi put me forward for the “Rising Star Award”, but to then go on to win is the icing on the cake.”

Gabi Stedman-Braun, Performance Manager at DAS, said: “I am thrilled that Jess has been recognised by the Forum, winning the accolade of Quality and Improvement Rising Star, and it’s thoroughly well deserved. We are all incredibly proud of Jess and everything she has achieved and look forward to building on Jess’s great work in the claims area throughout the rest of the year.”