All-Ireland Housing Awards 2025
Read all the shortlisted entries into this award category, young professional of the year, at the All-Ireland Housing Awards (AIHA) 2025 and find out who won the award on the night.
This award category showcases the rising stars of the housing sector who have been working in the industry for three years or under.
Winner
Beth Scanlon from Co-operative Housing Ireland
Statement of support
In September 2023, Cooperative Housing Ireland (CHI) established a National Contact Centre to assume responsibility for managing all incoming calls to CHI, including the repairs and customer services lines. Prior to this, CHI’s housing services (at regional offices) and repairs (at a national level) ran separate phone lines to deal with requests.
With continued growth of the team, CHI required a dedicated contact centre team leader to help provide guidance, mentorship and lead the growth and development of the function. Beth Scanlon was hired to take on this position and from the outset her dedication and work ethic has enhanced CHI’s service efficiency as the team continue to deliver excellent customer service while achieving value for money.
Beth has made significant contributions to Co-operative Housing and the experience our members receive when contacting the organisation. She has demonstrated a strong commitment to excellence and innovation. In particular, her commitment to implementing the MGI framework (Mary Gober customer service approach) for customer service which showcases technical expertise wrapped in a person first approach.
In addition to her professional skills, Beth has consistently shown an ability to lead and foster a culture of openness and inclusion. She is a natural collaborator, always eager to share her knowledge and support her colleagues’ growth. She approaches every challenge with a positive attitude and a clear sense of purpose, which has earned her the respect and admiration of peers and supervisors alike.
As a team leader Beth is responsible for overseeing a group of customer service representatives, ensuring they were trained, motivated, and equipped to deliver high-quality service. She displays an ability to mentor and support team members, helping them grow professionally and achieve their performance goals. Beth is always approachable and ready to offer guidance, fostering a positive and collaborative work environment.
In addition to leadership, Beth excels in managing close relationships with managers in other departments to ensure our members are provided with first call resolution and all of the relevant information they require.
Beth played a key role in developing and refining customer service processes, providing valuable input into improving efficiency and effectiveness.
Outcomes and achievements
- Designed and put into practice call coaching and professional development programs aligned with the organisations values that in turn enhanced the customer service process.
- The contact centre currently holds a 97 per cent answer rate with the average wait time of 27 seconds.
- She has fostered increased inter-departmental collaboration and created an inclusive, supportive and results drive culture.
