Internal Help Desks: When Agents Need to Phone a Friend

Megan Becker is the Manager of Training & Hiring in the Reservations department at Hershey Entertainment & Resorts. Megan started with the Reservations team in 2012 as a part-time agent and was then a coordinator, assistant manager, and assistant manager of coaching and quality assurance before moving into her current position in 2018. She now oversees all new agent hiring, new agent training, and continuing training for the department.Prior to joining Hershey Entertainment & Resorts, Megan worked in retail for more than 10 years. She also was a substitute teacher and long-term substitute at a local high school before leveraging her teaching skills in her role as a training manager.

Megan has been a member of the IARE for more than five years. This is her first year as a board member. Her favorite part of IARE membership is the ability to expand her bubble with new connections to find solutions to common problems or concerns within the industry.

In addition to the IARE, Megan’s interests include writing, watching Survivor, traveling, and musical theater. She loves playing board games and card games with her family, introducing her children to exciting destinations, and keeping her Wordle streak alive.

Stephanie has been with Accor since 2016 after graduating from Mount Allison University with a double major in Canadian Studies and History. She held various leadership roles during her academic studies, most notably spearheading the introduction of a Fall Study Break at the university.

Stephanie currently works as the Team Leader of Sales Support at the Global Reservation Centre in Moncton, NB Canada. She manages a tight-knit workgroup who play an essential role in supporting the needs of sales representatives and hotel partners. While her team wears many hats, their primary goal is ensuring a positive guest experience.

While Stephanie is new to the world of IARE, she is passionate about building peer relationships within the contact industry space. Her favorite part of IARE is the members and the opportunity to exchange ideas and knowledge; working collectivity to ensure the longevity of the industry.

In addition to the IARE, Stephanie is an avid reader with an annual goal of 100 books!

 

Katie Henshaw has been with Red Roof for six years. She started in Distribution as the Content Manager, and in 2021, she took on the role of Director of Contact Center and Vendor Management. In addition to Vendor Management, Katie oversees many areas of the Contact Center, including Guest Relations, Reservations, Workforce Management, Quality, and Training. Being new to her role, this is Katie’s first year with IARE. So far, her favorite part of IARE has been the connections she has made and the opportunity to expand her knowledge by learning from the experiences of others.

Outside of IARE and work, Katie enjoys traveling, live music, good food, and spending time with her family!

 

Michelle has been with Accor since 1997 after graduation with a Travel and Tourism diploma. She has held various Sales and Operations roles at The Fairmont Chateau Whistler and the Global Reservations Center in Moncton, NB Canada, with her most current role as Senior Manager, Reservation Sales.Michelle has been a member of the IARE for 14 years, a Board Member for 6 years and is currently the Board President. Her favorite part of IARE members is having the opportunity to network with colleagues in the industry all throughout the year. She often finds herself reaching out prior to implementing new initiatives to understand best practices from her industry peers.

In addition to the IARE, Michelle is a cheer mom and has hosted 17 exchange students from all over the world.

Anita Travis is the Corporate Director of Global Contact Center at Outrigger Hospitality Group. Anita has been in this role for nine year overseeing Consumer Direct Voice, Social Engagement and back office processing support for 3rd party partners.Prior to joining Outrigger Hospitality Group, Anita was at Orbitz Worldwide as the Senior Manager of Global Training and Consistency. Prior to Orbitz Worldwide, Anita was at various Travel and Hospitality related companies including, Travelport, Cendant Travel and Cheap Tickets in Senior Manager roles including Contact Center Operations and Customer Service.

Anita has been a member of the IARE for three years, and a Board Member for one year. Her favorite part of IARE members is the opportunity to network and share best practice.

In addition to the IARE, Anita’s interests include Colorado Rockies baseball, live music and travel.

Sarah Quinn is the Vice President of AI/CX Sales at TELUS International. Sarah focuses on consultative business development for AI, Digital, and Customer Experience services for the Travel, Hospitality & Retail industries.Prior to joining TELUS International, Sarah has represented major corporations providing highly technical and emerging technology services such as Digital Experience, Regression Modeling, Analytics, Employee Experience and Database Services for the Fortune 500.

Sarah joined IARE as a Board Member in 2021. Her favorite part of being a member of IARE is meeting all the great people who share her same passion for assisting the Travel & Hospitality industries in gaining significant strides to regain the growth and success expected as the world returns to a ‘better new normal’!

In addition to IARE, Sarah’s interests include traveling, spending time with her family especially new granddaughter Lucy Mae, and finally getting to see her Jersey Hero Bruce Springsteen for her 41st time once he tours again!

Denise has been in this role for since the fall of 2020. Innovation leadership is the core strength that she utilizes while consulting and managing the client relationship. Denise focuses much of her time supporting Brand Ethos clients in the contact center and technology space. In addition, she leads projects involving learning and development, enhancing employee culture, engagement, and retention efforts.Denise’s leadership and business acumen were honed during 25 + years as a Global Contact Center executive with Hyatt Hotels & Resorts and concurrently 20+ years in leadership roles with the International Association of Reservation Executives, (IARE). Her expertise and thought leadership roles include global contact center operations, training, onboarding, employee culture, engagement, incentives, retention process workflow, remote work strategies, and numerous related areas.

My favorite part of IARE membership is seeing how we all have grown personally and professionally over the years. Together, we have strategically elevated our association, industry, and our individual member companies through networking, benchmarking, and industry education.

In addition to the IARE, Denise’s interests include travel, gardening, and artistic pursuits, with infrequent attempts at Karaoke.

Michael McWilliams is the Director, Contact Center Operations, at Radisson Hotel Group Americas and has been in this role for 2 years overseeing contact center revenue driving programs, BPO relationship management, and contact center technology and processes related to Reservations, Customer Care, Loyalty, Social Care, and Workforce Management.Serving Radisson Hotel Group Americas since 2000, and prior to his current role, Michael has served several roles from Representative to Operations Manager in the call center and then as Business Relationship Manager as Radisson transitioned to a 100% outsourced model.
Joining IARE early in his leadership career, Michael has been a member of IARE, a Board Affiliate, and now Board Member. The reason he stays engaged with IARE is professional development, best practice sharing of contact center process and technology, and opportunity to help others problem solve and develop. Michael is happy to share his experience in coaching/leadership development, contact center reporting, quality and process management, and BPO relationship management.

In addition to IARE, Michael’s interests include traveling with his family, board games, and fishkeeping.

Serena Schmitz is the Manager of Contact Center Operations at Radisson Hotel Group Americas, (RHGA). Serena has been in this role for 3 years overseeing the Quality and Training programs.Prior to joining RHGA, Serena worked for International Game Technology as the supervisor of their contact center.

Serena has been a member of the IARE for 7 years, and became a Board Member for this year. Her favorite part of IARE memberships is the collaboration on best practices she is able to have with other members.

In addition to the IARE, Serena’s interests include traveling, and entertaining friends and family.

Janaur McCormick is the Vice President of Client Success at Brand Ethos. He has over 15 years of marketing experience ranging from Recruitment, Employee Engagement, Events, Digital and Social Media Marketing.Janaur has spent much of his career working in the Contact Center industry. He was the Marketing Manager for PRC after working in several Operations roles with the company and served as the Global Manager of Recruitment Marketing and Culture for C3/CustomerContactChannels, a BPO with over 14,000 employees worldwide.

In addition to his Contact Center experience, Janaur served as the Marketing Manager for the American Red Cross, South Florida region and the Director of Marketing for the Association of Retail Environments (A.R.E.).

Kory Laszewski currently serves as the Vice President, Global Sales and Client Development at TELUS International where he is responsible for the development and growth for all clients within the Travel and Hospitality Industry, consisting of some of the world’s most disruptive travel brands. As a veteran of the Business Process Outsourcing industry, Kory has dedicated more than 25 years of his career supporting virtually every aspect of customer experience innovation from design, to build, to deliver. Over the years, he has helped clients realize CX efficiencies when it comes to expanding their global CX operations, adding automation and digital technologies into their CX portfolios, and most recently, ensuring that work-from-home CX programs are delivered to the highest standards.

Ronda has served as the Membership Director of IARE since April 2011. Prior to joining IARE, Ronda spent over 34 years with the Best Western Hotel Group, as a leader in the contact center overseeing various teams including, Customer Care, Reservations, EDS and Training. While at Best Western she started attending IARE events in 1998. There is a huge pay-off when you can network with peers in the same industry. The best thing about IARE events, in person or virtual, is that you always walk away with a new idea, a new process, a new perspective or a new product/service/technology to investigate further.

Scott has spent over 30 years as a sales executive. His focus has been developing and integrating outsourcing solutions for client partners in Retail, eCommerce, travel, hospitality, tourism and reservations. Scott has helped many organizations in various industries improve their operations through working with a BPO. Scott knows that finding the right business partner is critical to the success of any project. He has been a supporter of IARE for over 20 years. He believes that the focus on networking and education provided by IARE to members is of great value. The opportunity to build relationships and learn about the industry from the inside is critical to his success.

Phoebe has been with Hilton for 19 years, she’ll hit her milestone 20th anniversary in March of 2023. She currently serves as the Senior Manager, Loyalty & Rewards for Programs for Hilton Reservations & Customer Care. Her experience at Hilton has included Quality Assurance, Reservation Sales, Diamond Service, Recognition and Rewards through the gamification platform known as Centrical. She leads with her heart and has made some lifelong friends around the world through her connections with Hilton.

I’ve been involved with IARE for several years and truly gained a vast amount of knowledge from having the opportunity to work alongside others in the industry. Partnering with IARE and many others in this industry has allowed us to navigate new opportunities, benchmark with the absolute best leaders and grow successful teams with great change management ideas. Innovation and creativity are our jam when we link up, and that’s my kind of party!