Richard Yelash
Senior Consultant
“The important thing is never to stop questioning.”
Richard is a senior consultant in the MultiChannel Customer Care team focussed on transforming client's customer service capability. He has been responsible for developing and executing a number of key strategies in a large customer services organisation and has exposure across business support systems development and business transformation. Richard previously led the development of Telecom New Zealand's Channel Strategy for the new Telecom Retail organisation, which will be delivered under Telecom's Operational Separation. This involves channel identification, feasibility and vendor management for a new low cost service-operating model. Some of the initiatives he is engaged in include knowledge management, contact centre operations, speech recognition and online.
In the last decade Richard has either been an active business owner or directly led a number of cross-functional teams focussed on delivering innovative technology solutions and business change programs. He has significant process re-engineering skills across a number of business functions and proven project management expertise.
His experience of end-to-end application design, build and rollout of technologies into call centres and the associated business change initiatives provides vital acumen in the area of customer services operations. He has delivered a significant number of initiatives and knows how to manage and deliver on difficult tasks, manage and drive projects.
Richard has been instrumental in the introduction of a more effective customer services offerings at Telecom New Zealand. His work, particularly with driving change in the payment and credit operations, mass market call centres and business operations, is well recognised. He has had significant success with deploying IVR, knowledge management, online and call centre support systems and his current work is at the forefront of the leveraging of multi-channel capabilities.
Richard's strength lies in his strong people skills mixed with sharp business acumen. He is focussed on delivery of the desired customer experience and knows how to deal with people and processes to achieve this outcome.
The projects Richard has managed have included change management; business strategy; and major systems change including: CSR desktop tools; online; database marketing, knowledgebase, CRM, IVR and NLSR.
In his spare time Richard can be found either trying to finish the renovations on his Bay Villa in Auckland which has turned into more of a labour of love than a renovation, or out kayaking on the waters of the Hauraki gulf.
