Leigha joined Hastings Direct in 2020 as an Anti Fraud Representative, before making an internal move to our Claims department in September 2021. In this week’s colleague story, she tells us about her decision to join the HD family and shares advice for anyone looking to start their own career with us.
Tell us about your background and what led you to join Hastings Direct
Before working for Hastings, I worked at Tesco on the customer service desk for around five and a half years. I felt like I needed a new challenge, something different with more progression opportunities. A few of my work colleagues had left at the time and went to work for Hastings so I wanted to try it too.
I wasn’t sure at first if the environment in a call centre would be the right move for me. I was cautious and felt I had to be resilient to begin with, but it turned out to be exactly the right move at the right time.
There was a professional working atmosphere, set shifts, no weekend work, progression opportunities and a great support network, with numerous benefits to top it all off.
What does a typical day entail?
A typical day in Case Handling requires you to assist customers during their claims journey and to make it as stress-free as possible. Every day is different, you never know what’s going to be at the end of the phone.
The job itself entails taking inbound and making outbound calls, responding to emails, chasing customers to accept valuations, completing valuations, raising funds to customers, calling garages to get updates on repairs, liaising with recovery companies and salvage agents, and delivering excellent customer service.
What advice would you give someone who’s considering joining #lifeatHD?
It can be quite daunting when joining a new company, especially if you’ve never worked in a call centre, and speaking to people on the phone is completely different to speaking to someone face to face.
When I first started in Claims I never thought I would be able to get the hang of how to deal with all of the different avenues a claim can go down. I was always told that one day it would just click and but I never believed it. However the moral of the story is that it really does get easier! Bring the right attitude and motivation with you (this doesn’t go unnoticed by management) and you will succeed and progress.
Join us: Check out our available roles.