Anne Mie Vuylsteke works for the INFOTEL service of DG Informatics (DIGIT) on behalf of Serco, which is a service contract provided by Serco in Belgium to the European Commission, the European External Action Service (EEAS), and the Publications Office (PO). Based in Brussels, Anne Mie’s work for INFOTEL involves handling incoming calls, requests for information, requests for email addresses, as well as maintaining the European Commission Directory database.
“It is our team’s responsibility to assist European citizens and officials with their searches and requests. I am here to help when critical information is required, and I am very proud to be their first point of contact”
As a former customer service representative, Anne Mie has a strong background in customer service and speaks fluently in a total of four different languages: French, English, Dutch, and German - an asset that makes her a perfect candidate for the nature of this position. Starting her career at Serco as a call centre agent, Anne Mie has managed to reach the role of a backup Team Leader in less than a year. Her progression sees no sign of slowing down.
“I am more than a call centre operator”
Working for INFOTEL means receiving calls from anywhere around the world - the more languages she or her colleagues know, the better they can support the customer at the end of the line. “Having the opportunity to support people all over the world, sometimes with very high-level requests, is one of the most rewarding parts of my job” says Anne Mie.
One of the greatest benefits of her role is that she can provide the customer service that many of the callers are desperately seeking. Whether that is a government body that needs to speak to an EU official or a citizen looking for advice.
When you are working for this kind of contact centre, providing the correct information to the right people in a timely manner is crucial. Anne Mie often faces urgent situations which requires her to be extremely flexible and reactive, which is both challenging and exciting. She has proven on several occasions that having the right knowledge of EU departments and officials and being able to quickly transfer the call to the appropriate department does have an impact.
This is exactly what making a difference means for Serco. Through what may seem, for some, like a background operation, our people are able to connect the small dots and make a significant difference in the lives of people. A change in departmental leadership or a restructure of data governance can make transferring calls extremely difficult, which is why you need the right people with the right knowledge, that you can trust, to handle the process.
Making a difference in the lives of citizens
Anne Mie's role is extremely valuable because she is also able to assist citizens in times of need. It happens that a large number of citizens can sometimes be impacted by complex situations, and this is when Anne Mie’s soft skills come in extremely handy as she needs to find an appropriate way of dealing with the issue by coordinating with her colleagues and managers in order to provide appropriate and timely answers.
One of Anne Mie's latest challenges has been to accompany the citizens in extremely complicated situations and to direct them to the appropriate support services – which can be difficult when someone is hearing news that is hard to comprehend. Anne Mie’s patience and knowledge of how to deal with delicate situations has helped many people in various situations.
All these efforts are what make Anne Mie proud to be working for a company like Serco. As well as being extremely grateful for the supportive team behind her, she is extremely proud of being able to help customers with the right communication skills and expertise to solve any issue.