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Behind the humming engines of the Utility Safety Partners, there are people working away in the boiler rooms to keep it all running who sometimes go unseen. Our member services team is not quite invisible, but it certainly is a key piece of the machinery that can go overlooked from time to time.
I’d like to shine a light on the work of three remarkable women who make up the member services team. The team’s primary role is to provide support to utility owners who have registered with or who want to register with the notification service. With the creation of Utility Safety Partners, the services and support will also extend to our safety partners — stakeholders who do not own utility assets. Member services' responsibilities reach into almost every aspect of USP operations.
Kassi Zaba is our membership liaison and is often “the face” of the member services team — the one with the most direct contact with external stakeholders. Kassi came to Alberta One-Call as an agent in 2011 and quickly became involved in a few projects which led her into a support role in member services. Kassi has a broad range of responsibilities, including communications, awareness and education, new services rollouts, coordinating our Dig Safe Ambassadors, keeping the flow of promotional items rolling and attending community and industry events on behalf of USP and its members. One of Kassi’s recent accomplishments was leading our organization through the process of successfully becoming ISO-certified.
Natasha Hunter is our technical administrator. Tasha has been part of our team since 2008 and worked as an agent and contact centre team leader before setting up shop in member services. Tasha is the seemingly tireless and ridiculously efficient master of our technical domain. Tasha controls every touchpoint between our members and any software or component that supports the member-side of our system. Every utility owner’s asset database is processed and managed by Tasha’s capable hands. If you have transmission issues, website questions or want to optimize the use of our technology, Tasha becomes the ultimate problem-solver and solutions resource for our members. Tasha is entrusted by the four western Canadian notification centres (Before You Dig Partners) to work with our software partners to promote continuous improvement and development of OneCallAccess and its components.
Chelsea Chiasson, our member services assistant (also known as "The Wind Beneath Our Wings”), is the newest member of the team, but has been with the organization since 2011. Chelsea’s role in member services encompasses a laundry list of tasks as she supports Tasha and Kassi in their roles. Not only does Chelsea have to know their jobs and cover all the gaps, but she also handles her own responsibilities as well. Chelsea responds to daily support inquiries, handles onboarding and support of new members, updates member contact information, and generally keeps the team running smoothly. Recently, we also handed Chelsea the responsibility for internal tech support, and she is doing a great job on a steep learning curve! Chelsea now serves as the single point of contact between internal operations and a host of technical support vendors. Yes, Chelsea, we did try turning it off and on again.
I am continually amazed by not just the volume of work these three do for us, but the incredible positivity and synergy they create while they do it. We are very lucky to have them, and if you get the chance to work with them, you’ll be lucky too. Thanks, ladies.
Sher Kirk – Operations Director, Utility Safety Partners (operated by Alberta One-Call Corporation)