Member Spotlight: Claudette Harris
“We must not lose who we are – how we were raised, our history and the sacrifices that have been made so that we can be who we are and who we have the potential to become.”
Celebrating Black History month – championing the creativity and agency of African American women – and continuing on our mission to amplify the voices of women in Customer Experience across the globe, we spoke to the President & CEO of At Your Service Consulting, LLC, Claudette Harris, about her lived experience as an African American woman working within the industry, the challenges that she faced and overcame throughout her career, what this year’s BHM theme Black Health and Wellness means for CX, and about the moment in her life that shaped her into the incredible woman that she is today.
Tell us a bit about you and what your company does.
I’m the President/CEO of At Your Service Consulting, LLC. I’m also a certified coach, speaker and trainer with the John Maxwell Team and a Maxwell DISC Behavioural Analysis Consultant.
At Your Service Consulting provides customer service and leadership coaching and training for small to midsize organisations. We help organisations dominate in excellence to deliver a “raving fan” experience with both internal and external customers.
Outside of work, my why is my family and that consists of a husband, three grown children, four grandchildren and a granddog. At sixty-two years of age, I can proudly (and gratefully) say that I’m enjoying my life in the midst of all that is going on. One of my favourite things to do is to be by the water – it’s so refreshing and relaxing for me. I also enjoy serving in women's ministry at my church.
How did you get where you are today?
With 41 years of corporate experience, my customer service journey began in the early stages of my career. I served as a Call Centre Customer Representative for 15 years, an Assistant Supervisor, Supervisor, Call Centre Manager and lastly, a Manager of midsize business accounts within Regulated Marketing.
All of these opportunities helped to shape me and ignited my passion for serving both internal and external customers at all levels. Now, as an entrepreneur, I’m using many of the skills and experiences gained during this time to service my clients.
As a woman in Customer Experience, what were the main challenges that you faced?
The call centre environment, where I spent much of my time, was predominantly filled with female employees.
Women working with women can present a unique set of challenges, but that's were ‘communicating to connect’ comes in – another time, another interview – but, when I began working with midsize business customers, and the account managers that served them, I experienced challenges within the technical and engineering space.
Working with customers that were expanding and/or building new projects, I quickly learned to have an engineer close by that I could consult with so that we could provide our customers with the best service. My biggest takeaway from that time, and even now as an entrepreneur, is that wise leaders know that “it takes teamwork to make the dream work”, collaboration matters.
Tell us about a moment that shaped you into the woman you are today?
While there were many pivotal moments along the way, my most pivotal was when I made the decision to retire from the comforts of my 6-figure income and to delve into entrepreneurship.
I secured my first client contract three months after retiring and, upon coming home on the first day of my client meeting, I received a call from my doctor informing me of a breast cancer diagnosis. Needless to say, I was shocked and all I could say to my doctor was “I trust God's process so let's do what we need to do”.
This changed the trajectory of my life yet shaped me into who I am today – a woman who trusts God in personal and professional matters.
What makes a woman courageous, collaborative, inclusive and authentic?
When a woman has goals and a vision, that she is determined to achieve, she becomes courageous in pushing aside or eliminating anything that gets in her way.
Like many women, I realised that by collaborating and building a team around me, I could accomplish much more than I would single-handedly.
Cultural pride makes a woman authentic. Authenticity is vital as African American women achieve key roles in the marketplace and in ministry, many times in predominantly white environments. We must not lose who we are – how we were raised, our history, and the sacrifices that have been made so that we can be who we are and who we have the potential to become. Most importantly, we must remember those who are coming after us, grab their hands, identify their gifts and train them to be our future leaders.
Finally, what does this year’s theme of ‘Black Health and Wellness’ mean for the CX Industry?
This theme speaks volumes for the CX industry, many in the industry serve others on a daily basis but fail to take care of their own health and wellness.
I've seen women push to come into work even though very ill. I can speak best from the perspective of the call centre environment, which is where I served for over 20 years. It was populated by predominantly African American women – many of whom were single mums – because it was an entry-level job and offered opportunities for advancement. It was a stressful environment that prompted the eating of unhealthy foods and routines, especially when overtime was mandatory. This is just a single example of a situation in which people would benefit from education and the promotion of healthy alternatives. The company that I worked for did provide this education and incentives to exercise, and those who were able to take advantage did benefit.
Thank you, Claudette, for sharing your story with our readers 💛
With inclusivity amongst our four core values here at Women in CX, we will continue to lean in, to listen and to learn from the lived experiences of our members, using our platform to champion diversity, equity and inclusion, to afford equal opportunities for all and to amplify the voices of Women in CX across the globe.