Sophie Owen is the Administration Department Manager for Excel Civil Enforcement. She joined the administration team in 2009 and, over the last 16 years, has progressed her career and was promoted to Department Manager seven years ago.

We caught up with Sophie to find out more about her typical day.

How did you get into your role?

I previously worked as a travel agent and was looking for a new role. Fortunately, I was not expected to have experience in enforcement – it is quite a niche area – and I got excellent training. The team has grown hugely since then - Excel is winning new contracts with high volumes of cases - and recruiting the right people and training them up is still the best approach and a large part of my role.

What does a typical workday look like for you and your team?

Most of our work is dealing with cases at the compliance stage and we send out all the notices of enforcement and custom letters. As part of that, I receive the case files from the clients and import them into our system.

I manage the communication with clients and am their main office-based point of contact for contract enquiries or specific case queries. We’re all on first name terms and I find that clients really appreciate having someone they can call whenever they need something and who responds quickly to their emails, rather than having to deal with an anonymous call centre.

I am in charge of outbound contact, through our own systems as well as Telsolutions and, as a team, we review cases and find the fair way forward to progress a case when there is a default on a payment arrangement.

What are your key responsibilities?

Training is a big part of my role. It’s not just about the initial induction and professional qualifications the team do, but it’s an ongoing process to keep everyone up to date, fully briefed on client specific requirements and also when implementing a new client contract.

I am part of the company-wide implementation team when we onboard a new client, so making sure everything is set up for them as they require, with their customer policies and communications preferences incorporated into our processes.

I also investigate most of the complaints – not that we receive many – and I will review the body worn video footage from the case and report back the finding of our investigation.

What part of your job do you enjoy the most?

Although the work we do can be challenging, I have a great team who’ve been with us for a long time and we have a brilliant dynamic. New joiners find it a positive experience – not what they thought it might be! I think that the strength of our team is my biggest achievement.

I do also enjoy investigating complaints and formulating the response, as well as giving our clients that personal touch that makes a massive difference.

And what do you find most challenging?

People often misunderstand what a job in enforcement will be like and I need to overcome that when they come for interview.

Do you have any advice for someone wanting to work in enforcement?

Don’t have any preconceptions about what enforcement is. We are trying to help people as best we can and be empathetic.

You need to not take things personally, because the caller’s emotions can be heightened, but it is very rewarding when we are able to help people in debt, especially when we are thanked at the end of a call.

Excel has been very good to me and I work with a great team.