What’s Inside ?
Road to excellence Guess who? More tan just Servicing... Giant!!! Travelling around OPC: United– Kingdom
Free cultural activites Operation kilo The anecdote of the month New signings
Road to excellence
EEAT Newsletter—September 2012 Page 2
Given that we are now very advanced in our year, I thought it would be a good time for us all to reflect on our performance and accomplishments so far, and for me to share my perspective on the balance of year. In short, I am delighted with what we have achieved YTD:
We continue to operate in challenging economic conditions and despite this we have been able to deliver incremental growth in OPC, both in Client Management and in Acquisition.
Our headlines show that we are increasing our contribution to GMS Europe’s 2012 growth. We have been strengthening the OPC infrastructure and driving employee development
and engagement to create a better and more rewarding work place.
Business Results We have had solid progress in all OPC activities.
In Telesales, Calendar BCV July YTD growth is +18% versus last year, an excellent result that is helping the area to offset the Rolling BCV gap at -7% vs. last year. The growth is driven by UK, DE, FR, AUT and NL. We expect to maintain this trend in order to finish the year on target.
In WTH, we have increased the number of NLIF signed by 2% and the Rolling BCV remains flat versus last year. It is important to highlight that we have progressed significantly in key customer experience drivers such as Lost Call Rate decreasing from
6.4% to 5.4% with significant improvements in markets UK, SP, DE and AUT markets.
Page 3 EEAT Newsletter—September 2012
Road to excellence
Support Areas During this year, great progress has been made by the support areas in their effort to provide a better infrastructure, collateral and support to our day-to-day jobs.
The Sales Support and Systems team has developed new reports such as the Acquisition Dashboard and operational reports for all areas; they have been able to expedite the
national chains portfolios reports by three weeks; they have executed new campaigns for AD in MCD and reporting. One critical project that they are working on is the
migration of the MCD system to Merchantforce for AD and the New Dialer for telesales. The Premium Value Proposition and Tools team has done a wonderful job in designing and
coordinating the OPC 2012 training program, now 65% complete and with very good feedback from the team. The training has focused on developing sales skills in all areas as well as technical training such as pricing. More than 30 hours per person have already been delivered. New tools have been implemented successfully: new OPC webpage, new collateral for Account Development, new value proposition industry factsheets for all markets, new OPC presentations look-and-feel and OPC logo. The team has also supported new processes such as MCCY and have launched several initiatives such as MTS leads in Spain and telesales mailing in France and Germany.
In Portfolio Management, DBV is growing at +12%, while overall Europe is growing at
3.7% and higher than our target. Active LIF is growing at 4.8% versus last year and BCV is close to target, with excellent growth in volumes and number of LIF. In FBR, although the gap versus targets is high, we have almost doubled the number of campaigns sold from 61 to 115. The progress is huge and reflects PM activity consolidation.
Finally, Account Development has played a pivotal role this year performing different activation, VD/ZB and market specific active LIF campaigns, calling +12k merchants.
New activities have been migrated to Account Development, such as Save a Merchant in UK, SP and Germany. Special mention to the 6050W campaign which was successfully conducted; once again, the team has demonstrated high level of flexibility,
professionalism and proactivity.
Road to excellence
EEAT Newsletter—September 2012 Page 4
Looking Ahead Our focus for the rest of the year remains the same: delivering growth to GMS Europe, contrib-
uting with DBV increase, BCV growth, active LIF, generate revenues and increasing Merchant satisfaction and engagement in the small merchant base. Also, continue to focus on development,
working actively in development plans and preparing for the year-end discussions.
Thank you for contributing to what is being a successful year. I look forward to giving further updates on our progress in what I expect to be a great year for the One Phone Channel.
Julia Lopez Director OPC
Employee Development and Engagement This area has been a real focus for the whole OPC team. I am proud of all achievements, some of which are outstanding.
We have welcomed to OPC 12 new team members who have rapidly integrated in the team; we have also seen 12 lateral movements and promotions. Apart from the ample number of trainings delivered, the team leaders have dedicated more time to the teams through 121s and meetings, but most importantly, OPC team members have contributed and led different initiatives to make OPC a better place to work.
The EEAT team has done an excellent job in gathering team suggestions and proposals
in an engagement plan, which has translated in a number of initiatives that are taking or have taken place. All OPC team has made the leadership aware of the opportunities to work in a more efficient, flexible and friendly environment.
I want to thank you all for your hard work, dedication and honesty, as thanks to all of
this we have been able to put in place actions as the EEAT Newsletter, increasing the number of townhalls and team activities, launching Happy Fridays and WTH incentive pilot, sales contests, training, OPC market meetings, new Bluereward pro-grame, increase of market visits and support, etc.
We still have many opportunities and I count on you to continue the journey that we have suc-
cessfully started.
Page 5 EEAT Newsletter—September 2012
Guess who ? We all know that the game consists in indentifying the “mystery person“ by means of different clues, but we´re going to make it even easier. We propose a game: guess who is who in the photos
we show you. If you think you know, send us your answers via email and we
promise that the first 3 people who guess “who is who” correctly in all the photos will get a prize.
Go ahead! It will be fun, don’t you think? We´ll also give you a clue: they are all members of the EEAT team , people we have interviewed in the Newsletters and one
person from management team.
Who dares to guess who??? [email protected]
1
2 3 4 5
6 7
8 9
10
11 12 13
More than just servicing... Page 6 EEAT Newsletter—September 2012
De píe: Lauren, Silvia, Antonino, Quentin, Henrik, Donald, Philip, Maria, Antonio, David, Nicole, Eva, Mark, Phil, Rodri-quez, y Charles. Sentado: Mari-Carmen, Regla, Nilla, Camilla , Paula y Raquel
Portfolio Managers; support Big Name brands, High Street Retailers, Top End Hotels and, in gen-eral, quality establishments whom require special attention in order to keep them providing a service of excellence to our card members. In supporting our merchants, Portfolio Managers have a role of absolute importance. On a daily basis, they contact and listen to our best establishments, to maintain and improve our professional relationship with them. PMs analyze the status of these relationships, search for business opportunities, identify instruments and tools to maintain and ultimately improve the perception of our brand and in reciprocation: the merchants brand.Most of the merchants we work with, understand the AmEx brand and what our joint rela-tionship can bring, for those who don´t the PMs educate them to ultimately build a strong B2B relationship.
PMs use the AmEx brand to offer their clients specific support and a dedicated point of contact within American Express for the merchant business. The main responsibilities and goals for a PM is to support the merchant in their daily dealings with AmEx, in order to build on that B2B rela-tionship in order to drive more AmEx business. This is not just billing business by identifying gap acceptances and future openings/opportunities. But also, includes things such as driving Active LIF to make sure that American Express card members can recognize and perceive that our card can be used in several kinds of shops all over the globe. To drive Fee Based Revenue (FBR) such as Marketing deals / Fraud solutions / International Money Transfers etc and thus earning the company green dollar revenue. Although the role is complex, requires multi-tasking and can be quite challenging at times; the PMs positive attitudes, combined with their TL´s support, means that the ground floor calmly maintains it´s positive and relaxed environment. Which is a crucial aspect in order to make PMs fulfill their role in the best way possible and to make this area one of the most productive and beneficial within OPC and GMS.
EEAT Newsletter—September 2012 Page 7
Marta Santos...Giant!!!
Marta spoke with Pilar and the
photo was taken by Richard.
A biology graduate specialized in zoology, it was due to her not finding a job related with her studies at the time that made Marta start work-ing at Amex, even though she had always said she´d ”never do sales”! She loves it now though. Marta has been working for Amex for 12 years and the good vibes and the variety of the people of people are the things that most motivate her. She started in 2000 through a Temp Agency in the Cortes building where she in the Sales Department began connecting terminals manu-ally. She had to tell the merchant which multiple codes they would have to key in for the process to work. Later she moved to the new AmEx building in Tetuán, there she re-ceived and made calls to merchants. Her work materials were a tele-phone on which she had to dial numbers manually, a list of clients on a piece of paper and a pen to make notes. The Telesales project was on its way. It was in 2003 when she arrived at Crisalis that she became part of the AmEx Company. And since one year ago she is again work-ing with her first colleagues from the sales department were she started in 2000.
Although Marta seems very calm, she is actually a very nervous and active person, as well as being organized and planning ahead. It´s difficult to make her angry but if you move her things around you might just succeed! She is very family oriented, transparent and doesn’t like being in the spotlight but she has re-lented to be one for one day. This doesn’t stop her describing herself as an avid dancer, she just needs some lively music to start moving. She also loves cooking, her specialty is vegetable paella and roast shoulder of lamb would be on her top ten. She has a little handicraft workshop at home where she has more than a 100 bracelets. Whenever she can, she travels around Spain. Does “Giant” sound familiar to you? It happens to be her favorite movie because it reflects eve-ryday life. Check out Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_(1956_film) Her favorite destination is Malaga because of the people, the climate and the atmosphere. Like most women, she loves going shopping (“Not without my AmEx”). We asked her if she had any am-bitions and she said:
“I live day to day, enjoying my family and my friends and most importantly being happy”.
EEAT Newsletter—September 2012 Page 8
Traveling around OPC: It´s been the talk of the summer: in this edition of Travels with OPC we visit. London: The capital of the 2012 Olympic Games. Very unlike Britain, the gods were shining down, and despite some Olympiads coming prepared with wellington boots to the opening ceremony, in fact the weather held and permitted a grand opening along with James Bond escorting the Queen to the show! The
Paralympic Games shortly followed (29 Aug - 9 Sept) and it seems that all in all the Games were a great success! Top Athletes competed for one of 4000 medals which were on offer: Here´s how it shaped up with the countries represented in OPC.
Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
Team GB 29 17 19 65
Germany 11 19 14 44
France 11 11 12 34
Italy 8 9 11 25
Nether‐ 6 6 8 20
Spain 3 10 4 17
Sweden 1 4 3 8
Finland 0 1 2 3
to do and see from the different corners of the UK that they represent! Perhaps that now as the initial crowds disperse, you can take the opportunity to experience some of the UK´s
Mark Fleming (Manchester) says that no trip is complete without a trip to Old Trafford. Philip Templeton (N.Ireland) says a trip to Belfast Titanic Exhibition Centre or the Giant´s Causeway is a must! Sarah Buttery (Oxfordshire) adds a touch of Royalty by suggesting you visit Blenheim Palace. Lauren Paton (Dover) says other than the typical trip on the Ferry to visit nearby France, Dover Castle is not to be missed! A tour of the castle also uncovers the war tunnels! Paul Hood (Edinburgh) says The Royal Mile contains all the best sites: Edinburgh Castle at the top & the Palace at the bottom. But it´s also scattered with Lots of cafes, pubs, restaurants to stop for a bite to eat! For more ideas: Visit Britain!
But... there is more to London and the UK that extends past the 2012 legacy, so we have taken the chance to ask some of our UK OPC colleagues for their top suggestion of things
Free cultural activities
EEAT Newsletter—September 2012 Page 9
Paso de Cebra is a space that offers to promote artistic projects. It gives
this open space to artists wishing to publicize their works, such as the presen-
tation of a book. It´s also free of charge for the artist to leave their Works
there. WHERE: Paso de Cebra (c/ Embajadores, 35, local 2. Metro: Emba-
jadores / Lavapiés)
More Information: [email protected]
Take advantage of the continuing good weather why not join the Yoga
Workshop in El Retiro on a Wednesday. Don´t forget to bring your
yoga mat, one or two candles and incense stick as the session finishes
with a little meditation. Where: The Retiro Park, on the lawn, to the
left of the pergola as you exit from Retiro Metro (L2) towards the
Lake.Hora: de 19:30 a 21:00 FREE, for more information: yogatabaca-
Madrid subterráneo, until the 28th October. The exhibition presents a story about what exists
beneath the pavements & roads of Madrid. This exposition shows a kind of reverse side to the city
to explore in effect its “basement”. From the old mines to military bunkers, from safes stored un-
derground, to underground rivers and garages, it shows what Ma-
drid hides in its parallel world below the floors – those things
which normally aren´t revealed to the common passerby.
WHERE: Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo CA2M (Avda Constitución,
23. Móstoles. Metro: Pradillo L12 Cercanías: Móstoles C5)
TIMETABLE: Tuesday – Sunday 11:00 a 21:00
Every Sunday of the year – Guided Tours around the Retiro. The environmental classroom "La
Cabaña del Retiro" offers free guided tours every Sunday, for all ages and
groups: families with children, tourists, naturalists, or just simply the curi-
ous. It´s a great opportunity to discover the natural side of the Capital,
it´s secrets and what is held within.WHERE: La Cabaña del Retiro (Metro:
Menéndez Pelayo L1, entrada por la Puerta Mariano de Cavia)Register at: cabanadelre-
[email protected] o al teléfono: 91-5046546 Timetable: 11:00 a 13:00 every Sunday
EEAT Newsletter—September 2012 Page 10
Operation Kilo
On 1st August we made the delivery to the Food Bank volunteers, of the collective food that was donated by the employees of American Express Madrid (including our colleagues in Barajas). This is a considerable amount of approx. 250 kilograms, of which we are very proud and would like to thank you all!
This initiative is of vital importance in the current context of the economic crisis, which is increasing significantly the needs for the distribution of food among the most disadvantaged of our population. In 2011 alone, the Madrid Food Bank dis-tributed 7.723.399 kilos of food, which were distributed among 45.978 people.
Page 11 EEAT Newsletter—September 2012
The anecdote of the month takes us to the market...
Every Saturday, I have the habit of going to buy my fruit and vegetables at a street market in my local neighborhood of Elipa. Two weeks ago I experienced something I would like to share with you as an anecdote…. I arrived early, I prefer to get there early since there are usually less people and in the summer it’s also not too hot. However, on this occasion, there weren’t too many market stalls. What has happened??? I asked myself. My curiosity led me to asking one of the owners of the few stalls in place. He mentioned that the neighborhood fairs were about to begin and since they place the fair in that exact same place, many stall owners hadn´t shown up because of the risk of not be-ing able to put up their stalls. So then I was left asking myself where do I could to buy my groceries, if the usual stall is not there? The truth is, I didn´t think that I had many options, since there was only one stall at the mar-ket which sold fruit and vegetables. However, to my surprise, I did eventually I find another stall, so I resumed my grocery shopping. When I was about to pay, I looked at the cash register to see what the final cost would be, and to my SURPRISE ………. I saw an Amex sticker! “Do you accept Amex??” Was the first thing that escaped my mouth! To my surprise the shop assistant answered “YES” I mentioned that this was the first time I had seen a stall at a street market which accepted American Express. To this he replied: “My fruit and vegetables are of quality, of the same qual-ity as the people whom pay with their American Express cards.” HAH! Take that! I thought to myself! And I can assure you that he was right; I noticed the dif-ference both in the price as in the quality of the goods. It might seem silly to you, but I assure you that it´s true. If you feel up to the test, I would recommend a quick trip to the market to see for yourself. It is there every Saturday morning at the street market of Elipa, in an esplanade next to the main entrance of the cemetery of the Almudena. (And I work on commission. Hahaha!)
EEAT Newsletter—September 2012
Update of Engagement Plan
Page 12
New signings El Armario de la Tele es la tienda multimarca online de moda, con estilo propio y personal. Es el referente en venta online de moda, calzado, complementos y belleza. En elarmariodelatele.com se venden los
modelos que lucen celebrities, actores y presentadores de los programas y series de televisión que se emiten actualmente. Son productos nuevos con más de 80 marcas disponibles, que el cliente puede seleccionar en diferentes tallas y colores. elarmariodelatele.com
En Alice podrá comprar la mayor gama de productos de sus marcas favoritas de alimentación, perfumería, higiene y mascotas sin moverse del sillón de su casa. Encontrará todo lo que necesite,
cuando lo necesite y al mejor precio online Garantizado, es mucho más que un supermercado online: Entre en alice.es y descubra una nueva experiencia de compra: única, fácil, cómoda y rápida. Alice.es le lleva su pedido a casa o donde quiera el día que elija. alice.es
Bolsos, bikinis, bijouterie, ropa ínti-ma y casual de colores atrevidos y diseños originales. GOBO le trae las mejores marcas americanas y euro-peas. Si busca darle un toque dife-
rente a su iPad, e-book o netbook, no se pierda su exclusiva línea de fundas. Accesorios con estilo en la mejor zona de moda de Madrid, SOHO MA-DRID.
El Hotel Landa se encuentra en Burgos y se caracteriza por ser un hotel familiar. Cuenta con más de 40 años de experiencia en el sector de la hostelería. El hotel cuenta con 37 habitaciones, de las cuales 24
son suites y la mayoría están situadas en la torre del siglo XIV. Todas las habitaciones están equipadas con los recursos y accesorios necesarios para hacer que su estancia sea de lo más agradable posible. Podrá disfrutar y saborear los típicos pla-tos castellanos elaborados por especialistas; y después relajarse en una piscina climatizada al aire libre. www.landa.as
·WTH Incentives: Pilot in progress ·Sales Contest: Started in July ·Market Meeting: Done ·Blue Rewards: We´ve got two teams ·Happy Friday: Done ·Skip Level: Done
We remind you that we have the opportunity to express your opinion in the
Annual Employee Pulse until the 5th of October 2012 (Annual Employee Pulse).
