Training & Quality Assurance Manager

As a highly organized and experienced Customer Service Training and Quality Assurance Manager, you will be responsible for developing and implementing comprehensive training programs for our customer service colleagues, ensuring they possess the necessary skills to deliver exceptional service. Additionally, you will oversee the quality assurance process to maintain high standards of customer service and contribute to the overall improvement of the customer experience. As a strong, innovative leader, you will have a solid understanding of customer service principles, and a proven track record of implementing successful training and quality assurance programs. 

You will play a key role in enhancing the overall customer experience that Stryker delivers in Europe and will support us in driving the success of our organization. You will promote teamwork and collaboration, quality performance standards, professionalism and integrity to ensure that quality of service is maintained and colleagues are empowered with the knowledge and skill required to deliver positive results. 

Working closely with regional Customer Experience leaders, you will cultivate an environment of continuous learning and improvement, based on foundation of shared quality standards.  

Setting Direction: 

• Create and implement the right Customer Experience Training & QA framework, curriculum and content, ensuring alignment with the overarching European strategy and company-wide objectives and initiatives. 

• Partner with regional leaders and Subject Matter Experts to deliver outcomes that increase customer satisfaction and lower overall costs. 

• Clearly communicate expectations to your team and stakeholders and demonstrate how training& QA goals align with Customer Experience and wider supply chain activities. 

• Direct and supervise daily work activities and projects in the Training & QA team. 

• Review and standardize training content, systems, QA measures. 

• Provide ongoing feedback and input to shape the Customer Experience organization and contribute to the overall Customer Experience strategy. 

• Identifies continuous improvement practices and trends in the marketplace, leading to the implementation of innovative ideas that drive progress. 

Building Organizational Capability: 

• Foster a culture of continuous improvement in Customer Experience, constantly seeking ways to enhance the service we provide. 

• Support the optimization and transformation of our Customer Experience brand in the countries and region. 

• Focus on finding better ways to accomplish tasks and achieve team goals, promoting procedural changes and efficiency. 

• Cultivate relationships and collaborate with colleagues across functions and divisions, such as RAQA (Corporate Quality Assurance), Finance, Sales, and Marketing, to achieve team goals and improve processes. 

• Take ownership of enhancing Training & QA capabilities and processes. 

• Contribute to regional and European projects that aim to increase customer satisfaction, improve efficiency, reduce costs, and optimize inventory levels. 

• Ensure compliance with policies, regulations, and standards, including SOX, FCPA, and other relevant guidelines. 

Inspiring Others: 

• Serve as an active and inspiring role model, embodying the Stryker culture. 

• Encourage proactive sharing of knowledge and experiences within the Customer Experience team. 

• Foster a strong team culture and brand centered around reliability and timely follow-up on commitments. 

• Champion change by openly sharing ideas and plans with the team and colleagues, embracing diverse perspectives to drive innovation and achieve better outcomes. 

• Cultivate positive relationships and foster a sense of teamwork among team members. 

• Serve as quality of service barometer within Customer Experience, advocating for customer needs and preferences within the Operations organization, and across the entire organization. 

Delivering Results: 

• Collaborate with the team to establish meaningful performance objectives, set goals, identify milestones, and provide constructive feedback to ensure progress, overcome obstacles, and resolve conflicts. 

• Implement, review, and regularly monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and financial metrics for Customer Service in the country or region. 

• Continuously assess the relevance of KPIs and propose adjustments or additions to foster the right behaviours and actions within the team, ensuring exceptional service to our customers. 

• Monitor team performance and actively encourage excellence, recognizing and rewarding outstanding achievements and critical outcomes. 

Developing Talent: 

• Lead, build and develop the Training & QA team, attracting and nurturing top talent to create a highly motivated and engaged team that consistently exceeds business expectations. 

• Collaboratively set clear and meaningful development goals, working closely with team members to create individual development plans. 

• Foster a culture of sharing talent, knowledge, and expertise to maximize team performance and achieve exceptional results. 

• Take on a coaching role, supporting the growth and development of the team, team leaders, and talented staff members, while actively identifying and nurturing the talent pipeline. 

• Responsible for building leadership competencies with direct reports and team leaders to ensure that they are engaging employees to exceed their targets in safety, quality, service and cost.   

• A minimum of Bachelor`s / graduate degree graduate in a Business or Logistics discipline(s) or equivalent.  

• 5+ years’ experience in Customer Service, Operations or other relevant customer facing or relationship management roles. 

• 2+ years’ experience in a people management role, with a preference within Customer Service. 

• Prior experience in working in a multi-national and -cultural environment. Strong customer focus with a clear understanding of the wider issues impacting the relevant markets. 

• Demonstrated success in building, managing, motivating and developing strong teams. 

• Established track record of exceeding targets, KPI’s and SLA’s in a quality led, legislative compliant environment.  

• Well versed in Microsoft Office tools including Word, Excel, Access, Power Point, Visio or other flow-charting software and/or Microsoft Project. 

• High sense of customer service orientation.  

• Fluent English (spoken and written)