AFCA Customer Service Team Manager Steven Short wins Stellar Achievement Award at SOCAP Industry Awards. 

More than 1,800 consumers contact the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) by phone, email and webchat every day, among them people who are under great financial and emotional stress. 

In recognition of the outstanding work that makes this process a good experience for both consumers and AFCA’s contact centre team, AFCA’s Customer Service Team Manager Steven Short was presented with the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals (SOCAP) Stellar Achievement Award.  

The award was announced at the 2021 SOCAP Symposium and acknowledges an individual for their significant contribution to improving customer service.  

AFCA Chief Operating Officer Justin Untersteiner said Mr Short has excelled in his role since joining AFCA in 2018 – leading a range of projects to enhance AFCA’s service. 

“Steven combines his passion for service delivery with an in-depth understanding of complaints management, and this drives a culture of exceptional customer experience at our front line,” Mr Untersteiner said.  

“He has been instrumental in refining AFCA’s customer service since we were established in November 2018, designing and implementing new service standards, a quality assurance model, customer-centric performance indicators and improving AFCA’s response to significant events like natural disasters.” 

Mr Short was also involved in enhancing AFCA’s webchat system, a real-time messaging function aimed at improving accessibility.  

“By integrating the webchat and telephony systems, consumers can now contact us via a medium that suits them. It also enables our customer service team to handle more enquiries faster, but with the same level of service,” Mr Untersteiner said.  

In accepting the award, Mr Short thanked his team for their commitment to providing a positive customer experience. 

“Our primary goal is to provide a genuine and helpful service to consumers in hardship or in dispute with their financial firm. Thanks to a few small changes, the team can spend more quality time with each consumer to fully understand their situation and provide the information they need to resolve their complaint.” 

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About Steven Short

Steven Short joined AFCA in 2018 as Team Manager – Registration and Referral and leads AFCA’s contact centre teams across Melbourne and Sydney. Prior to AFCA Steven was Servicing Team Manager at AMP managing a specialist customer service team dealing with complex issues and complaints in the superannuation division. Steven brings over 14 years of combined experience in customer service and contact centre management to AFCA, with a strong focus on resolving issues in an effective and fair manner.

Published: 20 August 2021

Media enquiries media@afca.org.au

About AFCA

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) is a non-government ombudsman service providing free, fair and independent help with financial disputes. It is a one-stop-shop for consumers and small businesses who have a dispute with their financial firm, over things such as banking, credit, insurance, advice, investments or superannuation. Where an agreement cannot be reached between parties, AFCA can issue decisions that are binding on financial firms.