BOC wins 2013 Stevie Award

OWINGS MILLS, Md., March 14, 2013—The Board of Certification/Accreditation (BOC) won a Stevie Award for Sales & Customer Service at the seventh annual ceremony. BOC was recognized for its exceptional customer service department alongside such companies as Delta Air Lines, Marriott Intl, Inc., and John Hancock Financial Services.

The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service are the world’s top sales awards, contact center awards and customer service awards. The Stevie Awards organizes several of the world’s leading business awards shows, including the prestigious American Business Awards and International Business Awards.

The awards were presented to honorees during a gala banquet on Monday, February 25, at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. More than 300 nominated customer service and sales executives from the US and several other countries attended.

More than 1,100 entries from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted to this year’s competition, an increase of 10 percent over 2012. Finalists were determined by the average scores of 120 professionals worldwide, acting as preliminary judges. Entries were considered in 30 categories for customer service professionals, including Contact Center of the Year, Award for Innovation in Customer Service, and Customer Service Department of the Year; 41 categories for sales professionals, ranging from Senior Sales Executive of the Year to Sales Training or Coaching Program of the Year to Sales Department of the Year of the Year; and categories to recognize new products and services and solution providers.

BOC was selected as a winner as a result of changes made following a year-long business and internal process review. Following the review, BOC improved engagement with its certificants and accredited facilities, equipping them with the ability to apply for and manage their credentials online through a personal web portal and state-of-the-art customer management system.

With its technological improvements, staff has been more available to respond directly to customers’ needs, with answered calls within three rings and short hold times. In addition to these tools, BOC has made it possible for its certification candidates to take their exams year round at convenient locations rather than during brief testing windows, which was once the industry standard. BOC’s prospective accredited facilities experience a quick turn-around time from application to site survey to determination.
BOC President and CEO, Claudia Zacharias, MBA, CAE, complimented her staff on its achievement. “Among our internal values are responsibility, continuous improvement, and customer centricity. It’s a pleasure to witness my staff embody these values daily as they assist our certificants and facilities.”

“From our perspective this was the most successful Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service yet,” said Michael Gallagher, president and founder of the Stevie Awards. “Not just because of the increase in the number and variety of entries, but in the extraordinary quality of the entries. Judges have told me how impressed they were with the success stories they reviewed this year. All of this year’s Stevie Award winners are truly deserving.”

Since 1984 BOC has provided credentials demonstrating the competence and proficiency of O&P and DME professionals. It offers NCCA-accredited certification programs in five O&P disciplines: orthotics, prosthetics, pedorthics, orthotic fitting, and mastectomy fitting. BOC partners with suppliers of Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS), offering accreditation that evidences compliance with standards set by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). BOC also offers the Certified DME Specialist (CDME) certification for DMEPOS facility personnel. Learn more at www.bocusa.org.