Sarah Towles
Phoenix
Summary
Results-oriented leader with a strong background in customer service and team supervision. Expertise in resolving issues efficiently, enhancing operational performance, and ensuring compliance with policies. Demonstrated success in training and developing teams to achieve organizational goals.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
Work History
Customer Service Representative
Social Security Administration
07.2019 - Current
- Engaged in active listening and communicated clearly during interviews to effectively address diverse beneficiary concerns.
- Interview beneficiaries and/or their representatives and the public to determine the nature of their problem or interest.
- Explain and assist callers with proper use of SSA's online retirement planner tool.
- Provide information about specific retirement and disability benefit options and compute estimated monthly benefits.
- Explained technical provisions and resolved problems through research and critical thinking.
- Explain technical information, gather facts, evaluate evidence and take action to resolve problems.
- Investigate case situations and reconciles discrepancies causing interruption of payments or when critical payment procedures should be used.
- Investigated security issues related to social security numbers and addressed cases of direct deposit fraud and theft.
- Research issues, guidelines, procedures, policies to seek solutions and assists with critical thinking and finding a resolution.
Customer Account Representative
GM Financial
12.2021 - 11.2022
- Supported goals aligned with GM Financial’s vision, fostering long-term customer relationships.
- Contacted customers and vendors to address account issues with customers, authorized third parties and vendors to resolve accounts.
- Executed strategies to enhance center performance and meet objectives.
- Leveraged collection tools to enhance account recovery efforts appropriately.
- Accurately and efficiently document collections and servicing activity in appropriate systems of record.
- Ensured compliance with policies and regulations to maintain operational integrity.
Supervisory Transportation Security Officer
Transportation Security Administration
10.2007 - 07.2019
- Supervised up to 80 security officers daily.
- Accomplished work through coordination, direction, and oversight of officers and exercised significant responsibility in advising management officials.
- Directed work of employees to include setting priorities, assigning tasks, monitoring and evaluating performance, coaching and developing employee capabilities, and recommending a variety of human resources actions such as promotions, reassignments, awards, etc.
- Prepared performance evaluations and took or recommended corrective disciplinary actions up to and including dismissal.
- Evaluated and developed performance standards and assessed work performance for colleagues.
- Coordinated personnel actions, provided benefits information, served as timekeeper, scheduled training, and maintained records for 140 officers.
- Initiated, tracked, and followed up on cases and actions for managers and employees to ensure timely completion and regulatory compliance, resolving recurring issues independently when guidelines were available.
- Carried out Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) policies and program activities, communicated support of these policies to employees, and encouraged active participation in EEO program activities and training.
- Assessed productivity and operational effectiveness, analyzing and resolving issues in administrative support and staff activities.
- Retrieved information from other software systems (e.g., databases, spreadsheets, graphics, and word processing), analyzing data for inclusion in reports and publications.
- Provided mentoring and coaching to enhance performance of officers., coaching, and performance development duties for a large group of officers.
- Assigned tasks based on project priorities and employee capabilities. based on priorities, selective consideration of the difficulty and requirements of assignments, and the capabilities of employees, set and adjusted short-term priorities, and set target dates for work completion.
Education
High School Diploma -
John F Kennedy High School
La Palma, CA06-2006
Skills
- Benefit explanation
- Regulatory compliance
- Data analysis
- Computer Literacy
- Problem Solving
- Issue resolution
- Time Management
- Organizational Skills
- Teamwork
- Communication
- Customer relationship
Activities
Some activities include health/fitness, reading and writing for personal development and exploring other cultures.
Timeline
Customer Account Representative
GM Financial
12.2021 - 11.2022
Customer Service Representative
Social Security Administration
07.2019 - Current
Supervisory Transportation Security Officer
Transportation Security Administration
10.2007 - 07.2019
High School Diploma -
John F Kennedy High School