IEP WINS AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE

International Exchange Programs (IEP) is thrilled to have been honoured with an Australian Business Award (ABA) in the category of Service Excellence.

The non-profit organisation specialises in sending young Australians on working holidays overseas while also helping working holiday makers from overseas settle in Australia. With a small team of young, well travelled professionals, IEP prides itself on providing personal and friendly assistance to enquirers and participants alike.

IEP’s Australian Business Award application highlighted their efforts to stay on top of advancements in communication technology in order to reach their targeted customers, Generation Y.

The IEP team are trained to provide prompt, friendly and upfront responses to their customers’ queries via traditional methods such as phone, email and face to face but increasingly via social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, mediums which insist on transparency and honesty.

With the staff at IEP being a part of Gen Y themselves, they are able to communicate on the same level as their customers with a true understanding of the concerns and questions their enquirers have.

IEP’s Company Director Brad Holland is thrilled with the award but admits he never had any doubt about the high level of customer service his team provided.

“IEP regularly receives positive feedback from customers who are satisfied with the assistance and personal service we provide so it’s fantastic to be recognised with this award,” Mr Holland said, “Gen Y expect nothing less than prompt, straight forward and friendly assistance, they are used to having many choices and don’t hesitate to spread the word if they are unsatisfied, this encourages us to interact with our customers in a way that suits their lifestyle-which is proving to be successful.”

IEP works closely with their international partners around the world to assist working holiday makers with all facets of their travel planning from visas, travel insurance and flights through to helping them find a job, a place to live, set up bank accounts and tax-file numbers as well as providing ongoing assistance throughout their entire stay.

This year’s award for Service Excellence is IEP’s second Australian Business Award in three years, their first was an award for Innovation in 2006 recognising their Work Canada program.

About the Awards

Established in 2003, the Australian Business Awards is an independent organisation incorporated in Australia as a proprietary limited company. Specialising in Quality Management, the Australian Business Awards administer and coordinate The Australian Business Awards™ program. As a private sector initiative, the Australian Business Awards is not affiliated with any larger or controlling entity to avoid any potential conflict of interest and does not rely on the financial support of government or other organisations.

The Awards are a national, all-encompassing awards program honouring organisations that demonstrate the core values of business excellence, product excellence, sustainability and commercial success in their respective industries. Entries are judged on specific criteria underpinned by the program's values of success, innovation and ethics. The judging panel is carefully selected and coordinated by the Australian Business Awards to ensure that the judging process is fair and objective, free of bias or influence.

The mission of the Australian Business Awards is:

• conduct an annual awards program with regional recognition and global significance;

• To recognise and honour corporate and product excellence;

• To ensure that the judging process is fair and objective, free of bias or influence; and

• To provide a viable world-class initiative that is technologically advanced for consumers and the business community alike

More information about the Australian Business Awards is available at www.businessawards.com