Empowering People to Thrive E12
In this episode, host David Steinmetz and guest Dr. Hui Wu-Curtis talked about the importance of removing barriers to employment and creating a culture that values diversity and promotes inclusion for all.
Dr. Curtis stated that she believes the existing BPO model is flawed and set out to create a new organization the right way. Culture and belongingness are critical in our business model – to provide a workplace that leverages the diversity of people, empowers them to make decisions and learn from mistakes, have fun, and gives all employees a safe place to be themselves. Everything from our technology stack, recruitment and hiring, processes, and compensation plans have all been designed with our people in mind. And they, in turn, are more loyal and deliver outstanding service to our clients.
SupportU is a woman, minority-owned business process outsourcing (BPO) company specializing in contact center operations, including customer service, technical support, sales, and back-office support. Our teams work across all channels with inbound and outbound Voice, SMS Text, Chat, and Email.
We believe the existing BPO model is flawed and set out to create a new organization the right way. Culture and belongingness are critical in our business model – to provide a workplace that leverages the diversity of people, empowers them to make decisions and learn from mistakes, have fun, and gives all employees a safe place to be themselves. Everything from our technology stack, recruitment and hiring, processes, and compensation plans have all been designed with our people in mind. And they, in turn, are more loyal and deliver outstanding service to our clients.
SupportU is also a mission-driven organization that believes strongly in providing opportunities to our underserved communities and their people. We recognize that marginalized groups of people are often overlooked and undervalued thus we set out to create a company that is purposeful in correcting these disparities and providing opportunity, mentoring, and development to everyone.
Dr. Hui Wu-Curtis is an executive who specializes in contact center operations. She has spent the last 20+ working in healthcare, hospitality, utilities, finance, and telecommunication companies leading call center/contact center teams across 65 countries. Hui is a forward-thinking innovator and thought leader for customer experience and has worked with organizations to transform their technology, processes and procedures, and overall contact center operations.
Hui is an active speaker at numerous customer experience conferences sharing stories of operational innovation, driving customer experience, leveraging data and analytics, and transformational leadership, in addition to publishing several industry articles. She received the 2022 Globee Silver award for Woman Owned Startup of the Year in Business Services, Women Owned and Led business of the Year, and Female Entrepreneur of the Year in Business Services, listed in 2022 CCWomen Top 20 Luminaries, 2022 ACEL Entrepreneurial of the Year, 2022 Stevie’s Bronze award for Lifetime Achievement category, 2021 Silver Globee award for Executive Excellence/Influencer of the year, 2021 IAOP and HCL Red Ladder Women in Outsourcing Award winner for Women Empowering Women and listed in CIOLook’s Top 10 Businesswomen to admire in 2021.
Connect with Hui on LinkedIn.
About Your Host
As the manager of Community and Public Relations, David Steinmetz uses his expertise, education, and personal experiences to “change the perception of blindness.”
Diagnosed with RP, a blinding retinal disease, at the age of 19, David uses his personal story to drive change that leads to improved employment outcomes and community integration for people who are blind or visually impaired.
Mr. Steinmetz graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Economics. Additionally, Steinmetz has continued his education by graduating from the Business Management Training (BMT) program provided by Darden Graduate School of Business, University of Virginia.
In 2008, David was the national recipient of the National Industries for the Blind Milton J. Samuelson Career Achievement award. This prestigious award recognized Mr. Steinmetz for his career achievements and community service work.
David Steinmetz is a member of the Governors’ Council on Blindness & Visual Impairments, is a Board Member at the Arizona Center for the Blind & Visually Impaired (ACBVI) and serves his community through the Chandler Lions Club.
Connect with David on LinkedIn and Instagram.
About the Show
Changing the Perception of Blindness; One Conversation at a Time is dedicated to breaking down barriers, de-mystifying blindness and promoting real world solutions that empower people who are blind to live a full and inclusive life.
Host, David Steinmetz connects with organizations, industry professionals and thought leaders who are working to bridge the gap that creates a world accessible for all.
About Arizona Industries for the Blind
Arizona Industries for the Blind is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating employment opportunities for people who are blind. It’s employees, more than half of whom are blind, deliver a variety of products and services, including a full-service Warehousing and Distribution Center, confidential Digital Data Scan (DDS) services for private businesses and government and the operation of Base Supply Centers located at each of Arizona’s three military bases under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Labor’s AbilityOne program.
