Nicolas Gagne

Hello,

I am a family man and lifelong Kitchener-Waterloo resident looking for a new career path. I have a bachelor's degree in French Studies (oui, je parle français!) and 12 years' experience in various insurance positions, but none have felt like my “true calling”. I was laid off in 2022 and have taken advantage of this blessing-in-disguise to be a stay-at-home Dad for our then-5-month-old son. 

Now it's time to start a new chapter and find my true calling. I have always been keenly interested in electrical, machines and how they work, and construction; as well, I like working with my hands and doing renovations in our home. Furthermore, my time in insurance has taught me the value of helping people and giving them peace of mind, and a safe and well-functioning electrical system in their home or workplace is an important aspect of this. I would love to turn this passion into a rewarding career.

(all positions located in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario)

OTIP-RAEO (Ontario Teachers Insurance Plan)

APRIL 2014 – MARCH 2022

Bilingual Benefits Services Representative, Group Insurance Services- April 2014 – August 2016

Bilingual Warranty Specialist/Eligibility Specialist, School Board Relations- September 2016 – March 2022

• Service and professionalism — Excellent telephone etiquette and call management in English and French with a variety of people (members, coworkers, executives
• Accuracy — >99% Quality Audit average
• Effective communication — Explaining payouts and eligibility in simple and clear language.
• Empathy —successful at de-escalation of sensitive situations by using active listening with empathy, focusing on facts, taking ownership of errors/oversights, and consistent follow-up.
• Navigating computer systems 
• Fast reading and typing
• Managing a large caseload

Manulife Financial

JULY 2012 – APRIL 2014

Technical Subject Matter Expert, Commissions, Group Benefits- July 2013 – November 2013

Inquiry Specialist - Commissions, Group Benefits- December 2013 – January 2014

Customer Service Representative, Group Benefits- January 2014 – April 2014

• Collaboration — worked with IT, Business Analysts, and Commissions Specialists to ID and solve system errors.
• Effective communication: Effectively explained complex scenarios, commission cycles, and interdependencies to advisors to facilitate greater understanding and establish reasonable timeline expectations.
• Customer service: Excellent telephone and email manner along with clear communication.
• De-escalation: Advisors whose plans earned less than anticipated were charged money back at the end of year—which often came as an unwelcome surprise. I successfully de-escalated these sensitive situations through active listening, empathy, focusing on the facts, and effective communication.
• Process design/review — Helped to optimize report use to better identify commissions errors internally; past errors were discovered as a result and thousands of dollars in unpaid commissions were paid out to affected advisors.
• Documentation — Created and maintained process documentation to facilitate daily work and quality control.
• Technical Knowledge — Learned the computer systems’ inner workings as many sources of information were used to determine commissions payouts. Navigate Mainframe systems quickly.
• Flexibility —I willingly stepped up on several occasions and fielded inquiries and processed payments as required to maintain service levels.
• Excel (Advanced) including extensive use of PivotTables as well as VBA/Macros to access and analyze reports.
• Accounting — Balancing the amount of commission earned against amounts paid through analysis of Excel reports and system values.
• Fast reading and typing.

Crawford and Company (Canada)

AUGUST 2010 – JULY 2012

Supervisor, Corporate Programs Intake and Administration, Central Intake and Administration, National Claims Management Centre- January 2012 - July 2012

Bilingual ClaimsALERT Triage and Administration Agent- July 2011 - December 2011

Bilingual ClaimsALERT Telephone agent- August 2010 - July 2011

• Mentoring — Helped team members succeed through regular one-on-one sessions highlighting their strengths and identifying opportunities for improvement.
• Performance management — Ensured team members met productivity, accuracy, and punctuality targets.
• Effective communication — Including to deliver unwelcome messages and have difficult/uncomfortable conversations.
• Customer service — Efficiently paging out adjustors and contractors to fire and flood scenes, in both English and French.
• Critical thinking/Problem solving 
• Knowledge/Memory —Memorized key information so it wouldn’t.
• Accuracy — >95% Quality Score
• Extreme Flexibility — Working evenings and weekends; frequently accepting last-minute schedule changes and working extra hours to meet the unpredictable demands of weather-related insurance claims.

THE HOME DEPOT

TOOL RENTAL ASSOCIATE 2004- 2010

• Excellent Customer Service
• Tool Operation and Maintenance — Demonstrated proper use and safety requirements for tools. Cleaned and maintained tools between rentals, and did troubleshooting and repair of minor breakdowns.
• Recommending the Right Tool — Providing multiple options where applicable to suit varying budgets and timelines. 
• Attention to Detail — Ensured that tools were ready to rent and that agreements were created accurately.
• Flexibility — To meet unforeseen needs or to bolster my hours in slow periods, I leveraged my breadth of knowledge and did a little bit of everything. I filled in in several other departments, and even joined the overnight restocking crew on multiple occasions.
• WHMIS Trained

EDUCATION

2010 – B.A. French Studies — University of Waterloo

2004 – High School Diploma with French Immersion Certificate — Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate and Vocational School

2010 – B.A. French Studies — University of Waterloo

2004 – High School Diploma with French Immersion Certificate — Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate and Vocational School