Nominations are invited from new contact centre operations during their first 18 months of operation. Nominations can include relocations, centralisation of sites, new satellite sites or site transformations as well as brand new contact centre start-ups. Judges are looking for:

• Progress against the implementation plan
• Evidence of an efficient and effective customer and employee focused operation
• A clear understanding of the role of the contact centre within the organisation at all levels, with appropriate resources and systems in place to ensure ongoing success
• Robust people processes including recruitment and onboarding, learning and development, employee engagement and health and wellbeing considerations
• Appropriate reward and recognition schemes
• Clear targets and measures and performance against each of these.

This category recognises one of the key challenges of operating a contact centre – handling extreme peaks in demand. Examples could include seasonal peaks, weather related incidents or emergency situations. Nominations are invited from organisations that can demonstrate:

• Creative and innovative approaches to handling peak demand
• A robust plan that delivers effective results whilst protecting the customer and employee experience
• Effective use of resources which may include people, third parties and technology solutions
• An effective communications plan for both employees and customers
• An understanding of performance impacts and associated recovery plans.

Nominations are invited from organisations that have successfully deployed new and/or innovative technology within their customer contact environment that supports the employee and/or customer experience and is having a significant impact on operational performance. Nominations should outline the business benefits that have been realised including:

• The impact on the employee experience.
• Return on investment achieved.
• Quantifiable and qualitative results.
• The impact on the customer experience.
• The approach used to implement and integrate the technology.

This award is not for the technology solution itself; it is for how the technology has been implemented, deployed, and maximised within your organisation. Joint nominations from the organisation and their technology provider will be accepted, however the technology provider cannot nominate on their own.

This category is open to business development teams that are growing their customer base from within the customer contact operation. Nominations should outline:

• Evidence of an ethical approach and true customer-centric culture.
• The metrics used to manage the performance of teams and individuals e.g., conversion rates.
• Achievement against KPIs, including a comparison against the last two years.
• Reward and recognition programmes.
• How the team works together to deliver for the customer.
• What improvements have been implemented to ensure that the customer experience is the best it can be whilst exceeding sales performance.
• How the team’s performance has impacted the organisation overall.
• Demonstrate how the team has listened and responded to customer needs.
• Evidence of customer engagement/satisfaction results.

Open to internal facing teams that provide operational day-to-day support to the contact centre or customer service operation are invited to enter this category. This could include supporting teams from HR, management information, data and insights, marketing, planning, IT etc. Judges will be looking for:

• An overview of the operating model and how the team support the operation on a day-to-day basis
• A true partnership culture and how this is evidenced
• Examples of when the team has delivered above and beyond in order to provide high standards of customer service
• Innovation and initiative when trouble shooting or problem solving
• Evidence of how the team’s work has improved the performance of the business areas they support
• Metrics that evidence the results achieved.

This category acknowledges that the most successful customer contact teams work closely with other functions of an organisation in order to do the right thing for the customer. This could be customer experience, marketing, IT, back office, complaints, business change etc. Nominations are invited from organisations that have demonstrated collaboration to create a great customer experience, and the judges are looking for:

• The business drivers behind the collaboration and the challenges that had to be overcome
• The overall objectives of the initiative
• The approach that was taken and what controls and measures were put in place
• Key benefits that were realised across the customer experience
• How the initiative was measured and what results were achieved.

This category is open to organisations that have partnered with a third-party organisation to deliver a change that positively impacts the operation, employees and/or the customer. Examples include working with a consultant, a recruiter, a training provider, a marketing agency, or a workplace/facilities/office design company. The supplier and the client are expected to submit a joint entry.

Nominations are invited from organisations that have a great partnership with their Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) partner and can demonstrate results that show how the customer and employee is benefitting from the partnership. Both the outsourcer and the client are expected to submit a joint entry. Nominations should outline:

• Evidence of an efficient and effective customer and employee focused operation
• A clear understanding of the business aims and challenges and how the partnership has helped to meet them
• Open, two-way communication channels between the outsourcing frontline and the client decision makers
• Evidence of effective integration and ongoing investment in the relationship
• Demonstrable progression or achievement of the original business objectives
• The value-add, outside of cost, that the outsourcer has brought to the relationship.

This category is for teams that have implemented a change in their business processes in the last 12 months that delivered improvements in either the customer journey, the customer contact operation, or the employee experience. Judges will be looking for:

• A clear understanding of the objectives behind the improvement initiative.
• Evidence of how the initiative was planned, deployed, and monitored.
• Effective use of internal communication channels to inform teams across the business about the improvement initiative and its aims.
• Clear evidence of the impact of the change on customers, employees, and the performance of the operation within the business as a whole (including a demonstrable return on investment).
• What the team has learned from the process and any future plans.

Organisations that have embarked on a strategic transformation of their customer contact operation are invited to enter this category. The programme will have been planned to implement over several years and nominations are invited from organisations that have either completed the transformation or are part way through the journey and already seeing demonstrably impressive results. Judges will be looking for:

• A clear strategy for transformation in customer contact, with a vision and milestones in an effective transformation programme plan
• How people, process and technology initiatives are aligned to the business strategy and vision
• How challenges were managed and overcome
• Clear evidence of the impact the transformation has had on customers, employees and the business
• Lessons learnt from the transformation process and how this has impacted future investments.

This category is open to any contact centre or customer service operation that has delivered a structured learning and development programme of activity. Nominations should outline:

• The overall framework and objectives.
• How the programme links to the organisation’s culture.
• What methods have been used to develop and deploy the programme?
• The impact of the programme on the operation, employees, and customers.
• How the success of the programme has been measured and what results are being realised.
• How the programme has been embedded.

Nominations are invited from organisations that can evidence a genuine culture of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. It will be clear what steps have been taken to implement and manage a successful DEIB strategy, including communication, training and a measurement framework.

As well as demonstrating the breadth and depth of the approach, judges will be looking for:

• A clear understanding of the challenge and how the organisation approached it.
• The overall framework, goals, and measurement of the impact.
• The approach taken to create an environment where everyone feels like they belong
• Evidence that the approach has created a thriving customer contact operation.
• An outline of the benefits realised for employees, customers, and wider business.

This category is for organisations that can clearly demonstrate its commitment to ESG (Environment, Social and Governance). Judges will be looking for evidence of a healthy approach to sustainability, culture and ethics, and corporate risk within the context of the customer contact operation, and the impact this approach has on customers, employees and the business. Nominations should demonstrate:

• ESG initiatives and approach deployed.
• How the contact centre or customer service teams are involved in shaping and delivering the initiatives.
• Feedback from the community, customers, and employees.
• The impact that the initiatives have had on the operation and wider business.
• The sustainability of the activity and ongoing developments.
• Balancing the initiatives against employee engagement and business priorities.

This category will recognise the customer contact operation that has genuinely put the customer central to the way that it works. Organisations will exude their customer centricity throughout the judging process, where judges will also be looking for:

• How customers are engaged with the organisation and listened to
• Evidence of the impact customer centricity has had on the business
• A clear strategy and ongoing approach to sustaining the culture
• How employees are empowered to support customers
• Feedback from customers and employees
• Impact on the customer experience delivered.

Nominations are invited from organisations that strive to be an employer of choice for customer contact professionals. Judges are looking for evidence of a supporting culture that has thorough recruitment processes in place, enables people to grow and develop, supports flexible working, values employees’ overall wellbeing and has great employee engagement programmes. Nominations should outline:

• How recruitment is supported by an effective candidate journey and employee value proposition.
• The approach to flexible working and working practices
• How employee engagement is measured and what results are being achieved.
• What learning and development opportunities exist for people.
• The approach to talent management; learning and development and career opportunities.
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion framework in the workplace.
• A robust wellbeing programme that is embedded in the operation and evidence of proactive promotion.
• How people are recognised and rewarded for doing a good job.
• How employee feedback is heard and acted on in the business.

Nominations are invited from organisations that have developed a clear and appropriate contact strategy across their customer contact operation. The strategy will be a combination of the most suitable channels to deliver the best customer experience, from live channels, such as voice, text, and video, to asynchronous messaging, self-service, digital channels, and proactive contact. Judges will be looking for:

• The use of insights to develop the contact strategy.
• Evidence of customer segmentation.
• A clear contact strategy with objectives aligned to the business need.
• How the channels deployed meet customer needs.
• Support provided to employees to deliver the strategy.
• The impact on customers, employees, and the wider business KPIs.

This category will recognise organisations that have used data and insight to drive improvements to a customer contact operation or wider business. Organisations that have used operational data that delivered actionable insights to enable a change to a process or an approach that has had a positive impact on the customer or employee experience are invited to enter. Judges will be looking for:

• Evidence of a structured approach to the collection, reporting and analysis of data.
• How data is converted into usable reports, and correlations and trends are identified.
• How insights were used to enable a performance improvement or deliver a business case for change.
• Examples of how insight has been used to improve the customer and/or employee experience.
• How the ongoing use of data and insights is used to monitor business performance and the success of any changes made.
• Lessons learnt in how data can impact the business, and how the data framework is evolving.

This category will recognise organisations that can demonstrate that they have successfully redesigned a customer experience, across one or more channels that has had a positive impact on the customer, the employee and the contact centre operation. Judges will be looking for organisations to demonstrate:

• Evidence of the need to redesign the customer experience
• The objectives of the redesign
• A structured approach to change
• Delivery of a consistent, personal and responsive customer experience
• Innovative and effective use of technology within the customer journey
• Impact of the redesign on the contact centre and overall business performance, as well as on customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, customer effort or other positive results.

This category recognises innovative new ideas and developments that have enabled organisations to meet the needs of their customers more effectively. Innovative approaches may apply to any aspect of the customer relationship or methods to improve existing internal systems or processes supporting customer service. Judges will be looking for:

• Evidence of creative and innovative thinking.
• A clear business reason for the deployment of the innovation.
• Demonstration of the benefits to the business, the customer, and the employee.
• How the implementation has improved performance of the operation.
• The reasons you believe that your idea is innovative and relevant to today’s customer.

Nominations are invited from customer contact operations that provide services in two or more languages. Employees providing the service must be based in Europe and can provide services globally. Judges are looking for:

• An overview of the different languages and channels provided
• Examples of how the organisation embraces the different cultures
• An overview of the quality management programme in place
• Evidence of an efficient and effective customer and employee focused operation
• A clear understanding of the customer contact operations role within the business at all levels, with appropriate resources and systems in place to ensure ongoing success
• Robust people processes including recruitment, learning and development and employee engagement
• Clear targets and measures and your performance against each of these
• Evidence of how the customer contact operation has contributed to the wider business.

Nominations are invited from organisations delivering great customer service to customers in Europe from anywhere in the world. Nominations should outline:

• An overview of the service provided, in which languages and via which channels.
• Evidence of a true customer-centric culture.
• Examples of how the organisation embraces different cultures of both their colleagues and the customers they are serving.
• Delivery of a consistent, personal, and responsive customer experience.
• An overview of the quality management programme in place.
• Evidence of robust people processes including recruitment, learning and development, employee engagement and recognition.
• Demonstrate how improvements are being made based on feedback from both customers and employees.
• Clear targets and measures and the performance against each of these.
• Evidence of how the customer contact operation has contributed to the wider business.

Nominations are invited from customer service teams, including helpdesks and specialist teams, that are doing something outstanding and/or different and can demonstrate the impact they are having on the business. Nominations should outline:

• Evidence of a true customer-centric culture.
• How the team works together in order to deliver for the customer.
• What improvements have been implemented to ensure that the customer experience is the best it can be.
• How the team’s performance has impacted the organisation overall.
• A recent initiative that the team has implemented that has delivered a great experience for customers.
• Demonstrate how the team has listened and responded to customer needs.
• Evidence of customer engagement/satisfaction results.

Delivery of the best outsourced operation for clients and their customers is what the judges will be looking for in this category, wherever the operation is based in Europe. Nominations should outline:

• Evidence of an efficient and effective customer and employee focused operation
• A clear understanding of the contact centre’s role within their own and their clients’ businesses at all levels, with appropriate resources and systems in place to ensure ongoing success
• Robust people processes including recruitment, learning and development and employee engagement
• A people-centric environment with effective communication vehicles
• Appropriate reward and recognition schemes
• Evidence that the frontline is involved in decisions that impact them
• Evidence of the positive impact of the centre on their own company and their clients as a whole
• Clear targets and measures and performance against them.

Nominations are invited from in-house contact centres with less than 100 frontline employees based in Europe. Judges will be looking for:

• Evidence of an efficient and effective customer and employee focused operation
• A clear understanding of the contact centres role within the business at all levels, with appropriate resources and systems in place to ensure ongoing success
• Robust people processes including recruitment, learning and development and employee engagement
• A people-centric environment with effective communication vehicles
• Appropriate reward and recognition schemes
• Evidence that the frontline is involved in decisions that impact them
• Evidence of the positive impact of the centre on the company as a whole
• Clear targets and measures and performance against them.

Nominations are invited from in-house contact centres with more than 100 frontline employees located in one or multiple sites in Europe. Judges will be looking for:

• Evidence of an efficient and effective customer and employee focused operation
• A clear understanding of the contact centres role within the business at all levels, with appropriate resources and systems in place to ensure ongoing success
• Robust people processes including recruitment, learning and development and employee engagement
• A people-centric environment with effective communication vehicles
• Appropriate reward and recognition schemes
• Evidence that the frontline is involved in decisions that impact them
• Evidence of the positive impact of the centre on the company as a whole
• Clear targets and measures and performance against them.

Nominations are invited from organisations that have two or more contact centres located in two or more different European countries. Judges will be looking for:

• An overview of how the contact centres collaborate with each other to best serve the customer
• Evidence of an efficient and effective customer and employee focused operation
• A clear understanding of the contact centres role within the business at all levels, with appropriate resources and systems in place to ensure ongoing success
• Robust people processes including recruitment, learning and development and employee engagement
• A people-centric environment with effective communication vehicles
• Appropriate reward and recognition schemes
• Evidence that frontline teams are involved in decisions that impact them
• Evidence of the positive impact of the centre on the company as a whole
• Clear targets and measures and performance against them.

How do you wow your customers? This category is an opportunity to showcase brilliant customer experiences. Nominations are invited from organisations that consistently deliver customer experience excellence, going above and beyond NPS (Net Promoter Score) and demonstrably have positive customer sentiment online. The judges will be looking for:

• A proactive approach to customer experience excellence
• Creativity, innovation and a unique approach to the experience
• KPIs used to measure the impact and performance against them
• Evidence of exceeding customer expectations
• The impact on colleagues, customers and the business