9:40 | Hitachi Capital’s People-led Engagement Strategy

Catherine Lindsay, Head of Customer Experience and Operations
Rula Samara, Contact Centre Manager

Hitachi Capital: Responding in a Crisis – Supporting Colleagues (Financial Services)
Find out how Hitachi Capital went above and beyond for their people when the pandemic hit, and how they are continuing with their people-led engagement strategy. From creating a new virtual academy for training and onboarding, to how they kept their people connected, adjusting opening hours to help colleagues adapt.

10:00 | Listening to employees delivers HSBC success

Michaela Mifsud Western, People Experience Manager
Kalani Weerasinghe, Operations Manager

HSBC: Best Voice of the Employee Programme
HSBC put their success down to their culture of caring for their people. Hear about their impressive list of people-focused initiatives that are based on feedback from employees, and how they are bringing diversity into their customer contact operation.

10:50 | Incredible employee satisfaction results for TDCX

Sophie Chelmick, SVP EMEA

TDCX Europe: Best Employer – Great Place to Work
This outcome-focused organisation has transformed the way they are managing people to raise standards in the customer contact operation. Find out about this Barcelona-based boutique outsourcer’s clear strategy, that includes a strong diversity and inclusion focus, wide ranging engagement activities, L&D approach and sense of community has resulted in incredible employee satisfaction results.

11:10 | Telefonica’s comprehensive and engaging improvement programme

Lotte Sens, Programme Manager Best in Class
Dr. Ulrike Stahlecker-Görtzen, Programme Lead Best in Class/Manager CSS Strategy & Analytics

Telefonica Germany: Most Effective Improvement Programme
This creative and talented team with innovative ideas from Telefonica Germany has delivered an improvement programme that take their service out to customers in new ways that helps to build and cement relationships with them. Find out what they have done in terms of approach, engagement, communication, design and how they measured the impact.

11:30 | Microsoft’s ground-breaking use of AI for chat

Jack Rawlings, Program Manager, Mircosoft
Sophia Malina, Head of Customer Success, Unbabel

Microsoft and Unbabel: Best Use of AI and Associated Technologies
Using Unbabel’s artificial intelligence solution, discover this step-change in the deployment of global resources, breaking down language as a barrier on the chat channels. Working together, they marry the best of human with the best of machine-learning, giving customers better advice and support across 76 languages, from someone who does not speak their language.

12:20 | Teleperformance Greece at the cutting edge of quality

Odysseas Christoforidis, VP of Support Functions
Dimitris Kazazakis, Head of Onboarding

Teleperformance Greece: Best Quality Management Team
It’s not about simply adhering to standard, Teleperformance Greece has transformed their approach to quality monitoring, providing COPC and Six Sigma certified quality services. Find out from this team of passionate experts how they are thinking out of the box and innovating with new processes and tools based on advanced methodologies, ready to adapt to all business needs.

12:40 | A true partnership with HR delivers for emovis

Beatriz Fuentes, Head of HR, Training and Communications
Jane Henderson, Operations Director

Emovis: Best Contact Centre Support Team
Hear a heart-waring story that is authentic and emotionally engaging when emovis talk about their exceptional partnership between HR and the customer contact operation. The HR team provides excellent support to a very diverse workforce and the relationship significantly contributes to the success of the organisation with the judges describing it as very innovative and a stand out in the industry.

13:00 | A truly best-practice approach to homeworking from Webhelp

Margaret-Anne Reid, Director of Operational Support, UK Region

Webhelp: Most Effective Homeworking Programme
‘Making things even better, not just about replicating them’ is what led Webhelp’s homeworking programme, that included a virtual community and virtual WebHEALTH strategy. Discover how their people-first attitude led to increased levels of employee engagement and impressive customer satisfaction results.

13:50 | Absolute focus on the customer experience at Ionos

James McGarry, Head of UK Customer Service
Oliver Kleimann, VP / Head of Customer Experience Management & Customer Service

Ionos: Best Use of Customer Insight
This customer-obsessed company in Germany has a 360o customer insight programme across multiple customer engagement channels. Find out how, by listening to customers, Ionos has launched initiatives to improve their NPS, with the judges saying it is simply overall best practice in action.

14:10 | Brand loyalty delivers game-changing approach for eBay

Megan Neale, Founder
Shonto Mee, Senior Director, Global Service Strategy

eBay and Limitless: Best Customer Engagement Initiative
Working with Limitless, eBay has transformed their approach to seller experiences in a highly creative and effective way. Discover how eBay is engaging customers who love their brand to support other customers, resulting in improved listings and increased sales. Their approach has created a new dynamic on who is a colleague and who is a customer and has created true brand loyalty and ambassadors.

14:30 | Vitality responds to customers and increases engagement as a result

Nick Read, Managing Director

Vitality: Responding in a Crisis (Customers)
Using Unbabel’s artificial intelligence solution, discover this step-change in the deployment of global resources, breaking down language as a barrier on the chat channels. Working together, they marry the best of human with the best of machine-learning, giving customers better advice and support across 76 languages, from someone who does not speak their language.

15:20 | EA Ireland’s customer service team is raising standards

Cyril Eustace Senior Team Manager
Dean Farrell Service Delivery Operations Lead

EA Ireland: Best Small Customer Service Team
Hear how this passionate customer service team at Electronic Arts is using innovative tools to help raise standards in the industry, making it easier for customers to enjoy the experience of gaming in a safe, secure and fun way. Find out how they proactively identify players that are struggling and those that are vulnerable, and how they respond.

15:40 | Agility delivers for NHS Business Services Authority

Mark Mcahon, Service Delivery Manager
Dan Britton, Head of Customer Operations

NHS Business Services Authority: Contact Centre of the Year (Large)
Being agile has been critical for many businesses and this is a fine example of how one contact centre had to adapt quickly and cope with an instance increase in demand. Hear the story from NHS Business Services Authority about their approach to customers, colleagues and why they received a letter of commendation for their ‘Herculean efforts’ from the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.

16:00 | Pan-European team at Shell Energy is the heartbeat of the operation

Viv Kelly, Head of Customer Service
Ruth O’Malley, Operational Customer Experience Manager

Shell Energy: Best Large Customer Service Team & Best Pan-European
Find out how Shell Energy Retail’s dedication to its continued focus on delivering the best outcome for customers is having a positive performance impact on the whole organisation. They have integrated their contact centre sites to support each other, with their open and transparent approach to empowering colleagues to focus on the customer regardless of channel.

Microsoft and Unbabel: Best Use of AI and Associated Technologies

The Judges described Microsoft’s ground-breaking use of Unbabel’s artificial intelligence-powered, human translating technology as pioneering, brave, innovative and industry leading and awarded them Gold for Best Use of AI and Associated Technologies. They said that it signifies a real step change in the deployment of global resources, breaking down language as a barrier on the chat channels. There is a great synergy between these two organisations, working together to use AI to marry the best of human with the best of machine learning. Customers are getting better advice and support across 76 languages, from someone who does not speak their language, and at a lower cost too!

Shell Energy Retail: Best Large Customer Service Team & Best Pan-European

Shell Energy Retail were awarded two Gold awards for Best Large Customer Service Team and Best Pan-European Contact Centre. Shell Energy Retail supplies renewable electricity, gas and broadband to nearly one million households with customer contact centres in the UK and Poland. Their vision is to build a better energy future and their improved Trustpilot scores indicate that they are certainly heading in the right direction. They demonstrated their flexible, dedicated and customer-centric contact centre with a bold customer focus, integrating the sites to support each other. The Judges described them as truly outstanding with an open and transparent approach to continuous improvement and empowered colleagues saying it is a long time since they had seen someone so focussed on customer.

NHS Business Services Authority: Contact Centre of the Year (Large)

The NHS Business Services Authority contact centre handles calls and emails across 23 wide-ranging services including European Health Insurance Cards, NHS Pensions, Prescription Services and Dental Services. Their ability to work in an agile way, adjust to Covid and Brexit, and cope with the instant increase in demand, blew the judges away. They are the service delivery partner of choice for the NHS, regardless of a worldwide pandemic, and are now the service delivery partner of choice for the UK Government, with a letter of commendation for their “Herculean efforts” addressed personally to their Head of Operations from the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. No wonder they won Contact Centre of the Year (Large).

EA Ireland: Best Small Customer Service Team

Winners of Best Small Customer Service Team were EA Ireland. Electronic Arts is a global leader in digital interactive entertainment who develop and deliver games, content and online services for consoles, mobile devices, and personal computers. They exist to help the world play, and this dedicated team, based in Ireland, is the global support hub for player support. The Judges said “This passionate customer service team is using innovative tools to help raise standards in the industry, making it easier for customers to enjoy the experience of gaming in a safe, secure and fun way. They can proactively understand if their players are struggling and can also identify vulnerable customers which is so important and shows how much they care for their customers.”

Webhelp: Most Effective Homeworking Programme

The Gold award for Most Effective Homeworking Programme went to Webhelp. Webhelp’s mantra of ‘making things even better, not just about replicating them’ served them well as they mobilised their homeworking programme at pace. They have an impressive people-first attitude that has led to increased levels of engagement for all employees and impressive customer satisfaction results too. Importantly, they provided their leaders with the skills to manage performance of remote workers and vital information was delivered to new homeworkers, enabling them to stay connected and engaged whilst working remotely. The Judges felt that Webhelp demonstrated real innovation in their approach to homeworking. They loved their focus on communication, their virtual community and their virtual WebHEALTH strategy to look after colleague’s mental health and said that it was all round industry-leading and a truly best practice approach.

Vitality: Responding in a Crisis – Supporting Customers (Insurance and Financial Services)

The Vitality core purpose is ‘to make people healthier and to enhance and protect their lives’. Clearly customers needed this more than ever during the pandemic and Vitality was good to its word and quickly launched ‘Vitality at Home’. It provided members with a new set of benefits, allowing them to continue caring for their health, keep active and earn attractive rewards, all from the safety of their own home. Rather than looking at the situation as a problem, they took it as an opportunity to increase customer engagement by responding to their customers changing needs. The Judges said that their concept was simple, innovative, and effective. They admired that customer well-being was clearly put as a priority, and awarded them Gold in Responding in a Crisis – Supporting Customers (Insurance and Financial Services).

Ionos: Best Use of Customer Insight

Ionos, a web hosting company based in Germany, is a customer obsessed company where their focus is always on delivering the best customer experiences. Their three sixty degree customer insight programme is well established, across multiple customer engagement channels. As a result of listening to customers they have launched initiatives to improve their NPS, including CX Camps where employees are invited to experience a customer journey. The NPS metric is at the forefront of all employees’ minds. The judges said that the Ionos use of customer insight is simply overall best practice in action and awarded them Gold for Best Use of Customer Insight.

emovis: Best Contact Centre Support Team

The Gold award for Best Contact Centre Support Team went to emovis. The emovis HR team provides excellent support to a very diverse workforce. The Judges observation was that they are a true partner to the operation and that their performance significantly contributes to the success of the organisation as a whole. The judges said – this really was a heart-warming story, authentic and emotionally engaging, an exceptional partnership between HR and Operations. They particularly liked their support for colleagues covered by the Disability Discrimination Act, describing it as very innovative and stand out in the industry.