Get Out of Wrap - Contact Centre Chat (Martin Teasdale)

Danny Wareham is an expert on culture and in this enlightening episode shares his mantra's and tips on installing a great culture in your organisation.

Tina Squire is the Digital Channels & operations Director at Interact CC. Tina is a passionate speaker on Neurodiversity in the workplace and this was heightened when she received her own diagnosis of ADHD. 

If you are curious about ADHD, think you have it, have it, have someone in your team with it or just want to learn then Tina's story, passion and knowledge on this subject is second to none.

Forgive this departure from contact centre chat but I wanted to use the medium of the podcast to share some tips on how men can make women feel safe in public. In the wake of the terrible news about Sarah Everard a group in Clapham called # reclaim these streets' wrote;

'We believe that streets should be safe for women, regardless of what you wear, where you live or what time of day or night it is. We shouldn't have to wear bright colours when we walk home and clutch our keys in our fists to feel safe.'

'It's wrong that the response to violence against women requires women to behave differently. In Clapham, police told women not to go out at night this week. Women are not the problem.'

I couldn't agree more - its for us men to change our behaviour and become active allies. Here are some tips on how we can do this.

To officially launch Ascensos adding their Team Managers to the Team Leader Community I travelled to the Motherwell site of Ascensos in Scotland for two days and during the trip got to speak to John Devlin - CoFounder & CEO and also Caitlin McWhirter Senior Team Manager

In this episode Richard Gregory chats about vulnerability. At a time when the cost of living and utility price hikes are causing real concern Richard shares Odigo backed research, personal stories and a real passion for helping both employees and customers as we navigate as an industry through a trying time.

**One year into Consumer Duty—are we truly putting customers first?**

In our latest podcast episode, I had the pleasure of diving deep with Helen Manahan and Pete Dunn from BPA Quality about the impact of the UK’s Consumer Duty regulation, one year on. We unpacked how this regulation is driving a critical shift towards customer-centricity in the financial sector, highlighting both the successes and the ongoing challenges.

Key takeaways:

- The importance of designing processes that truly serve *all* customers, especially the vulnerable.

- How the FCA is evolving from a punitive regulator to a supportive partner in driving better customer outcomes.

- The vital role of technology and human empathy in navigating the complexities of customer service today.

Whether you're in financial services or another industry, these insights are crucial as we all strive to better serve our customers in an increasingly complex world.

Listen to the full episode for more actionable insights!

Stu Dorman has been on twice before and marks his hat-trick appearance with a trademark insightful chat about our industry.  Voice has stood the test of time as the dominant channel in our industry and Stuart shares why its short sighted to try and kill it.

Short review of 2024 and look forward to 2025.

Thank you for another year with me and this podcast - your support means a lot.

Happy new year from me x

Mart

What is your Linkedin 'ick' ?

What is the one thing you think will change our industry for the better in 2025 ?

This years industry events.

What is the mix of inbound traffic in our industry and what is the expected change ?

We cover all of this in the show today which I am able to bring to you thanks to my partners Betr & The Forum.

Chris Rainsforth is Head of Operational Best Practice at Verint, previously at The Forum Chris knows his stuff about contact centres and featured on episode 3 and has been a massive part of & supporter of the podcast. We have become friends so we chat for ages, I didn't want to leave anything out as Chris is a really interesting guy. The first part is centred on contact centres and then in the second hour ( recorded a week later ) we chat politics, life, lockdown and some football I'm sure gets in.

Chris understands that the point of this podcast is just to chat, its not scripted, questions are not prepared in advance its just meant to replicate the chats I have had in the past in real life and as such I try very hard not to edit anything so if you are a fan of GOOW you'll like this one.

Chris was also one of the first doners to the podcast's chosen charity Naomi House - he's been a massive supporter of this worthy cause - thanks Chris.

There will be more regular chats with Chris coming soon.

David Holmes - Director at SSE and author of Leading the Line comes on to chat about the book.

Jake Gardiner of Odigo really knows his stuff and chats about AI, NLP and much more in a great episode to listen to if you want to understand more about how cloud based technology can help your contact centre.

In this *Get Out of Wrap* podcast episode, Martin hosts Garry Gormley, also known as "Double G," to discuss the importance of leveraging conversations, data, and coaching to enhance team leader and agent performance in contact centers.

### Key Takeaways:

1. **Using Conversational Data to Drive Performance**:

Garry emphasizes the potential of conversational analytics in improving agent performance, even for centers without advanced tools. He discusses how analyzing everyday customer-agent interactions can reveal insights, such as key phrases, sentiment, and tone, to identify improvement areas.

2. **Enhancing Coaching Conversations**:

Garry highlights the importance of coaching for conversational performance rather than focusing on compliance. He advocates for real-time feedback and personalized coaching, stressing that coaching should target how agents handle calls, including empathy, tone, and question types, to drive better outcomes.

3. **Moving from Reactive to Proactive Service**:

The conversation shifts to how contact centers can transition from reactive customer service to proactive solutions. By identifying recurring issues in customer interactions, leaders can reduce the volume of repeat problems and improve overall service efficiency and customer satisfaction.

### Why Listen?

Listeners will gain valuable insights on how to leverage data from everyday interactions to improve both agent performance and customer experience. Garry shares practical tips for improving coaching conversations, managing vulnerable customers, and using conversational insights to create a more proactive customer service approach.

This episode is a must-listen for contact center managers, team leaders, and anyone interested in enhancing agent development and customer satisfaction through actionable insights.

With circa 20 years behind him leading contact centres after starting on the phones Clayton made the jump to start his own business in leadership coaching. If you know Clayton you know what an awesome human he is and how much sense he talks on leadership , if you dont know him then after listening to this I bet you send him a message on Linkedin.

I've known Luke a long time and we worked together in Turkey so it was great to chat to him on the podcast. We chatted about Luke's early days as an agent on the phones in Australia all the way through to why he set up CloudCCaas.

We chat about the challenges he is seeing in successfully implementing cloud technology and how to overcome those challenges and Luke also shares tips for starting out.

In a departure from talking about football as well we also talk about Luke's passion for cricket - thankfully we didn't talk about the ashes :) 

James is a multiple award winning leader at Air France - KLM where he has worked for 21 years, the last 4.5 years as General Manager.

You may have heard James last year as he delivered a key note speech at the National Contact Centre Conference. 

At Air France - KLM as well as leading the contact centre operations James recently has overseen a successful transformation programme which entailed leading the operational merger of two similar centres to achieve an integrated working methodology for Europe.

As well as covering some of the details of how his teams have won awards in social media, homeworking and large contact centre categories James talks about the challenges of attracting & retaining talent in contact centres , homeworking and much more in this episode including a pop up contact centre and I also discovered that James has a fascinating talent !

🚀 Workforce Management on Autopilot: The Future of Contact Centres ✈️

Imagine flying a plane without autopilot. Every adjustment, every course correction—done manually. It would be exhausting, inefficient, and prone to errors.

Now, apply that to workforce management (WFM). Contact centre leaders often juggle endless schedules, service levels, and agent engagement strategies, but what if AI and automation could handle the heavy lifting?

In the latest Get Out of Wrap episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Florian Garnier from Calabrio, who brought a brilliant aviation analogy to WFM. Just like pilots use autopilot to ensure smooth flights while staying in control for critical decisions, contact centres can leverage AI-driven WFM solutions to:

✅ Optimize agent schedules dynamically
✅ Balance cost efficiency with customer experience
✅ Prevent burnout by managing occupancy effectively
✅ Empower leaders to focus on strategy, not just scheduling

The future of WFM isn’t about replacing people—it’s about enabling them to focus on what truly matters. By putting workforce management on autopilot, leaders can steer their teams towards success with confidence.

Are you ready to embrace AI-powered WFM in your contact centre?

Let’s discuss!

What does it take to nurture the next generation of contact centre leaders?

In this episode of Get Out of Wrap, Martin chats with Clayton Drotsky, founder of The Growth Crew, about his inspiring journey from frontline leader to mentor and the incredible impact of empowering emerging leaders.

Why should you listen?

• Discover the power of self-belief: Clayton shares how the right guidance can transform hesitant leaders into confident decision-makers.
• Learn about the Future Leaders Club: An exclusive program designed to help rising stars in contact centers unlock their potential and take on bigger challenges.
• Real-world leadership stories: Hear how Clayton went from struggling with leadership to creating high-engagement, high-retention teams and what he’s doing now to inspire others.

If you’re a contact centre professional looking to elevate your leadership skills—or if you manage emerging leaders—this episode is packed with actionable insights!

🚀 Don’t miss this chance to get inspired and learn how to foster the leaders of tomorrow! 🚀

Pete Dunn has a wealth of experience and knowledge of QA and shares his tips here. Pete has worked at The Forum, N-Power and now BPA Quality and in this short episode shares his thoughts on selecting the right contacts for your QA activity. Recorded a couple of days before Pete & Stephanie welcomed to the world their son Flynn - congratulations to you both ! 

David Holmes has had a very interesting journey to his current role and shares this inspirational journey with us and also shares some great insights and observations along the way - an authentic, insightful, interesting guest and SME.

The Break Room is a Live Linkedin Audio event bought to you by Get Out of Wrap.

We started talking about academies (grad bays) in Contact Centres initially but as its a live event we started talking about AI and then, thanks to Spencer, we talked about the extent to which technology is helping or hindering customers with disabilities.

If you like the sound of this why not head over to my Linkedin profile and join the next Break Room.

What a great guest Dr.Phoebe Asquith is ! A Doctor of Psychology Phoebe shares her knowledge and all the work she is doing in our industry on wellbeing, psychology and much more - a fascinating episode !

With extensive experience in training and leading change in contact centres in the UK and offshore Mark is a unique talent.  Great fun to be around and with clear opinions on getting the best from training for contact centre teams Mark is someone whose opinion is definitely worth listening to. I've been lucky to work with Mark in the past and those who have like me have always like to hear from him. We had a lot of fun recording this & I really hope you like listening to.

To mark this podcast being two years old I finally got Mia to come on again (after her being the star of the podcast according to Ann-Marie Stagg) on episode 1 - this short bonus episode was recorded by Mia on my phone. Normal service to be resumed next week for the real episode 60....

Rachel Goddard is Quality Assurance Manager for a general insurance company with a call centre of over 2000 employees. Rachel is rightly considered as an SME in the QA world and she talks to me about disrupting current thinking around what QA currently does as well as making QA an industry within Contact Centres that people feel is a proper career path. And we also talk biscuits.

I love meeting Paul at events and seeing his smiling face at any industry gathering plus this guy knows his stuff! In this episode we chat about Pauls career, and of course with paul being an expert from Sensee we cover things like;
-What models could/should you use for home working - hybrid and when are different models appropriate?
- What are the financial considerations?
- Is office-based training preferable or better than home-based training, or vice versa - and why?
- What are the big business issues that businesses have faced since moving to homeworking? And what have the big benefits been?

We also chat about scheduling, technology, the theatre and football !

Jillian Manner is a Researcher & PhD Candidate from the University of Edinburgh & with the Scottish Collaboration for Public Health Research and Policy (SCPHRP & School of Health in Social Science has been conducting research in our industry in a key area of interest to us all and that is;

Workplace Health in Contact Centres.

This report is available by using the link below & is invaluable in shaping our contact centres and it's great to see - thanks for all your work Jillian and coming onto GOOW to chat about it.

https://blogs.ed.ac.uk/scphrp/2022/05/09/contact-centres-workplace-health-report/

Last week 1300 people gathered in London to celebrate the winners in 32 categories at the biggest awards ceremony the customer contact industry has ever seen. In a #GOOW first this group recording features a chat with the people behind the awards - Ann-Marie Stagg, Leigh Hopwood and Jackie Pringle.

As Head of the Customer Relationship Centre at Nespresso Dan knows all about culture and delivering true CX. 

In an engaging, honest, helpful and funny chat Dan brings his career journey to life. 

We also talk about culture, development, developing a great career in our industry.

Dan is a great guest and a great bloke - loved this episode.

Chris Rainsforth and Phil Anderson of The Forum are experts on Resource Planning and bring that to bear in this illuminating episode !

Recorded live with no editing & published the same day I carry on my series of chats with my good friend Chris Rainsforth.

The Ukraine special 

What a great episode - Maxine Allard is Senior Account Director at Odigo and is so insightful and passionate about our industry. In this episode we hear about her career and the impact it has has on her thoughts on a range of subjects from - Progression, Hybrid working, women in contact centres, the relationship between vendors and customers and much more. 

Why is it called Lemon ? What have you learnt building a business over the last 20 years ? What was your background ? What advice would you have for young people in Business studies now ? 

Martin Anderson C0-Founder and CEO of Lemon answers these questions and many more whilst sharing great stories and information about the awesome work done at Lemon. 

Loved chatting to Martin - he is an inspirational guy and I learnt a lot - I'm sure you will too.

A great episode with a real expert ! Klaus Failenschmid specialises in UI/Design Processes, chatbots & voicebots and linguistics in general and is Head of UX Chatbots and Interaction Technologies at Sabio.

Klaus tells us in this episode how these technologies can create excellent experiences for the customer and the agent and discusses their impact on the wider contact centre.

We also hear how Klaus was actually the first European employee of SpeechWorks – now Nuance – before joining Sabio and also we hear his thoughts around how he sees natural language understanding (speech context) impacting the contact centre and particularly the agent/customer interaction.

A great guy with really great ways of bringing his expertise to light.

Jeanette comes on the show and talks all about her career and about some of the cool stuff Jabra are doing to help agents wellbeing and provide coachable information in the moment.  Jeanette comes from the phones and knows her stuff, her passion for our industry is known by many and I loved chatting to her on this episode.

Thanks to Julie Mordue and everyone at Greenbean I've started sharing my story with them - head over to their website to see this and more......come with me to 1995

We had such a blast and had so much more to say when David finished his first appearance on GOOW we had to do a 2nd. 

In this one we talk about the transition from Team Leader to managing Team Leaders - amongst many other topics - get ready for interesting tangents ! 

Laura Scott is COO at an exciting multi-lingual start-up Dialect.

With a passion for technology being an enabler of great customer and employee experience.  We chat about her career, her passion , her team and how Dialect operate a great chat with a lovely person with a real growth mindset.

Join me chatting to Jackie about the UK National Contact Centre Awards - the deadline for nominations is approaching so this episode will give you everything you need to know.

Stephen Yap is the Research Director at the CCMA.

The CCMA and supporting partner Odigo produced the Voice of the Contact Centre Consumer report 2022. 

In this episode Stephen shares the key findings of the research and how consumers have changed, their preferences and how they want to interact with us and our contact centres.

This is a must read report and a must listen/watch if you want to deliver a great customer experience from your Contact Centre.

Thanks Odigo, the CCMA and Stephen.

Join me and everyone who watches Get out of Wrap TV on Linkedin (every Tuesday at 10am UK time) as we chat about contact centres.

In this episode we are joined by Morris Pentel who shares just what we can gain by understanding uncertainty, doubt and confusion in our customer contacts.

This is a new concept where I am taking the audio from the show and sharing here - please do let me know what you think

Leigh Hopwood CEO of the CCMA chats about the future of the CCMA, awards, sharing best practice and the contact centre industry. Leigh lists the must attend events coming up including the National Conference. She shares her insight into the industry now and in the future. if you are interested in contact centres or in the industry this is a must listen.

For the start of Season 2 of GOOW I am joined by Dino Forte the CEO of Ventrica. We talk about his journey, what it means to be a ‘Ventrican’ and how he & his team moved 800 people home to still operate in this crisis, Dino also shares his personal experience of having & thankfully recovering from Covid-19.

Jackie Pringle of the CCMA talks about the UK National Contact Centre Awards and the importance of recognising people during this difficult time and the positive emotional impact of getting involved.

Jackie gives loads of examples of the positive impact of being involved – both for contact centre professionals and also the judges. 

As well as reflecting on the engagement and impact of last year’s programme we also talk about thisyears’ programme, the new categories and the Head Judges.

If you are thinking of entering or want to know more about these awards this is a must listen.

Ben Booth of Max Contact talks about his journey and what innovation means to him.

Part 2 - Sandra Thompson on Emotional Intelligence.

A great episode to see in 5 years of Get Out of Wrap and Sandra demonstrates her own EI by getting me a cake !

In this episode Sandra shares more great tips on deploying Emotional Intelligence in the workplace - a must listen - not just for leaders but for everyone.

We've all experienced the revolution of home working as a result of the pandemic - what is it's future, is it here to stay ? How do you deal with isolation of homeworkers? What are the limitations and benefits ? 

Who better to cover these topics than Steve Mosser of Sensee, Steve and the team at Sensee are the subject matter experts on homeworking and in this episode we talk all about it.

This is an episode not to be missed and I loved listening to Steve.

Beverley Hughes is a Contact Centre Expert and truly lives up to that title, a straight shooter tells it as it is and we spend an enlightening episode hearing all about Bev's career, thoughts on leadership and much more.

What is on your music playlist ?

What are the top factors that affect Customer Loyalty ?

What are the struggles for agents in our industry when it comes to systems ?

We covered this and much more in the latest episode of Get out of Wrap - join us live next Tuesday on Linkedin Live or watch it on YouTube

Join me and come and chat to four of the awesome Team Leads at SSCL at the end of a great Team Leader Day.

A Get out of Wrap first with Helen back on the podcast for the second time. Helen is the EMEA Quality Solutions & CX Manager for BPA Quality and is an expert on improving human interactions and quality monitoring. Working on multi-lingual projects for global brands and herself a fluent French speaker has seen Helen develop a real passion for understanding cultural  nuance which she covers in this episode along with high and low context. She covers what cultural nuance is and examples of cultural considerations on a multilingual project. The differences between tone in text and speech & amongst much more the insights gained from understanding high and low context and what all of this means for contact centres, quality frameworks, multi-lingual activity and customer experience in general. Cats, trumpets and impressions feature too :) 

On his 2nd appearance my friend Sham talks about Lockdown adjustment and leveraging the situation to drive quicker decisions and the CS proposition in general. He also talks about Fortnite - gaming and CS. We finally cover diversity and inclusion and the recent BLM protests. An emotional episode for sure but enjoyable and hope you enjoy listening.

Nadine Edmondson is Director of Product Marketing & GTM at Evaluagent and is at the cutting edge of whats going on at Evaluagent with their AI driven QA, XNPS and gamification.

It's a great conversation and Nadine is insightful, knowledgeable and engaging !

Elle Neal is one of the 100 nominees for Top Women in Tech, is a STEM Ambassador, visits schools and runs AI Clubs for schoolchildren, is a mental health ambassador and is an SME on how AI can deliver true gains and insights for companies in the contact centre world. I was lucky enough to work with Elle at BPA Quality and in this episode we chat about all the great things Elle does and how she is applying all this knowledge and insight to help BPA's clients. Elle is truly a role model.

At this years Call & Contact Centre Expo in November I was lucky enough to host a panel with Sandrea Morgan of Oner Active, Dan Fretwell of The Cotwolds Company and James Revell of Air France/KLM. At the Expo this panel really drew the crowds and it their were people stood as all the seats had gone ! The panel cover the main challenges they see for our industry next year and share tips and thoughts as well.

Kicking off 2023 we are in the contact centre and getting a coaching and leadership masterclass with Barry Cooper - loved chatting to Barry !

More used to being on the BBC than a homemade podcast Ben Page joins me on Get out of Wrap to talk about the work of Ipsos, 2020 and 2021 and what we should be thinking about based on all the research Ipsos do. Ben is the CEO of Ipsos-Mori and has worked there since 1987 following graduating from St.John's College, Oxford University , he has provided the services and consulted for governments and the media as well as the private sector. Ben and Ipsos are real supporters of our industry having spoken at the National Contact Centre Conference many times. A real Christmas cracker and thanks to Ben for coming on.

Meet Andy Roberts CEO of Sabio. Sabio are known to most people in the industry as innovators and great supporters of both people and the industry as a whole.

This is a unique opportunity to hear about Andy's own journey and about the exciting goings on at Sabio.

We talk about the history of Sabio, the future, how they engage and support their customers & innovations are used to solve problems.

We also chat about Disrupt - a great event coming up in London in March 

#callcenter #callcentre #contactcenter #contactcentre

#172 Nigel Winship chats about a WellBeing Companion for Agents & Team Leaders created by experts in pyschology and AI at Sabio.

What is it, how does it work and how does it benefit our industries Agents and Team Leaders - find out in this episode.

With 49% of Contact Centres either already using homeworkers or considering it Homeworking is an important growing area. Matt Bourke is Head of Service Delivery at Sensee and shares his thoughts and best practice on this topic.

Back by public demand! The legend that is Chris Rainsforth of The Forum joined me for another episode of Get Out of Wrap – and as always, he brought invaluable insights for the contact centre industry.

Some key takeaways from our chat:

🎉 The Forum is celebrating 25 years! A massive milestone for an organisation dedicated to improving best practices across the industry.

📚 The Best Practice Guide is now available! It’s packed with actionable insights and real-world examples, and the best part? It’s free to download.

🌟 Awards Season is here! This year saw a record-breaking number of entries, and the process isn’t just about recognising excellence – it’s about learning from each other.

🚀 Upcoming virtual & in-person events! The virtual conference kicks off on 24th March, followed by an in-person event and awards in Newcastle on 29th April. If you want real insights from industry leaders, these are must-attend.

A huge thank you to Chris for sharing his wisdom! If you're in the contact centre space, don't miss this episode.

What are your biggest contact centre challenges right now? Let’s discuss.

#ContactCentre #BestPractice #CustomerExperience #Leadership #TheForum #GOOWPodcast

Steven Miller has spent his career in contact centres - starting on the phones and then moving into planning. A subject matter expert Steven is a multiple award winner and shares his story and tips in this episode.

📊 Groundbreaking Insights: The Voice of the Agent – A Joint Research Project with Calabrio! 📊

How do contact centre agents really feel about their roles, career prospects, and the impact of technology like AI? In this latest episode of Get Out of Wrap, Martin connects with Ed Creasey, VP of Solution Engineering at Calabrio, to discuss their extensive research into the voice of the agent.

Why should you listen?

• Discover what agents value most: From job satisfaction to steady income and team culture, hear what matters most to agents today.
• Uncover opportunities for improvement: Learn where contact centres can better support agents, from clearer career pathways to smarter use of technology.
• AI in contact centres—what agents really think: Find out why many agents remain sceptical about AI’s impact and what needs to change to make it truly useful.

If you manage a contact centre, lead a team, or simply care about the future of customer experience, this episode is a must-listen. Get a deep dive into what agents are saying and how we can build a better environment for them.

🚀 Join us as we share actionable insights to improve agent satisfaction and elevate the customer experience! 🚀

#ContactCentre #VoiceOfTheAgent #CX #CustomerExperience #AI #Calabrio

The resilience of Ukraine's contact centre industry is nothing short of extraordinary. In the latest episode of Get Out of Wrap, I had the privilege of speaking with Iryna Velychko and Bogdan Koshevoy, who shared the realities of running contact centres in a war zone.

Despite missile attacks, power outages, and unimaginable challenges, these professionals continue working—supporting their country and clients worldwide. They have adapted with backup power, shelters, and an unwavering commitment to keep business moving forward. Their spirit is humbling.

But they need our support. Here’s how we can help: ✅ Raise Awareness – Share the truth about what’s happening in Ukraine’s contact centres. ✅ Consider Outsourcing to Ukraine – Ukrainian contact centres remain highly skilled, multilingual, and resilient. ✅ Support Training & Development – UK trainers can make a real impact by working with Ukrainian teams.

It’s not enough to say we stand with Ukraine—we must take action. Connect with Iryna and Bogdan to explore real ways to help.

Slava Ukraini! 🇺🇦

Nathan Simmonds is a Leadership Coach & Trainer and expert in Leadership skills and coaching. Nathan has worked across a variety of industries across multiple continents and has a multi-cultural understanding of leadership and what good and bad looks like. He shares one great tips and this episode will be really useful to all levels in your organisation - a real pleasure to spend time with Nathan.

Naomi Horne & Martin Pemberton talk about Mental Fitness and how to feel more confident, resilient, and energised to handle everyday situations in a more positive way.

A GOOW first with a couple coming on - I loved chatting to Naomi & previous guest Martin. They are awesome humans and have just started their own radio show. if you are not already I would suggest connecting with both on Linkedin. 

Guy Masters , Matt Affron and Leigh O'Connell from Cactus Search come on and chat BPO's & James Bond. Whilst also covering key subjects we have a real laugh.

The BPO sector can be an emotive one in our Contact Centre Industry and no area more so than recruitment. 

Whether it's volume recruitment for big campaigns or key senior roles these guys have done it all and share their experiences, tips and wisdom.

Somehow we also talk boy bands and James Bond. 

Phil Jordan - Head of Contact Channel Automation & Self Service @ Homeserve chats conversational AI in a fascinating episode where he shares great insight on how using cutting edge technology combined with operational teams can deliver excellent experiences for your customer and hugely improve processes. Homeserve in partnership with Sabio have been delivering some ground breaking stuff and we hear all about it in this episode.

**The Tech Behind the Talk: Demystifying Contact Centre Tech with Nerys Corfield!** 🔍

If "contact centre tech" feels like a maze of jargon and endless options, this t episode is for you!

On GOOW TV we were lucky to have Nerys Corfield, a true industry veteran, join us .

Nerys simplifies the complex world of contact centre technology, uncovering the essentials you need to know.

**Why listen?**

**Understand Key Tech Terms**: From UCAS and CCAS to the difference between vendors and resellers, Nerys breaks it down in simple, relatable terms.

**Building the Right Tech Stack**: Discover the critical elements your tech should have and how to align them with your team’s needs.

**Spotlight on Accessibility and AI**: Learn how modern tech can be an asset for all users—frontline agents, team leaders, and customers alike.

Whether you're a team leader just stepping into tech discussions or a contact centre leader needing a fresh perspective, Nerys’s insights are invaluable. Don’t miss her real-world advice on leveraging the latest tech for a smarter, more effective contact centre.

Listen in, and let Nerys guide you through the tech landscape! 🚀

Stuart Dorman is the Chief Innovation Officer at Sabio and a few weeks ago we talked on this podcast about some elements of technology in the contact centre but today wanted to focus on AI. I found chatting to Stuart illuminating and informative and hope you do too. Linked sites mentioned on the podcast; Free Imposter syndrome course https://members.nowisyourtimeto.com/a/2147487031/rLCfhTVt Naomi House - Jacks Place Childrens Hospice - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/getoutofwrap-martin-teasdale

Had a great chat with Jade with lots of laughs and insight from one of the Directors at DDC. We also spoke about perceptions , account management and sales - loved chatting to Jade

Alexandra Fus is our first ever guest from Romania and gives us key insights into this thriving modern location. We also talk about how  passionate Alexandra is about the BPO sector from A to Z, CX delivery and implementation.

Alexandra is a learning enthusiast and we talk about this and is a promoter for professional development especially for those at the beginning of the road.

A truly inspirational global episode.

Thank you so much for supporting me all the way to 50 episodes.

Who'd have thought a niche home grown podcast about contact centres would have got here - thank you all for listening.

I wanted to mark this special occasion by talking to Lucy Gray who is a regional fundraiser for Naomi House - Jacks Place - children's hospice that offers specialised care for children with life limiting illnesses and their families.

The work they do is amazing and Lucy talks about that and also all the opportunities you have to get involved.

Why not buy a ticket to their online comedy event this week or sponsor me to run 105 miles in March or get involved yourself either fundraising or volunteering.

 

Garry Gormley founder of the FAB Group and all round contact centre industry supremo and I discuss an article that states our industry is on the brink of collapse.

There are 6,200 contact centres in the UK employing 4 million people. So many industries, careers, skills and interesting projects to talk about. No sales, no sponsorship - just me and interesting guests.

For this 13th episode of the podcast a key guest, contributor and supporter of the podcast Rachel Goddard had an idea. (Matt Bourke and Helen Beaumont Manahan - also guests & key contributors also suggested this). The idea was to turn the table and microphone on me. Thinking 'don't ask someone to do something you are not prepared to do yourself' I agreed.  I can now say it is more nerve wracking being the guest than hosting. Despite the nerves I really enjoyed our chat and hope you do too - we cover; Advice on coming off the phones and progressing.  The importance of mentors. Mistakes not being terminal in a career and learning from them. Some new leader pitfalls to avoid & tips for Team Leaders  Considering how to best support the people in your contact centre  Morning underpants and much more in a predominantly Operations focused episode. 

With 10+ yrs in managing Resource planning teams Faye has great skills and experience leading teams in a multi-channel, multi-lingual and multiple location environment. Faye leads a team of 9 Real time analysts responsible for 2000 FTE for SSE. We talk about resource planning challenges, best practice, answer listeners questions & talk about Faye’s own career.

Tim Pickard is such a great guest to have on any podcast and we had a great free flowing conversation around the evolution of the contact centre, where it is just now and the attention it is getting from some of the larger tech vendors. 

We chatted about the sheer breadth of technologies that are both here already and also coming down the line to help both the organisation, their agents and their customers.

We also chatted about Tim's career working in the corporate world of marketing at RSA to join a little known start-up at the time called Mimecast moving eventually to Sabio where he's doing a lot of exciting things.

Helen is regarded as a subject matter expert within the Quality Assurance & monitoring world. In this episode we chat about what she considers a fundamental area in the development of a best practice QA framework - Calibrations.  A must listen if you are interested in maximising your quality function within your Contact Centre.

the Call & Contact Centre Expo is on the 29th and 30th of November in London at the Excel. I am speaking there and have a stand so come along and say hello. In this episode I have a look through day 1 and identify some of the sessions that have caught my eye.

Tim Farrell of Direct Line chats about all the cool things he and his team have been doing as part of their digital transformation. A fascinating, educating and insightful trip behind the scenes with an expert guide - loved this.

With a week to go until the deadline for nominations for the European Contact Centre & Customer Service Awards ( the ECCCSA's) I sit down to chat with the new Chair of the Judges - Moira Clark and Awards Director of Operations - Jackie Pringle.

#148 Phil & Chris of The Forum on data, targets and performance. Following on from last week's excellent episode this is another episode where you are going to learn something !

Erica Farmer Co-Founder of Quantum Rise was on last week and we chatted about so much stuff and had so much fun we wanted to finish with a part 2 to discuss following your heart and being happy at work. Erica has been there, done it and got the t-shirt so well worth learning from her !

Stephen Yap is the Research Director at the CCMA ( Call Centre Management Association ) and you might have , like me, enjoyed his presentation at this years conference where Stephen shared the output of the research into our industry and the future.

On our episode today Stephen covers the perception of contact centres, what is insight ?, CX , Operations and how important contact centres are and are going to be in delivering CX in 2021. 

Thanks Stephen !

I am lucky enough to work with Helen and she really is an SME in the world of contact centre quality assurance and training. She has been on Get out of wrap twice before and I'm sure you'll be pleased to know this episode is no different to the previous two in that Helen is very insightful and engaging. She talks about CX, CSAT, NPS and where QA sits in a holistic view of customer experience, the impact of the changes this year to QA and customer experience and as is our want we journey into some random conversations too.

Sarah Thompson is a Rockstar analyst and proud of it ! As the Senior Capacity Planning Analyst at Skipton Sarah is an advocate of all just how great a career is in planning and influential planning can be for the ultimate success of your contact centre.

Sarah is a tour de force and embraces her neurodivergence as a superpower. 

This is an episode full of laughter, great topics and passion and Sarah is most definitely a star !

What an episode - Lucie is great and we covered - Diversity & Inclusion – a huge passion of Lucie's who founded the Women At Very network about 2.5 years ago. She shared how it has transformed from a supportive network to one that’s actively advocating for change. 

Lucie shares her Squiggly career and bravely talks about mental health and her diagnosis with OCD in her late 20's. She talks openly about it so as to inform and help others.

And Lucie shares how creativity is a big part of her life, her love of art and making things and we hear about a forthcoming colouring book.

Loved chatting to Lucie.

Everyday in the Team Leader Community I do a Live Stream where we chat about all things leadership in contact centres. Today Pete & Barry shared so many great things about how candour can help you lead better I wanted to share it wider than just the community.

Sandra Thompson is an expert on Emotional Intelligence and Founder of Ei Evolution and is on a mission to equip leaders with this vital skill. Engaging, knowledgeable and fun this is a must listen 💜

In this episode we chat about Craig's career and the dreaded imposter syndrome in a soul searching, open and honest session. Craig is an awesome guy and is passionate about putting contact centres right up there as a career of choice - loved chatting to him.

Matt is passionate about helping contact centres and customers have a better experience when it comes to identification and authentication. A voice biometrics expert Matt has written a book called 'Unlock your call centre' in this episode he tells tells us all about it and also covers;

 - We all tolerate poor security experiences without really understanding their implications (particularly on front line colleagues)

- Organisations need to understand where they are starting from - It’s not always as clear cut or visible as you might think - tools on web site

- Advanced technology solutions are increasingly accessible for all types of organisations - need to choose the right ones for your context

Well done Matt on a great book - the more books about our industry the better.

The first in a new series of podcasts featuring people from the Team Leader Community.

Jordan Powell in Corporate Sales Team Leader at Gravity and also a big part of the Team Leader Community.

In this episode we chat about the transition from Agent to Team Leader

Eugene Neale of Loveholidays chats chatbots...or rather digital assistants and the impact they can have on your contact centre.  It was a pleasure to speak to someone who is at the forefront of conversational AI and technological development in our industry.  The stuff loveholidays are doing with Sabio is fascinating and Eugene brings it all to life in this episode.

Janine Lee had a very different route to contact centres and started her career as a chef, this lasted for 12 year’s and Janine still loves to cook to this day!  A desire to help others led to contact centres and Janine started at RSA Insurance & over 16 years held a variety of customer service and senior leadership roles. The leadership roles spanned sales and service teams across direct to consumer and business to business functions and multi site, in addition to resource planning teams too The latter part of her career took Janine into change and project roles, which is when she realised she wanted to utilise her skills and knowledge to provide a service to others, so 6 years ago Janine set up her own business and started to contract. She's contracted since and delivered business services to a number of large corporates covering banking, payments and pensions and a fintech start up. Janine shares some great tips on overcoming fear, chasing goals and her vision for her own future, an inspirational chat I hope you enjoy.

Andy Watts is a subject matter expert when it comes to some of the best cutting edge technology in our industry and in this episode I get to learn loads from chatting to him and I hope you do too.

Anand Janefalkar is the Founder & CEO of Ujet.cx the people behind the world's first and only cloud based contact centre platform thats designed for the smartphone era of CX.

Anand talks about the start of Ujet and the key problems the company was formed to overcome one of which is talking about visual and contextual communication we are all so used to in the smartphone era and he felt that there's such a big void, when you have the customer and an agent trying to solve problems without that context that there was a solution in bringing the smartphone centric approach to contact centres.

We talk about our industry and how as self styled Chief Enablement officer Anand see's leadership and the UJET way as being very team based.

A rare insight into the true thought leadership and a great episode that keeps humans front and centre at the same time as discussing new technology.

Andy Cook is Customer Experience & People Director at Ruroc and previously was at Dyson & Ovo. We chat about his career which started as a young journalist. Andy shares really helpful tips.

We talk about Customer Communities and if you are thinking of setting one up Andy shares some great insights.

We also talk Digital, CX , Social Media and Andy's experience as a Lead Judge in UK & European awards.

Sir John Kirwan or JK is a rugby & All Black rugby legend who played 63 tests & scored 35 tries, he was in the team who won the first ever rugby world cup and has been honoured for his services to mental health in New Zealand & across the world.

Sir John or JK co-founded Groov a science backed, data driven platform to help people with their mental health and its a platform perfectly suited for our world of contact centres.

In this episode JK shares his personal story of his own mental health challenges and talks openly about his experiences & techniques he uses to live his best life & be awesome.

(Please note this episode contains reference to suicide.)