Business outsourcing provider Sigma Connected has announced the appointment of Lesley Avinou into the newly-created role of Group Director of Client Partnerships.

In her new role, customer experience expert Lesley Avinou will lead the evolution of client relationship management across all locations including UK, Australia and USA.

Kura, a leading global provider of customer service outsourcing solutions, is thrilled to announce the appointment of Kenny Rodgers as the new Managing Director of Kura South Africa. With an extensive background as Kura’s Finance Director and a demonstrated history of driving operational excellence, Kenny is ideally positioned to steer Kura’s South African operations to new heights.

The Retail Bulletin recently announced the highly anticipated shortlist for the prestigious People in Retail Awards (PIRA) 2023.

The People in Retail Awards are a platform to recognise and celebrate those who have made outstanding contributions or demonstrated excellence in the retail sector. They shine a spotlight on individuals and businesses that have gone the extra mile, raising the bar for the entire industry. These awards applaud the very best in retail, acknowledging the crucial role that people play as the heartbeat of any successful organisation.

Delivering excellent customer experience (CX) is at the top of the agenda for many businesses. From driving sales to promoting loyalty, creating a positive experience is extremely valuable. To truly harness its potential, businesses need the best CX talent. While there are many age-old myths about working in CX, it’s a rewarding role that has evolved in recent years. Now, a career in CX is a great option for ambitious professionals wanting to make a difference to customers and their workplace.

Teleperformance has been recognised for the fourth year running as one of the UK’s Best Workplaces™ (2023) today by Great Place to Work®, the global

Webhelp has announced the appointment of Samantha Williams as MD, Client Solutions. Samantha, who has considerable experience in driving large transnational deals across the CXAAS & SAAS, BPO industry, has worked with many UK and global organisations, so is well placed to deliver a new perspective and innovative customer experience solutions, in line with Webhelp’s growth strategy.

Hiring the very best customer service candidates for your company or call centre is a goal that, if achieved, bears fruits for all parties, including the employer, employee, and customer. Brand reputation and KPIs such as customer satisfaction and sales improve while customer churn, employee dissatisfaction, and complaint escalations decrease.

Leading gig customer service (GigCX) platform Limitless today welcomes Mike Havard to its board. A well-known customer management, channel and technology industry leader, Havard will help advance the fast-growing company’s next stage of expansion with Limitless co-founders Roger Beadle and Megan Neale, creators of the GigCX model.

With a seemingly unstoppable tide of support for some homeworking, what makes a new operating model fit for the future? How do we avoid floating on a sea of outdated working practices or policies?

Quantanite have announced the appointment of Andrew Hall as Chief Commercial Officer as it expands its Leadership Team further. This follows the recent appointment of Neil Russell-Smith as Global Director of Marketing.

In the third and final part of this editorial series, we look at how we ‘define’ and ‘identify’ vulnerable customers, how to support agents when dealing with vulnerable customers, how to retain staff in a time of crisis, and how the Cost of Living Crisis will affect outsourcers.

here is so much concern amongst both front-line staff, managers, and all our customers, about the rising cost of living, and the increasing difficulties of making ends meet.

In the second part of this Editorial series, we continue to explore what this means for the contact centre and customer service sector, both for the customers and our people, the effect it is having, and will continue to have, on our People and Customers.

Quantanite, an outsourcing and customer experience (CX) solutions company, today announced that Atif Hafeez will join as the Chief Financial Officer of the Quantanite Group.

There is so much concern amongst both front-line staff, managers, and all our customers, about the rising cost of living, and the increasing difficulties of making ends meet. In the first part of this Editorial series, we explore what this means for the contact centre and customer service sector, both for the customers and our people.

There’s a lot of talk about the value of having a diverse workforce, and that is a good thing, but having a wide range of individuals working in an organisation is only a starting point. ​If employees don’t feel listened to, valued and respected, you’re not reaping the benefits of their diverse perspectives. That’s where inclusion comes into play. As a leader, creating an inclusive workplace begins with you.​

Every generation has its challenges. Millennials may have grown up with the fastest evolving pace of change and technology but it’s not always having a positive impact. Today, more than half the workforce will be made up of Millennials and this will have a big impact on business and how they operate. As consumers, Millennials are demanding, expecting instant gratification and customisation. As employees, while they have incredible potential, some predict that they will prove to be one of the most challenging generations to manage yet.

Ventrica, the fast-growth multilingual customer management outsourcer for blue-chip brands, is pleased to announce the appointment of Iain Banks as its new Chief Executive Officer. Iain will take over as CEO from founder Dino Forte and will lead the business through its next phase of growth and expansion to further cement its reputation as the ‘go to’ partner of choice for prestigious brands demanding high levels of personalisation and engagement with their customers.

As the War for Talent intensifies, in the Final part of this Editorial series, we explore what this means for the Contact Centre sector, with a range of views from those running operations and those recruiting, what effect it has had, and will continue to have. We ask what have been the causes, explore the impact of Candidate power, ask if its simply a question of more money or WFH, and what we as an Industry need to do.

We ask what can or should be done about it, what effect is it having on staffing levels, service levels and KPI’s, and resultant impact on customer service, deliveries, fulfilment, and the impact on recruitment. We explore if this is sustainable in the long term, the impact at the senior end of the market, the impact of hybrid working, and how the industry may need to change its attraction and recruitment strategies.

No industry has been spared from the Great Resignation – especially the contact centre industry. We are seeing some businesses in other sectors such as Amazon and others offering up to £3,000 bounties to attract new staff, and a significant upward trend on wages. We ask what can or should be done about it, what effect is it having on staffing levels, service levels and KPI’s, and resultant impact on customer service, deliveries, fulfilment, and the impact on recruitment.

At Haste, we believe in offering the best service to our clients and customers as possible. This starts with YOU. Haste are a family owned business established in 1996. We believe in keeping the family ethos and promoting team work to ensure we can offer the best service possible to our clients and customers.

Are we just going back to the way things used to be – are you going to scare people? We need “working” to change, to follow the science as well as time to adapt. We want some of those business gains – in terms of hours not spent commuting and a reduction in building operational costs, but we also need to be realistic about our customers and employees’ needs right now. Technology to assist us in our new pandemic lives and helping us to reframe a new culture.

Hi. I’m Vicky. I’m a people person, and I happen to work in Human Resources. Let me tell you the story about Dave (not his real name, but everyone knows a Dave). Dave has not been his usual self lately, a little grumpy, some might even say snappy, and he certainly hasn’t produced work to his normal level. His manager spoke to HR in the shared service centre, who told them to manage through the policy. This meant a recorded conversation and potentially a PIP.