The Global Association for Contact Center Best Practices & Networking

At the Contact Center World Conference & Awards for the best in Asia Pacific held in Melbourne last month I heard one delegate tell me that they did not get it at first. Here’s what he told me

The contact center industry typically puts on lots of conferences. The industry also puts on lots of awards. So when he heard about an awards & conference rolled into one he was confused. Its easy to understand why – so many conferences feature keynotes from the industry – you know the experts with years of experience as consultants or CEO’s of their respective corporation. These conferences typically feature a plethora of presenters – some who run centers, but most who sell to the industry – you know Director of Sales of XYZ corporation talking on their part of the industry.

There are lots of awards galas – you know the dinners where hopefuls go along to hear if they have won an award or two. These typically are based on entries which are reviewed by a panel of judges who are more often than not made up from industry vendors and consultants who sometimes (not always) are looking for ways to infiltrate the winners. At these events many turn up not knowing how near or far away they are from taking home an award.

Then there’s the Contact Center World Conferences & Awards – this is unique in so many ways. We don’t waste time with keynotes. We dive straight into hearing from Award winning centers and the people behind them – they are all finalists and are worth presenters because they do what you do – they don’t sell solutions or claim to be an expert – they are experts! No other event in the world allows you to hear from guaranteed award winners – the best in the industry – who will share their ideas and what they do and allow you to ask questions.

So where do the awards come in? easy – each presenter is an award winner – what they don’t know is what award they are taking home – is it GOLD? Silver or Bronze? If they walk away at the gala dinner with a GOLD medal they then go on to represent their company, nation and region of the world in the world finals which take place later this year in Las Vegas!

Commenting on the event, here is what some delegates had to say

"This was a unique conference as it allowed the audience to participate" M Watson - NSW State Development

"We are able to learn from the best of the best" S Foo Pei Yen - Intel Corp

"I was not sure what to expect - I met great people, have taken away many notes, new food for thought, new ideas!" R Stanbrook - St George Bank

"Didn’t know what to expect - what a great concept!" S Waterman - BMS Telecorp

So by us linking the two, delegates get to hear from this years (not last year) award winners and get to ask them tough questions and learn from them. Delegates get to then vote on who they believe is the best in the industry and this unique 2 day event allows everyone to learn more than any other event they could attend, or may have attended in the past.

The agenda for our Europe, Middle East & Africa event

Conference Day 1 - July 24th, 2007*
7:00 - 8:30 REGISTRATION

8:30 - 8:45 OPENING ADDRESS/WELCOME

8:45 - 10:05 Best Trainer

• Ingrid van Deventer of ABSA CONTACT CENTER (South Africa)
• Olivia Ramona Runcan of Mellon Romania S.A. (Romania)
• Elena Popova of BTC Contact Ltd. (Bulgaria)

10:05 - 10:20 COFFEE BREAK

10:20 - 11:40 Best Technology Innovation

• AOL Broadband (Ireland)
• Gem (UK)
• Qtel (Qatar)

11:40 - 1:00 Best Customer Service

• Wagerlogic (Cyprus)
• GoResponse Ltd. (UK)
• Royal & SunAlliance (UK)

1:00 - 2:00 NETWORKING LUNCH

2:00 - 3:20 Best Outbound Campaign

• FORTISBANK -TURKEY (Turkey)
• Mellon Romania S.A. (Romania)
• Saudi British Bank (Saudi Arabia)

3:20 - 4:40 Best Agent

• Iahwa Gibson of Siemens (UK)
• Alina Sava of Mellon of Romania S.A. (Romania)
• Paula Cooper of Carnival UK (UK)

4:40 - 4:55 COFFEE BREAK

4:55 - 6:15 Best Contact Center (Under 50 Agents)

• Combined Insurance (UK)
• Wagerlogic (Cyprus)
• Conduit (Ireland)

6:15 - 6:25 CLOSING REMARKS
*The schedule is subject to change

Conference Day 2 - July 25th, 2007*
8:30 - 8:45 OPENING ADDRESS/WELCOME

8:45 - 10:05 Best Contact Center (51 to 249 Agents)

• Carnival UK (UK)
• Mellon Romania S.A. (Romania)
• Saudi British Bank (Saudi Arabia)

10:05 - 10:20 COFFEE BREAK

10:20 - 11:40 Best Supervisor

• Luke Barratt of Sitel (UK)
• Tracy Cullen of AOL Broadband (Ireland)
• Rachel Montago of Carnival UK (UK)

11:40 - 1:00 Best Community Spirit

• AOL Broadband (Ireland)
• Wagerlogic (Cyprus)
• Royal & SunAlliance (UK)

1:00 - 2:00 NETWORKING LUNCH

2:00 - 3:40 Best Leader

• Tanya Miranda of Softline Pastel (South Africa)
• Greg Aiello of Wagerlogic (Cyprus)
• Cathy Rivett of GoResponse Ltd. (UK)
• Joao Antonio - Teleperformance Portugal (Portugal)

3:40 - 3:55 COFFEE BREAK

3:55 - 5:35 Best Contact Center (250+ Agents)

• Royal & Sun Alliance (UK)
• ABSA CONTACT CENTER (South Africa)
• Sitel (Morocco)
• Teleperformance Portugal (Portugal)

5:35 - 5:45 CLOSING REMARKS

7:30 - 9:00 AWARDS DINNER GALA

9:00 - 10:00 AWARDS CEREMONY

10:00 - 1:00 ENTERTAINMENT

1:00 AWARDS & CONFERENCE CLOSES


So if at first you don’t quite get it, you are not alone – when something new and exciting comes along its easy to see why it may be hard to understand what’s in it for you. The pioneers (early adopters) of the awards have all spoken with a unified voice – these events have 100% approval from those who attended – this at a time when other events are proud of 76% approval rating which we feel are low! So if you want to learn from the very best in the industry, sometimes they are from brands you may not have heard from before, take a look at our upcoming conferences at this link www.contactcenterworld.com/worldawards