The Global Association for Contact Center Best Practices & Networking

By Chris Prystanski, Managing Editor, ContactCenterWorld.com

Part 1 of 3

By nature, I’m social butterfly and my stories genuinely try to capture an audience by taking them there so they feel as though they were a part of it. That is my intention for you, the reader, when I tell you about my experience at the Contact Center World Awards in Las Vegas.

An unbelievable amount of preparation had been done by too many to mention across the globe in anticipation of what is known as the Olympics in the contact centre industry. Three regional awards had previously been held in Orlando, Florida, Melbourne, Australia and London, England to determine the absolute best to represent their respective category in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A. at the beautiful Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa.

To say that these awards are truly unbiased is an understatement. The process of entering a category and making it to the World Awards is a long, but worthwhile road. Written submissions are first sent out to contact centre industry professionals for their review. They do not have the name of the person or the company name that is associated with the entry. Based on their recommendation, the top three candidates in each category and in each region are invited to present. From there, fifty percent of their written score is weighed against conference delegate voting. Conference delegates are their true industry peers. They are asked to vote on who they think best deserves the award in each category. Conference delegates count for fifty percent of the overall score. From there a champion is determined. Their prize, industry recognition, but for some it was more important to be able to represent their company with pride in Las Vegas at the World Awards.

Champions gathered from around the globe early for the Contact Center World Awards. Winners vying for a global championship came from Australia, Thailand, Belgium, Ireland, the UK, Canada and the United States. In all there were 16 nations represented at the World Awards which began on October 30, 2007.

Myself, I arrived a day early with the rest of our team from Contact Center World, to meet up with our President and Founder, Raj Wadhwani to assist with the set-up for the three day conference and awards program. Intense preparation was the theme for many presenters before the start of the competition. Many spent hours in their hotel room practicing, while others were making sure their video and audio presentations were exactly right. You could feel the excitement, anticipation and nervousness starting to build.

This was so exciting for me. I had been to a couple of event expositions prior to this, but I will admit I was a rank rookie at this, our own event. Sure there was pressure and expectations placed on us as workers at Contact Center World, but this was my first time attending our own event in beautiful Las Vegas, a place I had never been before and always dreamt of going.

In meeting some of the presenters on the eve of the World Awards, it was really nice to be able to get a formal introduction. Many stopped in and took the time to meet with us and all boasted about how happy they were to be in Las Vegas. “Wonderful weather” said one presenter as she meandered into the room. Another commented “I traveled 20 hours to be here, I’m exhausted but I love it.” I thought to myself, Wow! We haven’t even started yet and already we as a company and the city of Las Vegas had made such an impression.

Little did I know that the people I would meet for just a few brief moments on that first night prior to the competition would have such an impact on my life over the course of the next three days! Small smiles here and there, steady handshakes as a formal greeting, would eventually turn into boisterous laughter, hugs and so many people saying thank you. That, in and of itself, is remarkably special.

For my part, I was responsible for getting their presentation cued up, explaining the timing system and during their presentation, to take pictures of each presenter along with shots of the conference delegates. Yes, I’ll admit it, I was a little nervous. I wanted to do so well and impress the delegation with my work ethic and let each one of them know that I, along with the rest of the Contact Center World team were there to serve and help them in any way that we could. I’m not kidding, that was my thought process. Nobody knew that heading in but me, and now you know it as well.

Preparations were complete, the massive conference room ready, technical equipment in place and we were ready to go. It was 9:00 a.m. on a Tuesday morning and you could feel butterflies floating in the room. Somebody in the room was nervous and it was spreading. Not a bad nervousness though, one that you would associate with anticipation not fear. The truth is, it was catching, everyone in the room was nervous. Whether they were a presenter that day, the day after or just the sheer fact that the competition was about to begin, was enough to make the room a little tight.

The first to present were three wonderful women in the category of Best Trainer. As a presenter you are allowed 20 minutes to let the conference delegates fully understand why you as an individual and the company you work for, are deserving of top spot. Written submissions already complete, it is the job of the presenter to make a delegate understand what the individual and the company they work for does that is different, unique and truly innovative when it comes to that category.

Day One, first presenter: Atsuko Goto from the NTT Group in Japan. It was an amazing start. She came with a translator, spoke English to the delegation throughout her presentation. It was later discovered and mentioned to the audience that she spoke no English at all and had learned her entire twenty minute presentation off by heart. Upon mentioning that, the conference had even more respect for her. When I reflect on that, Atsuko Goto is exactly what makes us at Contact Center World global! Other companies want to be, but we are. She would never have been at this event without her being provided the opportunity by her company in the Asia-Pacific Regional Awards to compete. What an honour for her and for us to have her at these World Awards.

Still in the Best Trainer category was Elena Popova representing BTC. She was so passionate about her work and her co-workers during her presentation. You could just tell she brought that same energy level and passion not only to her career, but in her personal life as well. She made so many friends. I also have to give credit to Donita Trowell representing Humana Military Healthcare Services. She brought flare and an educational look at her home state of Kentucky where they hold one of the world’s most famous horse races, The Kentucky Derby, every year. She was able to make that a part of her presentation.

The first coffee break of the conference was the first real opportunity for friends from previous conferences to touch base and say hello. It was then that I saw true camaraderie. Friends with big smiles saying “Hello how are you?” Some picked up where they last left off by sharing a big laugh. That for me was a sight to see and let’s not forget, I’m at my first conference trying to do my best to represent the company and also understand what it is all about. These people were veterans, or so it seemed.

Robert Cate representing Vegas.com was another presenter who made an impression on me in the category of Best Technology Innovation. He was charming and captured the audience’s attention so quickly and almost without effort. You couldn’t help but listen to his presentation and what his company had done to better serve their customers. Some people just have the gift of gab, others have confidence to deliver it in front of an audience with ease. Robert Cate had both.

In the category of Best Customer Service, Raoul Iotti from Cross Country Automotive and Chris Horning representing Slash Support were equally strong in my estimation. Patricia Fielding’s efforts on behalf of Royal & SunAlliance made this category a very strong one. I distinctly remember looking at the audience and couldn’t help but notice most everyone was leaning forward with interest. Everyone was feverishly writing down notes, something that was very evident throughout the three day event. This was a toss-up. They all shared with the delegation some brilliant and innovative ideas that had been implemented in their own contact center to deliver the best possible customer service. Isn’t that what it’s all about, people, the way you treat them and the way they respond to you in turn? Think about it.

Kelly Chen was a shining star in the Best Agent category. She represented Sage Software in Canada. She did not learn to speak English until three years ago and she’s the top selling agent Sage Software has. Why? She sets goals. They aren’t soft goals, they are goals driven by numbers that she would like to achieve. Kelly said: “I will not leave work until I have accomplished my goals for the day.” That was refreshing, impressive and immediately you had to think, what can we do to get her to work for us? Her zest and passion for her job was truly remarkable. No missed work days in three years, that tells me she loves what she does and does it well.

The opening day wrapped up with the Best Contact Center Under Fifty Agents Category. Too close to call between the three presenters: Nathalia Theyer-McComb from Sage Software, Stella Lam from the Kowloon Motor Bus Company and Antony Demetriades representing WagerLogic. One thing that was evident across the board was their shared passion for the people they were representing back in their respective countries. You could just tell their hearts were smiling with the thought of the individuals of whom they spoke. That was special.

Day one wrapped up with a couple of many of my own individual thoughts about the conference. I was astonished at the passion level. So many people look at the contact center industry as being plagued with attrition problems and trouble with technology. These people presenting on the first day were, not only brilliant, passionate about their jobs, the people they were remembering and the companies they represented, but it was evident they were indeed the best in the world.

Sure the conference day was over, but the true fun was just beginning. There was still a networking bowling party. Contact Center World’s gift to the delegation. We organized a private bowling party complete with snacks and a refreshments bar. Almost everyone was present. Some had never bowled before, others were veterans including yours truly. Names were drawn from a hat and teams were picked completely at random.

Bowling was a great opportunity to network and share with others you may not know at the conference. This was a fun party waiting to happen. Once everyone had their shoes and a bite to eat, it was game on! It was amazing to see how quickly smiles appeared on faces. I’ve always maintained that you don’t have to be good at bowling to have a good time and this was clearly evident throughout the evening. People were wandering over between lanes to watch others and offer support. There was so much opportunity to talk amongst the delegation and learn more about each other. This, this was where the conference truly became personal.

I will have more on the Contact Center World Awards in part two of “Three Days With The Best In The World”, tomorrow.

If you would like to continue to part 2 Click Here

If you would like more information about booking a conference ticket please Click Here

If you are interested in viewing some video interviews with the winners, please visit the following link: http://www.contactcenterworld.com/worldawards/ and click on any one of the video interviews

If you have any questions about the 2008 Top Performers in the Contact Center Industry Awards please feel free to e-mail: info@ContactCenterWorld.com

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