CCNG receives ongoing feedback from our management members in contact center and customer care about the relative hot issues they are most interested in discussing with peers.  We bring these Hot Topics to you with regular webcast content provided by our members and partners.

Managing your contact center operations to achieve exceptional customer care in your organization requires access to information about the technology, processes, human capital management, and peer knowledge & experiences.  CCNG members share their experience and best practices in how they manage customer care in their enterprise contact center operations to improve the overall customer experience.

This channel features webcast presentations by thought leaders and award-winning operations who cover the key topic areas in this increasingly changing and dynamic field.

Perspectives On Leadership is an executive interview series from the CCNG Magnet Program. These one-on-one conversations with Contact Center Leaders explore their perspectives, insights, and experiences on effective leadership. Part of the CCNG Executive Perspectives webcast series.

Perspectives on Leadership with Tony Keesee

Take a look as CCNG President and CEO David Hadobas interviews Matt Lawson, CTO with Spearline.

During this interview Matt looks at customer experience from the telecoms angle.  Contact Centers justifiably focus on metrics such as first contact resolution, average handling time, and more, but that customer interaction often happens in the "environment" of a phone line.  Whether the inbound phone services are supporting a positive customer experience or not is worth considering.   Matt and the team at Spearline have loads of experience helping businesses to connect with their customers, and connect well.

Enabling Great Customer Conversations - An Interview With Matt Lawlor, Spearline

CCNG member Michelle Crotty, VP of RemX Contact Center Solutions talks with fellow member Casey Kostecka, President of DialAmerica and Founder of TouchPoint One. With over 35 years in the contact center, Casey has seen many changes in how companies utilize technology to ensure an exceptional customer experience. He is a visionary in the realm of artificial intelligence and customer engagement, and during this session, Casey will will share an introduction to the benefits, challenges, and future trends of #AI in the Contact Center.

AI 101 for Contact Center Leaders

CCNG member Jaedeanne Shaver, Associate Director of Internal Training & Compliance for Alcon, kicks off this Town Hall and facilitates a discussion on Encouraging a Culture of Quality Through an Internal Self-Assessment Program.

During this interactive discussion with members, Jaedeanne shares how Alcon's Internal Self-Assessment Program aligns with their culture, how it contributes to process improvements throughout the department, and how it's been recognized as a "gold standard" program and leveraged throughout the entire Alcon organization.

Member Town Hall-Encouraging Quality Through an Internal Self-Assessment Program

The Great Contact Challenge.

The challenge is making this an industry where people love their jobs, whether you are an agent, manager, or leader. We will continue to discuss how it is possible to improve the employee experience by leveraging the principles of meaningful work and grind. The result is a major win-win-win for employees, customers, and companies. What is The Great Contact Center Challenge?  The challenge is making this an industry where people love their jobs, whether you are an agent, manager, or leader.  
  
Join CCNG colleagues and industry veterans Ted Nardin and Brian Kearney of 5th Talent International sharing insights on how it is possible to improve the employee experience by leveraging the principles of meaningful work and grind.  The result is a major win-win-win for employees, customers, and companies.

The Great Contact Challenge

CCNG member Matt Woody, First Vice President, Client First Center Director, at First Financial Bank, talks about their journey in building a playbook to ensure continued exceptional service delivery from their distributed agent workforce. Matt reviews the challenges presented by the pandemic and how his teams addressed them, the changes made to achieve service level, and employee performance objectives.

A Playbook Ensuring Exceptional Service Delivery from a Hybrid Agent Workforce

CCNG member Michelle Crotty, VP of RemX Contact Center Solutions talks AI with fellow member Casey Kostecka, President of DialAmerica and Founder of TouchPoint One. With over 35 years in the contact center, Casey has seen many changes in how companies utilize technology to ensure an exceptional customer experience. He is a visionary in the realm of artificial intelligence and customer engagement, and during this session, Casey will will share an introduction to the benefits, challenges, and future trends of AI in the Contact Center.

AI 101 in the Contact Center

What do Facebook, a COVID19 prediction model, and Bronx Honda all have in common? All three were specifically referenced in a recent FTC announcement aimed to encourage “truth, fairness and equity” in the use of AI. That same week, the European Union proposed comprehensive AI regulation as well. What this likely means is that regulation is coming to AI soon, and it's now a great opportunity to talk about the negative outcomes that can arise from poorly implemented AI. Specifically, how do we spot bad actors in AI overhyping what the technology can do? And how can we ensure the AI systems we implement are not flawed by human bias?

Join CCNG President and CEO, David Hadobas, along with Vince Lynch and Owen McGrath of IV.AI as they dive into:

What might upcoming AI regulation in the US look like?
For those in the contact center that have or are considering implementing AI technologies, what do they need to know?
What can industry stakeholders do to ensure they’re implementing best practices?
How do we conduct due diligence on AI vendors?

AI Regulation and the Contact Center

CCNG talks with member Dan Smitley around what we’re going to do once the bots take over the world. Dan is a WFM evangelist, public speaker, and industry expert who has been in the contact center space for over 20 years.

More info at CCNG.com

The Machines Have Taken Over, Now What?

CCNG member Kirstyn Sansom, President and CEO of Sansom Consulting, kicks off this Town Hall and facilitates a discussion on Retaining Your #1 Asset Through Leadership & Culture.

2021 saw many companies suffer the great resignation.  As we enter 2022, many are asking (1) What can we do to avoid this continuing? and (2) What are some key areas of focus companies can have to retain employees?  Join us as we "deep dive" into some of the main reasons our talent is choosing to leave their positions and what we can do to retain the number #1 asset in our companies – our talent.

During this conversation we discussed the key areas of culture and leadership and how that has impacted people's decision to leave their roles.  We also discussed what you can do to influence them to stay. Let’s work towards making 2022 the year of the great retention ... and not resignation!

Member Town Hall - Retaining Your #1 Asset Through Leadership & Culture

Codependency in the Customer Engagement Center -- the relationship between agent enablement and customer experience.

Contrary to the typically negative connotation of codependent relationships. the relationship between agent enablement and a positive customer experience is critical. While some organizations regard agent enablement initiatives as a way to meet internal goals -- such as improving retention, curbing turnover, or improving efficiency, the reality is that investments in agent enablement can have a dramatic impact on customer experience.

During this webinar we’ll discuss some tactics to improve agent enablement that can lead to a better customer experience. For example, organizations that employ successful CRM solutions and integrated business processes are better positioned to have empowered agents delivering personalized service.  This not only delivers higher agent satisfaction, but also happier customers, due to faster and more personalized service!

Codependency in the Customer Engagement Center

Richard Kenny from Poly and Kate Brouse from NTI discuss how organizations can scale up call center home working from the current BandAid approach into something that meets employee, business, and customer needs?

Poly (Plantronics, Inc. – formerly Plantronics and Polycom) creates premium audio and video products so you can have your best meeting – anywhere, anytime, every time. Our headsets, video and audio-conferencing products, desk phones, analytics software and services are beautifully designed and engineered to connect people with incredible clarity.

How to Scale Up Home Working for Your Call Center

David Hadobas of CCNG talks with Vince Lynch and Owen McGrath of IV.AI about the current state of AI in the contact center ... specifically if the technology lends itself to working effectively on a SaaS model. They discuss topics including the training of AI models in client onboarding, the human component to effective implementation, and the common causes of ineffective AI in the contact center.

Cloud Based Solutions, the Contact Center and Future of AI

Member Town Hall- Employee Engagement, are we still tripping over the same rocks?
Listen to CCNG Members Vicki Brackett and Kevin Zyskowski lead a discussion on improving employee engagement with the attending 50+ members on this Town Hall event. Through three case studies they will teach us how to optimize our processes to keep employees engaged through onboarding and training, scheduling, and career development.

Employee Engagement, are we still tripping over the same rocks?

The Covid-19 pandemic instantly sent millions of employed Americans home to work. This new era of remote work has forever changed the mindset of the talent pool, and has ushered in a new set of challenges. But, for those companies who understand that putting people first will set them up for success in the war for talent, there is a silver lining.

This people first corporate mentality sounds great, but how do you ensure it is implemented? How do you not only hire great employees remotely, but engage and retain them so they give back with passion?

For HR professionals, figuring out how to keep employees engaged while working independently in a remote setting might seem daunting at first. Through storytelling, Kim will share a clever combination of tried-and-true culture-building strategies that can take employee engagement to the next level. Coupling this with technology, such as onboarding tools to boost productivity and engagement, and structuring your company information for easy collaboration, you'll be able to leverage your O365 investment to win the war for talent in a remote world.

In this webinar, you will learn:

• How to build a strong, people first remote culture
• How to engage employees who aren’t physically together
• How to retain top talent in an increasingly competitive environment

Remote Rule #1 People First!

The shift from in-house to remote agents wasn't easy for anyone, but it was especially difficult for contact centers that deal with complex and highly regulated industries. These contact centers have always relied on experienced agents to help newer agents. But what happens to your metrics when those people aren't in the same room? What happens when your 8-12 weeks of in-person classroom training has to be done over Zoom?

In this session, you will hear from Jason Mercer-Pottinger how his team working with ScreenSteps transitioned from relying primarily on tribal knowledge to a culture where agents use a central repository of digital guides to handle every call.

The results?

95% First Call Resolution, NPS of 89%, and eventually, the ability to spin up a brand new near-shore contact center that went from zero knowledge to a service level of 90% in less than 120 days.

Jason Mercer-Pottinger (JMP) RTS (Renal Therapy Services) Operations Director for Baxter International.

He has 30 years’ experience within the Contact Center industry globally. He has built service strategies in most regions of the globe supporting both in-sourcing and out-sourced solutions.

Jason has been with Baxter for the last 16 years and with the last 6 being based out of their Global headquarters in Deerfield Illinois.


Jason’s group provides support to renal patients who are receiving renal dialysis in their home, the team provides technical and clinical support for 80K patients globally. The group also supports other parts of Baxter’s diverse portfolio from a Technical Support perspective.

Achieving a 90% Service Level w/a New Remote Contact Center Under 120 Days

CCNG Member Vicki Brackett leads a conversation with senior leaders to discuss the issue of workforce motivation going into year two of the pandemic and the work-from-home model.

As we head into 2021, both you and your team may be feeling foggy, cranky, and fatigued.  A continuing health pandemic, disrupted work environment, economic uncertainties, and social unrest are sapping our energy and enthusiasm.  The adrenaline of battling the first wave is over and "getting back to normal" seems a distant proposition.  Getting through the next phase may be the toughest leadership challenge of all.  What should you do when assurances that "we're all in this together" are met with skepticism and fatigue?  What can we do as leaders ... for your team(s) and for the front line?

This interactive Executive Dialogue will explore strategies and ideas in a facilitated, roundtable format, featuring insight from industry thought leaders and personal experience from executive colleagues.  Lon Hendrickson, Executive Director CCNG Magnet Program, will host this virtual event.  Vicki Brackett, Founder of Virtual Live Labs and author of The Leadership Toolbox, will kick off the discussion.  Attendees are encouraged to participate with questions and insight.

Executive Dialogues - How to Lead and Motivate a Weary Workforce

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