Established in 1971 Hillarys is the UK’s number one supplier of made-to-measure blinds, shutters and curtains. Handling over 1.2 million inbound customer contacts a year the company is dedicated to providing the highest levels of customer service across a 180 seat contact centre, supported by 1,000 field based Sales Advisors. Managing a multi-channel contact centre, enquiries are split 50/50 between web and inbound calls. With KPIs around answering 80% of calls within 20 seconds and minimising lost calls to under 2%, Hillarys fits the mould of a best practice contact centre, earning themselves a place on the UK’s top 50 Contact Centre list. As part of a continuous programme of improvement the company took the opportunity during a recent telephony upgrade to review their call recording infrastructure and how it could be improved to better support the needs of their customers and agents. After reviewing a number of call recording products and suppliers on the market, Business Systems (UK) Ltd was selected as a strategic partner to work with in implementing the Red Box Recorders Quantify product. Julian Bond, Head of ICT at Hillarys commented “Business Systems was an organisation we could work with; they weren’t restricted to selling us a single product but focussed on understanding our business and helping us choose the product which would work best for us. We wanted a capable partner with plenty of experience in complex integrations and appreciated their collaborative style and informed approach that seemed to be genuinely centered on delivering tangible value to our business”. Paul Mellors, ICT Service Delivery Leader at Hillarys goes on to comment “The Red Box product felt like a good fit for us, it was simple to implement, easy to work with and has an intuitive interface and the commercials were right.” Julian adds “We wanted to ensure quick utilisation, scalability and a product which was clearly unhindered by the need to support extensive legacy features. A solution built around web services was key to allowing easy and flexible integration with other systems, as we continue to pursue a service-oriented architecture strategy.” View the full case study here or contact us to find out more. Written by: Business Systems UK
Blog 28 August, 2025 What is Conversational AI? A Beginner’s Guide to Smarter CX In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, businesses are under increasing pressure to deliver seamless and efficient customer experiences (CX). Customers expect quick responses, personalised interactions, and 24/7 availability. This is where Conversational AI comes in. By leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP), Conversational AI enhances customer service, automates interactions, and significantly improves operational
Blog 23 July, 2025 Mike Wardell Appointed Executive Chairman We are pleased to announce that Mike Wardell, former CEO of Business Systems Ltd, has transitioned to the role of Executive Chairman of both Business Systems and Wordwatch. This strategic move marks a significant milestone for both brands as they continue to strengthen their market-leading positions in customer contact solutions and communications governance and archiving.
Blog 16 July, 2025 Unlocking the Power of Conversation: How Interaction Analytics Is Reshaping Contact Centre Workforce Planning Contact centres are no longer just cost centres – they’re goldmines of actionable insight. And in 2025, forward-thinking customer contact leaders are discovering that the most untapped resource in their operations isn’t in headcount or tech—it’s the conversations they’re already having. Welcome to the era of interaction analytics. With the power to transform how you
Blog 8 July, 2025 From Hype to Impact: AI Strategies for Maximum ROI AI is revolutionising customer contact – but for many contact centres, the results aren’t matching the promise. Despite a surge in experimentation, too many organisations find themselves in “pilot paralysis”: high on potential, low on return. Contact centres need to adopt AI, but many are hitting the same wall: inconsistent ROI. Why? Because not all
Blog 3 June, 2025 Why Workforce Engagement is Key to Retaining Contact Centre Agents Call of Duty: Why Engaged Agents Stay in Contact Centres One repeat challenge our consultants see when we partner with new organisations is Agent retention. With increasing customer expectations, hybrid working models, and AI-driven efficiencies reshaping the contact centre industry, there is always an ongoing pressure for organisations to keep agents engaged and motivated in
Blog 15 May, 2025 How OpenAI’s o3 and o4 Mini Models are a major step forward in Conversational AI for Contact Centres The release of OpenAI’s latest large language models – o3 and o4 mini – represents a major step forward in the evolution of enterprise-grade AI for customer service. These new models are purpose-built to handle complexity, improve reasoning, and scale automation without compromising control or compliance. For contact centres looking to enhance customer experiences and
Blog 1 April, 2025 AI Agents in Contact Centres: Are You Ready for the Future? The Future of Customer Service is Here The contact centre industry is undergoing a significant transformation. Rising customer expectations, increasing operational costs, and workforce shortages are putting immense pressure on businesses to deliver seamless customer experiences while maintaining profitability. The companies that embrace AI agents today are the industry leaders of tomorrow – those that
Blog 10 February, 2025 What is Agentic AI and Why Does It Matter to You? Agentic AI is transforming contact centres by enabling systems to act autonomously, adapt to new situations, and proactively achieve goals – much like a human agent. But how does it differ from traditional automation, and why should contact centre leaders take notice? What is Agentic AI? Unlike rule-based automation, Agentic AI makes independent decisions, learns