Inspiring speakers, classy venue, record registrations, running in its 7th year, the ‘Improving Performance in the Contact Centre’ 2008 Conference proved as popular as ever. Over 250 delegates attended the event held at London’s premier wine tasting venue, Vinopolis. If you didn’t manage to attend – here’s the highlights: Paul Cooper, Communications Director at the Institute of Customer Service (ICS) emphasised how customer service professionals are the ‘brand guardians’ of today, representing the front line of what truly differentiates your organisation. Interestingly he also noted that 70% of CRM programmes today aren’t working towards customer satisfaction – and to help improve customer service Paul identified 4 characteristics of service excellence whilst recommending a 10 point plan to make it achievable. In summary, customer service rules, but getting it right is as tricky as always! We all know the severity of today’s economic climate but not all of us are sure how it affects customer service in the contact centre. Anne Marie Forsyth, Chief Executive of Customer Contact Association (CCA) gave us the latest feedback from the association’s findings, stating that ‘we need good customer service in boom times but we need great customer service in challenging climates!’ Anne Marie also covered issues of ‘trust’ and the role of the contact centre in establishing that trust, whilst stressing the need to change the way we listen in order to implement change. Cisco Systems presented some interesting statistics stating that 50% of customers and 50% of employees are lost every five years. Dave went on to say that unfortunately, due to stats like these, many contact centres are viewed as ‘cost centres not profit centres’. Where as with the right processes and the correct application of technology the situation can be reversed and 7 such areas were discussed All in all the event was a resounding success – not only did delegates brush up on their industry knowledge; the free wine tasting went down a treat! Written by: Business Systems UK
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Blog 16 April, 2026 Conversational AI in UK Contact Centres: Moving Beyond Basic Chatbots Many contact centres in the UK have implemented chatbot technology in some form or another, but with varying degrees of success. Recent industry research reveals that nearly 70% of customers become frustrated with chatbots and prefer speaking to human agents, and abandonment rates for basic chatbot interactions continue to remain stubbornly high. The problem isn’t
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Blog 29 January, 2026 Microsoft Teams Recording Without the Risk: A Practical Guide for Regulated Organisations Microsoft Teams has become the backbone of collaboration across financial services, insurance, the public sector and other regulated industries. Trading conversations, client discussions, internal decisions and approvals are now happening daily across voice, video, chat and shared files. That shift brings opportunity, but it also introduces risk. For organisations operating under regulations such as FCA,