Hybrid working is here to stay but UK organisations still struggling with workplace culture claims new survey
– The survey reveals that the majority of UK contact centres expect three-quarters or more of their employees to be homeworking (at least part of the time) by the end of 2027, with more employees than ever self-selecting what days they work in the office, and even their workday schedules –
The 2025 ‘Hybrid Working in the Contact Centre’ market survey reveals that the widely predicted ‘return to the office’ hasn’t materialised in a significant way, and that UK employers and employees continue to enjoy the benefits that hybrid working delivers.
The survey is the latest in the ‘Hybrid Working in the Contact Centre’ research series that has surveyed UK customer contact centre professionals about their opinions and experiences of home and hybrid working since 2016 (2016, 2019, 2022 and 2025).
The 2025 study was conducted by Pitch Market Surveys in partnership with trade associations The Forum and Cnect Wales, as well as specialist hybrid working consultancy Spacial.
100 UK customer contact centre Directors, Managers and other professionals took part in the 2025 study. Survey responses were collected between April 10th and June 20th 2025 and participants came from a broad range of different industries. 69% of people responding work in large contact centres with 100 or more seats.
Highlights from the 2025 ‘Hybrid Working in the Contact Centre’ survey include:
Return to the office?
71% of respondents stated that three-quarters or more of their contact centre advisers currently work full or part time from home.
By the end of 2027, 65% of respondents think that three-quarters or more of their contact centre advisers will be working full or part time from home. While that shows that industry professionals expect a significant number of people to return to the office over the next 2-3 years that movement is perhaps not as great as some industry analysts have recently predicted.
Various hybrid models
The most popular hybrid model employed in UK contact centres is one where people work flexibly between the home and the office (i.e. not consistent days each week) and where EMPLOYEES decide where they work on any given day (39% of respondents).
The set days at home and set days in the office model (including anchor days) is also popular (28%), while the ‘flexible working between the home and office where EMPLOYERS decide where people work on any given day’ model was used by just 14% of organisations. Of those organisations that embrace homeworking, just 6% employ a model where people either work 100% in the office or 100% at home.
Issues and benefits associated with WFH/hybrid
Workplace Culture (63% of organisations) and Pastoral Care (53%) are the top two issues cited by respondents as key hybrid working ISSUES, followed by Communicating Effectively (48%) and Managing Remotely (40%).
The main benefits of hybrid working were given as Happier and More Productive Employees (75% of organisations), a Lower Carbon Footprint (55%), Reduced Attrition/Absenteeism (53%), Additional Business Continuity (50%) and Lower Operating Costs (48%).
Performance of WFH vs office teams
The majority of respondents say that the performance of their homeworking teams is comparable to that of office-based teams against all the criteria given within the questionnaire (including attrition, absenteeism, customer experience, and quality of service).
For most criteria given there is a slightly greater chance of homeworker team performance being better than that of comparable office-based teams. This is particularly notable when it comes to Absenteeism, Attrition and Customer Satisfaction. Average Handle Time is likely to be slightly higher amongst homeworkers, while there was nothing to choose between the Productivity of home and office workers.
Significantly, 58% of contact centre professionals said that it is easier to recruit homeworkers than office workers; while 52% said that it is easier to retain homeworkers. Conversely, 63% of respondents said that it is more difficult to train homeworkers than office workers; and 47% said that it is more difficult to manage the performance of their homeworkers.
Are Managers ready for the challenge?
60% of respondents felt that their organisation provides Managers and Supervisors with sufficient Training and Advice to support home/hybrid workers (47%); while just 12.5% consider that it doesn’t.
Live adviser vs automated service
Voice calls (used by 95% of organisations), email (90%) and webchat (75%) are the most commonly used communications channels within customer contact centres.
Automated Voice/ IVR (used by 60% of organisations) and Social Channels (53%) are the next most popular. This indicates the reliance on people-delivered service within the industry in 2025 – albeit AI is now being used in 24% of contact centres.
Despite the massive efforts of organisations over recent years to digitise and move away from phone-based communications, under a third of respondents (32%) believe that digitised communications will be the most common form of customer contact by the end of 2027.
And when asked about the impact of self-service and AI on the service industry, a little over a third of people (36%) expect the majority of customer contacts to be handled by AI and automation by 2030. A much larger percentage (64%) were either ‘not sure’ or felt that human contact would still dominate the contact centre industry in 2030.
WFH and self-scheduling hours
84% of respondents agreed that flexible working gives its employees the opportunity to enjoy a better work-life-balance. Despite this, just 8% of respondents said that their organisation gives its contact centre employees the ability to self-select their work schedules……. a capability often associated with achieving a better work-life-balance through flexible working.
Enhancing technology
A massive 83% of respondents stated that they had enhanced their IT, or Information Security, to enable home and hybrid working. Only 4% said no, the rest were unsure.
Michael Gray, Director, Pitch Market Surveys, commented,
“The 2025 survey shows just how popular hybrid working has become with employees and employers alike”
“While organisations are reporting business challenges in areas such as workplace culture, pastoral care, internal communications and management, they are benefitting hugely in areas such as employee engagement, recruitment and absenteeism/attrition. The message to businesses is clear: the key imperative must be to optimise hybrid working models and strategies. Take hybrid working away from people at your peril.”
To view the ‘2025 Hybrid Working in the Contact Centre’ Market Survey eBook (no need to register) Click Here
Pitch Market Surveys (PMS) is the research and analytics arm of Pitch Marketing Communications, a marketing consultancy business.
PMS has created and managed each survey within the Hybrid Working in the Contact Centre research series (2016, 2019, 2022 and 2025).
Fore additional information on Email
Cnect Wales proudly represents the interests of over 300 businesses across Wales, employing approximately 35,000 individuals in frontline positions. Established in 1999, we have evolved alongside the industry, transitioning from the Cardiff & Newport Call Centre Initiative to the Welsh Contact Centre Forum in 2004, and rebranding to Cnect Wales in 2022. Our mission has always been to drive key industry changes and provide relevant products and services, especially as AI and hybrid working transform our members operations. Our members, include Contact Centres, IT Helpdesks, Shared Service Centres, Telemarketing functions, and BPO operations. They span many sectors including Financial Services, Technology, Retail, Housing Associations, Public and Private Sectors, Local Councils, Recruitment, Sales, and Service.
For additional information on Cnect Wales visit their Website
Spacial is a team of strategic, leadership and operational experts with multiple years’ experience working with global brands in hybrid and work-from-home environments. We partner with organisations to optimise hybrid strategies, increase engagement, boost productivity and enhance performance across recruitment, training, management, leadership development, communications, HR, technology, security and compliance.
For additional information on Spacial visit their Website
Established in 2000, our community of professionals is recognised as the ‘go-to place’ for innovation in customer operations, from contact centre and digital to field, back office, branch & retail services, working across all industry sectors. We are an independent and trusted space for learning and sharing, proud to welcome members into a thriving and active community to network with other like-minded professionals. Benchmark against the best in class and learn from innovators and pioneers. Our team of independent experts can also offer bespoke advice, consultancy and training. We have helped many organisations develop the capability of their vital support functions.
For additional information on The Forum visit their Website
