“A Sector that Continues to Offer Fantastic Career Opportunities” – UK Contact Centres set for the Spotlight on 4 March
Organisations across the UK will come together and showcase the career opportunities that exist within their contact centres and the wider contact centre industry, as part of National Contact Centre Day on 4 March.
Contact centres – traditionally referred by the wider populus as call centres – are a leading industry employer in the UK. It is stated that there are over 800,000 people employed in contact centres nationwide, representing around 3% of the UK workforce.
These operations provide crucial support, handle complex queries and resolve difficult challenges, powered by dedicated people who make it happen behind the scenes. They hold a depth of insight into what customers want and need that can be used to make a powerful difference to broader business success.
The theme for this year’s National Contact Centre Day is Contact Centre as a Career, with many participating organisations set to invite local schools, colleges and higher education institutions to come and experience the working environment of their contact centres – and the unique and rapidly-evolving job roles and skills required to make them successful.
A number of recognisable UK brands are set to participate in National Contact Centre Day, including VodafoneThree. In December, VodafoneThree announced plans to bring 400 contact centre roles back to the UK, representing the largest recruitment drive across the two brands for some time.
“At VodafoneThree we are committed to setting new industry standards for customer experience, and our contact centres are a crucial part of that commitment,” says Ryan Rubertazzi, Head of Consumer Assisted Sales & Care, VodafoneThree.
“At our Stoke Centre of Excellence we recruit customer focused, ambitious and problem-solving people across sales, customer care and operations. Our experts are supported from day one with regular training and development opportunities to help them to build confidence, learn new skills and ultimately continue to have rewarding careers delivering great outcomes for our customers.”
Leigh Hopwood, CEO of the CCMA (Contact Centre Management Association), says National Contact Centre Day provides a timely reminder of the important role the industry plays in local communities in the UK, and the career pathways available to a broad spectrum of the population.
“National Contact Centre Day gives professionals in the sector and their wider operations a chance to shine, and show off all the exciting, innovative and skilful work they do on a daily basis. Ours is a sector that continues to offer fantastic career opportunities.”
Park Holidays, is the operator of 50 caravan and lodge holiday parks across England, Scotland, and Wales, employing around 90 contact centre advisors from its headquarters in East Sussex.
Becca Ludlam has risen through the ranks at the firm, and says she joined because the opportunity to develop her skills and build a career were unparalleled:
“The contact centre is a fantastic environment to work in, with real opportunities for career progression. I joined as a seasonal contact centre agent in 2014 and progressed into a permanent role, before later being promoted to team leader and completing a Level 3 qualification in team leading.
“After returning from maternity leave, I moved into the Holiday Sales Support department and have recently been promoted to Holiday Sales Support Manager. My journey through the years reflects the support, flexibility, and commitment to development that the contact centre offers. I am extremely proud to be a part of such a great team.”
For more information and to download a National Contact Centre Day toolkit, Click Here
For any queries about how to get involved and media opportunities, email the CCMA’s Communications Manager, Chris Ward Click Here
For more than 30 years, the CCMA has been dedicated to supporting contact centre leaders. We push ourselves to do more for our thriving membership base, which is the largest community of industry professionals in the UK.
The CCMA was founded with the goal of sharing best practice and networking to improve skills and knowledge in order to progress contact centre operations – and we live by that to this day.
We give those who work in contact centres the chance to discuss ideas and share experiences through member-only Special Interest Groups and online and in-person events. Member organisations are invited to become Accredited through the Contact Centre Standards Framework and get independent guidance on where they can improve. There is the opportunity to compare operations against industry standards and 25+ KPIs, via our annual CCMA Benchmark.
Our training arm, CCMA Academy gives contact centre professionals at all levels a structured learning opportunity to support both personal and professional development for the benefit of their operations. We also celebrate the progress our industry is making through the UK National Contact Centres Awards. Those that win go on to share their stories through channels such as the UK National Contact Centre Conference, Best Practice Visits and CareerTalk, while also providing input into our Special Interest Groups and other events.
