Categories 2026

Operational Performance

This category recognises new customer contact operations during their first 12 months of operation. Nominations can include relocations, centralisation of sites, new satellite sites, new outsourcing partnerships or site transformations as well as brand new contact centre start-ups. Judges are looking for: 

  • A welldefined strategy with a clear implementation plan, demonstrating milestones, progress, and how risks or challenges were managed.  
  • Evidence that the operation is already running efficiently and effectively, with processes designed around customer needs and employee experience.  
  • Clarity on the operation’s role within the wider organisation, how it fits into the business strategy, how leaders support it, and how resources, tools, and systems have been aligned to enable longterm success.  
  • Strong people practices including how recruitment was approached, how onboarding was delivered, how learning and development is structured, and how the operation actively supports engagement, wellbeing, and retention.  
  • Reward and recognition approaches that show how great performance and behaviours are encouraged and celebrated.  
  • Defined performance measures with transparent reporting that shows how the new operation is tracking against expectations and delivering results. 

This category recognises organisations that have used data and insight to drive meaningful improvements within a customer contact operation, or have used insights from the contact centre to drive change in other areas of the business. Nominations should demonstrate how an agile, data‑led approach has enabled actionable insights, informed decisions, and delivered measurable benefits for customers and employees. Judges are looking for: 

  • A structured approach to data collection, reporting and analysis, showing how information is gathered, governed and validated. 
  • Clear methods for turning data into usable insight, including how trends, correlations and patterns are identified and communicated. 
  • Evidence of how insights have informed decisions, enabled performance improvement, or supported a robust business case for change. 
  • Specific examples of data‑driven improvements that have positively impacted the customer and/or employee experience. 
  • How ongoing use of insights is embedded to monitor business performance, track the impact of changes, and support continuous improvement. 
  • Lessons learned about the role of data in the organisation and how the data framework, tools or processes are evolving to meet future needs.  

This category recognises organisations that excel in managing extreme peaks in demand, whether driven by predictable seasonal activity, unexpected weather events, service outages or emergency situations. Nominations should demonstrate how a wellplanned, agile approach enabled the operation to respond effectively while protecting both the customer and employee experience. Judges are looking for: 

  • A clear and agile strategy for anticipating, preparing for and managing peak demand, showing how plans were developed, tested and adapted. 
  • Creative and innovative methods used to handle the peak, demonstrating original thinking, smart problemsolving and a focus on service continuity. 
  • Effective use of resources, including how people, partners, capacity models and technology were deployed to maximise efficiency and maintain service levels. 
  • A robust communications plan that ensured timely, clear updates for employees and customers and supported a confident, coordinated response. 
  • Evidence of performance impacts and recovery plans showing how the organisation monitored performance, prioritised actions and restored operations quickly and sustainably. 

This category recognises internal teams that provide essential daytoday support to the contact centre or customer service operation. This can include functions such as resource planning, Change, quality management, HR, management information, data and insights, marketing, planning, IT and other enabling teams. Nominations should demonstrate how the team operates as a strategic partner, enabling the frontline operation to perform at its best. Judges are looking for: 

  • A clear overview of the operating model, showing how the team supports the contact centre on a daily basis and how responsibilities, roles and workflows are structured. 
  • Evidence of a strong partnership culture, demonstrating how the team collaborates with operational colleagues, builds trust and provides responsive, valueadding support. 
  • Examples of going above and beyond, showcasing moments when the team delivered exceptional support that enabled high standards of service or operational resilience. 
  • Demonstrable innovation and initiative, particularly in how the team troubleshoots, solves problems and applies new ideas or approaches to improve outcomes. 
  • Clear evidence of business impact showing how the team’s work has improved the performance of the areas they support in the last 12 months. 
  • Defined metrics and measures that demonstrate the results achieved and the contribution the team has made to operational success. 

This category recognises organisations that have worked seamlessly across functions to do the right thing for the customer. Collaborating teams may include customer experience, marketing, IT, back office, complaints, business change, strategy, and, where relevant, specialist stakeholders such as risk, legal, governance, data and insights. Nominations should demonstrate how a coordinated, effective partnership achieved outcomes that no single team could have delivered alone. Judges are looking for: 

  • A clear explanation of the business drivers behind the collaboration, including the challenges that needed to be addressed and why cross‑functional partnership was essential. 
  • Well‑defined objectives that show what the initiative set out to achieve for customers, colleagues and the wider business. 
  • A structured collaborative approach, detailing how teams worked together, the controls and measures used to maintain alignment, and how governance, risk, legal or AI‑related considerations were managed. 
  • Tangible benefits realised across customer and employee experience demonstrating how collaboration delivered outcomes greater than the sum of its parts. 
  • Robust measurement and results showing how success was evaluated and what impact the partnership has had on performance, experience or strategic business goals. 

This category recognises organisations that have built a highly effective partnership with their Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) provider over more than 12 months. Both the client and the outsourcer must jointly demonstrate how the relationship delivers sustained value, strengthens customer and employee experience, and exemplifies what a best‑in‑class partnership should look like. Judges are looking for: 

  • Evidence of an efficient and effective customer and employee‑focused operation showing how both organisations work together to maintain high standards of experience and performance. 
  • A clear understanding of clients aims and challenges, demonstrating how the partnership has helped to address these and deliver outcomes that neither party could have achieved alone. 
  • Open, transparent and two‑way communication, showing how frontline teams, operational leaders and client decision‑makers collaborate, share insight and stay aligned. 
  • Strong integration and ongoing investment in the relationship, including examples of joint planning, shared governance, continuous improvement and co‑owned initiatives. 
  • Demonstrable progress against original objectives, with evidence of how the partnership has evolved, adapted and delivered measurable results over time. 
  • Clear value‑add beyond cost showing how the BPO partner contributes innovation, expertise, capability, and strategic support that enhances the overall operation. 

This category recognises organisations that have implemented an effective, well‑governed approach to knowledge management that empowers colleagues and supports customers. Nominations should demonstrate how knowledge is created, maintained, governed and surfaced in ways that enable consistent service, operational efficiency and supports the implementation of the scalable use of AI technologies. Judges are looking for: 

  • A clear knowledge management strategy and operating model, showing how knowledge is created, structured, reviewed and maintained across teams and channels. 
  • Evidence of strong governance, including the involvement of key stakeholders such as risk, legal, compliance, data privacy, product owners and AI governance teams to ensure accuracy, safety and organisational alignment. 
  • How knowledge is made accessible and usable, demonstrating intuitive design, effective search, tagging, version control and how colleagues are supported in adopting the knowledge solution. 
  • Examples of how knowledge management has improved performance, such as faster onboarding, reduced handling time, better first‑contact resolution, improved accuracy or increased employee confidence. 
  • Clear steps taken to become AI‑ready, including how knowledge is structured, standardised and governed to support AI‑assisted responses, retrieval‑augmented generation, automation or agent‑assist tools. 
  • Metrics and results, showing how the approach has driven measurable improvements in quality, experience, efficiency or risk reduction. 

This category recognises organisations that have successfully deployed technology in the last 12 months within their customer contact environment, enhancing the employee and/or customer experience and delivering a measurable uplift in operational performance. Nominations should demonstrate how technology has been thoughtfully implemented, wellgoverned and fully embedded to deliver sustained business benefits. Judges are looking for: 

  • A clear and structured implementation approach showing how the technology was selected, integrated, tested and rolled out across the operation. 
  • The impact on the employee experience, demonstrating how tools have simplified tasks, supported decisionmaking, reduced effort or improved confidence and capability. 
  • Evidence of business value, including return on investment, efficiency gains, reduced manual work, improved accuracy or better use of resources. 
  • Quantitative and qualitative results, showing clear performance improvements such as increased capacity, improved quality, reduced failure demand, or stronger colleague and customer feedback. 
  • The impact on the customer experience demonstrating how technology has enabled faster resolution, more personalised support, greater reliability or smoother endtoend journeys. 
  • Evidence of strong integration and ongoing optimisation, showing how the organisation continues to refine and maximise the technology through continuous improvement, automation opportunities or enhanced workflows. 

This award recognises the application of technology, not the technology product itself. Joint nominations from an organisation and its technology partner are welcome, but technology providers may not submit independently. 

This category recognises organisations that have deployed artificial intelligence (AI) in a way that enables significant improvements across the customer contact or customer service operation. The application may be small in scope but high in impact, or be part of a larger transformation programme. Judges are looking for: 

  • A clear approach to AI showing how the organisation is building capability and how its approach is evolving over time. 
  • A strong rationale for deploying AI, including the problem it was designed to solve and why AI was the right enabler. 
  • A structured and well-governed implementation approach demonstrating how AI was designed, tested, deployed and integrated into daytoday operations. 
  • Evidence of benefits realised for customers and employees, showing how AI has enabled improved insight, smoother journeys, faster service, reduced effort, increased productivity or more personalised support. 
  • Key lessons learned, including how implementation insights are shaping future plans, scaling decisions or wider organisational adoption. 

This award recognises how AI has made a difference to an operation, employees or customers, not the technology solution itself. Joint nominations from an organisation and its technology partner are welcome, but the technology provider cannot nominate independently. 

This category recognises teams that have delivered a meaningful improvement to business processes within the last 12 months, resulting in measurable benefits to the customer journey, the customer contact operation, or the employee experience. Nominations should demonstrate how the initiative was shaped, delivered and iterated in a demonstrably agile way, enabling rapid progress, continuous learning and sustained improvement. Judges are looking for: 

  • A clear understanding of the objectives behind the improvement initiative, including the problem to be solved and the outcomes the team aimed to achieve. 
  • Evidence of an agile, structured approach to planning, deploying and monitoring the initiative — showing how teams adapted, iterated and made decisions based on insight, feedback or emerging needs. 
  • Effective communication across the organisation, with clear examples of how internal channels were used to keep teams informed, engaged and aligned throughout the improvement process. 
  • Robust evidence of impact, demonstrating how the change improved customer or employee experience, strengthened operational performance, and delivered a measurable return on investment. 
  • Key lessons learned and future plans, showing how the experience has informed ongoing improvements, scaling decisions or the organisation’s wider approach to change. 

This category recognises organisations that have embarked on a significant, longterm strategic transformation of their customer contact operation. Transformation programmes typically span several years and may include redesigning the operating model, restructuring teams, redefining roles, deploying new technologies, shifting service channels, or reshaping governance and ways of working. Nominations should demonstrate how the programme is delivering, meaningful, measurable change for customers, colleagues and the business, either in the early years or as a completed transformation. Judges are looking for: 

  • A clear transformation strategy with a compelling vision, defined outcomes and milestones within a structured plan covering operating model design and service delivery approach. 
  • Evidence of alignment across people, process and technology showing how each component supports the business strategy and how changes to structures, workflows, capabilities and systems were coordinated. 
  • How challenges were managed and overcome, including cultural barriers, legacy processes, resistance to change, technology complexity, workforce impacts or operational risks. 
  • Clear evidence of impact demonstrating how the transformation has improved customer and employee experiences, increased operational performance and delivered commercial value. 
  • Lessons learned and forward plans showing how the organisation has matured through the transformation journey and how this learning is shaping future phases or investment decisions. 

Employee Experience

Accordion Content

This category recognises organisations that have created a workplace environment where customer contact professionals can genuinely thrive — physically, socially and culturally. Nominations should demonstrate how the workplace has been deliberately designed or evolved to support collaboration, learning, wellbeing and a strong sense of belonging for a multi‑generational workforce. This may include changes to physical spaces, hybrid ways of working, or initiatives that encourage purposeful, inclusive and energising time together rather than enforced attendance. Judges are looking for: 

  • A clear workplace strategy, aligned to employee needs, organisational culture and business objectives, showing how the environment supports the way the operation works today and in the future. 
  • Evidence of inclusive design, demonstrating how the workplace has been adapted to meet diverse needs, including accessibility, neurodiversity, wellbeing considerations and the expectations of different generations. 
  • Practical initiatives that bring the workplace to life, such as collaboration‑led space design, learning and development activities, community‑building, leadership presence or purposeful in‑office experiences. 
  • Clear evidence of a positive impact, showing improvements in employee engagement, wellbeing, attraction, retention or collaboration. 
  • Employee feedback and insight, demonstrating how colleagues experience the environment and how it strengthens connection, belonging and pride. 
  • Sustainability and embedment, showing how the approach is ongoing, inclusive and part of everyday ways of working, rather than a one‑off or cosmetic change. 

This category recognises organisations that demonstrate excellence in managing people within a hybrid working environment, ensuring high performance, engagement and wellbeing regardless of where work is carried out. Nominations should show how leadership behaviours, management capability, communication and performance practices have evolved to lead distributed teams fairly, consistently and with trust. Judges are looking for: 

  • A clear and purposeful hybrid workforce strategy with people at the centre, showing how flexibility, performance and wellbeing are balanced in line with organisational values and business objectives.  
  • How managers have been equipped, supported and developed to lead hybrid teams effectively, including changes to leadership behaviours, expectations and capability.  
  • Consistent people management practices demonstrating fairness, inclusion and trust regardless of location, role or working pattern.  
  • How performance, engagement, learning and wellbeing are actively managed, monitored and supported within a hybrid environment.  
  • Clear evidence of positive outcomes showing the impact on employee experience, customer outcomes and overall business performance in the last 12 months.  
  • How the approach has been embedded into everyday ways of working and sustained over time rather than treated as a temporary or reactive solution. 

This category recognises organisations that take a holistic, intentional approach to developing people within the customer contact operation. Nominations should demonstrate how learning, skills development, career progression and long‑term talent planning are brought together to create clear, inclusive pathways for growth, supporting individual aspirations while strengthening operational performance. Judges are looking for: 

  • A clear and structured employee development framework with a defined purpose and objectives that align to the needs of the operation and its people.  
  • Strong alignment between learning, career development and organisational culture showing how development opportunities reflect values, behaviours and longterm workforce goals.  
  • Thoughtful design and delivery of development activity, including a blend of formal learning, onthejob development, coaching, mentoring and informal skills building.  
  • Evidence that development supports performance, engagement and retention demonstrating how investment in people translates into capability, confidence and progression.  
  • Clear impact across employees, customers and the operation showing how development initiatives improve service quality, experience and overall effectiveness.  
  • Robust measures of success including how outcomes are tracked, results evaluated and benefits realised.  
  • Evidence that employee development is ongoing, an embedded approach rather than a oneoff programme or shortterm initiative. 

This category recognises organisations that have implemented a trusted, effective approach to capturing and acting on the voice of the employees within the customer contact operation. Nominations should demonstrate how employee feedback has been actively listened to, meaningfully responded to, and used to deliver positive impact across customer experience, employee experience or operational performance within the last 12 months. Judges are looking for: 

  • A clear and welldesigned employee feedback framework, showing how employee voices are heard consistently through formal and informal channels.  
  • Evidence of action taken, including at least one initiative delivered in the last 12 months directly as a result of employee feedback.  
  • Demonstrable impact showing how listening to employees has improved culture, reduced attrition, and strengthened quality, performance or engagement.  
  • Strong stakeholder involvement demonstrating how leaders, managers, people teams and other key stakeholders are engaged in reviewing feedback and driving change.  
  • Trust, transparency and integrity showing how the programme maintains credibility with employees, protects psychological safety, and closes the feedback loop.  
  • Clear outcomes and results evidencing the benefits realised for employees, customers and/or the wider business. 

This category recognises organisations that strive to be an employer of choice for customer contact professionals by creating a compelling, inclusive and engaging employee experience. Nominations should demonstrate how the organisation supports people at every stage of their journey, from attraction and recruitment through to development, wellbeing and progression, meeting the expectations of a diverse, multigenerational workforce, including the emerging needs and values of Gen Z. Judges are looking for: 

  • A clear and intentional employee experience strategy showing how culture, values and people practices come together to support engagement, performance and belonging.  
  • An effective recruitment and onboarding approach, including a strong candidate journey and employee value proposition that attracts and retains the right talent.  
  • Thoughtful approaches to flexible working, demonstrating how working practices support trust, inclusion and worklife balance.  
  • How employee engagement is measured and acted on, including insight into results achieved and how feedback drives continuous improvement.  
  • Clear learning, development and career opportunities showing how people are supported to grow skills, build confidence and progress over time.  
  • A strong approach to talent management, including succession planning, internal mobility and longterm capability building.  
  • A meaningful diversity, equity and inclusion framework demonstrating how fairness, representation and belonging are embedded into everyday ways of working.  
  • A robust and proactive wellbeing programme showing how physical, mental and emotional wellbeing is supported and promoted throughout the operation.  
  • Recognition and reward practices demonstrating how great performance and behaviours are acknowledged and celebrated.  
  • Clear evidence of listening to employees, showing how feedback is heard, acted on and closedlooped in a way that builds trust. 

This category recognises customer contact operations that are genuinely customer‑obsessed, where decisions, behaviours and ways of working consistently start with the customer and are shaped by a deep understanding of customer needs. Nominations should demonstrate how customer centricity is embedded into culture, leadership and everyday actions, supported by inclusive practices that reflect diverse customer and colleague perspectives. Judges are looking for: 

  • Clear evidence of a customerobsessed culture showing how customer needs, expectations and outcomes influence strategy, priorities and decisionmaking at all levels.  
  • How customers are actively engaged and listened to, including the mechanisms used to capture insight, feedback and lived experience, and how this insight drives action.  
  • A clear strategy for sustaining customer centricity demonstrating how the culture is intentionally built, reinforced and evolved over time.  
  • How employees are empowered to do the right thing for customers, including autonomy, decisionmaking frameworks, tools, training and leadership support.  
  • Strong alignment with DEIB principles, showing how inclusive thinking helps teams better understand, serve and represent diverse customer needs.  
  • Feedback from customers and employees demonstrating shared belief in the culture and how it translates into behaviours and outcomes.  
  • Clear impact on customer experience and business performance, showing how customer centricity has delivered measurable improvements in experience, trust, loyalty or operational results. 

Customer Experience

This category recognises organisations that have successfully redesigned a customer experience across one or more channels, delivering measurable improvements for customers, employees and the contact centre operation. Nominations should demonstrate how insight‑led redesign has reshaped journeys, interactions or service models to better meet customer needs while strengthening operational effectiveness. Judges are looking for: 

  • Clear evidence of the need for a redesign, showing how customer insight, performance data or changing expectations highlighted opportunities or issues within the existing experience.  
  • Welldefined objectives for the CX redesign demonstrating what the organisation set out to improve for customers, employees and the wider business.  
  • A structured and considered approach to change showing how the redesign was planned, tested, implemented and embedded across channels or touchpoints.  
  • Delivery of a consistent, responsive and personalised experience demonstrating how redesigned journeys improve ease, clarity and confidence for customers.  
  • Innovative and effective use of technology within the journey showing how tools or digital capabilities support better interactions, smoother handhandoffs or improved resolution.  
  • Clear evidence of impact demonstrating how the redesign has improved customer satisfaction, loyalty, effort or outcomes, alongside positive effects on contact centre performance and overall business results. 

This category recognises organisations that have delivered revenue growth through the contact centre in a way that is ethical, customer‑focused and sustainable. Nominations may reflect a dedicated sales operation or a highly effective sales‑through‑service model, demonstrating how customer needs are understood, respected and responded to while achieving strong commercial outcomes. Judges are looking for: 

  • Evidence of an ethical, customercentric sales culture demonstrating how customer needs and outcomes are prioritised alongside commercial performance.  
  • Clear performance metrics and management approach, including how teams and individuals are measured (e.g. conversion rates, value, quality, retention).  
  • Achievement against KPIs, including comparison with performance over the previous two years.  
  • Reward and recognition practices showing how ethical behaviours and outcomes are encouraged and celebrated.  
  • Strong collaboration within the team demonstrating how people work together to deliver positive customer and commercial outcomes.  
  • Improvements made to protect and enhance customer experience, while exceeding sales performance expectations.  
  • Clear organisational impact, showing how sales performance has contributed to wider business results.  
  • Customer engagement and satisfaction results evidencing trust, loyalty and positive experience. 

 

This category recognises organisations that demonstrate best practice in identifying, supporting and responding to customers with additional needs or vulnerabilities. Nominations should show how the organisation has adapted its approach to improve outcomes while protecting dignity, trust and customer experience. Judges are looking for: 

  • A clear understanding of customer vulnerability, including the types of circumstances customers may face.  
  • A welldefined vulnerable customer framework showing how vulnerability is identified, recorded and managed.  
  • Examples of adapted approaches demonstrating how services, processes or behaviours have been changed to better support vulnerable customers.  
  • Effective training and support for colleagues ensuring confidence, consistency and care in handling sensitive situations.  
  • Impact on colleague engagement and retention showing how supporting vulnerable customers is managed sustainably.  
  • Evidence of improved customer outcomes, including satisfaction, trust or reduced customer effort. 

This category recognises customer contact operations delivering service in two or more languages, with employees based in Europe and supporting customers anywhere in the world. Nominations should demonstrate how multilingual service is delivered consistently, inclusively and effectively. Judges are looking for: 

  • An overview of languages and channels provided showing how multilingual services are structured and delivered.  
  • Evidence of cultural awareness and inclusion demonstrating how different cultures are understood and respected.  
  • A robust quality management approach ensuring consistency and standards across languages.  
  • Evidence of an efficient and effective operation balancing customer and employee experience, and supported by appropriate resources, systems and leadership. 
  • Strong people practices, including recruitment, learning and development and engagement.  
  • Clear targets and performance measures with evidence of results achieved.  
  • Contribution to the wider business demonstrating strategic value beyond service delivery. 

This category recognises organisations that have introduced innovative ideas or developments that enable them to meet customer needs more effectively. Innovation may relate to customer journeys, service models, ways of working, or internal systems and processes that support customer service delivery. Nominations should demonstrate how innovation has been purposefully applied to solve real problems and deliver tangible value. Judges are looking for:  

  • Clear evidence of creative and innovative thinking, demonstrating originality, relevance and a willingness to challenge existing approaches or conventions.  
  • A strong business rationale for the innovation showing why it was needed, the customer or operational problem it addressed, and how success was defined.  
  • Tangible benefits delivered demonstrating positive outcomes for customers, employees and the business as a result of the innovation.  
  • Measurable improvements in operational performance, such as efficiency, quality, capacity, consistency or resilience.  
  • A clear explanation of why the innovation is valuable today, showing how it responds to current customer expectations, industry challenges or organisational priorities. 

This category recognises customer service teams, including frontline, helpdesk or specialist teams, for example, bereavement, debt recovery, fraud, retention, social media, vulnerable customer support, that are delivering outstanding customer experiences and making a demonstrable difference to customers and the wider business. Nominations should showcase how the team works together, puts customers at the heart of what they do, and continually looks for ways to improve. Judges are looking for:  

  • Evidence of a strong customercentric culture within the team, demonstrating shared values, behaviours and commitment to doing the right thing for customers.  
  • How the team collaborates effectively showing how people work together to deliver consistent, highquality outcomes.  
  • Improvements implemented by the team demonstrating how they have enhanced the customer experience, service quality or operational efficiency.  
  • Clear organisational impact showing how the team’s performance contributes to wider business objectives or results.  
  • A recent initiative delivered by the team with clear evidence of a positive and measurable customer experience outcome in the last 12 months.  
  • Evidence of listening and responding to customer needs demonstrating how feedback or insight has shaped actions or decisions.  
  • Customer engagement and satisfaction results showing trust, loyalty and positive perception of the service delivered. 

This category recognises organisations delivering high‑quality customer service to European customers from locations outside Europe. Nominations should demonstrate how cultural understanding, operational discipline and strong people practices combine to deliver a consistent, responsive and customer‑focused experience across borders. Judges are looking for: 

  • A clear overview of the service model including which European markets are supported, the languages offered, and the channels through which customers are served.  
  • Evidence of a genuinely customercentric culture demonstrating how customer needs and expectations shape service delivery across geographically distributed teams.  
  • Strong cultural awareness and inclusion showing how the organisation equips colleagues to understand, respect and respond to diverse European customer behaviours and expectations.  
  • Delivery of a consistent, responsive and personalised experience, regardless of location, language or channel.  
  • A structured quality management approach demonstrating how standards are maintained, monitored and improved across markets.  
  • Robust people processes, including recruitment, learning and development, engagement and recognition.  
  • Use of customer and employee feedback showing how insight is captured and used to drive continuous improvement.  
  • Clear targets, measures and performance outcomes with evidence of results achieved.  

This category recognises Business Process Outsourcers (BPOs) based in Europe, operating from a single site or across multiple sites within a single country, that demonstrate excellence in people practices, continuous improvement and the ongoing evolution of their proposition. Nominations should showcase how the organisation delivers sustained value for its clients while creating a positive, high‑performing environment for colleagues. Entries must include two or more client case studies that clearly demonstrate the impact and value delivered through the partnership. Judges are looking for: 

  • A strong client partnership approach, demonstrating how the BPO actively listens to clients, collaborates closely, responds to changing needs and acts as a trusted extension of the client organisation. 
  • A clear understanding of the centre’s role within both the outsourcer’s own business and its clients’ organisations, supported by appropriate resources, systems and governance.  
  • A people-centric environment supported by strong people practices for effective recruitment, onboarding, talent management, engagement and retention with clear communication, visible leadership and inclusive ways of working.  
  • Frontline involvement in decisionmaking particularly where changes affect their work or customer outcomes.  
  • Reward and recognition practices demonstrating how high performance, ethical behaviours and ongoing contribution are acknowledged.  
  • Clear evidence of a positive impact showing how the operation contributes to both client success and the outsourcer’s overall business performance.  

This category recognises in‑house contact centres based in Europe, operating from a single site or within a single country, that demonstrate excellence across performance, leadership and people practices. Nominations should showcase how the contact centre delivers consistently high‑quality customer outcomes, creates a positive and engaging environment for colleagues, and plays a critical role in supporting the wider organisation’s success. Judges are looking for: 

  • Evidence of an efficient and effective operation demonstrating strong and consistent performance while balancing customer experience and employee experience.  
  • A clear understanding of the contact centres role within the organisation showing how it supports business objectives and is enabled by appropriate leadership, resources and systems.  
  • A people-centric environment supported by strong people practices for effective recruitment, onboarding, talent management, engagement and retention with clear communication, visible leadership and inclusive ways of working.  
  • Reward and recognition approaches demonstrating how performance, behaviours and contribution are encouraged and celebrated.  
  • Meaningful frontline involvement showing how colleagues are engaged in decisions that affect customers, service delivery and the way the operation works.  
  • Defined targets, measures and performance outcomes with transparent evidence of results achieved and how the operation contributes to organisational performance, resilience or growth.  
  • A future vision and roadmap showing a clear view of how the contact centre will continue to evolve and thrive in a changing world. 

This category recognises organisations operating customer contact centres across two or more European countries that deliver a seamless, high‑quality experience at scale. Nominations should demonstrate how geographically distributed operations work together effectively, balancing consistency with local needs, and creating strong outcomes for customers, colleagues and the wider business. Judges are looking for: 

  • A clear multicountry operating model showing how contact centres collaborate across locations to deliver a joinedup customer experience.  
  • Evidence of efficient and effective operations demonstrating strong performance while balancing customer experience and employee experience across countries.  
  • A clear understanding of the operation’s role within the wider business supported by aligned leadership, governance, systems and decisionmaking across geographies.  
  • A people-centric environment supported by strong people practices for effective recruitment, onboarding, talent management, engagement and retention with clear communication, visible leadership and inclusive ways of working.  
  • Reward and recognition practices demonstrating how performance, behaviours and contribution are encouraged across the network.  
  • Meaningful frontline involvement showing how colleagues across locations are engaged in decisions that impact their work and customer outcomes.  
  • Defined targets, measures and performance outcomes with transparent evidence of results achieved and how the operation contributes to organisational performance, resilience or growth.  
  • A future vision and roadmap showing a clear view of how the contact centre will continue to evolve and thrive in a changing world. 

This category recognises organisations that consistently deliver outstanding customer experiences and genuinely wow their customers. Nominations should demonstrate how customer experience excellence is intentionally designed, actively managed and continuously improved, going beyond headline metrics such as NPS to show strong, positive customer sentiment in the public domain. Judges will be looking for evidence of experiences that stand out, build trust and loyalty, and deliver meaningful value for customers, colleagues and the business. Judges are looking for: 

  • A proactive and intentional approach to customer experience demonstrating how the organisation designs, delivers and continuously improves experiences based on customer needs and expectations.  
  • Creativity and originality in the experience delivered showing how the organisation goes beyond standard service models to create distinctive, memorable interactions.  
  • Clear use of customer experience measures and KPIs, demonstrating how performance is tracked, reviewed and acted on.  
  • Evidence of exceeding customer expectations including examples where the organisation has gone above and beyond to deliver positive outcomes.  
  • Independent evidence of customer sentiment, such as feedback from public review sites, social platforms, complaints bodies or industry benchmarks.  
  • Clear impact on customers, colleagues and the business demonstrating how customer experience excellence has driven engagement, loyalty, advocacy, operational performance or commercial outcomes. 
Scroll to Top