FAQs

The ECCCSAs are the most prestigious awards in this industry in Europe because the judging process used is very rigorous. There are two rounds of judging:

1. Assessment of each company’s written entry by a panel of expert judges drawn from leading companies and organisations across Europe.
2. Panel interviews or site visits with a select panel of judges, at which finalists are expected to demonstrate the best practice and innovation outlined in their written entries.

Previous winners have said that winning an ECCCSA is like getting an Oscar – because the judging process is to robust that winners know that they deserve it!

There are two stages to the judging. The first is the online submission to enter the awards. Nominations are assessed and a shortlist of finalists for each category is identified. Finalists are invited to the second stage of face-to-face judging.

• Stage 1 – Online SubmissionThe first round of judging is carried out entirely online. Nominations are submitted through the ECCCSA platform for the judges to read. The judges identify the finalists by using a set criteria and their many years’ experience of working in the industry to determine who will go forward to stage two.
• Stage 2 – Face-to-face Judging. Finalists are announced in August, and they will go through to stage two. Finalists will be invited to present to a panel of judges online or to showcase their customer contact operation with a presentation, interviews, and tour – this is determined by the category. The judges will be looking for relevant evidence that supports the nomination and for supplementary information to help decide on the winners.

We are committed to conducting a robust judging process to identify the right winners so judges will be visiting contact centres to assess the Contact Centre of the Year and Best Employee Experience finalists, unless a finalist is unable to host the judges for any reason.

You will be invited to present your nomination and take questions from a panel using an online meeting platform. Your presentation should take 20 minutes with up to four members of the team present, followed by 20 minutes for questions by the judges. We will send you a briefing note with more information with your invite.

What is the judging criteria?
In both the online submission and during the face-to-face judging, the judges are looking for nominations that tell a clear story – the motivations, the deliverables and how the results were achieved. What lessons were learnt along the way and how were challenges overcome? What’s next in your journey?

They are looking for evidence of the impact of what has been delivered and how the nomination benchmarks against other entries, with a particular focus on:

Purpose
The judges will be looking for a clear vision for what you have achieved. What is the rationale behind the story and how did you engage stakeholders? Describe the objectives, the strategy and how it aligns to the business.

Impact
What impact have you had? Let the judges know your performance against KPIs, covering customer employee, operational and commercial metrics. Consider savings made, efficiency gains, changes in productivity, reassignment of resources and increases in revenue.

Experience
Explain to the judges how the customer and/or employee experience has improved. Evidence this with feedback from stakeholders, for example voice of the customer and/or employee feedback. Judges will be looking for a good understanding of customer and/or employee needs.

Innovation
Demonstrate creative thinking. The judges want to hear how you approached things differently. What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them? Share your plans for the future and how you intend to continually improve.

Best Practice
The judges will be looking for examples of great practice. They want to see approaches and experiences that others can learn from. How do you really stand out from the crowd?