The Calling (formerly The Agile Contact Centre Podcast)

Emma Stapleton is the Head of Customer Support at MECCA Brands. As Australia's largest beauty retailer with a thriving online store and over a hundred physical stores across Australia and New Zealand, MECCA is committed to delivering the ultimate beauty experience.

In this episode, Emma will discuss the importance of designing a good employee experience and how that influences the customer experience. She also sheds light on how MECCA is approaching CX differently and how she managed a team that grew from just ten employees to over a hundred in under two years during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Resources and links:

• MECCA website
• Emma Stapleton on LinkedIn

Connect:

• Callo Consulting website
• Sean McGinn on LinkedIn
• Arnold Ho on LinkedIn

This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

Tim Buzza, Director of Workplace Flexibility at Verint (formerly Attune Work Solutions), joins us to discuss the transformative power of self-scheduling systems for contact centre agents. Verint’s innovative approach is reshaping the work-life balance, offering a new level of autonomy and flexibility in the workplace.

In this episode, Tim demystifies the concepts of autonomy and flexibility in the work environment, outlining their advantages for both employees and employers. He’ll also recount a compelling case study where enhanced flexibility led to a remarkable turnaround for a contact centre agent, showcasing the real-world impact of Verint's TimeFlex Bot.

Resources and links:

• Verint TimeFlex Bot (formerly Attune Work Solutions) website
• Tim Buzza on LinkedIn

Connect:

• Callo Consulting website
• Sean McGinn on LinkedIn
• Arnold Ho on LinkedIn

This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

Dina Levy is the Head of Customer Experience Channels at Zoom, and Phil is the Head of Go-To-Market for Zoom CX. Zoom started in 2011 as a video conferencing platform and has since grown into an all-in-one collaborative platform for businesses and people across the globe.

In this episode, Dina and Phil explain how the latest technology from Zoom CX is changing the customer experience for businesses. They also highlight the trends they’re seeing across the industry and share their predictions for AI and tech in CX.

Resources and links:

• Zoom website
• Dina Levy on LinkedIn
• Phil Zammit on LinkedIn

Connect:

• Callo Consulting website
• Sean McGinn on LinkedIn
• Arnold Ho on LinkedIn

This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

Peter Iansek is the CEO and Co-founder of Operative Intelligence. Operative Intelligence is a customer insights tool that uses AI to meaningfully improve the customer experience by helping to identify what customers need when they call the contact centre.

In this episode, Peter tells the story of how he went from working in contact centres to founding Operative Intelligence, and how they use AI to analyse customer speech and identify actionable changes for businesses. He also explains the concept of failure demand, how it impacts businesses, and how improving services to limit failure demand benefits everyone.

Resources and links:

• Operative Intelligence website
• Peter Iansek on LinkedIn

Connect:

• Callo Consulting website
• Sean McGinn on LinkedIn
• Arnold Ho on LinkedIn

This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

Daniele Iezzi is the former General Manager of Customer Services for David Jones and the Country Road Group. David Jones is one of the world’s longest continuously operating department stores and has operated for more than 185 years. Country Road Group contains several of Australia’s most popular clothing brands: Country Road, Mimco, Trenery, Politix, and Witchery.

In this episode, Daniele shares his experience with contact centres, what makes retail contact centres different, why businesses need omnichannel and how to streamline it. With Covid-19 changing everything for retail brands and contact centres, Daniele also shares the suggestion he coincidentally made before everyone knew they needed it: working from home.

Resources and links:

• Daniele Iezzi on LinkedIn

Connect:

• Callo Consulting website
• Sean McGinn on LinkedIn
• Arnold Ho on LinkedIn

This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

Elisa Iurato is the Chief of Community, Retail & Supporter Experience for World Vision Australia. World Vision is a global charity committed to providing aid and resources to help children, families, and communities across the world overcome poverty. World Vision is currently involved in 347 projects in 40 countries.

In this episode, Elisa explains her role with World Vision Australia, how their “supporter experience centre” is doing things differently, and she’ll share the heartwarming story of visiting with a lifelong World Vision supporter.

Resources and links:

• World Vision Australia website

Connect:

• Callo Consulting website
• Sean McGinn on LinkedIn
• Arnold Ho on LinkedIn

This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

Jono Kirk is the Executive Director of Supporter Experience at Compassion Australia. Compassion Australia is a not-for-profit organisation committed to providing access to healthcare and education to children around the world to lift them out of poverty.

In this episode, Jono breaks down the reality of running a contact centre for a not-for-profit. He also dives into the employee experience, why it matters so much, and how Compassion is improving the employee experience in their contact centres.

Resources and links:

• Compassion Australia website
• Jono Kirk on LinkedIn

Connect:

• Callo Consulting website
• Sean McGinn on LinkedIn
• Arnold Ho on LinkedIn

This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

Today we have a quick announcement. We're changing the name of the show. From today, the podcast will be called 'The Calling: Your Guide to Leading Modern Contact Centres'. It's the same great content you've come to expect from us, but with a new name.

And we already have a group of great episodes coming up. But you don't have to take our word for it, because we have two new episodes available in your feed right now. So … we'll catch you in the next episode of 'The Calling'!

Connect:

• Callo Consulting website
• Sean McGinn on LinkedIn
• Arnold Ho on LinkedIn

This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

Dan Hill-Smith is the Chief Operating Officer at TSA Group 

TSA Group is one of Australia’s leading specialists in outsourcing and CX consultancy and services.

Dan on LinkedIn

About us:

Stories, tips and practices to help you build adaptive teams who are ready for any challenge.

Please follow, rate and review. We appreciate all your support.

Check us out here: https://www.theagilecontactcentre.com.au

Please follow us on LinkedIn

This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

In this episode we talk to Russ Murphy, the Director of Regional Service Centres at Service NSW. 

Russ was a member of the team that began the transformation journey at Service NSW back in 2013. He shares the trials and tribulations of his leadership career and the approach they took from the early days of the very first service centre pilot to centralising services into their contact centres.

Service NSW makes it easier to access government services for people and businesses across NSW. Service NSW is a NSW Government executive agency that joined the Department of Customer Service on 1 July 2019. We deliver world-class one-stop-shop services for customers, businesses and our partner agencies

About us:

This podcast is brought to you by The Agile Contact Centre.

Stories, tips and practices that will help you create memorable experiences for your people and customers.

We do this because our mission is to reinvent to contact centre by building adaptive teams who are ready for any challenge.

Please follow, rate and review. We appreciate all your support.

Check us out here: https://www.theagilecontactcentre.com.au

Please follow us on LinkedIn

This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.