The North East Contact Centre Awards (NECCA) have announced their award categories and the core panel of judges who will be shortlisting entrants and deciding on the winners in 2020.
The Awards have been revamped for this year, with more emphasis on individuals within the contact centres who are delivering success and impact – at all levels including operators, team leaders and senior managers. Global brands across the region will compete for the top spot in all categories, together with specialist providers and public sector organisations such as government departments, healthcare and emergency services.
Nineteen categories will be awarded on the night recognising and celebrating the “Individual Stars”, “Awesome Teams” and “Outstanding Organisations” across the North East. The culmination of the awards ceremony will be the announcement of the coveted Contact Centre of the Year Award, now being presented for contact centres with under 50 staff, 50-250 staff, and over 250 staff.
The winners will be judged by a core judging panel of 5 industry experts, who will be supported by a field of operational industry experts. The team will be led by Christine Allenson, a former Customer Service Director who led the region’s largest contact centre with 1,500 employees. On the core panel, Christine is joined by:
Nicola Simpson – 20 years leadership experience for a major high street bank
Mark Brannen – Associate Director, BGL Group
Michael Sherwood – Head of Customer Service, Atom Bank
Julie Mordue – Client Relationship Manager, greenbean RPO
Several judges have been involved in judging the UK and European call centre awards. Head Judge Christine Allenson commented on how pleased she was to be supporting the regional awards: “The North East Contact Centre Awards have been a popular programme for the sector over the last 16 years. I am delighted to be leading our core team of judges who have already given this year’s awards a major boost, with several new categories announced and the emphasis on recognising individual talent within our industry.
“Throughout my own career I have seen rapid growth in our sector with many household brands opening contact centres in the North East, so I’m keenly aware how much the regional awards mean to companies who enter. Our industry is one of the region’s largest employers and we are determined to recognise the many unsung heroes who drive this success.
Michael Sherwood added: “Being a lead judge in the UK Contact Centre Awards and the European Contact Centre and Customer Service Awards, has made me realise the strength and diversity of the industry in the North East. Our region employs more than 30,000 people in contact centres – almost 6% of our workforce – so the industry is obviously a huge contributor to our local economies.
“We have many leading brands from the worlds of financial services, telecommunications, travel and utilities as well as large government departments with significant contact centre operations. I’m sure the competition will be fierce and I’m looking forward to playing a part in deciding the individuals, teams and organisations who will receive our top awards this year.
“For those entering, NECCA will offer a toolkit, training webinars and other guidance to ensure they have the best chance of winning. The judges will be evaluating entries based on impact across key areas such as: customers, company commercial success, colleagues, conduct and community.”
NECCA award nominations open 20 April 2020 and will close 31 July 2020. The final awards ceremony will be held 20 November 2020 at Ramside Hall.
For further information about this year’s North East Contact Centre Awards, please visit click here.