The first step (the second step) in the contact center agent journey comes with the hiring process. During the past few decades in the industry I’ve come to rely on learning from some of the top industry experts to help guide my thinking and idea creation.
In my experience as a practitioner, solution provider, learner and educator in the contact center industry, I’ve reached the conclusion that we have a massive education opportunity. And the way to reach more people than ever before is to take advantage of the same technologies that have turned our industry upside-down.
Just as the customer is now in charge of their experience due to the internet and mobile devices, so do we need to use these tools to take charge of our learning about the practices, pitfalls, technologies, economic issues, and the business issues that are constantly changing.
Conference Coverts to On-demand Learning
Because of our education opportunity, I team up with virtual summit producer Abraham Venismach to create the first online contact center industry conference that converts to an on-demand learning system.
The Contact Center Virtual Summit, has a Speaker Faculty of more than 35 industry experts that deliver insights and tools on the topics of agent hiring, on-boarding, development, leading, and retention. The Expert Sessions are part of the CCVS event and can then be accessed on-demand whenever you need it.
I know contact center professionals are very busy and millions of people in our industry would never get the funding or time to physically attend an industry conference. CCVS Speaker Faculty member Jim Iyoob says, “This virtual summit is the future. I’m looking forward to it! How else can you learn and enjoy your back yard at the same time!”
CCVS Playbook and Planner
The CCVS Playbook and Planner is a tool to help you get the most out of this epic summit. In the CCVS Playbook and Planner you’ll be able see who’s speaking and when and help you get the most out of the online summit.
In it, you’ll be able to find out about top Contact Center Solution Providers and learn about the Contact Center Virtual Summit Boot Camp that will help you to expand your skills.
Free Access
Expert Sessions START & EXPIRE AT 9am ET each day. You’ll have 24 hours to watch the session after they are released, unless you have an All Access Pass which gives you UNLIMITED access and fast action bonuses for an entire year.
With the Contact Center Virtual Summit All Access Pass, it’s like having the best contact center experts guiding your agent performance optimization journey along the way, as you’re avoiding costly mistakes and delivering maximum results…faster.
Speaker Faculty on Hiring Right
As I mentioned, the first step in the contact center agent journey comes with the hiring process. At the Contact Center Virtual Summit, you’ll get the opportunity to learn from industry experts that help to guide my thinking and idea creation on hiring right.
In addition to the Expert Sessions on Hiring Right, I included a special executive session to help set the tone. The Speaker Lineup for the day is:
EXECUTIVE EXPERT SESSION – Getting Buy-in at All Levels
Lance Gruner EVP, Global Customer Care at Mastercard | Keynote Speaker | CX Expert
Mastercard has differentiated itself in a commoditized industry through Lance’s executive leadership. Lance shares how he intentionally does things different than most executives with his practices, behaviors and values that enable the entire enterprise to capitalize on greater value from their contact centers.
When Lance Gruner was recruited to focus B2B support processes at MasterCard, product lines operated independently, each with their own unique experience. There was no seat for neither him nor the customer at the table. Now, Lance leads B2B and B2C customer care, global CX and insights, engagement, and customer-centric culture transformation organization-wide.
Watch Lance as he reveals the foundation of how he and his team made the contact center an honored guest at the table and how they became a culture catalyst for customer centricity.
OPENING SESSION – How to Hire Right in Contact Centers
Stuart Discount CEO, PACE Association
Stuart Discount shares contact center industry opportunities on contact center agent hiring and the powerful impact of avoiding common mistakes.
About Stuart Discount: Stuart is the CEO of the largest non-profit contact center trade association. For 35 years Stuart has been a thought leader, advocate and entrepreneur in the contact center industry. PACE, an association of 240 members provides programs in contact center education, compliance and is the voice of the industry.
EXPERT SESSION – A Few Hiring Tips from The Contact Center Floor
Neal Topf President And Co-Founder, Callzilla
Having recently hired and reconstructed hiring process for call center agents, Operations Managers, Operations Directors, and HR Managers, Best Practices in Contact Center Hiring is relevant for everyone in the customer care industry.
About Neal Topf: Neal is the President and Co-founder of Callzilla. Contact center passions include having a strong team, well defined goals, use of process and measurement to achieve continuous improvement. Washington Redskins are his favorite football team.
EXPERT SESSION – Hiring Right Means Happy Customers
Laura Sikorski Contact Center Makeover Expert
Hiring the right people can make or break a successful contact center team. Finding the right mix of skill set and disposition enables faster on-boarding and reduces employee turnover. The right person should not only by qualified for the specific job duties, they must be a cultural fit!
About Laura Sikorski: Laura is a recognized expert with over 33 years’ experience in Contact Center operations and technology. The contact center best practices she has developed for people, process and technologies have enabled her clients to proactively anticipate customer needs to resolve all issues through consistency and product knowledge and ensure employees are meeting and/or exceeding customer expectations and satisfaction.
EXPERT SESSION – Stop Focusing on The Resume So Much
Steve DiGioia Customer Service Crusader, Author, & Trainer
We all wish to hire the best person available for the job. But too often we’re destined to fail from the start, even if we do find the best person. In this session, I describe the self-imposed pitfalls and obstacles we face before we even collect the first resume.
About Steve DiGioia: With 20+ years of leadership in the hospitality industry and voted one of the “World’s Top 30 Customer Service Professionals”, Steve shares a lifetime of experience with his real-world tips and tactics to improve your customer service, increase employee morale and provide the experience your customers’ desire.
EXPERT SESSION – W.H.O.M.: How to Hire A High-Performing Team
Omar L. Harris Country Manager Brazil With Allergan PLC, Author
We all wish to hire the best person available for the job. But too often we’re destined to fail from the start, even if we do find the best person. In this session, I describe the self-imposed pitfalls and obstacles we face before we even collect the first resume. He will discuss the 4 key attributes of high-performance individuals and how to source for them.
About Omar L. Harris: Omar has been creating high-performance organizations since 2006. He is a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach; a bestselling, award-winning fiction author; independent publishing guru; entrepreneur; and twenty-year veteran of the global pharmaceutical industry.
EXPERT SESSION – Working Backwards to Happiness
JoAnna Brandi, Certified Chief Happiness Officer
Agent happiness is key to customer happiness. That means working backwards from the customer experience to understand what kinds of people work successfully in your culture, how to find more of them and how to onboard them in a way that make them want to go the extra mile.
About JoAnna Brandi: An Author, Workshop Leader, Coach, E- Course creator and now, Certified Chief Happiness Officer, JoAnna has been helping companies create customer happiness since 1990. She’s worked with companies large and small. A speaker for Vistage for 21 years helping CEOs create positive cultures that generate both happy customers and happy employees.
Contact Center Industry Facts
One of the most significant facts we must face is that our industry has rapidly become more complex. And the strategic importance of the contact center has become dramatically more important. What this means for contact center professionals is that we must raise our effort and focus on industry learning and education at all levels.
Until the Contact Center Virtual Summit, contact center learning at scale was almost impossible. Jim Iyoob said it. This is the future and the future is here.
Join the Community
One thing I’ve also made more accessible is peer interaction. I mentioned that I learn from my community and experts within it. You need to do the same. So in additional to all of the expert speaker session you can get and give support and build your peer network in our Contact Center Virtual Summit Private Facebook Group. Come ask questions, interact with the Speaker Faculty and help others.
Another fact, as adults one of our most important ways we learn is from others and a community of peers is the best way to make that happen.
Where do you go from here?
As a contact center professional, you do not have to commit to learning. But if you are or desire to be a leader and a contact center professional it’s required. You must commit to life-long learning.
So, start your journey of continuous learning with Lance Gruner, Stuart Discount, Neal Topf, Laura Sikorski, Steve DiGioia, Omar L. Harris, and JoAnna Brandi…today.
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