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Contact Industry Rises To The Challenge
St James’s Park is to play host to a major conference designed to support the growth of one of the region’s most successful industries.
The North East Contact Centre Conference is taking place on Wednesday May 13 with key decision makers gathering to discuss important issues and challenges facing the future development and prosperity of contact centres within the region.
The event, themed ‘Meeting the Challenge’, is being organised by Tyne and Wear Development Company in partnership with regional development agency One North East and the Contact Centre Advisory Board.
Key issues being discussed include the development of an infrastructure to support future growth; workforce skills development and raising the profile and boosting the image of a sector that employs more than five per cent of the regional workforce.
The industry currently employs over 55,000 people across the region with further growth predicted in the coming years in spite of the economic slowdown. There are some 145 contact centres in the North East with major names such as EDF Energy and More Than basing operations here alongside many local centres.
Paul Buie, manager of Tyne and Wear Development Company, said: “The contact centre industry has developed significantly in recent years and is one of growing strategic importance for the region.
“Like most sectors it is facing challenges in today’s market but the overall outlook is very positive, with opportunities for growth, investment and job creation in the long-term.
“The conference is an opportunity to work with the industry to support future growth and ensure the region’s centres enjoy a competitive advantage.”
The conference will be hosted by TV presenter Kim Inglis and opened by One North East Chair, Margaret Fay. It will feature a series of workshops for delegates that explore ways of enhancing the customer experience and dealing with stress in the workplace.
It has attracted an impressive list of presenters from the world of business including: Larry Hochman, former director of British Airways; Stephen Parry, former head of strategy and change at Fujitsu; and Angie Court, former customer services director at Avis. Closing the conference will be Nigel Risner, the respected author, television presenter and motivational speaker of the year.
Margaret Fay, Chairman of One North East, said: “Employing thousands of people in the North East, the contact centre industry continues to be a key contributor to the regional economy, which is particularly important in the current economic climate.”
“Next week’s conference is testament to how One North East is working proactively with regional partners to encourage firms in the industry to work together to actively grow business performance, which will help give the region a competitive advantage and secure new jobs and prosperity for North East England.”
Stephen Parry, who will present a seminar on ‘Rethinking our way to the future,’ said: “It is great to be able to come to the North East, which is a real hub for UK centres, and talk about the future of the industry.
“In the current economic climate the challenge facing UK contact centres is to find a way of competing with low cost economies and cheap labour. We can’t compete with them on costs, so we must compete on value by building a high value, highly skilled workforce that helps to retain and win business,
“To achieve this we need to work smarter and rethink our way to the future. This includes changing the way we design, build and operate contact centres to ensure everything is driven by value.”
Those wishing to register for the event should call 0191 370 9559 or visit www.contactcentreconference.co.uk
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