Best Practice Events & Live Case Studies

We facilitate Live Case Studies and best practice days, to share learning from our Award winners and finalists over the summer months, especially from the Transformation & Innovation Awards. This is another great opportunity to learn about the fantastic things that these organisations have achieved. These are interactive events to allow plenty of time for questions with key stakeholders in the transformation and networking with other delegates focussed on the same challenges. 

As a member, you are not on your own but part of a community with others facing many similar challenges. We are here to help you to make a tangible impact in your organisation and show how developing the capability of each specialist professional function is fundamental to your business.

All Live Case Studies Videos are available to all Forum Members. You will need login to gain access or register if you don't have a login.

 Once logged in they will appear on this page. Click on Read More to view the video.

Technology Showcase: Calabrio

Originally broadcast Friday 2nd October 2020, 12:30

The State of the Contact Centre: Embracing the Evolving World of Work Join Ed Creasey, Director of Pre-Sales for Calabrio, as we explore how leading contact centres are turning disruption to their advantage. From the rapid increase in importance of the contact centre, to changes in demands from employees and customers, we will be envisioning the contact centre of the future. Join us to discuss tangible ways to embrace this evolving world of work.

Conference Endnote

Originally broadcast Friday 4th December 2020, 09:15

Positive habits for a successful career With so much uncertainty in the world, it is important to take control of our conduct, behaviour and attitude. Developing simple positive habits can make a huge impact on how you learn, share ideas and ultimately transform yourself and our career. This endnote presentation will take a look at the role of professionalism, how to build positive habits and an opportunity to hear from members who have transformed themselves during 2020.

Keynote: Unlocking Opportunities

Originally broadcast Monday 26th April. 2021, 09:30

Hear from Phil Anderson, Director at The Forum with the conference opening keynote. Understand how disruption can pave the way for new opportunities and how you can become key to unlocking change and development.

Keynote: Returning to Work

Originally broadcast Wednesday 28th April 2021, 14:15

The past 12 months have been rocked by disruption; and with lockdown lifting, what are the important factors and considerations you should take into account when planning for your teams to return to the office? Join Chris Haggis, Chief Operating Officer at Sabio as he shares Sabio’s plans and provides his insights into the challenges, research, attitudes, safety protocols, systems/processes and long-term plans you should be thinking about.

Free Webinar: Planning For Covid Series 3 What are the top challenges organisations face right now?

Hosted by Phil Anderson

The Planning for Covid-19 series 3 will again share real-life examples of the challenges along with practical ideas to limit the impact and even prevent these from happening.
 - Understand the current top challenges from across the industry.
 - Hear how different organisations are approaching these with new and innovating ideas.

Standards and Business Accreditation

The Standards programme is designed as a journey of improvement leading towards accreditation for Planning, Insight and Quality teams and functions. Whether you are at the start of your journey, wanting to understand the fundamentals of best practice, or an established team wanting to become best-in-class this programme is you.

Free Webinar: TEDx Talk: Curiosity Cured The Fakeaholic - Lou Carter – Founder of Rising Vibe

Watch at your own pace

On Tuesday 12th October 2021, Lou Carter, founder of Rising Vibe, delivered her very first TEDx talk; Curiosity Cured The Fakeaholic, which explored how our innate fear of judgement stops us being honest about how we feel. A by-product of this is that we don’t have the conversations that matter…

Keynote: Unlocking Opportunities

Originally broadcast Monday 1st November 2021, 09:30

How has our thinking changed during 2021? Phil Anderson and Dave Vernon, Directors at The Forum will explore the ever-changing business environment and the different approaches being taken to drive forward with improvements.

Keynote: Agent Wellbeing & Mental Health

Originally broadcast Monday 1st November 2021, 13:15

 Join Sabio as we explore the #1 megatrend in the customer experience industry that nobody is talking about. 

Keynote: Investing in People & Technology

Originally broadcast Tuesday 2nd November 2021, 14:15

Mark Brown of Virgin Media and Paul Milloy of Intradiem discuss how investing in people and technology is the key to the future of Customer Service. 

Conference Endnote

Originally broadcast Friday 5th November 2021, 09:30

Learn how to invest your time wisely to help you spend time on the things that matter the most. Doing something different on a daily basis.

Planning for Covid-19 Series 3: Part 3, shaping the future

Hosted by Phil Anderson

There feels to be an endless list of challenges, from high attrition, unpredictable customer demand and pressure to deliver against old targets, so how can we lift our heads out of the detail and think strategically? This live webinar will look at practical ways of keeping one eye on today, with another on the future, helping you to gain confidence with your forecasting as you shape the future.
 - Understand the top challenges and practical ideas to manage these better.
 - Learn engagement techniques to drive understanding and learning.
 - Hear the latest thought leadership from across the industry

Looking back on 2021

2021 was our year for Unlocking Opportunities. Doing more of what we do well is a great opportunity that we don’t always fully exploit. One of the most valuable things we can do is put time aside to reflect on what has gone well. When things go wrong we are quick to review, so that we can learn from our mistakes. We are not so good at learning from our successes. If we can repeat and build on our successes then that has to be a good thing. As we come to the end of 2021 it is time to look back on what we have done well, so that in 2022 we can do it again only better.

Moment of Truth: Confident to Succeed

Our actions, or inaction, will define us. We are the key to our own success. During 2021 we focused on unlocking opportunities and the part each of us can play in helping to shape the future. For 2022 we want to focus you on your Moment of Truth and being confident to succeed.

Free Webinar: Enabling your business to deliver workforce agility with Anaplan

Hosted 27th January 2022

The ability to attract and retain qualified talent remains a top concern for most business leaders and executives, but these challenges have been compounded by the pandemic, causing shifts in the workplace, people moving between and out of jobs, and rising salaries and wages.

Join our webinar to discover the best way to eliminate siloed planning and foster real-time collaboration across your business functions. Phil Anderson and Anaplan Vice President, HR Practice Rupert Bader will discuss how you can:  

 - Save time and costs by eliminating cumbersome spreadsheets
 - Bring transparency to your workforce and manage key metrics for talent costs
 - Create a comprehensive, up-to-date digital model of your organisation to streamline workforce planning and increase business impact and resilience
 - Drive engagement and collaboration on talent and budget decisions that are aligned with business strategy and priorities

Talent continues to be one of the biggest risks and costs to many organisations today, with all eyes on HR to effectively utilise data to ensure the workforce aligns with objectives for business growth and success. HR and workforce planning must become dynamic, continuous, and an extension of strategic, operational, and financial plans.

Keynote: Your Moment of Truth

Originally broadcast Monday 4th April 2022, 09:30

Confident to Succeed Every day we practice living versus an ever-changing world and environment. Those who strive to learn and improve can adapt better. Those who are contempt with how they are or refuse to accept the changes around them will find it hard to catch-up as the change required to survive and thrive becomes bigger.

Your Moment of Truth: confident to succeed

For our 22nd year, we focus on the opportunity we have, as professionals, to drive successful improvements, whether in planning, insight, or customer experience. This Best Practice theme for 2022 represents the next stage of this coming of age for our professional disciplines.

So, we invite you to consider your moments of truth. What makes you confident to succeed?

Liquorice Consistents – Does somebody at Bassetts not like me?

At our Customer Strategy & Planning Connections conference in Newcastle on 26th April ‘22 we explored probability using Liquorice Allsorts.

Questions to consider for annual leave

As the world reboots after the firm reset of the Pandemic, we have the opportunity to revisit, redefine and reshape how we have done things. 2020 was a strange year, especially for annual leave, as lockdown restrictions changed how we used annual leave and the Government stating leave can be carried over, firmly “kicking the can” down the road, to give us a problem for another day (or year).

Free Webinar:Can Contact Centres ever become an employer of choice? in partnership with QStory

Watch at your own pace

Dave Vernon, Director at The Forum is joined by Nerys Corfield, Injection Consulting & Rhea Hall-Spencer, QStory for a lively and informative chat about why contact centres are failing their agents.
 
Staff turnover in contact centres is up to double the national average. Their reputation for being inflexible and unrewarding places to work not only has an impact on recruitment and retention but also on customers. Companies need to create environments where agents can thrive, and they need to do it now.
 
We will discuss how a focus on engagement, enablement and empowerment of agents, supported by technology can be a game-changer for your business.

Free Webinar: More than the Great Resignation in partnership with Davies

Watch at your own pace

The continued challenge of recruitment and retention is nothing new for the contact centre industry, with increasing levels of staff turnover and the challenge of retaining knowledge. The potential impact on costs, service and customer experience are clear – but what are the underlying reasons for this and what should organisations be doing to tackle this problem head on?
 
A broad range of initiatives are being adopted, some of which previously may have been restricted to start-up and high-tech organisations. Unfortunately, there isn’t a “one size fits all” silver bullet and the broadening chase for talent means that a range of dimensions needs to be continually reviewed and addressed.

Join Philip Michell, Consulting Director at Davies on the 08 September for The Forum’s webinar, as he reveals insights into the issues and explores the underlying reasons why the “Great Resignation” is impacting contact centre teams disproportionately, and what employers should be doing to address these reasons to return to stability.

Free Webinar: Learning from the 2022 Finalists

Watch at your own pace

Learning from others is at the centre of our ethos. Each year our members share their stories across Planning, Insight, Quality, Knowledge Management, Partnership and Innovation. Learning how other approach challenges along with the solution they choose, as well as don’t choose helps us to make better decision and less mistakes. This webinar will:
 - Showcase the winners from the 2022 Awards and identify key trends and challenges
 - Help you to become more effective in your role
 - Learn how to access over 100 inspiring case studies

Free Webinar: Budgeting

Watch at your own pace

How to create an enjoyable budget process in 3 easy steps! It may take a few extra steps, however we need to start working towards an ongoing, collaborative budget cycle which drive accountability and shared responsibility. This webinar will:
 - Look at different approaches to budget and how these can be used to gain different perspectives
 - Focus on what matters and understand the difference between diagnostic measures and targets
 - Create a “Best-in-class” budget process which is enjoyable!

Free Webinar: What is happening with Contact Centre Employee Performance? In partnership with Centrical

Watch at your own pace

In these uncertain times, employee engagement is crucial. Hiring is becoming difficult and the cost of turnover is growing. How are contact centre leaders dealing with engaging their workforce? Chris Rainsforth and Ian Chappell will discuss the Centrical report “The Reality of Contact Centre Employee Performance” (based on the responses of 241 contact centre leaders).
 
To grow employee engagement, 64.7% of respondents plan to increase compensation and benefits, with scheduling flexibility (54.8%) and improving manager communications (56.4%) identified as key focus areas.
 
Uncover insights and advice on what industry leaders plan to do to ensure their employees are engaged and performing well:
 - Tracking and improving employee engagement
 - Key focus areas to enhance the employee experience
 - Top worker management priorities in the contact centre
 

Opening Keynote

Originally broadcast Monday 14th November 2022, 09:30

Hear from Chris & Phil as they discuss the benefits of being prepared.

Community Learning Keynote

Originally broadcast Friday 18th November 2022, 12:30

Hear from a Forum Hero and organisations who have taken a team approach to learning.

Partner Article: Improve Contact Centre Operations with Robotic Process Automation

Alvaria Automate™ Attended and  Alvaria Automate™ Unattended allows centres to optimise normal and repetitive operational activities and automate error-prone tasks through robotic process automation (RPA) —improving accuracy, efficiency and consistency, while helping maintain compliance. 

Free Webinar: The Looming Contact Centre Agent Experience Crisis: Understand, Avoid, and Ascend in partnership with eGain

Watch at your own pace

Agent experience (AX) and well-being are among the top priorities in contact centres, but did you know that they are in danger of slipping into a crisis because of the lack of modern knowledge tools in the agent desktop?
At this webinar, you will:
 - Learn from the horse's mouth (i.e., from agents themselves) what they are saying about their experience and how you can avoid the crisis with modern knowledge
 - Review the findings from a unique, agent-only survey, conducted by BenchmarkPortal, a leading contact centre benchmarking organisation
 - Learn what modern knowledge is and what it can do for AX (agent experience) and CX (customer experience). With Modern knowledge, you won't need to train agents endlessly on how to navigate customer conversations or have them read through voluminous documents and figure out an answer when the customer is on the line!

Free Webinar: 2023 Best Practice Programme

Watch at your own pace

On the 31st January The Forum will be launching our 2023 best practice programme, which includes: virtual networking, learning from our award finalists, our customer strategy & planning conference, along with the community connection conference later in the year.

For those who follow The Forum, you will know that each year we reframe our thinking with an annual theme.

This year’s theme is designed to frame our thinking around the importance of numbers, people and relationships. When these come together, we are energised to drive action, bring the best out on each other and have the courage to innovate and improve. We are only as strong as the weakest link, fortunately almost 25-years of raising standards means our collective strength and health has never been better.

Join us for another year of improving, growing as a person and professional feel the value of the community.

Partner Article: Majority of UK businesses still ill-equipped for a hybrid working future according to new survey

UK businesses are firmly committed to a flexible working future but the majority are still in the planning stage of their hybrid working projects according to a new industry survey of contact centre industry professionals.

As a member, you are not on your own but part of a community with others facing many similar challenges. We are here to help you to make a tangible impact in your organisation and show how developing the capability of each specialist professional function is fundamental to your business.

Book for one of our events to experience our exceptional community or get in touch to talk about how we can help you and your teams to be fully effective in adding value to your business. Email advice@theforum.social, call 0333 123 5960 or contact any of The Forum team