2025 Best Practice Guide
Raising Standards

2025 Autumn: #RaisingStandards
(Virtual)

Learn HOW you can apply “Best Practice”

13th - 17th October 2025

Online conference

Our practitioner-led 
annual conference

Designed specifically for Planning, Insight and Quality & Customer Experience Professionals. Learn first-hand from practitioners and business leaders who are delivering successful change whilst having the opportunity to collaborate with others. Bring new ideas and techniques back that will raise standards within your “Customer Operation”.
Gold Sponsor
SilverPlus Sponsor
Silver Sponsors
Agenda

2025 Autumn: #RaisingStandards

Monday 13th Oct
Tuesday 14th Oct
Wednesday 15th Oct
Thursday 16th Oct
Friday 17th Oct
09:30
Keynote
Insight Keynote
 Keynote
Operational Improvement Keynote
Raising standards isn’t passive, it demands resilience, agility, and purpose. This keynote explores how Quality Assurance, Training & Development, actionable insight, and people-centred change unlock meaningful improvement. Focus on what counts, leave behind what doesn’t, and lead transformation that lasts for your people and your customers. 45mins
Forward thinking insight
Explore how leading customer operations teams are using data, analytics, and insight to drive transformation. Highlighting the shift from traditional reporting to real-time, embedded, and prescriptive analytics that directly influence customer and workforce outcomes. 45mins
Understanding the Planning operating system, driving outcomes and behaviours not completing tasks and checklists. This keynote will explore what it truly means to build a best-in-class planning function, drawing on real-world insights from workforce forecasting, scheduling, and real-time operations. 45mins
10:30
Opening Keynote
Coaching & Development Workshop
Benchmarking Workshop
Capacity Planning
Workshop
Workshop
#RaisingStandards
Hear from The Forum or our members as we begin a week of learning and sharing. 45mins
From conversation to capability
Great coaching doesn’t just shape skills, it helps embed a learning culture within our organisations. In this session we will hear from Forum members as we discuss how effective coaching and development unlock performance, drive engagement, and empower people in fast-paced environments. We will share real-world insights into what works (and what doesn’t), from embedding coaching into our daily workflows to leveraging feedback for improvement. 60mins
Using Measures That Matter
Effective measures and targets can drive performance, enhance customer experience, support teams, and fuel continuous improvement. But when misused, they risk confusion, overload, and unintended behaviours. In this session, we’ll explore early insights from our benchmarking surveys, share what others are measuring and why, and take part in live benchmarking to learn from each other. 60mins
Getting It Right
Capacity planning helps operations make informed resourcing decisions—but misunderstandings can lead to costly mistakes. In this session, we’ll model real-world scenarios to show the impact of different approaches. Whether you're new to capacity planning or looking to better engage your stakeholders, you’ll gain practical insights to apply and share. 60mins
Telling a Story with Numbers
Join this session with thought leadership and open discussion. 60mins
12:30
Technology Showcase
Technology Showcase
Technology Showcase
Technology Showcase
Endnote
Hear from our Gold Sponsor Verint as they share new ideas. 45mins
Hear from our partner Calabrio as they share new ideas. 45mins
Hear from our partner Business Systems as they share new ideas. 45mins
Hear from our partner NICE as they share new ideas. 45mins
Hear from The Forum or our members as we wrap up a week of learning and sharing. 45mins
13:30
Agentic AI Workshop
Forecasting Workshop
Workshop
Smarter Knowledge, When It’s Needed Most
Agentic AI has the potential to transform knowledge management—moving beyond static repositories to deliver the right knowledge, at the right time, in the right way. In this session, we’ll explore what agentic AI is, the opportunities it offers for empowering people and improving performance, and the challenges we’ll need to navigate. We’ll also look at the importance of building strong knowledge foundations to make the most of this emerging technology. 
60mins
Turning Insight into Action
Forecasts are essential for helping operations prepare for the future—but their impact depends on how well they’re understood, trusted, and applied. In this session, we’ll share practical tips and proven approaches from experienced forecasters. 
60mins 
Scheduling
We will be discussing pre-requisites for undergoing a shift review. Understanding the risks and opportunities along with what is realistic to deliver will be a starting point for Planning teams working with operations and stakeholders. 
60mins
15:00
Automated QA Workshop
Interactive Keynote
Workshop
Enhancing Quality with AI and Analytics
As interaction analytics and AI continue to evolve, they’re opening new possibilities for transforming quality assurance. In this session, we’ll explore how organisations are using these technologies to enhance—and even automate—QA processes. 60mins
Hybrid Working 
Discuss the  the 2025 Hybrid Working in the Contact Centre survey in partnership with Spacial, We will look at the main outcomes in the report and what it means for the industry whilst also revealing some more new findings from the initial data. Hear from Forum members discussing how their Hybrid Strategy has evolved. 60mins
Real-Time
In this interactive virtual workshop, using the “Stop, Start, Continue” framework, participants will explore the top 5 success factors for real-time excellence—from proactive playbooks and intelligent automation to stakeholder trust and continuous improvement. 60mins
Conference Agenda

Autumn Conference #RaisingStandards

Monday 14th Oct
09.30
Opening Keynote
#RaisingStandards
Hear from The Forum or our members as we begin a week of learning and sharing. 45mins
12:30
Technology Showcase
Hear from our Gold Sponsor Verint as they share new ideas. 45mins
Tuesday 15th October
09:30
Operational Improvement Keynote
Improvement doesn’t happen by accident
Raising standards isn’t passive, it demands resilience, agility, and purpose. This keynote explores how Quality Assurance, Training & Development, actionable insight, and people-centred change unlock meaningful improvement. Focus on what counts, leave behind what doesn’t, and lead transformation that lasts for your people and your customers. 45mins
10:30
Coaching & Development Workshop
From conversation to capability
Great coaching doesn’t just shape skills, it helps embed a learning culture within our organisations. In this session we will hear from Forum members as we discuss how effective coaching and development unlock performance, drive engagement, and empower people in fast-paced environments. We will share real-world insights into what works (and what doesn’t), from embedding coaching into our daily workflows to leveraging feedback for improvement.. 60mins
12:30
Technology Showcase
Hear from our partner Calabrio as they share new ideas.. 45mins
13:30
Agentic AI Workshop
Smarter Knowledge, When It’s Needed Most
Agentic AI has the potential to transform knowledge management—moving beyond static repositories to deliver the right knowledge, at the right time, in the right way. In this session, we’ll explore what agentic AI is, the opportunities it offers for empowering people and improving performance, and the challenges we’ll need to navigate. We’ll also look at the importance of building strong knowledge foundations to make the most of this emerging technology. 60mins
15:00
Automating QA Workshop
Enhancing Quality with AI and Analytics
As interaction analytics and AI continue to evolve, they’re opening new possibilities for transforming quality assurance. In this session, we’ll explore how organisations are using these technologies to enhance—and even automate—QA processes. We’ll look at real examples, discuss the benefits and risks, and unpack the challenges we need to overcome to make automation effective, ethical, and trusted. Whether you're just starting out or already experimenting with automation, this session will offer valuable insights and ideas. 60mins
Wednesday 16th October
09:30
Insight Keynote
Forward thinking insight
Explore how leading customer operations teams are using data, analytics, and insight to drive transformation. Highlighting the shift from traditional reporting to real-time, embedded, and prescriptive analytics that directly influence customer and workforce outcomes. 45mins
10:30
Benchmarking Workshop
Using Measures That Matter
Effective measures and targets can drive performance, enhance customer experience, support teams, and fuel continuous improvement. But when misused, they risk confusion, overload, and unintended behaviours. In this session, we’ll explore early insights from our benchmarking surveys, share what others are measuring and why, and take part in live benchmarking to learn from each other. 60mins
12:30
Technology Showcase
Hear from one partner Business Systems as they share new ideas. 45mins
13:30
Forecasting Workshop
Turning Insight into Action
Forecasts are essential for helping operations prepare for the future—but their impact depends on how well they’re understood, trusted, and applied. In this session, we’ll share practical tips and proven approaches from experienced forecasters to help improve accuracy, build credibility, and drive better decisions. Whether you're creating forecasts or using them to guide planning, you’ll gain valuable insights to strengthen forecasting outcomes and collaboration. 60mins
15:00
Workshop
Hybrid Working 
Discuss the 2025 Hybrid Working in the Contact Centre survey in partnership with Spacial, We will look at the main outcomes in the report and what it means for the industry whilst also revealing some more new findings from the initial data. Hear from Forum members discussing how their Hybrid Strategy has evolved.. 60mins
Thursday 17th October
09:30
Keynote
Understanding the Planning operating system, driving outcomes and behaviours not completing tasks and checklists. This keynote will explore what it truly means to build a best-in-class planning function, drawing on real-world insights from workforce forecasting, scheduling, and real-time operations. 45mins
10:30
Capacity Planning Workshop
Getting It Right
Capacity planning helps operations make informed resourcing decisions—but misunderstandings can lead to costly mistakes. In this session, we’ll model real-world scenarios to show the impact of different approaches. Whether you're new to capacity planning or looking to better engage your stakeholders, you’ll gain practical insights to apply and share. 60mins
12:30
Technology Showcase
Hear from one partner NICE as they share new ideas. 45mins
14:30
Workshop
Scheduling
We will be discussing pre-requisites for undergoing a shift review. Understanding the risks and opportunities along with what is realistic to deliver will be a starting point for Planning teams working with operations and stakeholders. 60mins
14:30
Workshop
Real-Time
In this interactive virtual workshop, using the “Stop, Start, Continue” framework, participants will explore the top 5 success factors for real-time excellence—from proactive playbooks and intelligent automation to stakeholder trust and continuous improvement. 60mins
Friday 18th October
10:30
Workshop
Telling a Story with Numbers
Join this session with thought leadership and open discussion. 60mins
12:30
Endnote
Hear from The Forum or our members as we wrap up a week of learning and sharing. 45mins

Speakers

Phil Anderson
Executive Director
The Forum
Alison Conaghan
Customer Operations Specialist
The Forum
Chris Rainsforth
Director
The Forum
Ian Robertson
Customer Operations Specialist
The Forum
Dave Vernon
Director
The Forum
Donna Whyman
Customer Operations Specialist
The Forum

Prices & Booking

Places are free to members using member places in line with the level of membership. Extra places for each event can be purchased at £625 +VAT for in-person and £295 +VAT for virtual.

All paid for places must be settled before the conference begins. A credit card guarantee can be used to hold a place. All bookings are subject to The Forum's normal terms which can be read here. Cancellation does not automatically mean an invoice is no longer payable.

Register Now

Fill in your details to register for the 2025 Autumn: #RaisingStandards conferences or email events@theforum.social.