2026 Best Practice Showcase 
(In-person)

Learn WHAT our award finalists are doing to continue “Raising Standards in Customer Operations”

Thursday 25th June 2026, The Queens Hotel, Leeds

Showcasing the very 
best in the industry

This conference offers a unique chance for you to learn directly from our Awards winners. You will hear from the teams and individuals who are making a difference in their business, plus powerful partnerships whether that is with a technology provider or an outsource partnership. Finally, you can discover how large transformation projects have made massive changes in any business.

Gold Sponsor
Silver Sponsors
Outline Agenda

Best Practice Showcase

08:45
Registration Opens
09:30
Opening Keynote
Opening Keynote and Innovation of the Year Award Showcase
A day of learning opens with framing of the day from The Forum followed by Sarah Thompson from Marshmallow Insurance as she gives her thoughts and top tips on getting the most from networking. Following this there will be a keynote and discussion from our gold sponsors TKG.
Karl Fletcher from Novuna, Innovation Award Judge and latest Forum Fellow, will then give his thoughts on the importance of community and networking for teams in the industry. He will introduce Innovation of the Year Award winner, NFU Mutual, who will then tell their award winning story of how they connected governance, planning, technology, and leadership into a joined-up operating model that demonstrates how to deliver strategic transformation at enterprise scale. This will be followed by discussion and questions.
10:45
Networking
Forum Focus
Your chance to meet with other members and spend time in the Expo area. Refreshments will be served.
Join this 20-minute presentation from Fournet on a key topic.
11:15
Showcase
Innovation and Best Practice Awards
Presentations from Innovation and Team Award Winners as they take you through their stories drawing out key learning and top tips, with discussion and your opportunity to ask questions directly to our award winners. 
Featuring Shaun Jardine, Planning Manager of the Year, SSCL who has rebuilt the foundations of planning, introducing new techniques, tools and thinking to build trust ensuring Planning have a seat at the Leadership table.
Followed by Innovation Award Winner, L&G on how they repositioned planning as a strategic decision partner, connecting demand, capacity, cost and customer outcomes into a more intelligent decision systems.
12:30
Networking Lunch
Forum Focus
Your chance to meet with other members and spend time in the Expo area. Lunch will be served.
Join this 20-minute presentation from Verint on a key topic.
13:00
Networking Lunch
Forum Focus
Your chance to meet with other members and spend time in the Expo area. Lunch will be served.
Join this 20-minute presentation from Centrical on a key topic.
13:45
Showcase
Best Practice Awards Panel Discussion 
This is a chance to hear best practice from individual and team award winners across Planning, Insight and Learning/Knowledge followed by discussion and a chance to talk directly to the award winners. Featuring award winning companies LNER, OVO Energy and HGS.
14:30
Networking
Your chance to meet with other members and spend time in the Expo area. Refreshments will be served.
15:00
Showcase
Partnerships
Technology is the key enabler for success in our industry and it is key that relationships between end users and technology providers continue to improve, so raising standards in customer operations. 
NCFE x SVL were totally aligned in the requirements from a new CCaaS implementation and how this delivered a seamless journey to delivery of a truly omni channel platform. 
NatWest wanted to offer more than just the minimum for their vulnerable customers, so worked with National Support Network to offer trusted support that went beyond just banking.
16:00
Showcase Summary
Final thoughts and summary of key themes and takeaways by The Forum and gold sponsor TKG.
16:15
Conference Close
Conference Agenda

Community Conference

08:45
Registration Opens
09:30
Opening Keynote
The Forum Awards 2026
Hear from The Forum Team as they share their insights from this year's awards. 
10:45
Networking
Your chance to meet with other members and spend time in the Expo area. Refreshments will be served.
10:45
Forum Focus
Join this 20-minute presentation from Fournet on a key topic.
11:15
Showcases
Innovation & Transformation
12:30
Forum Focus
Join this 20-minute presentation from Verint on a key topic.
12:30
Networking Lunch
Your chance to meet with other members and spend time in the Expo area. Lunch will be served.
13:30
Forum Focus
Join this 20-minute presentation from Centrical on a key topic.
13:30
Showcases
Partnerships 1
14:30
Networking
Your chance to meet with other members and spend time in the Expo area. Refreshments will be served.
15:00
Showcases
Partnerships 2
16:00
Conference Endnote
Hear from The Forum to wrap up the day and summarise your takeaways.
16:15
Conference ends

Speakers

Phil Anderson
CEO
The Forum
Helen Beaumont-Manahan
Director, Client Success & CX
National Support Network
Spencer Brooks
Group Managing Director and Co-Founder
TKG
Alison Conaghan
Customer Operations Specialist
The Forum
Tom Cunningham
Head of Training & Quality Assurance
HGS
Karl Fletcher
Customer Operations Specialist
The Forum
David Gillespie
Planning Technical Development Manager
NFU Mutual
Kate Glew
Senior Operations Manager
NCFE
Charlotte Gude
Good Customer Outcomes Manager
NatWest
Anne Holmes
Account Director
SVL Solutions
Shaun Jardine
Planning Manager
SSCL
Steven Peel
Head of Performance & Insight
OVO Energy
Chris Rainsforth
Director of Learning & Innovation
The Forum
Ian Robertson
Customer Operations Specialist
The Forum
Alison Smart
National Ops Manager
NFU Mutual
Billy Smillie
Senior Workforce Analyst
LNER
Sarah Thompson
Resource Planner
Marshmallow
Dave Vernon
Director of Membership & Best Practice
The Forum
Donna Whyman
Customer Operations Specialist
The Forum

Exhibitors

Venue

The Queens Hotel
New Station Street, City Square, 
Leeds LS1 1PJ

The post codes to the nearest car parks to the hotel are:
LS1 4HT: APCOA Long Stay at Leeds Rail Station  
LS1 4AG: Q-Park Sovereign Square   

30% discount for parking at Q-Park Sovereign Square with code QHSS30 by booking directly via their website. Q-Park is open 24/7 and features PaSS Technology (Automated Number Plate Recognition) for seamless entry and exit. Sovereign Square also offer convenient electric vehicle charging stations.

20% discount rate with APCOA Long Stay at Leeds Rail Station car park. Two promo codes are available based on the length of your stay, these are to be applied at the pay machine within the car park on arrival:
 QUEENS24 for 20% off a 24 hour stay
QUEENS48 for 20% off a 48 hour stay

Due to the pedestrianisation of City Square, pick up and drop off is not available outside the front of the hotel. Please use Leeds Train Station pick up and drop off point, and access the hotel via the private entrance situated on the station concourse opposite Leon.

Prices & Booking

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

All paid for places must be settled before the conference begins. 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 2026 Best Practice Showcase conferences or email events@theforum.social.