2025 Best Practice Guide
Raising Standards

Conferences

The Forum holds key conferences through out the year including our flagship Spring Customer Strategy and Planning, Summer Best Practice Showcase and Autumn #RaisingStandards conferences that offer a great opportunity to learn, share and network.

2025 Summer Best Practice Showcase (Virtual)

16th June - 22nd August 2025

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

2025 Autumn: #RaisingStandards (Virtual)

13th - 17th October 2025

Learn HOW you can apply "Best Practice"
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”.

2025 Autumn Conference #RaisingStandards (In-Person)

Wednesday 5th November 2025, Coventry Building Society Arena

Learn HOW our community is applying “Best Practice”
This conference is 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”.

2026 Spring Customer Strategy & Planning Conference (In-person)

Tuesday 28th April 2026, Grand Hotel Gosforth Park, Newcastle

Learn WHY we need to keep “Raising Standards in Customer Operations" 
Our flagship Conference, this highly rated event is far more than just a conference. Designed specifically to focus on the hot topics within the industry and thought leadership whilst also delivering practical skills with new ways of thinking that will enhance you as a person. 

On-Demand Conferences

Catch up on the presentations from our previous conferences.
Interactive Keynote: Davies

Interactive Keynote: Davies

Originally broadcast Monday 9th October, 12:30

Generative AI and the Contact Centre Experience
Join Mark Odlin from Davies as he delves into the transformative power of generative AI in the modern contact centre.

Keynote: The Value of Community

Keynote: The Value of Community

Originally broadcast Monday 9th October, 09:30

In this opening keynote, The Forum team members will discuss the importance of community. They will provide practical advice to help you expand your connections within and beyond your organisation.

Interactive Keynote: Does AI really have a place in Quality Assurance?

Interactive Keynote: Does AI really have a place in Quality Assurance?

Originally broadcast Tuesday 16th May 2023, 15:15

Join Chris Rainsforth and Chris Mounce from EvaluAgent for a discussion on the ever increasing presence of AI and the place it has in Quality Assurance.

Technology Showcase - NICE

Technology Showcase - NICE

Originally broadcast Tuesday 16th May 2023, 13:15

Forecasting and AI working together to drive Accuracy. Join Colin and Graeme from NICE as they will  be demonstrating the role of data and AI in the forecasting process, and how it drives improved accuracy.

Keynote: Strength in Numbers

Keynote: Strength in Numbers

Originally broadcast Monday 15th May 2023, 09:30

Hear from The Forum team on this year's theme - Strength in Numbers, The Value of Community and what this personally means to them. This thought provoking session will frame the week of learning that will be available through the rest of the Virtual Conference and challenge you to own your learning.

Strength in numbers the value of community

Strength in numbers the value of community

We build strength when we focus on how we collaborate and who we do this with. When we bring together trusted data, analysis and insight alongside a group of people with a collective desire to improve, we can achieve greatness.
Partner Article: Improve Contact Centre Operations with Robotic Process Automation

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. 
Community Learning Keynote

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.

Questions to consider for annual leave

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).

Liquorice Consistents – Does somebody at Bassetts not like me?

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.

Your Moment of Truth: confident to succeed

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?

Keynote: Your Moment of Truth

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.

Conference Endnote

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.

Technology Showcase: NICE

Technology Showcase: NICE

Originally broadcast Tuesday 2nd November 2021, 13:15

Graeme Gabriel and David Kay share practical top tips, tactical insight and strategic vision for digital planning. 

Keynote: Unlocking Opportunities

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.

Standards and Business Accreditation

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.

Keynote: Unlocking Opportunities

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.

Conference Endnote

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.

Technology Showcase: Calabrio

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.

Keynote: Digital Acceleration - Planning

Keynote: Digital Acceleration - Planning

Originally broadcast Monday 28th September 2020, 14:00

The Great Digital Acceleration The pandemic has fundamentally changed the way that customers engage with organisations. Digital adoption has leapt forward by a decade and the contact centre is playing catch up. During this session Sabio’s Stu Dorman, will describe how deep integration between the contact centre and digital experiences and the use of the latest generation of AI to support customers and agents can be deployed quickly and scaled to meet the needs of a more digitally savvy customer.

Technology Showcase: Anaplan

Technology Showcase: Anaplan

Originally broadcast Monday 28th September 2020, 12:30

Planning for the Workforce of the Future Join Anaplan’s online session to hear how strategic workforce planning can provide much needed agility in the face of digital disruption, financial pressures and turbulent external market factors. During this session we will showcase how to quickly and strategically realign your workforce to shifting skill and resource demands. We will showcase workforce analytics, deploying initiatives to right-size the workforce and reconcile with financial targets, as well as explore capabilities in workforce talent management. Join us to discover how to improve collaboration across thousands of users and how you can realise a 10x return on investment through organisational right-sizing.

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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