Across customer operations, organisations are surrounded by signals of customer experience. Many are rich. Few are fully understood. At AXA Insurance, one of the most underused signals was Expressions of Dissatisfaction — moments where customers expressed frustration or disappointment, but where the interaction did not meet the formal definition of a complaint.

These moments were captured manually by frontline advisors. The process added complexity at the end of demanding calls. Decisions relied on individual interpretation. And while the data existed, it rarely translated into learning or meaningful change. Dissatisfaction was recorded, but not truly understood.

Some things will always matter. Businesses will always need to balance customer demand, employee needs, and business goals. Planning will still rely on data, but how that data is used will keep evolving.

Technology will continue to speed things up. AI and automation will take over more of the routine tasks, but that doesn’t mean planners will become less important.

Novuna’s old contact centre setup slowed everything down. Verint helped streamline tools, improve scheduling, and slash digital response times. Staff now feel supported, customers get answers faster, and data drives improvements. Not just an upgrade—a whole new way of working.

Aldermore automated 40 processes in a year, saving £3 million. With Robiquity and UiPath, they built 65 digital workers and upskilled their own team. The goal wasn’t just efficiency—it was to free people up for more meaningful work. And it worked.