2022 Community Conference

Catch up on our previous conferences. Click on the sessions below to watch the Keynotes, Workshops & Technology Showcases. Full access to these videos is part of your Forum Membership. To access these videos, register or log in by clicking My Account at the top of this page. If you do not have the access you expect please email advice@theforum.social.

Gold Sponsor
Mark Lincoln at Aviva

Mark Lincoln at Aviva

Mark aligned working patterns with demand which led to improved service quality and a 9% increase in queries handled and he was able to recognise nuances between voice and chat scheduling to optimise agent efficiency. By leveraging both experiential knowledge and analytical tools Mark advocates for a blend of instinct and data-driven insights, with an emphasis on the importance of historical data for forecasting.
Katherine Emerson at BT Group

Katherine Emerson at BT Group

Katherine’s shift pattern comparison tool has revolutionised shift planning, empowering team leaders and reducing reliance on planning input. Pre-launch, bespoke pattern requests surged at 10% monthly, dropping to a 3% overall reduction. Enhanced collaboration with operations ensured the tool was used to its full potential. The “Try Before you Apply” initiative streamlined recruitment into the planning team, allowing team members to understand what planning do and improving candidate selection.
Kristie-Leigh Armstrong at BT Group

Kristie-Leigh Armstrong at BT Group

Kristie-Leigh spearheaded a transformative journey in workforce management, with an  emphasis on communication, collaboration, and employee well-being. Through initiatives like Flexi-breaks, My Day and Uni-flex, she has helped shape a culture of accountability and inclusivity, reducing shrinkage and increasing coverage. Kristie-Leigh’s dedication to personal development and support for colleagues inspires others to embrace change, drive innovation, and prioritise the welfare of their teams.
Iain McFarlane at DHL

Iain McFarlane at DHL

Through streamlined processes and a commitment to continuous improvement, Iain achieved significant savings and operational efficiencies. By fostering a culture of learning and embracing challenges, Iain empowered his team to excel and innovate. He exemplifies the potential for personal growth within the organisation, with a focus on operational excellence and customer satisfaction.
Zach Haddenham at eBay

Zach Haddenham at eBay

Zach’s journey at eBay showcases the transformative impact of curiosity, collaboration, and innovation. From simplifying processes to implementing ground-breaking features, Zach’s proactive approach has not only solved long-standing challenges but also inspired others to embrace learning and teamwork, setting a blueprint for success in today’s dynamic customer operations landscape.
Mohamed Nasr at emovis

Mohamed Nasr at emovis

Mohamed led the implementation of the Genesys system at emovis. Through comprehensive testing with a test team and frontline feedback integration, he was able to ensure the necessary adjustments for operational efficiency. Colleague commendations highlighted Mohamed’s strong planning skills and proactive attitude, with his innovative suggestions proving successful. His contributions exemplify a commitment to excellence and continuous improvement.
Kat McCarron at Hiscox

Kat McCarron at Hiscox

Kat led initiatives to enhance planning for admin and outbound calling, improving efficiency and customer service. By scheduling dedicated admin time and implementing an outbound booking tool, agents experienced reduced pressure and increased productivity. Collaboration with the operations team streamlined referrals, while understanding underwriters’ workload improved processes and built stronger relationships.
Michael Ferrera at indeed

Michael Ferrera at indeed

Michael champions accessible data presentation, pre-emptive issue identification, and real-time response strategies. His approachability and dedication to learning earn praise from stakeholders, while his collaborative spirit fosters a culture of innovation. Projects include self-scheduling implementation and a shift towards future-focused data analysis. Michael’s efforts not only streamline operations but also cultivate a data-centric culture.
Stephen Banim at indeed

Stephen Banim at indeed

Stephen implemented innovative forecasting methods, driving efficiency and cost reduction through leveraging data-driven insights. Collaborative solutions, guided by his effective communication style, helped tackle challenges such as integrating new features like chat. Stephen exemplifies the transformative power of experience and strategic thinking, setting a standard for excellence in modern workforce management.
Cameron Croxon at Motorway

Cameron Croxon at Motorway

Cameron’s partnership-driven approach to workforce planning at Motorway showcases transformative outcomes. By prioritising collaboration, his team achieved a 13% FTE saving, equating to £1.3 million in savings. Challenges like manual administrative tasks were reduced by 23%. Cameron’s leadership style has an emphasis on delegation, integration, and continuous improvement, driving efficiency and skill development within the workforce.
Kieran Ridley at Newcastle Building Society

Kieran Ridley at Newcastle Building Society

Transitioning from operational backgrounds to strategic planning, Kieran embraced change and innovation while navigating integration challenges. He implemented Workforce Management solutions, streamlined processes, and introduced a centralised bereavement team to enhance service delivery and mitigate risks. With a focus on accuracy and efficiency in forecasting, he demonstrated resilience and adaptability in managing staffing levels and call volumes. Continuous learning and improvement underscore his commitment.
Lauren Laycock at NFU Mutual

Lauren Laycock at NFU Mutual

Lauren doubled the complaints department’s headcount, guided by data-driven insights to enhance efficiency. Lauren’s adept stakeholder engagement gained trust and elevated operational performance. Her journey underscores adaptability, collaboration, and a commitment to continuous improvement, resulting in tangible outcomes such as improved service levels and complaint resolution rates.
Alex Gold at OVO Energy

Alex Gold at OVO Energy

OVO Energy, under Alex’s leadership, tackled integration challenges, fostering a culture of empowerment and innovation. Alex prioritised team empowerment, laying foundations for strategic decision-making and operational optimisation, with his goal for Shared Services to become ‘The Brain of the Operation’. Assessing teams for skills and mindset alignment, coupled with a focus on recognition and feedback, reinforced a customer-centric approach.
Sam Collings at OVO Energy

Sam Collings at OVO Energy

Sam renewed the approach to recruitment and training. With her approach, the blend of weekend and remote workers has enhanced operational efficiency and relieved pressure on agents whilst improving morale. Embracing social media, they maintained service levels and reduced contact volume, achieving a 70% satisfaction rate and a 33% decrease in queries. Sam’s data analytics have driven continuous improvement, enabling personalised service and proactive customer engagement.
Kevin White at VitalityHealth

Kevin White at VitalityHealth

Kevin showcases leadership through strategic team expansion and talent development. Learning from industry best practices, he diversified his team’s experiences, leading to innovative channels like WhatsApp. Internal training and personalised development plans ensure a robust talent pipeline. Kevin encourages individual growth, allowing flexible transitions within the team which stakeholders paid tribute to. Kevin’s commitment to excellence promises a future of continued success and adaptability.
Michelle Adshead at VitalityHealth

Michelle Adshead at VitalityHealth

Michelle led a pioneering project, promoting work-life balance by empowering employees to choose their shifts. Positive feedback ensued, prompting the implementation of a shift swap feature for enhanced efficiency. Work-life balance scores provided valuable insights, demonstrating the organisation’s commitment to employee well-being. Michelle’s adaptability and vision earned widespread acclaim.
Kirsty Ritchie at Wheatley Housing

Kirsty Ritchie at Wheatley Housing

Kirsty has led on optimisation, by removing inefficient tasks to allow more value-add activities like extending the planning window and gaining the benefits like planning for recruitment. Her focus on longer term planning ensures that peak is now well managed and easier for all. Kirsty is well respected and is committed not only to continuous learning & development but also to sharing skills and new learning with her peers.
Benenden Health Be Smart Programme

Benenden Health Be Smart Programme

Benenden Health’s Be Smart programme revolutionises healthcare service delivery by fostering a culture of continuous improvement and member satisfaction. Shifting from centralised change management, it empowers individuals across the organisation through a network of champions, covering 75% of business functions. This initiative has yielded significant results, including £165K savings and a 441% increase in return-on-investment by 2023, demonstrating the effectiveness of embedding a culture of proactive change and engagement across all levels.
The AA Forecasting Team

The AA Forecasting Team

The AA’s forecasting team has been pivotal in optimising breakdown services through a predictive model linking weather data to breakdowns, improving resource allocation and response times. Their analysis has driven digital advancements, streamlining operations and enhancing customer interactions by filtering simpler queries online. They also evaluate economic and market trends for strategic planning. This work ensures The AA adapts efficiently to customer needs and maintains leadership in service excellence, highlighting the team’s essential role in operational and strategic decisions.
Steven Hunter at Hiscox

Steven Hunter at Hiscox

At Hiscox, Steven transformed corporate planning by adopting advanced methodologies and improving data management. His benchmarking efforts and use of the Minto Pyramid Principle for communication enhanced strategic operations in the UK. Steven’s initiative underscored the importance of innovation and foresight, driving Hiscox towards operational excellence and sustainable growth. This case highlights the significance of strategic planning and data-driven decision-making in the competitive business landscape.
Chantal Lowson at Macmillan Cancer Support

Chantal Lowson at Macmillan Cancer Support

Chantal’s leadership journey at Macmillan Cancer Support showcases her transformative approach to management. Transitioning from a single Data Analyst Insights team to leading three specialist teams, she exemplifies embracing change, fostering trust, and leveraging technology for organisational improvement. Her strategy prioritises people, performance, and continuous learning, demonstrating the impact of multifunctional teams and data-driven decisions. Chantal’s story is a testament to the power of leadership in navigating challenges and driving substantial business improvements.
Business Systems & Motorway

Business Systems & Motorway

Through partnering with Business Systems to implement Calabrio, Motorway has experienced significant improvements in their WFM and Planning operations. These include substantial improvements to adherence, equivalent to 30 FTE per week, a considerable increase in the efficiency of internal processes such as holiday requests, and the fostering of an overall more positive work environment resulting in greater employee satisfaction and improved customer service. Through innovative problem-solving and dedicated teamwork, they overcame challenges in integrating systems, delivering significant operational improvements and financial benefits. Shared goals and a willingness to “walk in their customers’ shoes” were key elements of this successful partnership – we understand that Neil did get a good price for his car!
CMS and Student Loans

CMS and Student Loans

This strong, responsive, and mature partnership has delivered the first ever integration of the OPX back-office system with NICE, and the first integration that NICE has had with a back-office system. Student Loans now has full visibility of staff across the estate, allowing for the dynamic allocation of staff to different roles based on changing needs and operational priorities. Frequent and transparent communication at many levels, and easy access for the SLC team with CMS developers really helped to deliver a solution that meets their customers’ needs. ROI is very impressive, with £925k in year one and savings of up to £3.6m per annum.
Davies & TJX

Davies & TJX

In a strategic collaboration, global retailer TJX and Davies revolutionised employee onboarding, focussing on decentralised training and soft skills. Incorporating digital learning and aligning with cultural values, they achieved a 300% investment return, which included a reduction in the glide path to productivity in the contact centre from 8 weeks to 6 weeks. This partnership not only enhanced employee engagement and customer service for TK Maxx and HomeSense but also established new benchmarks for training excellence, an increase in empathy and rapport with customers with a positive impact oncustomer loyalty.
NICE and BT Group

NICE and BT Group

Driven by a goal to discover whether NICE’s NEVA technology could be used to support scheduling activities, NICE and BT Group worked together as one team to design a solution. By adopting NICE’s NEVA technology, they were able to reduce the number of interdependent systems, remove transactional work, and create new skills and career development opportunities for schedulers to learn robotics. This venture was built on mutual respect, open communication, and shared goals, and created a new use case for NEVA which works for BT Group and which NICE can share with their customers.
QStory & Jet2holidays

QStory & Jet2holidays

A mature and established partnership between QStory and Jet2holidays delivered an extremely successful intraday automation implementation, which has been a great enabler for Jet2holidays homeworking model. Once they had a better visibility of their absence, QStory supported Jet2holidays with the establishment of a centralised absence management function SMART. The QStory policy of retaining 30% of developer time to be available to work on customer requests has been a real enabler for this change, ROI and stakeholder impact has been positive. Jet2holidays are so delighted that QStory were awarded one of their coveted supplier awards.
Sabio & DHL

Sabio & DHL

In a strategic partnership with Sabio, DHL Express UK embarked on transforming its resource planning and employee engagement, addressing staffing inconsistencies and inefficiencies. By overhauling their Workforce Management system, focussing on accuracy, optimisation, and schedule flexibility, they achieved significant improvements in forecast accuracy, resource efficiency, and employee satisfaction. Sabio took time to understand DHL, and their service goals, and worked hard to support and upskill the team at DHL. These efforts led to marked cost savings, showcasing the value of leveraging technology and innovation in the logistics industry.
SVL and Hoover Candy

SVL and Hoover Candy

A consultative approach from SVL identified that Calabrio would provide Hoover Candy with a tool that not only reduced manual processes but also delivered self-service functionality for agents to have more control over their schedules. SVL worked closely with Hoover Candy to plan the roadmap forthe roll out to focus on areas that would get buy in from internal stakeholders early in the process and to resolve technical issues with some of the key interfaces. Open communication and a deep understanding of their clients’ needs has been key to the success of this relationship.
Tambla and Leeds Bradford Airport

Tambla and Leeds Bradford Airport

Collaboration and joint ownership of the plan has been key to the success of the implementation of a WFM solution, tailored to the aviation industry. This has supported LBA’s passenger growth and service delivery expectations and enabled a consolidation and centralisation of their planning and forecasting functions. There is now a clear view of workload and staffing levels, this has enabled data-led decision making to improve operational performance, queues in security have been reduced and SLAs with airlines are being met, all helping the airport to bounce back post pandemic.
Verint & Vitality Health

Verint & Vitality Health

This collaborative and professional partnership has revolutionised back office operations and enhanced customer experiences at Vitality Health. The deployment of Verint Operational Manager has given visibility, streamlined processes, improved data analytics, and facilitated better demand planning. The outcome was not only a substantial increase in operational efficiency but also a significant reduction in customer complaint resolution times, reduced from two months to 72 hours. A strong sense of professionalism and a governance framework has been key to delivering and demonstrating the success of this implementation.
 
12345