CCA Newsletter 1 – Spring 2024

By Rob Dermott, Client Solutions Director

Welcome to CCA Recruitment Group’s first Newsletter of 2024

Moving forward we’ll be sharing industry insight, thought leadership and opinion every quarter, so any feedback from our audience will be well received.

If you have a particular topic, you would like us to cover or if you would like to survey our wide reach on a particular topic then do let us know. We did this with our article below ‘Supporting Customers 24 Hours a day with UK based Contact Centres’ and then invited contribution from our network.

In our first newsletter we are covering several areas:

So, feel to feedback any comment to  info@ccarecruitment.com

Quarterly Observations – views from CCA’s senior management team

2024 did start off as a challenging quarter as clients still delayed some decision-making hangovers from the end of 2023.   At CCA Recruitment Group we feel more positive that the recruitment and talent landscape is springing into action as we head further into Q2. 

So, we spoke to some of our management team about what are we seeing across our clients and the Contact Centre industry and talent:

Rob Dermott, Client Solutions Director:  My role is to speak to as many organisations as possible to build a view on how the Contact Centre recruitment market looks whilst building external partnerships.  This enables me to develop opportunity for the CCA team to support our clients deliver outstanding candidates to the roles we support them with.   What I’m seeing is that there is more activity in terms of the volume of roles we are supporting with, however the expectations from clients around the candidates that are presented are higher than ever.  This is because they feel that the tighter market is a thing of the past.  The truth is good candidates are very much in demand and will receive multiple offers.  There is still the challenge around working models and we are seeing some clients ask for more time working in the office whilst others remain working remotely – both cause different challenges.  Clients must maintain pace in their recruitment processes, and we have seen that the time to hire on some roles has taken longer than previously – this can cause issues.  Clients recognise CCA are true industry experts not just on Contact Centre and CX roles but on niche, confidential and challenging roles to fill. We are also able to provide insight and salary benchmarking to ensure clients are best placed to secure talent presented at offer stage – whilst managing candidate journeys and mitigating the risks of a candidate declining an offer. For more insight, please contact rob@ccarecruitment.com

Debbie Wilson, Managing Director – North

In 2024, the recruitment contact centre market has evolved with advancements in technology, such as AI-driven chatbots and virtual assistants, streamlining candidate interactions and improving efficiency. Companies are increasingly focused on personalised experiences and utilizing data analytics to optimize their recruitment processes. That said – we still need people to support the new processes – additionally remote work trends may also impact the market, leading to more distributed contact centre teams and flexible staffing solutions.

CCA are continually working with our clients to be nibble in our approach and providing tailored solutions which may or may not include technology solutions.

The contact centre recruitment market for hiring new staff is currently fierce with increased competition for top talent, driving recruitment businesses to invest in innovative recruitment strategies. CCA are focussed on delivering to our consultants and client’s tailored solutions such as social media platforms, utilising AI-powered tools for candidate sourcing (work in progress).  Some businesses may also look at AI for assessment/interviews however CCA feel at this stage in the infancy of AI within recruitment that the right solutions for our clients is for our experienced consultants and breadth of our networks to ensure that quality standards are achieved, and that people are still making the final decisions with our clients.  We must always remember that people buy people first and not sure that if that will ever change however who knows… we have seen some great technology over the past 12 months and we must learn to embrace to enhance processes.

Additionally, there is growing emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives within contact centre recruitment processes.  To find out more please come and speak with the team at CCA. For more insight please contact debbie@ccarecruitment.com

Jo Griffiths – Director, BPO

In 2023, a significant number of voice work moved from the UK to offshore locations due to recruitment challenges and increased minimum wage.

However, as we move into 2024, we are seeing a number of clients, particularly within Financial Services partnerships, moving seats back to the UK. We watch this space with interest.

Key hires within BPOs are predicted to see an influx of openings for specialist hires across the sector, we are excited to support the BPO Sector on this journey and look forward to the continued growth and development of this sector. For more insight please contact jo@ccarecruitment.com

Pamela Stokes, Managing Director – South

With Quarter 1 complete the landscape of acquiring talent continues to evolve within the CX and Call Centre sector.

Remote and Hybrid roles continue to command a high level of candidate interest, employers who embrace this working style continue to review productivity and employee engagement and satisfaction to ensure customer needs continue to be met whilst providing this opportunity for candidates.

Industry experts are largely optimistic about hiring intentions in 2024 with key factors being, speed of time to hire and maintaining competitive salary and benefits packages.  As business confidence continues to strengthen clients continue to hire key roles.

CCA are working with our clients to support the rise of AI across many sectors, despite the fast pace of change we keep the focus on supplying top talent no matter what the role. For more insight please contact pamela@ccarecruitment.com

CCA Joins the UK Contact Centre Forum

We have just joined The UK Contact Centre Forum!  

The UK Contact Centre Forum is one of the leading networking groups within our industry and provides a gateway to a unique network of call & contact centre professionals.  Members cover all sectors within the Contact Centre Industry from outsourcers through to manufacturers and technology providers.  It’s an opportunity to connect with individuals not just at director and board levels but those who operate at the front line which gives a real sense of what is going on at all levels within Operations.

We have been working with Trevor Butterworth and the team for a number of months now and have spoken at both the London Networking Event in November 2023 and the Scottish Networking Event in February 2024.  On both occasions we have presented around our experience of ‘Recruitment & Retention and helping organisations to get it right’; and with a team with over 100 years of experience and working with 100’s of different clients we are well placed to share this insight.   These sessions offered open debate and the feedback from those who attended has been exceptional.  The upcoming events cover a wide range of topics including AI, Technology, People and of course Recruitment & Retention.

Trevor’s response to CCA joining is: “The UKCCF is delighted to have CCA as members. The insight they will be able to bring to the sessions on recruitment trends and best practice in securing top talent for your contact centre will be invaluable to our members. We look forward to their content and presence at our events”.

Through 2024 we will continue to attend these events and the next one will be in at the Midlands Networking Event, with further dates to follow.    We’ll also be active and will be judging for some of the categories at THE UKCCF 2024 Awards, so if you would like the opportunity of entering a category where one of the team could be judging then please take a look the newly launched website https://www.ukccfawards.co.uk/

 

We look forward to connecting with other members of the UKCCF and sharing best practice and case studies around Recruitment & Retention throughout 2024.

If you would like to know more about the UKCCF or to join, please follow this link https://uk-ccf.co.uk/

Supporting Customers 24 Hours a day with UK based Contact Centres

CCA Recruitment Group work with a variety of UK organisations with contact centres that provide for diverse customer requirements.   Over the last twelve months we have been undertaking more recruitment for both out of hours and 24 hour operations.  With that in mind, we conducted some research on LinkedIn to find out how many organisations have these and how this 24 hour support is provided.

The question we asked is:

Does your UK based Contact Centre provide a 24-hour service to customers with UK based agents? And if so, how does it do this?

The results were:

  • Yes, agents are on site 24 Hours a day – 26%
  • Yes, agents on or off site 24Hours a day – 28%
  • Yes / some emergency support – 9%
  • No, we don’t need to provide 24 hour support – 37%

So, a total of 63% of organisations provide 24 hour services their customers. From conversations with clients the reasons why do vary.   The key purposes for 24 hour provision include emergency services, vulnerable customer support, break down & facilities management organisations, OOH telephone answering and legal services and financial services / insurance amongst others.

Rob Dermott Client Solutions Director @ CCA Recruitment Group asked Beverley Mullard, Chief Client Officer at Lemon Contact Centre about their 24 hour Contact Centre in Stockton-On-Tees, what it’s like to have a 24/7/365 operation – and how a UK based operations can often be best placed to support customers 24 hours a day:

In our 24 hr, ‘always on’ world, it can often be hard to recognise the boundaries that establish a healthy work-life balance for employees and employers alike. The last few years have seen a shift in what it means to work effectively and in a style that suits everyone who is trying to balance business priorities with the wellbeing of their staff.

At Lemon, we see these challenges from our clients on a daily basis. Recruiting for BPO’s is as tough as it has ever been but we too are continuously driving to achieve more, and in standing by our company values, we’re mindful of ensuring we achieve the right life balance and reward structure for everyone. From flexible shifts to flexible benefits, we’re always evolving and 2024 will see Lemon take another leap forward with the introduction of the Real Living Wage for every employee.

Running a 24/7/365 operation for over 20 years has allowed us to build a business with these challenges in mind long before the effects of a global pandemic created a shift in working patterns. And let’s face it; many of the industries that we support have known no different.

From the small traders requiring support during the hours they are out ‘on the job’, the law firms and insurers dedicated to maximising client engagement, through to large Facilities Management providers operating to keep their customers moving; we’ve been handling service calls around the clock from our state of the art offices on Teesside, in the North East, since our earliest days.

It’s often said that you outsource to solve a problem that’s not a core skill you have in-house. At Lemon we certainly agree with that but also find that in alleviating the immediate ‘pain point’ allows our customers to step back and consider further how best to optimise their processes in order to improve their customers’ experience (CX). Working with their dedicated account manager here to implement the initial brief, we are able to give real tangible insights as to the efficiency (or not) of their CX and help them shape new approaches to try.

And let’s not forget that oftentimes, businesses still desire a ‘local’ solution to their problem and being permanently UK based provides for an understanding of customers’ needs and a degree of empathy that is so often missing in the sea of offshore providers.

Beverley Mullard, Chief Client Officer, Lemon Contact Centre

Thanks Beverley!

At CCA Recruitment Group we have worked with a variety of organisations who provide this 24 hour solution.  We know that recruiting for these roles can be tougher than recruiting for a ‘day job’ so if you are looking for any support or insight on how we can assist your 24 hour operation to secure the best talent please contact us (info@ccarecruitment.com)

For information about Lemon Contact Centre and their services or if you would like to chat to Beverley directly about their 24 hour operations, please contact her at BMullard@no-sour-business.co.uk or visit their website https://www.lemoncontactcentre.co.uk/

2024 – Will the political landscape shape CX?

At CCA Recruitment Group, we are constantly meeting with clients and taking about their challenges and opportunities to overcome whatever 2024 may hold.  There are many deep seated issues that are spoken about that no election is likely overcome, at least in the short term.

The market for 2024 will still have challenges but there have been positive signals within the UK through Q1, not least with interest rates looking like they have peaked which means that it is much easier for both businesses to plan and invest. Globally there are international conflicts and supply chain issues which will still impact and obviously although Covid-19 is under control its impacts are still felt in how we work and live. Energy prices have also reduced again and are at a third of their peak.

So, 2024 will be an interesting year globally with the potential seismic political changes on the horizon, however we are not sure that will have immediate impact on how individuals feel.  Even though the pandemic started four years ago that caused a much larger impact (than any political changes) to CX and how that is delivered by organisations.

We know that the ‘cost of living crisis’ is having impacts globally and as disposable income is limited if can affect companies in a variety of ways impacting how they can invest or provide Customer Service or Customer Experience programmes.  This also directly impacts not just their customers, but employees too.

So, what are our observations that this year holds to ensure organisations deliver a positive outcome through these uncertain times whilst continue delivering great CX.

Clients are indicating confidence is returning to hiring plans but are often unaware of how the market has moved in terms of salaries and candidate availability It’s an area we have been able to provide significant insight into.  Most observations for 2024 talk about AI & Technology, forgetting about the people – which is the most important asset a business has and as people focussed organisation, we’ve included those observations:

Ways of Working – It is four years since the way people work shifted so for those that have not already done this, some real decisions need to be made by business on future ways of working. There are no further excuses on this whether it be poor customer service / support (as a few organisations still blame long call waiting times for) or how the workforce works (home/hybrid/office). It is time to move forward with certainty.

However, there is some complexity within this.  We have had direct feedback from clients that offer homeworking – certainly for front line agent that this way of working is positive for lower income workers during the ‘cost of living’ crisis.  As an industry we know that many of our front line workers are on lower incomes, so by saving commuting costs has a positive impact on these workers.  This can reduce staff attrition and absence which together can ensure that customer experience standards are maintained or improved.    But, on the flip side of homeworking, there is still a way to go for organisations to ensure a true blanket business culture and effective remote management permeates though all workers wherever they work.  This is a huge challenge that many organisations that we speak to continue to have and can have both positive and negative impacts on attrition.  So, investing in re-establishing company culture is something we have heard organisations speak about in 2024.

Real Incomes Rising – with the recent minimum wage increases per hour rates for most workers are £11.44+ (1st April 2024), this can cause a drag on organisations investing and we know it has had an impact on some businesses which have been lower payers for their frontline staff.  It is positive for those lower income workers.

Continued focus on D, E&I – clients are continuing to focus on this to ensure that leadership more closely reflects diversity, equality and inclusion and provides opportunity for all within.

AI, Insight & Technology – AI powered customer service is set to really take hold. Introducing and embedding this technology effectively will be the challenge.  This will be coupled with hyper-personalisation of customer engagement and provision of real-time analytics for continuous improvement.  These improvements should generate additional revenue from those organisations that implement it successfully.  We know that many organisations are also looking to invest further in change & transformation programmes this year which should lead to improvements across customer delivery channels.

Data & Security – further scrutiny and tightening in this area as ‘scams’ get more prolific and data breaches are a continual threat. The feedback from our clients is this is really an area of concern for all.

Wellbeing & Engagement – all changes and operational delivery need a motivated and engaged workforce and as indicated by the Recruitment & Retention section above and Gallup poll this will need to improve in 2024. Investment in Engagement programmes & wellbeing strategies to increase employee engagement.  According to a Gallup survey last year only 10% of UK workers were fully engaged this does have an impact on how Customer Service is delivered.  We know that Employee Experience & Customer Experience delivery levels are interlinked.  Investing in that will reduce costs such as recruitment to allow investment or savings.

Social Responsibility & Sustainability – data across the industry shows that business that integrate ethical principles into their contact centres report around 15% improvement in brand image and around a 20% increase in candidate attraction and similar for employee engagement.

So, in 2024, as in any other year it will be a holistic approach to driving success and innovation across contact centres and CX; people, process and technology go hand in hand whatever any election outcome.

About CCA Recruitment Group

CCA Recruitment Group has been established for 25 years and is a leading recruiter into the Contact Centre, Customer Experience and Customer Management sectors.  We support at all levels from frontline volume, specialist agents and support roles through to mid, senior and board level appointments across all industry sectors.

We are more than just a recruitment agency – we are your trusted partner in success and also provide regular insight and thought leadership through our partnership with The UKCCF and other organisations such as the Customer Experience Foundation.

We’ve established ourselves as leaders in the Customer Contact and Outsourcing services marketplace. Our longevity in the field is a testament to our ability to adapt, innovate, and deliver, even in the most challenging recruitment landscapes. We pride ourselves on our extensive networks, meticulously cultivated to attract leading talent and drive growth, development, and change across the Customer Experience sector.

Our reach isn’t confined to the local sphere; we operate on a global scale, connecting businesses with exceptional individuals who can contribute to their strategic objectives and help them stay ahead in an increasingly competitive market.

We don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach; instead, we tailor our recruitment strategies to your specific needs, ensuring we find the right fit for every role.

At the heart of our success is our dedicated and professional team. Each member brings a wealth of knowledge and a deep commitment to excellence, contributing to our unrivalled record of success. We don’t just fill vacancies; we build relationships, providing resourcing solutions through true partnerships with our clients.

Based in Manchester, Glasgow & Newcastle with presence in Cardiff and London, we can provide our clients and candidates with the perfect combination of sector specialism, matching individual talent to business requirement, whilst aligning the candidate experience to the employer brand.

Professionalism, service excellence and wholehearted collaboration are at the heart of our Recruitment Services and woven into every candidate and employer experience.

So, if you’re a company looking for your next great employee or some industry insight or a candidate looking for your next great opportunity, let us guide you today.

For further information please contact info@ccarecruitment.com  or speak to

Rob Dermott, Client Solutions Director 07443775170

Pamela Stokes, Managing Director 07414003302

Debbie Wilson, Managing Director 07725323841

Thanks for taking your time to read CCA’s Spring 2024 Newsletter.  If you have any feedback or questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at  info@ccarecruitment.com