Podcast ¦ CX Files: Leigh Hopwood – CCMA – 25 Years Of The ECCCSAs

Key Take Aways

1. The European contact centre awards are regarded as the premier event in the sector, with a strong emphasis on recognising innovation, excellence, and leadership across Europe.
2. The awards attract participants from over 44 countries, making the event highly diverse and globally recognised within the industry.
3. Judging is rigorous and involves about 100 volunteer judges, selected based on their experience, credibility, and commitment to industry standards.
4. The judging process includes extensive panel discussions, site visits, and questioning to ensure authenticity and recognise true industry excellence.
5. The awards categories are dynamic, evolving annually to reflect technological advances such as AI and shifts towards customer experience, not solely technology implementation.
6. Winning these awards carries significant prestige, with organisations demonstrating exceptional performance and influence within the industry.
7. The awards event itself is a major networking occasion, leveraging a meticulously organised, immersive experience that emphasises European industry collaboration.
8. The event incorporates entertainment and social elements, designed to foster camaraderie and industry pride, while the after-the-event stories further promote sharing best practices.
9. The awards programme places a notable emphasis on inclusivity, ensuring that smaller organisations have equal opportunities to compete effectively.
10. Behind-the-scenes strategies focus on continual process improvement, lessons learned, and creating depth in assessment methodologies, including site visits and detailed criteria checks.
11. The event aligns with industry trends by highlighting impactful stories and technological achievements that exemplify measurable improvements in customer service.
12. Personalities and guest appearances are a key part of the event, with anticipated high-profile hosts and special guests, enhancing the event’s profile and appeal.

Key Statistics

• The European contact centre and customer service awards involve over 44 countries.
• The event has grown from approximately 900–1000 attendees to over 1200 participants annually.
• Typically, there are 8–10 finalists per category, with multiple categories to recognise various aspects of customer service and technological application.
• The awards are in their 25th year in 2025, coinciding with the event’s anniversary.
• Over 120 judges participate in the judging process, all volunteers.

Key Discussion Points

• The significance of the awards as the ‘Oscars’ of the industry, due to their prestige, global participation, and rigorous judging.
• The importance of evolving award categories to reflect technological and customer experience innovations in the industry.
• The criteria for judging, including site visits, panel discussions, and detailed criteria checks, ensuring fairness and depth of assessment.
• The role of judges, predominantly senior industry professionals, in providing industry insight and developing credible award winners.
• The value of attending awards events for industry networking, recognising excellence, and sharing best practices.
• The challenging logistics of organising such a large, high-profile event with a focus on customer experience.
• The significance of the awards’ European focus providing a diverse representation of contact centres across nations.
• The process of selecting and preparing judges to maintain integrity and ensure the awards highlight genuinely exceptional performance.
• The importance of celebrating not only winners but also finalists and industry peers, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
• The incorporation of entertainment and storytelling to elevate the event beyond a traditional awards night.
• The impact of guest speakers and special appearances on the event’s prestige and engagement.
• The strategic importance of storytelling, humanising technological advancements, and sharing success stories to inspire ongoing industry development.

Podcast Description

This podcast provides an in-depth exploration of the European contact centre and customer service awards, examining their significance as the sector’s premier event. Led by industry experts Mark Hillary and Peter Ryan, it discusses the awards’ history, judging methodology, evolving categories, and the strategic importance of recognising excellence across Europe. The conversation delves into behind-the-scenes insights, stakeholder engagement, and the event’s role in fostering industry collaboration, innovation, and best practices for senior managers in financial services and beyond.