Contact

CareerTalk with Phil O’Shiel

View All Resources

For our next episode of CareerTalk, Leigh Hopwood chats to Phil O’Shiel, Group Account Lead at The Phoenix Group, about Phil’s career so far.

Listen below as Phil and Leigh chat about Phil’s career journey and how he landed his current role at The Phoenix Group.

Keep Up To Date

Receive updates on the latest research, events, news and activities from CCMA.
Subscribe

Join CCMA

Explore membership and discover the benefits.
Discover

More Resources

Additional content about the contact centre industry which might interest you
4 minute read
What CCMA Benchmark Data Highlights About Attrition
It's long been one of the contact centre industry's most persistent challenges, but there is evidence that attrition can be successfully tackled - even in the age of AI.
Colleague Experience Operational Excellence Strategy and Leadership
Read more
49 minute listen
CareerTalk with Jon Paull, Octopus Energy
Leigh is joined by Jon Paull, the Global Director of Operations at Octopus Energy, who explores the career journey that took him from being on the phone all the way to being a global operational leader.
Colleague Experience Operational Excellence Strategy and Leadership
Read more
25 minute listen
Delivering Vodafone’s Just Ask Once Programme
In this live episode of Informer, Chris sits down with Ryan Rubertazzi and Sarah Lane at Vodafone, to explore the thinking behind the UK telecom firm's 'Just Ask Once' programme.
Customer Experience Strategy and Leadership
Read more
4 minute read
CCMA Launches Educational AI Series to Support Contact Centre Professionals
Online and in-person events will combine expert guidance with learning from within the CCMA community, helping leaders compare experiences, assess readiness and make informed choices as they develop increasingly AI-assisted operations.
Innovation Operational Excellence Strategy and Leadership
Read more
30 minute read
Evolution of the Contact Centre
This research explores how contact centre leaders are balancing rising customer expectations, AI innovation and continuous change in 2026.
Operational Excellence
Read more
39 minute listen
CareerTalk with Alison Heap, United Utilities
As Customer Service Manager, Ali is passionate about people, development and wellbeing, sharing the career journey that took her from an entry-level customer service role to leadership.
Colleague Experience Operational Excellence
Read more
43 minute listen
Unlocking Potential in the Contact Centre
Lisa Dolan, Regional VP for Employee Experience at TP discusses how to engage young people on the opportunities that a career in contact centres can bring.
Colleague Experience Strategy and Leadership
Read more
5 minute read
How Do You Motivate the Teams of the Future?
What motivates a contact centre employee in 2030 may look very different from what motivated them a decade ago, but positive leadership will remain fundamentally important.
Colleague Experience Strategy and Leadership
Read more
49 minute listen
CareerTalk with Anthony Hinchliffe, Ant Marketing
CEO of Ant Marketing, Anthony Hinchliffe joins Leigh to discuss how contact centres have changed and some of his secrets about building a successful business in our sector.
Customer Experience Strategy and Leadership
Read more
4 minute read
Marketing and the Contact Centre – Where Brand Becomes Reality
Customers don't experience marketing and contact centres separately, they experience a brand. So why do these two vital components of business so often operate in silo?
Customer Experience Strategy and Leadership
Read more
4 minute read
Skills Development – Why Compassion is as Important as Empathy
There is a growing need to prioritise and recognise the ‘human skillset’, as AI takes away routine and monotonous tasks from many workplaces.
Colleague Experience Strategy and Leadership
Read more
4 minute read
AI is Having a Major Impact on Complaint Handling – How Should You Respond?
A sharp rise in the use of generative AI for writing formal complaints leaves many contact centres and complaints handling teams trying to establish new processes for managing the volume.
Colleague Experience Customer Experience Innovation
Read more
34 minute listen
Unpicking the Realities of Offshoring Contact Centre Services in 2026
Chris is joined by Joel Walker, Co-Founder of The Knowledge Group (tkg), to explore how offshoring is evolving, and to bring clarity to what is a rapidly-changing global landscape.
Customer Experience Operational Excellence Strategy and Leadership
Read more
8 minute read
Is the AI Agent the Frontline of the Future?
Agentic AI promises contact centres where autonomous systems handle most customer tasks end‑to‑end, with humans stepping in only when needed. Leaders from multiple sectors recently met at the House of Lords and, while optimistic, agreed that this fully autonomous vision is still far from today’s reality.
Colleague Experience Operational Excellence
Read more
3 minute read
Nine Ways Contact Centres Are Currently Using AI
Based on discussions at recent CCMA events, roundtables and circles, here are some of the most commonly referenced AI use cases entering into operations today - and what they entail.
Operational Excellence Strategy and Leadership
Read more
5 minute read
Chatbots or Humans? What the Data Says About Customer Preferences
The CCMA's Beyond Demographics: Customer Contact Personas Shaping UK Service Expectations research highlights that context is key when it comes to the question 'chatbots or humans?'
Customer Experience Operational Excellence
Read more
3 minute read
Trade Union Changes Are Coming – How to Prepare Your Contact Centre
From 30 October 2026, two important changes to trade union law must be adhered to, as part of the continual integration of the UK's Employment Rights Act 2025.
Colleague Experience Operational Excellence
Read more
36 minute listen
Is Customer Service Getting Better or Worse?
Stephen Yap is joined by Zoom's Ben Neo to pick through the findings from the CCMA's latest Voice of the Contact Centre Consumer research.
Customer Experience Strategy and Leadership
Read more
44 minute listen
CareerTalk with Sandrea Morgan
With over two decades of experience across customer service, outsourcing and customer experience, Sandrea shares the journey that has shaped her career and leadership style.
Colleague Experience Operational Excellence
Read more
28 minute listen
Why Your Organisation Should Enter The ECCCSAs
We turn the spotlight onto one of the most important dates in the European customer contact calendar - the European Contact Centre and Customer Service Awards, better known as the ECCCSAs.
Colleague Experience Innovation
Read more
2 minute read
Infographic: Voice of the Contact Centre Consumer 2026
An infographic visualising the key findings from the Voice of the Contact Centre Consumer 2026 report.
Customer Experience
Read more
47 minute listen
CareerTalk with Graham Swanton
With a career spanning customer operations and service improvement in the social housing sector, Graham has progressed through a range of roles, building both frontline and strategic experience along the way.
Colleague Experience Customer Experience
Read more
36 minute listen
Will Governmental Change Mean Change to Employment Law?
Chris is joined by renowned employment law and HR expert Kate Palmer to discuss the latest updates from the Employment Rights Act 2025, and what to prepare for in the coming months.
Colleague Experience
Read more
5 minute read
Supporting Your Contact Centre Teams During Hot Weather
With summer temperatures continuing to rise, contact centre environments – whether office-based or at home – can quickly become uncomfortable and, at times, unsafe.
Colleague Experience
Read more
4 minute read
BPO Relationships Must Start with Questions, Not Solutions
Organisations are increasingly reframing the contact centre outsourcing process to ask - what can outsourcing deliver us?
Operational Excellence
Read more
5 minute read
How Do We Plug the Sentiment Gap?
While most UK consumers feel customer service has improved, vulnerable consumers increasingly feel they're being left behind.
Operational Excellence Strategy and Leadership
Read more
50 minute read
Voice of the Contact Centre Consumer 2026
This year’s Voice of the Contact Centre Consumer research provides a comprehensive analysis of consumer contact experiences, with a particular focus on vulnerability.
Customer Experience Operational Excellence Strategy and Leadership
Read more
47 minute listen
CareerTalk with Morris Pentel
With a career spanning telecoms, outsourcing and financial services, Morris has been at the heart of change, technology and innovation in our industry for many years.
Colleague Experience
Read more
4 minute read
Is the UK Outsourcing Market Shifting From Cost to Capability?
The 2026 edition of the UK Contact Centre Outsourcing Report reveals a changing landscape for buyers.
Innovation Operational Excellence
Read more
6 minute read
The UK is a Nation of Experience Sharers and Email Enthusiasts
This article provides an overview of the results from the CCMA’s new landmark study Beyond Demographics: Customer Contact Personas Shaping UK Service Expectations.
Customer Experience Operational Excellence
Read more
6 minute read
Technology Procurement – Where to Start?
This article is a practical overview that outlines how organisations can confidently navigate complex, evolving technology decisions.
Innovation
Read more
30 minute listen
Tackling Data Sovereignty Challenges
This podcast explore why data sovereignty has become an increasingly important area for discussion in recent years, and what contact centre leaders can do to ensure they are keeping their finger on the pulse.
Operational Excellence Strategy and Leadership
Read more
50 minute read
The UK Contact Centre Outsourcing Report 2026
This report is the CCMA’s essential annual guide for buyers of UK customer contact outsourcing services, produced with key insights from The Knowledge Group and written by a range of industry experts.
Colleague Experience Innovation Operational Excellence Strategy and Leadership
Read more
47 minute listen
CareerTalk with Imran Ahmed, Aura Global Solutions
Imran worked with major brands like AO, Telefonica, Capita, Tesco Mobile, O" and Virgin Media before taking the leap to build something of his own.
Operational Excellence
Read more
1 hour read
Beyond Demographics: Customer Contact Personas Shaping UK Service Expectations
This CCMA research initiative reveals the five Customer Contact Personas that make up the UK adult consumer population, each with its own distinctive preferences and perceptions.
Customer Experience
Read more
43 minute listen
CareerTalk with Harj Johal, The AA
Harj has 30 years working in contact centres and customer relations within the UK insurance industry, for major brands including Direct Line.
Operational Excellence
Read more
5 minute read
How Does the EU AI Act Impact Contact Centre Leaders?
This article dives into how the new EU Artificial Intelligence Act (EU AI Act) impacts UK contact centres.
Innovation Operational Excellence Strategy and Leadership
Read more
30 minute listen
Creating a Culture of Health and Wellbeing in the Contact Centre
In this episode of Informer, Chris is joined by Dr Jillian Manner, Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh and a member of the Scottish Collaboration for Public Health Research and Policy to discuss these questions, and the answers in more detail.
Colleague Experience
Read more
44 minute listen
CareerTalk with Ryan Rubertazzi, VodafoneThree
Leigh speaks with Contact Centre Leader of the Year at the ⁠UK National Contact Centre Awards⁠ in 2021, ⁠Ryan Rubertazzi⁠.
Operational Excellence
Read more
30 minute read
Public Services: Connecting Fragmented Journeys
Key insights from the March 2026 Leadership Forum, where senior leaders from across public services to discuss customer journey management.
Strategy and Leadership
Read more
34 minute listen
CareerTalk with Paul Mazoyer, Heineken
In this episode Leigh speaks with ⁠Paul Mazoyer⁠, who reflects back on an incredible 22 years with global brewery giant, ⁠The HEINEKEN Company⁠.
Operational Excellence
Read more
40 minute read
Contact Centre: 2030
Contact Centre: 2030 is a comprehensive research initiative that paints a clear picture of what the not-so-distant future might look like in the contact centre industry.
Colleague Experience Customer Experience Innovation Operational Excellence Strategy and Leadership
Read more
43 minute listen
CareerTalk with Claire Carroll, Hargreaves Lansdown
Claire chats about her career leading contact centre operations for incredible brands such as Virgin Media, Homeserve, BT, Co-Op and JP Morgan.
Operational Excellence
Read more
60 minute watch
The Importance of Developing your People
In this online seminar, we explored how behaviour, mindset and meaningful development shape engaged teams, motivated colleagues and consistently strong outcomes.
Colleague Experience Operational Excellence
Read more
12 minute read
UK Contact Centre Salary Guide 2026
Explore the latest salary data for the UK contact centre sector, with information on job roles ranging from frontline colleague to head of customer experience, and with a full regional breakdown and comparison of average salaries.
Colleague Experience Operational Excellence Strategy and Leadership
Read more
46 minute listen
CareerTalk with David Rumble, Founder and Director
Industry ‘veteran’ David Rumble explains why the contact centre is an industry that can galvanise so many people in their careers.
Operational Excellence
Read more
30 minute listen
Supporting Colleagues and Team Members With ADHD
Tina is a certified ADHD trainer and life coach and speaks about a condition that affects around 5% of people in the UK, and for which she herself was diagnosed for five years ago.
Colleague Experience
Read more
4 minute read
Can we Predict the Operating Models of the Future?
The world of customer contact as we know it is transforming, and organisations are being told they must evolve at breakneck speed.
Operational Excellence Strategy and Leadership
Read more
30 minute read
Financial Services: Striking the Right Human and Digital Balance
How do you integrate AI and automation without losing the human connection that customers still need and value?
Customer Experience Innovation
Read more
3 minute read
The AI Journey – What a Key CCMA Data Source Tells Us
Tracking how UK contact centres are actually approaching their implementation of AI has been a key mandate for the CCMA for some time. It has also been the driving force behind our recent How To… events.
Innovation
Read more
For more than 30 years, the CCMA has been dedicated to supporting contact centre leaders. We push ourselves to do more for our thriving membership base, which is the largest community of industry professionals in the UK.

The CCMA was founded with the goal of sharing best practice and networking to improve skills and knowledge in order to progress contact centre operations - and we live by that to this day.

Quick Links

Resources

Contact Us

© 2026 Contact Centre Management Association. All rights reserved.
Reg No: 5799326
Privacy Policy Website Terms and Conditions

By completing this form you agree to the CCMA using your personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy. We use your data to personalise and improve your experience on our digital platforms, send you relevant communications, provide products and services you request from us, and to carry out profiling and market research. You have the right to object, unsubscribe or be deleted from our database. Please contact info@ccma.org.uk.