Wherever you are on your journey, the CCMA is here for you. Leigh will share how we continue to support contact centre professionals and how you can take advantage of the opportunities available.

We’re past the halfway mark of the 2020s, a decade which has been marked by perpetual uncertainty and ‘force majeure’ events both man-made and natural. Today’s leaders face multiple possible futures shaped by economic volatility, geopolitical shocks, technology change, supply disruptions, and regulation shifts. 

Against this backdrop, how are contact centres adapting and future-proofing? What’s keeping leaders up at night? How to survive and thrive when change is constant? 

Join CCMA Research Director Stephen Yap, Danielle Platt, Head of Customer Experience, AJ Bell and Dan Edwards, Director of Customer Service, Cadent Gas for a lively and insightful keynote debate to kick-start Conference.

Haleon’s Global Consumer Relations team has transformed operational support from a reactive function into a strategic enabler of business performance. By introducing stronger governance, clear prioritisation, structured planning and cross-functional accountability, the team has brought greater predictability, transparency and focus to delivery. The results include a 20% reduction in cost per contact, improved consumer resolution, strong colleague engagement and zero audit findings across 17 inspections. During this session discover how disciplined governance and collaboration can help contact centres deliver lasting change.

Everyone talks about innovation, but what does it really look like in a contact centre? Is it new technology, empowered teams, bold leadership, or something deeper in the culture? In this interactive session, Kate will invite the audience to share their views and opinions while exploring what enables innovation to thrive. Together, we’ll uncover the leadership behaviours, mindsets and organisational conditions needed to turn great ideas into meaningful change. 

HSBC’s Emerging Channels team has reimagined how customers get support, making digital channels simpler, faster and more effective while ensuring colleagues have the tools they need when human support matters most. By combining intelligent automation, data-driven decision-making and practical innovation, the team now prevents more than 147,000 customer contacts every month, has delivered £6.7 million in annual value and improved both customer and colleague outcomes. Learn how digital transformation can create better experiences, lower costs and stronger business performance.

AI is accelerating the pace of change across the contact centre, reshaping customer expectations, redefining how work gets done, and creating new possibilities for customer experience and operational performance. In this thought-provoking session, Stuart will challenge the forces shaping the future of customer operations and the leadership choices that will define the organisations that thrive. Bringing AI to life in the room, he’ll demonstrate how human expertise and AI can work together to create better customer outcomes, empower colleagues and support the next generation contact centre.

Contact centres hear the truth before anyone else. They see where journeys break down, where trust is won or lost, what customers value, and where risk is emerging. How do you turn that unique viewpoint into organisational influence that shapes better customer outcomes, supports risk management, informs transformation and AI adoption, and ultimately drives growth and value? Building on a growing industry conversation about the contact centre as a strategic powerhouse rather than an operational function, this debate will explore how you can strengthen your voice, shape decision-making and position the contact centre at the heart of business strategy. You’ll leave with the language, confidence and vision to advocate for greater impact inside your organisation and beyond.

Driven by a need to support their people, TP has built an employee-centred AI ecosystem that is transforming colleague experience across a remote, highly regulated workforce of more than 11,000 people. They have introduced AI tools that provide instant, confidential and personalised guidance on everything from wellbeing and life events to career progression. The impact is clear: a 21% reduction in attrition, a 9% improvement in absence and stronger wellbeing, motivation and engagement. Lisa will share how putting people, not technology, at the centre of AI can really deliver measurable results for colleagues and the business. 

A successful transformation is never just about technology. As Bluecrest Wellness modernised its contact centre operation, the team worked hard to ensure colleagues understood the vision, shaped the journey and remained engaged every step of the way. Through clear communication, strong governance and a relentless focus on people, they delivered major operational change while strengthening confidence, capability and performance. Discover how taking people with you can turn complex transformation into lasting business results. 

Faced with instability, declining engagement and inconsistent performance, the ManyPets leadership team set out to create something different. By focusing on trust, collaboration and giving colleagues a genuine voice, they rebuilt confidence across the operation and created a culture where people could thrive. The results were striking: engagement more than doubled, absence and attrition fell dramatically, customer outcomes improved and service performance reached industry-leading levels. Kieran will share how the right leadership approach can transform both culture and results.

Let’s recognise the first cohort of future leaders who will be presented with their certificates having passed the Futures: Leadership Programme, accredited by the CCMA.