AGENDA
This carefully crafted program combines inspiring keynotes with informal activities and time to build real relationships.
This carefully crafted program combines inspiring keynotes with informal activities and time to build real relationships.
8:00
8:40
Amy Dennerly-Minturn, Head of Customer Service, THE ICONIC
8:50
Aymen Ismail, Head of Customer Engagement Solutions, smart Europe
In an era where technology rapidly redefines industries, contact centres are at the frontier of transformation. This session will take you into the heart of a journey in reshaping customer engagement through AI, featuring insights from smart Europe’s award-winning customer service strategy that has established. Staying ahead of the curve is essential for any business, whether it’s through adopting new technologies, discovering innovative methods to extract insights from customer data, or even rethinking the structure of your team. This mindset is crucial, as stagnation is not an option when competitors are continually innovating.
In this keynote presentation, Aymen Ismael, Head of Customer Engagement Solutions at Smart, will share his experience leading innovation and transformation within the company’s customer engagement strategy. He will highlight how the integration of technology and data-driven insights has shaped his approach. Aymen will also explore how embracing a disruptive mindset has driven business growth and delivered measurable ROI on the time and resources invested.
9:35
Hosted By: Michael Bradley, Strategic Engagement Leader, Datacom
Brandon Blanc, Principal Product Manager, Conversational Care, Qantas
Operating in an environment that’s seasonal and heavily impacted by unknowns, including weather events and geopolitical disruptions, the team at Qantas must navigate a lot to deliver service to their customers. With this in mind, Qantas needed a way to scale its operations as well as respond and proactively engage customers.
Hear how Qantas navigated a complex procurement process to elevate the customer service experience at key moments in a customer’s journey, including enquiry, changes and supporting disruptions to flight schedules. Learn more about the considerations that went into selecting the technology and the partner to collaborate with and explore Datacom and Qantas’ collaborative vision as they reveal how they’re shaping the next generation of customer service.
10:10
Hosted By: Amy Dennerly-Minturn, Head of Customer Experience, THE ICONIC
Jade Cameron, Head of Community Experience, LSKD
Leadership is at the heart of driving transformation in contact centres, especially as the industry faces rapid shifts in technology, customer expectations, and workforce dynamics. As new tools like GenAI and agent augmentation solutions become more prevalent, the need for strong, agile leaders to navigate and implement these changes has never been more critical. In this session, industry leaders will delve into cultivating leadership capabilities can empower contact centre teams, engage frontline staff, and deliver exceptional customer experience.
Our focus will include insights on bridging the leadership gap in contact centres, best practices for building resilient leaders, and strategies for fostering a collaborative environment where leaders are equipped not only with the tools but also the empathy and resilience required to support their teams. Key takeaways will include understanding the importance of feedback-driven development, strategies to implement change leadership, and approaches for transitioning from command-and-control models to empathetic, inclusive leadership.
10:40
11:10
11:40
Moderated By: Amy Dennerly-Minturn, Head of Customer Service, THE ICONIC
Benjamin Coughlin, Chief Customer Operations Officer, Webjet
Leeanne Wrigley, Senior Change and Implementation Lead, Customer Success, Woolworths Group
Nicole Dollin, General Manager, Customer Contact and Distribution, The NRMA
Emily Bayford, Former Senior Manager – Contact Centre Channel, AustralianSuper
Is your contact centre better served by a team of universally skilled agents or by experts who specialise in specific areas? This session explores a key organisational decision: the trade-off between versatility and specialised knowledge in team structures. Drawing on real-world examples, we’ll debate the pros and cons of flexible, broadly skilled teams versus deep expertise in specialist roles, sharing strategies for aligning team models with business goals, talent management, and service demands. Together we’ll explore:
• For organisations with high turnovers, is building versatile skillsets practical with the need to rapidly onboard, or does it hinder the sophisticated need complex enquiries need?
• What role do knowledge management systems and skill-based routing play, and how do they impact scalability and resource allocation?
• Can the flexibility of a “jack of all trades” model deliver consistency and efficiency in larger contact centres, or does it sacrifice the advantages of focused, specialist teams?
• In balancing cost and expertise, how can organisations future-proof their contact centre structures against changing business landscapes and budget pressures?
12:25
12:50
13:40
Amba Turnbull, Senior Manager – Optimisation & Transformation, nib
In this think tank, you’ll learn how Heads of Contact Centres can cultivate leadership within their teams.
Join your peers to discuss:
How can you identify and nurture leadership potential within your agents to create a pipeline of future leaders?
What strategies can Heads of Contact Centres implement to encourage self-leadership and accountability among agents?
How do you balance the need for operational efficiency with the development of leadership qualities in your frontline staff?
What role do mentorship and feedback play in cultivating leadership within agents, and how can you structure these processes to ensure success?
Joshua Curtis, Customer Care Centre Manager, Super Retail Group
In this think tank, we’ll explore how contact centres can better utilise customer data, feedback, and analytics to improve operations.
Join your peers to discuss:
How can you make customer feedback actionable and implement changes based on this data to improve your service?
What strategies help break down data silos and foster a proactive, external-facing approach to data?
How can you use real-time feedback to guide decision-making and align teams towards continuous improvement?
What tools and practices can help you filter through vast amounts of data to uncover meaningful insights that inform your digital transformation roadmap?
Michelle Langley, Head of Support, REA
For this think tank you’ll explore onboarding and training and examine how these processes influence employee engagement, especially amongst the Gen Z workforces.
Join your peers to discuss:
How can training programmes be tailored to better support Gen Z’s values and aspirations while driving engagement across all age groups?
What is best practice for GenZ and how do you retain their talent?
Why are cross-functional competencies becoming essential for career growth, and how can they be embedded into onboarding programmes?
How can you implement effective recognition that resonates with modern teams and commits to long-term growth within the organisation?
Mac Harris, State Director, Contact Centres & Social Media, Optus
Offshore call centres come with their own set of challenges. We’ll delve into how these challenges are further amplified in large-scale operations and regulated industries.
Join your peers to discuss:
How can companies balance offshore and onshore resources to maximise productivity and customer satisfaction?
What strategies help in mitigating high attrition rates and ensuring agent engagement in offshore centres?
Can you meet the demands of modern customer services and CX with offshore agents?
How can leadership be tailored to build cultural alignment, boost confidence in offshore teams, and foster cohesion with onshore teams?
Rachel Guest, Manager Performance, Energy Queensland
As we begin to see more concrete definitions of what a vulnerable customer is, you’ll discuss strategies to foster connection and maintain high empathy levels in these scenarios.
Join your peers to discuss:
How are you currently defining and expanding the scope of a vulnerable customer?
What preparations are you making to ensure that you’re in line with government regulations?
What role does technology play in these interactions, and how do you ensure appropriate safeguards in place?
How do you fortify your agents to feel confident dealing with vulnerable customers?
14:40
Hosted by Calabrio
Session details TBC
Simon Kriss, Chief AI Officer, simonkriss.ai
In this interactive session you’ll have a chance to explore, hands-on, strategies to select and optimise technology partnerships for maximum impact, with a focus on AI’s role in supporting – not replacing – the workforce.
We’ll look at how to redefine contact centre roles as automation evolves, identifying AI applications that directly address pressing needs, and balancing tech adoption with budget constraints.
You’ll also explore how, when budgets are tight, you can streamline operations by consolidating tech stacks, phased in AI use-cases like live coaching tools for agents, and used AI to enhance customer interactions while safeguarding data privacy.
17:00
19:00
19:45
22:00
8:00
8:00
8:40
Amy Dennerly-Minturn, Head of Customer Service, THE ICONIC
8:50
9:25
Stephanie Walters, Senior Manager, Customer Experience | Retail and Contact Centres, Emirates
In today’s landscape, contact centres have evolved beyond simply delivering customer experience; they are now key strategic drivers of business success. In our closing session, we’ll answer the critical question: how can you transform contact centres from cost centres into profit centres and brand ambassadors? We’ll also discuss how to inspire and engage your teams to deliver on your brand promise.
Join us as we explore the importance of amplifying the voice of the customer, securing executive support for customer advocacy throughout the organisation, and investing in technologies that drive innovation in contact centres—enabling them to meet the high expectations of today’s customers as well as supporting the growing demand for accessible travel.
By focusing on both customer engagement and employee empowerment, our closing case study will demonstrate how you can reposition your contact centres as essential growth drivers for your business.
10:00
10:25
10:55
Amba Turnbull, Senior Manager – Optimisation & Transformation, nib
In this think tank, you’ll learn how Heads of Contact Centres can cultivate leadership within their teams.
Join your peers to discuss:
How can you identify and nurture leadership potential within your agents to create a pipeline of future leaders?
What strategies can Heads of Contact Centres implement to encourage self-leadership and accountability among agents?
How do you balance the need for operational efficiency with the development of leadership qualities in your frontline staff?
What role do mentorship and feedback play in cultivating leadership within agents, and how can you structure these processes to ensure success?
Joshua Curtis, Customer Care Centre Manager, Super Retail Group
In this think tank, we’ll explore how contact centres can better utilise customer data, feedback, and analytics to improve operations.
Join your peers to discuss:
How can you make customer feedback actionable and implement changes based on this data to improve your service?
What strategies help break down data silos and foster a proactive, external-facing approach to data?
How can you use real-time feedback to guide decision-making and align teams towards continuous improvement?
What tools and practices can help you filter through vast amounts of data to uncover meaningful insights that inform your digital transformation roadmap?
Michelle Langley, Head of Support, REA
For this think tank you’ll explore onboarding and training and examine how these processes influence employee engagement, especially amongst the Gen Z workforces.
Join your peers to discuss:
How can training programmes be tailored to better support Gen Z’s values and aspirations while driving engagement across all age groups?
What is best practice for GenZ and how do you retain their talent?
Why are cross-functional competencies becoming essential for career growth, and how can they be embedded into onboarding programmes?
How can you implement effective recognition that resonates with modern teams and commits to long-term growth within the organisation?
Mac Harris, State Director, Contact Centres & Social Media, Optus
Offshore call centres come with their own set of challenges. We’ll delve into how these challenges are further amplified in large-scale operations and regulated industries.
Join your peers to discuss:
How can companies balance offshore and onshore resources to maximise productivity and customer satisfaction?
What strategies help in mitigating high attrition rates and ensuring agent engagement in offshore centres?
Can you meet the demands of modern customer services and CX with offshore agents?
How can leadership be tailored to build cultural alignment, boost confidence in offshore teams, and foster cohesion with onshore teams?
Rachel Guest, Manager Performance, Energy Queensland
As we begin to see more concrete definitions of what a vulnerable customer is, you’ll discuss strategies to foster connection and maintain high empathy levels in these scenarios.
Join your peers to discuss:
How are you currently defining and expanding the scope of a vulnerable customer?
What preparations are you making to ensure that you’re in line with government regulations?
What role does technology play in these interactions, and how do you ensure appropriate safeguards in place?
How do you fortify your agents to feel confident dealing with vulnerable customers?
11:50
With the rapid evolution of customer expectations, contact centres are under pressure to create a seamless and efficient omnichannel experience. However, this journey comes with significant challenges: from integrating multiple CRM systems to ensuring agents are equipped and engaged. In this session, we delve into transformative case-study to building an omnichannel environment within its contact centres, exploring both the hurdles and successes.
Key discussion points will include leveraging data-driven technology, such as AI-driven routing, meeting and managing surge and scheduling for efficiency to and prioritise customer needs. We’ll also examine strategies for supporting agent adoption in this shift, addressing change fatigue and boosting agent engagement through technology-assisted customer interactions.
12:20
Toby Ellis, Head of Customer Services, AMP
In a time where the demands on contact centre teams are ever-increasing, the need to build a culture that prioritises new approaches, clear thinking and decisive action is paramount. In this session, we’ll hear how AMP have had three mantras’ at the core of their cultural transformation: 1) Set Ambitious Targets, 2) Behave Like a Start Up, 3) Leverage Your People to their potential.
You discover the benefits of categorising your customer interactions from products to themes and how to base your training around that. We’ll touch on effective recruitment practices that acknowledge the changing nature of contact centre roles, emphasising the value of experience and digital skills over traditional entry-level assumptions. Additionally, we’ll reinforce the impact of employee contributions that drive a continuous learning culture and leads to higher versatility when dealing with customers from diverse backgrounds.
12:50