CxOutsourcers 2023 Kicks off in the beautiful environs of Glasgow, Scotland

Day One Key Insights and Presentations

Over 100 delegates converged on Glasgow, Scotland, for the fourth CxOutsourcers Mindshare Event that kicked off on Tuesday May 30, 2023. The event was opened with the resounding tunes of a bagpipe player and welcome messages to delegates, speakers and sponsors from the hosts and partners, Peter Ryan, Mark Angus and Traci Freeman.

CX trends

In the first keynote presentation, Melissa O’Brien, Executive Research Leader and Head of Research Operations at HFS Research, opened the first day by presenting the ‘State of the CX Outsourcing Industry’, with a focus on generative AI and its impact on CX. Cybersecurity, supply chain and macro-economic headwinds have led to an ‘assault’ on enterprise stability over the last year. Although it seems AI threatens the jobs of CX workers, technology is poised to act as an extension of the individual and businesses must embrace this change.

Echoing the embracement of emerging AI technologies, Chris Gillen, CEO of A Closer Look, alluded to the opportunities it will bring to the contact center, including fully automated customer services, value-gleaning data driven insights and real-time sentimental analysis. Using history as a model, AI is set to transform industries, including CX, in terms of automation of tasks, productivity, ethics and the way we socialize. Already, 50% of CX leaders are planning to implement AI solutions over the next 12-18 months.

Data and cybersecurity

However, the wave of emerging technologies and digitization brings with it new problems, especially relating to data protection and cybersecurity, as pointed out by Rik Turner, Senior Principal Analyst of Omdia. It is clear ransomware is not going anywhere, as supported by some pertinent statistics: 20% to 25% of data breaches are caused by ransomware; and 90% of ransomware attacks emerge from phishing exploits. Turner emphasized the importance for CX leaders to take proactive steps to prevent ransomware, such as investing in cyber awareness training, performing regular backups and adopting an in-depth defense strategy.

Emerging CX locations

There are several key CX delivery ‘hot spots’ to be aware of according to the panel on Emerging Offshore and Nearshore CX Delivery Destinations to Watch. Time zone proximity to the US market and cultural affinity are among the key strengths of Central and Latin America (CALA) and Caribbean nearshore markets, as indicated by Kirk Laughlin of Founder and Chief Analyst of Nearshore Americas. Noted as a maturing market, the APAC region is maintaining relevance to investors through the agility of industry players, as noted by Simon Kriss of the Customer Experience Innovation Institute. However, Annabell Kreuzer, Advisor for Digital Services & Project Development at GIZ, signals Africa as the next BPO frontier, as shown by the maturing South African and Egyptian markets. On the other hand, Eastern Europe is emerging as a popular nearshore destination for the European and UK markets due to strong multilingual capabilities, as noted by Wiktor Doktór, CEO of Pro Progressio Foundation in Poland.

Unlearning and relearning

Using a series of mind-bending images, Zanele Njapha, the UnLearning Lady and change management expert from South Africa, dazzled delegates on how to unlearn repetitive mind-sets and relearn how to change perceptions in business. With 90% of our 60 000 daily thoughts being repetitive, decision-making in businesses is often based on the same insights. Two steps are required to change this. Firstly, individuals (and thus businesses) must be aware of their assumptions with a sense of interest and curiosity. Once assumptions are acknowledged, one must look again and challenge their assumptions, which requires courage.

CX talent

Change has certainly impacted recruitment in the CX environment in several global regions as noted ion the panel discussion on CX Talent Management – Recruitment. This is especially so in the UK, where Brexit has led to the inaccessibility of talent of multilingual capabilities, as indicated by Tamar Ravelli, Founder and Managing Director of Talingual. However, Traci Freeman explained how emerging outsourcing locations, such as South Africa, still have an abundance of talent that can be tapped into through offshoring business services. Despite AI adding a layer of uncertainty among CX leaders, a human element will still be required in the customer journey; however, agents will need to be upskilled to leverage the benefits of AI, said Katarzyna Piotrowska, Country Manager of Cpl Poland.

On employee retention, another panel comprising of recruitment and talent experts including Jo Macdonald, Jacqui Turner, Helen Beaumont Manahan and Chris Gillen,discussed how hybrid working models have become a major factor in retaining talent in enterprises. CX leaders not providing flexibility in working models may face high rates of attrition, impacting the customer journey. Ineffective succession planning and creating clear career development pathways for employees also result in talent attrition, further hindering enhanced CX. Essentially, employee experience (EX) equals CX.

Effective messaging and promotion

Michael Zdanowski, a leading business and strategic communications consultant in the global BPO and CX space, shared his views on effective messaging and promotion for BPOs. According to data from the 2023 Front Office CX Omnibus Survey, most CX leaders are largely unaware of different efforts to communicate to a particular destination or a particular BPO’s offer to the market. This can permeate to a country level, where an entire sector is unable to communicate the developments in the industry clearly to not only source markets but to the workforce as well.

The impact of emerging AI

Closing day one of CxOutsourcers 2023 was a discussion on emerging AI in CX, led by Simon Kriss. Using Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species” as a comparison to navigating AI, CX leaders must survive by adapting to change. Reporting, speech analytics and knowledge management systems are just some of the features that will augment the contact center agent. For agents that are unsure how to make the most of these augmentations, they could get the help from their own AI avatar, much like the Microsoft ‘Clippy’ we once had on the corner of our screens. 

CxOutsourcers is a global CX mindshare group and forum for C-level outsourcing decision-makers to get inside the buyer’s mind and be equipped with the latest global research and strategy to create their blueprints for success. Members are CX and BPO knowledge leaders, and third-party operators who require strategy and best practice insights to steer their CX, contact center and BPO investment strategies.

The CxOutsourcers Group and Event was co-founded by Mark Angus of Genesis GBS and GBS.World with Peter Ryan of Ryan Strategic Advisory in partnership with Traci Freeman of Believe Consulting.

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