The Welsh Contact Centre Forum has unveiled a re-brand to reflect the evolution of its members – which have historically been Wales’ vast range of contact centres – and now represents a far more diverse range of 350 Welsh companies.
The Welsh Contact Centre Forum (WCCF) – now CNECT Wales – is a not-for-profit membership organisation which has supported and represented pan-industry contact centres for 19 years, through services from training and education to research and advice.
Contact centres contribute £650m annually to the Welsh economy and from telephony to chat-bots, email to artificial intelligence (AI), they have adapted significantly, with many private and public sector Welsh businesses now running centralised services for external as well as internal clients.
Members deal with a complex range of customer service issues – from holidays to health care – and have evolved significantly since Managing Director Sandra Busby founded the organisation.
This change in business needs in Wales has led the WCCF to develop its services, with its two successful Graduate Programmes, which have been running for 10 years in partnership with leading Welsh employers, remaining integral to this latest re-brand.
Sandra Busby said: “Our passion for the industry has developed over nearly 25 years and our vast experience gives us expertise across all sectors and functions including strategy, operations, process management and IT/telephony.
“We now feature an even stronger offering for our members, with exceptional experience of the service industry in the UK, Europe and worldwide. That’s why we’re evolving to CNECT Wales – Connecting Networks & Expertise, Customers & Talent is what we do.
“Our European-funded Graduate Programmes in Financial Services, Data and AI are a great example of this – we match and connect companies with talented individuals.”
These programmes contribute to South East Wales’ talent pool and were designed to meet demand for skilled graduate roles in Finance, HR, Marketing, Risk Analysis, Data Science and Business Intelligence.
These programmes help retain talent in Wales while contributing to the local economy.
Ross Flanigan is Head of Business Support Services at Deloitte and leads the firm’s Cardiff Delivery Centre, which accommodates over 1500 people in a range of centralised operations.
Deloitte is a CNECT Wales member and Mr Flanigan is also Deputy Chair of the organisation’s board. He said: “Deloitte and Deloitte people have greatly benefitted since bringing the firm in as a member when the Cardiff Delivery Centre was in its main growth phase.
“The technical and soft skills training provided really hit the mark for our people and workshops with senior leaders, facilities managers and technical experts all sharing best practice have been very helpful.
“CNECT Wales recognises that we represent so many other types of centralised business services across several sectors, while not overlooking the importance of contact centre operations.”
CNECT Wales continues to support its members with its highly anticipated annual Awards ceremony, which shines a spotlight on the outstanding talent and efforts from companies across the country.
