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North East Contact Centres Urged to Enter Awards

Businesses and individuals in one of the region’s strongest sectors are poised to do battle for the industry’s ‘oscar’ awards.

Contact centres in the North East, which make a major contribution to the regional economy, are being encouraged to enter the 2009 North East Contact Centre Awards.

Entries for the awards, which are organised by Tyne and Wear Development Company in association with Sunderland City Council, can be made by visiting www.contactcentreawards.co.uk and the closing date for completed applications is Friday September 4.

Those centres looking to get a head-start can take part in a masterclass on how to produce a successful application at the Evolve Centre, Sunderland on July 1 or the Village Hotel, North Tyneside, on July 2. Both events begin at 8.30am.  Details of how to book a place on either workshop can be found on the award’s website.

The contact centre industry employs over 61,000 people in more than 145 centres region-wide and the awards aim to recognise the achievements of the sector and its star performers. The theme of this year’s event is ‘Unveiling the Region’s Talent.’

Paul Buie, manager of Tyne and Wear Development Company, said: “The region has a contact centre industry which it can be proud of with businesses making a major contribution to the area both in terms of jobs and investment. These awards go from strength-to-strength every year and are an opportunity to highlight achievements and raise the profile of the sector as an attractive career option.”

Nine awards are up for grabs including the prestigious North East Contact Centre of the Year 2009 – which has separate categories for those centres above and below 250 seats. Other awards are Customer Experience Superstar, Contact Centre Adviser of the Year, Best People Developer, Team Leader of the Year, Contact Centre Team of the Year and Outstanding Contribution to the Community.

To recognise the ever evolving nature of the industry a new award has been introduced for the Contact Centre Technical Adviser of the Year. This reflects the increasing number of companies offering service desk support – particularly in IT –within the region.

Last year’s big winners were CE Electric, Northumbrian Water and EDF Energy, who won the main awards for North East Contact Centre of the Year under 50 seats, under 200 seats and over 200 seats respectively.                            

The winners and runners up of the 2009 awards will be unveiled at a glittering awards ceremony on Friday November 6 at Rainton Meadows Arena in Sunderland. Award sponsors include Sunderland City Council, One North East, Infinity Contact Centre Solutions, Premium People Recruitment, North East Contact Centre Academy, Contact Centre Professional, Northern Recruitment Group and Goodman.  Call Centre Helper magazine has also been confirmed as a media partner for this year’s event.

For more information about the awards please contact Sarah Gibson or Nicola Dale on 0191 516 9099 or email: enquiries@contactcentreawards.co.uk