Results of regional Call Centre Awards keenly anticipated

Excited nominees look forward to hearing their fate in a variety of categories such as Middle East Call Centre of The Year '07, Middle East Call Centre Manager of The Year '07 and Middle East Call Centre OSP of The Year '07. The Awards are to be presented at a special gala dinner attended by over 200 call centre professionals and that forms part of the Middle East Contact Centre World '07 event from June 17-20.

According to Dominick Keenaghan, president of event organiser INSIGHTS, "the need and unique benefits of such industry awards became apparent last year. Those that submitted entries made a tremendous effort with their applications and for the three winners it was a marvelous revelation to witness the creative ways they used their Award to subsequently motivate their staff and highlight this aspect of their business to their customers. This year the word has obviously gotten out because this time we have had twice as many entries as last year, and the job for the judges has become that more difficult."

Continued Keenaghan, "following an objective marking scheme and a balanced review of key content submission, the "Nominations" round resulted in 3 - 5 entries being put forward to the next stage in each category. Many of the call centres that had entered were shocked to be eliminated at this stage, but the fact is that many of them underestimated the rigorous and comprehensive nature of the answers required and of course the quality of their competition. Those that have been nominated will now undergo a site visit to verify the content of their submission, and the final decisions will then be made by the judging committee thereafter."

The successful nominations for the Awards come from all across the region and from a mixture of different industries including banking, telcoms, delivery services, insurance, outsourcing and airlines. Though only a small number of outright winners are possible, reaching "Nominations" status is increasingly recognised as a benchmark that regional call centres are aspiring to."

The Awards ceremony on June 18, which is being sponsored by Contact Centre specialist Avaya has now become the most anticipated night in the regional call centre calendar. Each nominated call centre is being given an opportunity to profile their call centre during the evening, enthusiastically supported by their own set of "cheering section" staff, and each winner is being offered the prize of a trip to the ACCE world call centre event in San Diego in September. At this gathering of call centre professionals from all over the world, the Middle East winners will represent the region at a number of presentations, forums and conference sessions.