Paul Dunne, Regional Director – Sales & Marketing, UK & Ireland, discusses the contact centre industry’s opportunities, trends and challenges in 2018…

Tell us about your company, products and services.

Plantronics is a global leader in business and consumer audio communications. We make wired and wireless headsets that are used by many contact centres around the world, as well as Bluetooth headsets for mobile workers and wireless headphones for consumers.

What have been the biggest challenges the call centre & customer service industry has faced over the past 12 months?

The growing number of online, self-service channels present unique challenges for contact centre operators. From an operations perspective, while voice remains the most prominent channel today, chatbots, social media and video chat are becoming more widely available, causing the role of contact centre operators and managers to become more complex.

And what have been the biggest opportunities?

While the growing number of channels is a challenge, those contact centres that can crack multichannel and can provide a single view across online and offline to their customers will be in high demand.

What is the biggest priority for the centre & customer service industry in 2018?

Attracting and retaining talent will continue to top the list of priorities.

What are the main trends you are expecting to see in the market in 2018?

Integrated Analytics is the Holy Grail – Social is emerging as a mainstream medium for customer service and many contact centres are investing in analytics and routing that will enable them to merge data from various channels and enterprise systems into a single analytics solution.

What technology is going to have the biggest impact on the market this year?

Analytics and routing.

In 2020 we’ll all be talking about…?

RPA (Robotic Process Automation).

Which person in, or associated with, the centre & customer service industry would you most like to meet?

I have meet her already, Annette Hickey, Senior Director and Dublin Site Leader at PayPal. Annette is a trail blazer when it comes to driving excellence in customer experience. She consistently supports her team to drive their development and her business and she is a pleasure to partner with.

What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learnt about the centre & customer service sector?

You get to meet the nicest people, which may be surprising given the nature of the job!

You go to the bar at the Call Centre & Customer Services Summit – what’s your tipple of choice?

Whiskey, not Whisky.

What’s the most exciting thing about your job?

Working with my team.

And what’s the most challenging?

Working with my team.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Happiness is always a choice, regardless of the situation.

Peaky Blinders or The Crown?

Peaky Blinders although I do despair about the impact Peaky Blinders is having on men’s fashion, especially in the Contact Centre industry…