NECCA - North East Contact Centre Awards, Evolve Business Centre, Houghton le Spring (2026)

18/06/2026

We're delighted to welcome back Betr Outsourcing as a sponsor of the North East Contact Centre Awards 2026.

Betr Outsourcng will support the Quality Manager of the Year category, recognising the individuals who are driving continuous improvement, raising standards and helping organisations deliver exceptional customer outcomes. As a high-performance contact centre specialising in outsourced sales, customer experience and AI-driven solutions, Betr is helping businesses unlock deeper customer insight, improve performance and create better experiences for customers and colleagues alike.

This category is a natural fit for an organisation that combines innovation, technology and operational excellence to drive measurable results. As quality management continues to evolve, the ability to turn customer insight, sentiment and data into meaningful action has never been more important.

We're proud to have Betr Outsourcing supporting NECCA 2026 once again, and look forward to celebrating the quality professionals who are helping raise standards across the North East contact centre industry.

17/06/2026

Are you part of the team that keeps the frontline moving? This one is for the teams working behind the scenes to make great customer experiences possible.

The Support Team category celebrates those whose work enables others to succeed. Whether that’s HR, Learning & Development, Recruitment, IT, Change, Knowledge Management, or another support function, these teams play a critical role in helping contact centres perform at their best. They may not be speaking to customers every day, but their impact is felt in every customer interaction.

So, which team in your organisation deserves recognition? Who is supporting colleagues, improving processes, driving change or building the tools, skills and knowledge that help your frontline teams deliver exceptional service?

Last year’s winners, the Service Excellence Team at Xplor Technologies, showed just how valuable these functions are to a contact centre's success.

It’s time to recognise the teams that keep everything moving and celebrate the contribution they make every single day. Take a look at the criteria and start shaping your story.

16/06/2026

Has voice really had its day?

For years, the CX sector has been told that customers are moving to digital and that voice is slowly fading into the background. But new research from ContactBabel, tells a very different story.

𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝟳𝟬% 𝗼𝗳 𝗨𝗞 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. And when the issue really matters, customers still prefer to pick up the phone.

So perhaps the question is not whether voice is disappearing.

It is how we make voice better, faster and more sustainable.

Because the pressure is real:

🎧A live interaction costs around £6.25, compared with £0.30 for voice AI.

🎧Queue times are now 116 seconds, compared with historical norms of 25–30 seconds.

🎧 And between 18% and 30% of digital interactions still escalate into a phone call.

Voice is not the problem. Poorly connected, high-friction voice journeys are. That is where voice AI has the potential to change the game.

From natural language self-service and seamless authentication, saving around 50 seconds per call, to intelligent hand-off from automation to live advisors, voice AI can support the channel customers continue to trust, while helping contact centres manage demand more effectively.

ContactBabel’s new white paper, 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗔𝗜: 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲, shares primary research from more than 1,000 UK consumers and 200+ organisations.

As NECCA’s research partner, ContactBabel is helping bring valuable insight to the future of customer experience and the conversations that matter most to our sector.

15/06/2026

🍰 Big news from the NECCA Bake Off!

𝗪𝗲'𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗫𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁-𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗖𝗔 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗢𝗳𝗳 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗲.

While Xplor may be a relatively new name to the North East contact centre community, having established its Newcastle operation in 2020, they've already made a huge impact, taking home three NECCA awards last year alone. What makes this partnership even more special is Xplor's commitment to supporting Business Beats Cancer North East and the incredible work it does to fund life-saving cancer research through Cancer Research UK.

With 1 in 2 of us likely to be affected by cancer during our lifetime, this is a cause that touches every workplace, every family and every community. Every penny raised through the NECCA Bake Off will stay right here in the North East, helping to fund vital research taking place in our region's universities, hospitals and research institutes.

Here's how it will work:

🍰 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀
W𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟱𝘁𝗵 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆

🍰 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗫𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗹𝗲
W𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟲𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 | 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝟲𝗽𝗺

Contact centres across the region will host their own internal bake-off heats before sending their Sweet and Savoury Champions through to the Grand Finale, where they'll battle it out in front of the NECCA judges. The evening finale will also create an opportunity for the North East contact centre community to come together, network, celebrate and raise as much money as possible for an incredible cause.

We're incredibly grateful to the team at Xplor for helping us get this initiative off the ground and providing a fantastic home for our inaugural finale.

There are still plenty more ingredients to be added to this recipe. We'll be revealing more details over the coming days, including how to get involved, exclusive Big Bake merchandise, prizes and how your contact centre can climb the NECCA fundraising leaderboard.

11/06/2026

We’re delighted to share the second category ResQ will be supporting at the North East Contact Centre Awards 2026: Complaints Team of the Year.

Resolving complaints takes empathy, resilience, professionalism and a real commitment to doing the right thing for customers. This category celebrates the teams delivering exceptional support during some of the most challenging customer interactions, while driving positive outcomes and continuous improvement for their organisations.

With more than 20 years’ experience delivering customer service, retention, and complaints-handling programmes for major brands, ResQ understands firsthand the importance of high-quality customer engagement and the impact that great complaints teams can have.

As a major employer in Durham with a strong people-first culture, ResQ’s commitment to developing talent and creating real careers makes it a fantastic addition to the NECCA community.

We’re proud to have them involved in this year’s programme and look forward to celebrating the teams setting the standard for complaints handling across the North East.

10/06/2026

🚨Calling all North East contact centres. It’s time to rise to the challenge.

We’re excited to launch the first NECCA Contact Centre Bake Off, bringing teams across the region together to raise funds for Business Beats Cancer North East and support life-saving cancer research taking place right here in our region.

🍰Contact Centre Heats
Wednesday 15th July

🍰Regional Grand Finale
Wednesday 16th September

On Wednesday, 15th July, we’re inviting contact centres across the North East to host their own bake off. Whether your team is known for showstopping cakes, brilliant biscuits, savoury bakes or wonderfully chaotic kitchen creations, this is your chance to get involved, have fun and raise vital funds for a fantastic cause.

Each participating contact centre will select finalists to go forward to the Regional Grand Finale, where the region’s best contact centre bakers will present their creations to the NECCA judges.

We’re also looking for support from the business community to help make this a brilliant regional campaign. Could you donate a prize for our raffle?

Every penny raised will support Business Beats Cancer North East, helping to fund vital cancer research in our local hospitals, universities and research centres.

To find out more or get involved, please contact Julie Mordue at [email protected]

09/06/2026

Nominations for the North East Contact Centre Awards 2026 are now open, and we're shining a spotlight on the first of our Awesome Teams categories.

The Customer Service Team Award, proudly sponsored by SVL Solutions, recognises the teams who go above and beyond to deliver exceptional service, create positive customer experiences and make a real difference every day.

Last year's winners were the Advanced Solutions Team at Just Eat Takeaway, whose passion, dedication and commitment to their customers impressed the judges and set them apart from a strong field of finalists.

So, who is the customer service team in your organisation that deserves recognition?

Who consistently delivers for customers, supports colleagues and demonstrates what great service looks like?

Now is the time to tell their story and give them the recognition they deserve.

05/06/2026

Behind every NECCA nomination, shortlist and winner is a judging process powered by people who give their time, expertise and passion to the industry they love.

So, for National Volunteers’ Week, we want to say a huge thank you to our incredible NECCA judges.👏🏻

Our judging panel includes 12 lead judges, led by our brilliant Head Judge, Sarah Hunt, supported by a further 20 support judges. Each person is carefully selected for their expertise, sector knowledge and experience of the awards process, helping to bring credibility, independence and real insight to every stage of judging.

From the first phase of reviewing nominations, through to virtual judging and face-to-face interviews in phase two, our judges give a tremendous amount of time to make sure every entry is given the care, attention and respect it deserves.

NECCA is now in its 23rd year, and it continues to evolve because of people like this. People who care deeply about the North East contact centre community and want to give something back.

To every judge who supports NECCA, thank you. We simply couldn’t do it without you.

04/06/2026

As proud first-time sponsors of NECCA, and with plans to submit nominations for the first time themselves this year, Julie and Marc were delighted to visit ResQ last week and join in celebrating a fantastic milestone, 10 years of their Seaham contact centre.

Over the past decade, the site has grown into a thriving operation and is now the largest employer in Seaham, providing careers for c 450 people across customer service, sales, retention, complaints handling and collections programmes supporting major brands across the UK.

Congratulations to everyone at ResQ on reaching this significant milestone. Here’s to the next chapter of growth and success.

If your contact centre is celebrating a special anniversary, achievement, or milestone, we’d love to help you celebrate. Share your pictures and stories with us, and let’s recognise the fantastic things happening across our North East contact centre community.

03/06/2026

Who are the leaders who truly inspire those around them?

The Inspirational Leader category is about more than operational responsibility. It celebrates individuals who lead with vision, bring new ideas to life and create a culture where people feel motivated, supported and excited to be part of something.

These are the leaders who set the tone. Who challenge thinking, encourage innovation and lead from the front in a way that others want to follow. Their impact is felt not just in performance, but in the confidence, energy and growth of their people.

So, who in your organisation lifts those around them?

Who brings fresh thinking, leads with purpose and creates an environment where people can thrive?

Last year’s winner, Laura Scott from Dialect Communications, is a brilliant example. Joining the awards ceremony online from overseas, with her CEO Neil Wake proudly accepting the award on her behalf, her impact was clear to see, no matter the distance.

If someone comes to mind, this is their moment.

Take a look at the criteria and start shaping your story.

NECCA - North East Contact Centre Awards

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