CATEGORIES & CRITERIA

Our independent judging panel has drawn on extensive industry experience to refine the categories and evaluation criteria for the North East Contact Centre Awards 2026, ensuring they reflect the evolving priorities, standards and excellence across today’s contact centre sector.

RECOGNISING EXCELLENCE IN THE NORTH EAST

CATEGORIES & CRITERIA

NECCA 2026 features a comprehensive range of award categories designed to recognise excellence across every area of contact centre operations. Each category and its criteria have been carefully reviewed and refined by our independent judging panel, reflecting industry feedback, emerging trends and the standards shaping today’s sector.

Whether you're recognising individual achievement, team performance, or organisational impact, there's a category designed to showcase your success and tell your story with impact.

Categories are organised into three main groups:

Individual Stars
Awesome Teams
Outstanding Organisations

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THE 2026 CATEGORIES & CRITERIA

INDIVIDUAL STARS - Celebrating Outstanding Achievement

These categories celebrate exceptional individuals who have made a measurable impact in their role and organisation.

Customer Service Star

For a frontline customer service advisor who consistently delivers exceptional customer experiences.

Sales Star

For a frontline sales advisor who achieves strong commercial results while delivering an exceptional customer experience.

Customer Support Star

For a frontline support advisor who makes a significant impact through expertise, ownership and outstanding service in a support role.

Newcomer

For someone new to the contact centre sector within the past 12 months who has made an outstanding start and shown clear potential for future success.

Resource Planning Star

For an individual who has made a significant impact within a resource planning function, optimising efficiency and enhancing customer experience across teams.

Service & Support

Team Leader

For an exceptional team leader managing up to 12 direct reports in a service and support environment, consistently delivering results while developing and inspiring their team.

Sales & Retention Team Leader

For an outstanding sales and retention team leader who drives commercial performance while maintaining a strong customer focus and high levels of team engagement.

Inspirational Leader

For a senior leader, such as a head of function or business unit, who demonstrates inspirational leadership and delivers measurable impact across their organisation and the wider industry.

Quality Manager

For a talented quality manager who leads quality assurance, strengthens capability and compliance, and delivers measurable improvements in service excellence.

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TEAM AWARDS

AWESOME TEAMS - Recognising Collective Excellence

These categories recognise teams that have delivered exceptional results through collaboration, innovation and a shared commitment to excellence.

Customer Service Team

For a customer focused team delivering exceptional service and demonstrating measurable impact through strong collaboration and collective performance.

Support Team

For an exceptional support or back office team, including administration, resource planning, finance, L&D, quality, HR, IT or risk, that consistently exceeds internal customer expectations and adds measurable value to the operation.

Resource Planning Team

For a resource planning team that delivers accurate forecasting, effective scheduling and seamless resource delivery across voice, digital and multi channel operations.

Learning & Development Team

For a learning and development team delivering impactful training programmes that enhance capability, support career progression and contribute to organisational success.

Complaints Team

For a customer focused complaints team that delivers timely resolution and positive outcomes, turning customer issues into opportunities to strengthen trust and experience.

Sales Team

For an exceptional sales team that exceeds targets, delivers outstanding customer outcomes and drives sustainable business growth.

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ORGANISATIONAL AWARDS

OUTSTANDING ORGANISATIONS - Championing Excellence at Scale

These categories highlight organisations that demonstrate leading practice across customers, colleagues and partners, while driving innovation and raising standards across the sector.

Best Business Change & Transformation

For an organisation demonstrating leading practice in business change and transformation, delivering measurable improvements in customer experience, performance and sustainable growth.

Best Use of AI

For an organisation that has harnessed AI to enhance colleague experience or deliver transformational change, driving measurable business impact and innovation.

People Centric Organisation

For an organisation that places people at the heart of its strategy, demonstrating exceptional engagement, development, wellbeing, diversity and inclusion, and flexible working practices.

Contact Centre of the Year

(under 250 seats)

For a contact centre with fewer than 250 seats that demonstrates leading practice and delivers excellence for customers, colleagues and stakeholders. Entry is per site.

Contact Centre of the Year

(over 250 seats)

For a contact centre with more than 250 seats that demonstrates leading practice and delivers excellence for customers, colleagues and stakeholders. Entry is per site.

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SPONSORSHIP AND PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Why Sponsor the North East Contact Centre Awards?

The North East Contact Centre Awards provides direct access to a highly engaged community of senior leaders, operational decision-makers and industry influencers. Sponsorship aligns your brand with excellence in customer experience, leadership and performance, positioning you as a trusted partner within the region’s contact centre sector.

Through year-round promotion, thought leadership opportunities and presence at the Awards Gala Dinner, NECCA offers more than visibility. It creates meaningful connection, credibility and commercial opportunity within a sector that employs more than 35,000 people across the North East.