Contact Centre Benchmarking: Preparing Your Entry for the North East Contact Centre Awards

Julie Mordue, Associate Director of Marketing and Partnerships at Greenbean, the headline sponsor of the North East Contact Centre Awards, has spent more than a decade judging entries across the NECCA programme. Over that time, she has seen first-hand the innovation, leadership and dedication that exist across the region’s contact centres.

Drawing on insights from the latest ContactBabel UK Contact Centre Decision-Makers’ Guide, Julie has digested and summarised some of the key industry benchmarks that contact centre leaders may find helpful as they prepare their nominations. Benchmarking performance against wider industry trends can provide valuable context, helping organisations reflect on their progress, identify where they are outperforming the market and shape a compelling story for the judges.

If you are considering entering this year’s North East Contact Centre Awards, one of the most useful things you can do before writing your nomination is take a step back and benchmark your operation against the wider industry.

How does your contact centre compare with others across the UK? Where are you outperforming? And where have you made improvements that deserve to be recognised?

Industry benchmarking can help answer these questions. The latest UK Contact Centre Decision-Makers’ Guide from ContactBabel provides one of the most comprehensive studies of the UK contact centre sector, analysing operational, people and technology trends across the industry.

While every organisation operates differently, these insights provide a helpful reference point when reflecting on the progress your team has made and identifying the strengths that could form part of your NECCA nomination.

Below are a few examples from the latest report that may help you start thinking about how your contact centre performs in comparison.

Understanding workforce resilience in contact centres

People remain at the heart of every successful contact centre operation.

According to the latest ContactBabel research, the average short-term absence rate across UK contact centres is around 6.2 percent, with a median of approximately 5 percent.

Absence levels can have a direct impact on customer experience, service levels and team morale. Many organisations are focusing on colleague wellbeing, engagement initiatives and supportive leadership to help maintain a healthy and resilient workforce.

If your contact centre has introduced new ways to support employee wellbeing or improve attendance, this could be an important part of your NECCA entry.

The growing importance of contact centre leadership

Strong leadership has always been a defining factor in high-performing contact centres.

Recent industry data shows team leader salaries rising by around 4.3 percent, reflecting the increasing recognition of the impact frontline leaders have on performance, engagement and customer outcomes.

Great team leaders support advisers, build confidence, coach performance and help create a positive workplace culture. Organisations that invest in leadership development often see improvements across customer experience, employee engagement and operational performance.

If your organisation has focused on developing strong leaders, this may be a compelling story to share with the NECCA judges.

The skills that define today’s best contact centre advisers

The role of the contact centre adviser has evolved significantly in recent years.

Industry research shows that empathy and listening skills are now considered the most valuable characteristics in a contact centre adviser, ahead of many traditional technical competencies.

Customers increasingly contact organisations with complex questions or problems that require understanding, patience and problem-solving ability. As a result, many contact centres are investing in coaching, training and learning and development programmes that help advisers build these essential skills.

If your organisation has created innovative training programmes or development pathways for advisers, this is exactly the type of story that stands out in NECCA nominations.

Recruitment and retention in the contact centre industry

Attracting and retaining the right people remains one of the biggest challenges across the contact centre sector.

Research shows that the most common cause of employee attrition is often a mismatch between the role and the person hired, highlighting the importance of effective recruitment, onboarding and early career support.

Organisations that invest in robust recruitment processes, behavioural assessment and structured onboarding programmes often see stronger long-term retention and performance.

If your contact centre has introduced new approaches to recruitment, onboarding or career development, these achievements could form a strong part of your award entry.

Using industry benchmarks to strengthen your NECCA nomination

Benchmarking does not just help you understand how your operation compares with others. It also helps you tell a clearer story about the progress your team has made.

When preparing your North East Contact Centre Awards nomination, consider questions such as:

How has your organisation improved performance or customer outcomes over the past year?
What initiatives have helped strengthen culture, engagement or wellbeing?
How have your leaders supported advisers to deliver exceptional customer experience?
What innovations or improvements have had the biggest impact on your operation?

The North East contact centre community is home to some of the most innovative and people-focused operations in the UK. NECCA exists to recognise the individuals, teams and organisations that are raising standards and delivering exceptional results.

Over the coming weeks, we will be sharing more insights from the ContactBabel report across our social media channels, helping contact centres across the region benchmark their performance and start thinking about the story behind their NECCA entry. If your organisation has achieved something you are proud of, we encourage you to share your story when nominations open.

You can also explore the full industry insights by reading the latest ContactBabel UK Contact Centre Decision-Makers’ Guide.