Samsung, eBay, Plantronics, UBS – international speakers impressed the audience at 16th Call Center Convention

Competence Call Center hosted, at La Tapis Rouge in Paris (France), on October 10th, the 16th edition of Call Center Convention. During the event, that took place under the tagline “Global Trends from Global Players – Discover new ideas for innovation and talent development on a global scale”, 120 professionals met and discussed trends, but also shared their experience.

Moreover, six international speakers offered valuable business input at the afternoon event. Global Trends, Social Media, 3D printing and so much more.

Philip Vanhoutte, Senior Vice President and Managing Director for Europe and Africa at Plantronics, talked about Plantronics’ Smarter Working Concept in his presentation “The future of contact centers”.

The flexible working models represent a key factor in Workforce Management, according to Vanhoutte. “Employers across industries are facing tough decisions on how to ideally manage employees to their fullest potential. Thorough planning, cooperation and realistic expectations can make smarter working a reality for companies within a relatively short time frame”, he said, during his presentation.

A presentation on 3D printing was made by Clement Moreau, CEO Sculpteo, a company that offers fast and comprehensive 3D printing services (from the design to the production of items like interior decoration, models or miniature figures) together with worldwide delivery. Moreau founded Sculpteo in 2009, together with Eric Carreel, with the company being one of the pioneers in 3D printing industry.

When it comes of Samsung Electronics, the company is all about fast technology development, innovation and smart mobile devices. During  his presentation at the convention, Marcus Nessler, Senior Manager for Customer Relations Samsung Electronics GmbH, gave an insight into the success story of this high tech electronics group and the company’s journey from call center to customer interaction center. “The Global Trend towards a smart, mobile world innovates the way we work”, he mentioned.

Jean-Marc Codsi, Vice President of Global Customer Experience eBay, talked about the global online marketplace’s successful social media and community strategy, in a presentation entitled “Social media and customer communities innovation”.

Within eBay, Codsi is in charge with ensuring positive customer experiences in order to make shopping as easy and agreeable for consumers and companies. During his presentation, he also offered a practical and detailed view on how eBay integrates consumers’ opinions and ideas into its business strategy.

Alfons Livers, Head of Customer Service Center at UBS AG, is working for the comppany for many years and was in numerous positions that involve high responsabilities, such as Head of Accounting and Controlling or Controller in the Financial Departement.

During the convention, he detailed, in his presentation “From global trends to local opportunities for call centers in the financial industry”, the way the current trends – such as technical innovations, multi-channel integration and changing customer behaviour – influence the contact centers active within the financial industry. He also illustrated with examples the way UBS’s Contact Center makes good use of these challenging factors.

At her turn, Madalina Vilau, Managing Director Expo Media Romania, talked about performance in challenging times, the call center as a brand ambassador and the importance of the customer´s voice in her presentation “Wisdom learned from the world’s biggest brands – 5 patterns to put our industry on a fast forward pace”.

Madalina Vilau is a pioneer of the Romanian business community and has initiated some of the country’s most successful customer service projects.

“And the winner is…!”- the evening came with CCC Special Award Ceremony  

The winner of the 8th CCC Special Award was designated Manfred Stockmann, President of the German Call Center Association. He has committed himself to developing the Call Center Industry and improving its image in Germany and beyond for many years.

In 2002, he founded the ECCCO, the European Contact Center Association, together with European colleagues of his, and took the position of Vice President.

CCC Call Center Director Philippe Gregson presented the CCC Special Award to Manfred Stockmann, who had been hosting the Call Center Convention.

 

Material written by AdHugger’s correspondent at the Paris event