March 2010

	Santander - First Ashford closure - Is Whitley next on the agenda? After the announcement last month of the closure of its Ashford contact centre, Click Here, the Spanish banking giant has announced possible plans to close its contact centre in Whitley Near Portsmouth with the loss of up to 160 jobs at the end of the year.
	Wallace & Gromit's Wrong Trouser Day Please show your support this Wrong Trousers Day and wear your PYJAMAS to work, school or nursery on Friday 25th June and donate just £1 to help sick children in hospitals and hospices across the UK.
	Aspect Appoints Steve Boakes as Channels and Partners Manager Aspect have announced the appointment of Steve Boakes as channels and partners manager, Northern Europe. In this role, Boakes will be responsible for developing new and existing sales channels, building strong partner and system integrator relationships, and developing business and sales strategies to support Aspect's indirect channel objectives and targets.
	VOICE wins international award VOICE clinched the Best Outbound category at the Contact Centre World Awards, after demonstrating a high level of creativity, results and integration using outbound communication tools.
	Aspect & Datapoint Ireland announce channel reseller agreement Datapoint to introduce Aspect's market-leading products into the Irish contact centre market -
	Top Five Reasons Companies Outsource - Sitel Corporation Research shows that outsourcing works and organizations are seeing greater than expected savings - Every organization has a different reason for outsourcing, and implementing a clear strategy and goal structure is important.
	New fines for silent calls Silent calls from call centres can be annoying for consumers - but soon offending companies could be fined up to £2 million.
	Customer Consulting welcomes contact centre report The customer and change management company Customer Consulting Ltd (CCL) has welcomed the findings of the ‘UK Contact Centre Decision-Makers’ Guide 2009’, a report which examines the performance, operations, technology and human resources aspects of UK contact centre operations.
	Latest Datamonitor white paper commissioned by Teleperformance UK reveals new trend to generate large and immediate cost savings for in-house contact centres
	Increase to maximum penalty for making Silent Calls The Department for Business will shortly be announcing that Parliament will be invited to approve an increase to the maximum penalty that Ofcom may impose on those found to be making Silent Calls.
	Is your current call recording solution offering you the security that your organisation needs to enable compliance with PCI DSS guidelines?
	Taking the initiative to bring contact centres back to the UK Sharon Stephens and Rachel Bryan, directors of leading translation and interpretation company Veritas Language Solutions Ltd, are setting up a multilingual contact centre service, available to UK businesses.
	ProtoCall One & Empirix announce partnership ProtoCall One and Empirix have formed a partnership in the UK to deliver a unique testing and monitoring service for contact centres that use Genesys technology. By enhancing Empirix’s testing and proactive monitoring services portfolio with new a ‘find, diagnose and fix’ capability, this partnership allows Genesys customers to benefit from both companies’ offerings for the first time.
	Barclaycard announce decision to close Glasgow contact centre Credit card giant Barclaycard have announced the closure of its Glasgow based contact centre with the loss of 350 jobs with the work being transferred to their Cardiff operation.
	Virgin Atlantic announce plans for new Swansea contact centre Virgin Atlantic Airways have announced plans for a 200+plus contact centre to handle sales and  customer enquiries in Swansea.
	Aspect Positioned in the Leaders Quadrant for 2010 Magic Quadrant for Contact Centre Infrastructure Worldwide - - Evaluation Based on Completeness of Vision and Ability to Execute
	Profiting from onshore Outsourcing During the Recovery The onshore contact center outsourcing sector has evolved considerably since the beginning of the recession. This report will analyze trends in major western markets, and will provide insight into the competitive challenges facing outsourcing vendors aiming to provide domestic delivery of services.
	Emirates dials up new Jobs for 10th birthday present Emirates Airlines have announced the creation of 60 new jobs as it celebrated the 10th anniversary of its fast-growing contact centre.
	78% of contact centres use wipes for health & safety UK environmental chemistry and infection control company BioGenn Services have announced the launch of the industry’s first dedicated maintenance and hygiene communications wipes.
	New product will enhance complex applications Jacada Ltd have announced the launch of Jacada® Advisor, a new product designed to help results-driven customer service organisations seeking to improve the usability and user efficiency of key applications.
	FirstInfo Contact Centre Sold - Jobs safe FirstInfo call centre, part of FirstGroup transport operations company, which primarily handles ticket sales and train enquiries has been sold to Indian BPO Intelenet Global Services in a deal thought to be worth £45m.
	Acoustic Engineering in Contact Centres Can Increase Productivity Recent studies have revealed that British businesses are losing a fortune due to distractions and stress caused to their employees from high levels of noise in the workplace. This is especially true in contact centres, which are claimed to be the fastest growing business sector in the world and are an organization’s first point of contact with existing and potential customers.
	Aspect set to demonstrate the Benefits of Unified Comms at UC Expo Aspect have announced it will be showcasing its unified communications applications for the contact centre and discussing its UC services offerings at UC Expo 2010 on 10-11 March 2010 in Olympia, London.
	Taxing times at HM Revenue & Customs Contact Centre A report Published by Government Ministers have slated the performance of HMRC's contact centres highlighting low morale and poor leadership as critical factors based upon a staff survey conducted  February 2009.
	Sky set to create 550 jobs at new Stockport based Contact Centre Media giant Sky have announced the creation of a new contact centre in Stockport with the creation of 550 new jobs.
	Respondez - Job boost at Contact Centre Repondez, the Hartlepool based outsourcer, is on a recruitment drive following the company's announcement that it had become certified to provide services covered by the Financial Services Authority regulations.
	'Virgin supplies network to Accord & Ashram Housing Assoc It has been announced by Virgin Media Business they the company has won a contract from the Midlands-based Accord and Ashram Housing Associations for a new contact centre platform and network for residents.
	AA set to launch household 'handyman' service It has been announced by the AA that they are to launch a new service in which trained professionals will go to the rescue of stricken householders to fix problems ranging from broken boilers to leaking taps.
	Rostrvm Solutions releases 'Contact Point Management'   The contact centre is being bombarded by demands for change from every angle. Drastic changes in the economy have caused everyone to rethink their buying and spending; customers are expecting service faster, better and through a diverse range of media; new regulations continue to be rolled out, affecting how operations are run; and internet technology continues to have a huge impact.
	beCogents Glitzy ‘Oscars’ Event Staff at Scottish-based contact centre beCogent followed by example after proudly seeing Chairman, Dermot Jenkinson pick up the accolade of Entrepreneur of the Year at the Entrepreneurial Exchange Awards in November. Fourteen of the firm’s top performing employees were rewarded at the Company’s glitzy annual Oscars event, held in Tiger, Tiger, Glasgow in January.
	118118 - Set to close Plympton contact centre It has been reported that directory assistance company 118118 are to close their Plympton contact centre in Devon with the loss of up to 180 staff.
	Call centres find their voice Ian Turner, General Manager Northern Europe at Nuance Communications - Excellence in customer service has been touted as the big differentiator in a struggling economy. Despite the phone remaining the dominant communication channel when contacting a call centre, many companies fail to grasp, or at least demonstrate an appreciation of the potential to improve the customer service experience through this medium
	Speech Impact Academy Helps Harness the Power of Voice Decline in Business Travel has made Telephone Interaction more Crucial than Ever; Speech Impact Academy Features Europe’s Leading Communication and Presentation Expert
	RAC - Record call rates recorded With cold temperatures continuing across the UK and the worst winter weather for 30 years, the request for motoring assistance through the RAC's contact centres have hit record highs.
	Desperately seeking agents for Derry contact centre After a series of 300 job redundancies and the closure one of its two contact centres last year, Derry based outsourcer Stream International have announced the creation of 75 new positions.
	Maximise Predictive Dialler Magnetic North provides specialist software dedicated to the call and contact centre environments. We have offices in the UK and the US, and use customer feedback to drive our product roadmap, delivering upgrades and new releases free of charge to our supported customers.
	Garlands commits to staff development Signs up to Government Skills Pledge, gains re-certification as an Investor in People, launches new training and qualification initiatives and is shortlisted for Learning, Training and Skills award -