One of the north east’s most hotly contested industry awards is in new hands as the countdown begins to 2020’s North East Contact Centre Awards.
The annual event, which will take place on Friday 20th November at Ramside Hall Hotel, has been led by Sunderland City Council for the last 17 years providing a platform to showcase the talents of frontline staff in one of the region’s largest employing industries.
During this time the awards have become an established part of the north east contact centre calendar and now the council is stepping back as the event passes to the private sector. The Projects Studio, a start up events company, will now take responsibility for all aspects of the awards with Sunderland City Council taking a supporting role as lead sponsor.
Andrew Wilson, director at The Projects Studio, said: “We are really excited to be organising the North East Contact Centre Awards in 2020. I have heard a lot about the awards in previous years – especially the unique atmosphere at the final ceremony itself.
“As a start-up events company based in the North East, we are proud to be working with Sunderland City Council and other sponsors to coordinate and deliver this prestigious programme. We feel there is so much potential to develop the awards. We have already put together a strong team of judges who have helped us revise the categories for this year. We are looking forward to receiving nominations in due course from those individuals, teams and organisations who are leading their industry and growing our region’s reputation for service excellence.”
He added: “I am sure the gala awards dinner at Ramside Hall will once again be a memorable occasion to celebrate winners’ success.”
Each year, the awards have recognised the brightest talent in an industry that employs more than 30,000 people, with previous winners including BGL Customer Services, Auxillis, Atom Bank, Sage and Insure the Box. With major contact centres including Computershare, Barclays, EDF Energy, EE, Kura and TSB running operations in Sunderland, the city council has supported the event since 2003 and is a key sponsor for 2020.
Councillor Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “Sunderland, certainly, and the wider North East is home to a fantastic cluster of contact centres that are exemplars in their field and it is right that they – and the highly-skilled people who make this such an attractive place for them to operate from – are celebrated.
“We have long-supported this event, because it really is an opportunity to show off the innovation, ingenuity and raw talent that exists in contact centres across the North East, and we’re looking forward to being part of a reinvigorated event, delivered by Andrew and The Projects Studio team.”
The awards - which attract some of the region’s best contact centres from both private and public sectors – have already announced categories, with entries expected to flood in over the summer.
For more information on the North East Contact Centre Awards 2020, visit www.necca.co.uk or contact hello@projects-studio.co.uk