28 February - 01 March, 2019 | The STAR Gold Coast, Queensland, QLD
Conference Day One: Thursday, 28 February 2019
7:15 am - 8:00 am COFFEE AND REGISTRATION
8:00 am - 8:10 am Conference Opening
Russell Murphy - Contact Centre Performance & Improvement Manager, Service NSW8:10 am - 8:40 am International Keynote Presentation: Keeping Up with the Change with a Relentless Focus on Cultural and CX Transformation
Simon Separghan - Head of Customer Contact, Royal Bank of ScotlandIn his new role at the Royal Bank of Scotland, Simon is leading a team to make a difference in building emotional engagement in a digitally savvy world - whether it be through high volume traditional voice to social media to growing omnichannel capability. Prior to this, his relentless focus on customer confidence and staff development at Barclays saw how the culture has reaped real rewards; as NPS grew by over 50 points and colleague engagement rose by 15% globally. Through his experiences across these recognised brands, Simon will discuss how organisations can keep with change through a focus and lens on culture and CX transformation.
- Creating a culture of ownership with the team by allowing call centre staff to train bots on alliterations and boost skills and capabilities in new channels
- How to make digital communication as human as possible: The importance of investing in a degree of human capability in functions that customers know aren’t human
- Reducing call demand but increasing complexity: How CX transformation and change management have created a better balance for agents to manage more complex situations
8:40 am - 9:10 am Same Stats, New Story
Jim Kraeutler - Vice President, ISV and Technology Alliance Program, GenesysConsumer expectations spur increased adoption of AI and omnichannel. Join us to discuss the opportunity for CX leaders in today’s market, and how you can elevate your brand’s CX above the competition.
9:10 am - 9:40 am Balancing the Offshore and Onshore Contact Centre at iSelect: How it has Expanded Employment, Innovation and Customer Experience
Henriette Rothschild - Chief Operating Officer, iSelectKieran Perkins - Head of Operations, iSelect
iSelect have maintained a good balance between their offshore and onshore contact centre, with key changes over the last year to expand operations in Melbourne and encourage growth within its Australian operations. Not only have they planned to move its service centre operations and data science centre in Victoria, but they have reduced offshore numbers by 60% and increased their Melbourne size by 13%. This session will explore iSelect’s insights and journey in two parts, and explore the successful balance of customer service, brand management and talent between offshore and onshore centres.
- Focusing on CX and NPS in order to track where customers are managed best
- Exploring a combination of data science and decision making to achieve the best customer outcome
- Creating new jobs and opportunities onshore: Giving capacity for business growth and focusing on attracting and retaining talented staff
9:40 am - 10:10 am What Does it Take to Survive in the Digital Economy? How Does an Organisation Survive Amid Market Saturation and Intense Competition Fuelled by Advanced Technologies?
Peter Chidiac - Managing Director, Australia and New Zealand, AvayaIn this session, Peter Chidiac (Managing Director A/NZ at Avaya) will explore the role of data, automation and intelligent connections in survival, and provide insights into the leading strategies that are helping Australian organisations beat their competitors. He will also analyse the importance of partnerships, and how alliances with key partners – such as Flamingo Ai and Afiniti – enable Avaya to create Intelligent Experiences.
10:10 am - 10:40 am Speed Networking
10:40 am - 11:10 am COFFEE AND NETWORKING BREAK
Interactive Discussion Groups (IDGS)
Back by popular demand – you will you hear peer-to-peer led case studies and best practice; you will also receive focused thought leadership and insight into the future of the contact centre industry in Australia. How will the IDGs run?
- The entire audience will break up and choose IDGs based on which topics are most relevant and interesting to them.
- Each IDG is set in a roundtable format and will be facilitated by a shared service practitioner and hosted by a thought leader in the space.
- Each delegate will have the opportunity to select 3 topics and will rotate between their choices every 30 minutes.
- Discussion groups are kept small to ensure all delegates get the opportunity to ask their most pressing questions, ensuring a perfectly tailored experience
ROUND ONE 11:10 - 11:40
ROUND TWO 11:45 - 12:15
ROUND THREE 12:20 - 12:50
Group 2
TABLE ONE
11:10 am - 12:50 pm Automating Knowledge to Create Intelligent Connections Wyatt Roy - Managing Director, Afiniti AustraliaThe consumer-driven economy is forcing organisations to change the way they interact. The expectation for instant information and outcomes has organisations scrambling to innovate. But mastering CX in the digital era takes much more than so-called ‘omni-channel’ – to deliver successful experiences, organisations must develop strategies that engrain automation and machine learning into core processes in order to optimise agents with knowledge. In this session, learn:
- What makes an effective automation strategy, and the role of AI in building knowledge;
- How to leverage that knowledge and convert it into positive CX;
- Methods for establishing successful CX based around advanced technologies
TABLE TWO
11:10 am - 12:50 pm CHATBOTS & WEBCHAT Jim Kraeutler - Vice President, ISV and Technology Alliance Program, GenesysWhat tasks can chatbots currently handle? How can your company’s chatbots and webchat functions be improved?
TABLE THREE
11:10 am - 12:50 pm The Next Horizon: How to Take Your CX from Reactive to Proactive Charles Thomlinson - Strategic Executive, ZendeskIdentified by Forrester as one of the top trends in customer service, providing a proactive customer experience, rather than just responding to problems as they arise, is key to differentiation and ongoing business success. How to get there though? In this session we talk about the benefits of proactive support, why it’s vital to becoming the business your customers want you to be, and how easy it can be to get started.
TABLE FOUR
11:10 am - 12:50 pm Proactive Voice - Evolving your Outbound Customer Communication Blaine Slater - Group Executive, New Business, TSA GroupA common challenge in contact centres is the need to proactively engage with your customer base but traditional outbound contact methods no longer drive an effective outcome. In this session learn:
- How traditional contact methods have evolved to drive superior outcomes?
- How you can give your customers the choice around how and when they are contacted?
- The best solutions for providing your customers with a seamless experience regardless of the channel of engagement?
TABLE FIVE
11:10 am - 12:50 pm CLOUD CONTACT CENTRES Brett Theisen - Senior VP Global Channel, NICE inContactEnable a remote workforce and improve scalability and flexibility of your organization
TABLE SIX
11:10 am - 12:50 pm Engage 2020: The Future of Customer Care is Already Here Charles Thomlinson - Strategic Executive, ZendeskDigital innovations are revolutionising the customer experience, giving customers a multitude of self-care channels and options. We can now automate simple and repetitive functions, allowing our workforce to focus on more complex and challenging tasks. We’re now at the forefront of an evolution in customer care that will be marked by hybrid human/AI workforces. So, as we launch towards 2020, how do you make it all work together? This session explores the symbiotic relationship between humans and technology and how to best harness it today to create amazing employee and customer experiences. Key topics covered include:
• Technology powered employee lifecycle
• Unleashed workplace culture
• Empowered customer advocacy
• Gamified talent engine
• Social brand inspiration
TABLE SEVEN
11:10 am - 12:50 pm Putting the Omnichannel Order into Action - Strategies & Best Practices Sreelesh Pillai - General Manager, FreshworksAs customer expectations rise and digital channels expand, many organizations face the challenge of delivering end-to-end, seamless customer experiences across all channels. Often back-office systems are not integrated and ‘stitched together’ to deliver services to customers. A fully integrated response to these new requirements will need to be both customer-centric and omnichannel in nature.
Join Freshworks in this interactive workshop as they share real-world insights, strategies and best practices for easy-to-use interfaces, automated back-office processes, and integrated channels, thus giving you more time to deliver seamless, consistent and personalized customer experiences.
TABLE EIGHT
11:10 am - 12:50 pm Simplifying Multivendor Communications Networks Vin Larocca - Global Vice President, OracleEnterprises can dramatically simplify multivendor communications networks securely, improve reliability and agility whilst reducing operating costs
12:50 pm - 1:50 pm LUNCH AND NETWORKING BREAK
CUSTOMER CENTRICITY: STREAM A - Improving Customer Interactions through New Customer Contact Channels
1:50 pm - 1:55 pm Opening Speech by Stream Chair: Russell Murphy - Contact Centre Performance & Improvement Manager, Service NSWCUSTOMER CENTRICITY: STREAM A - Improving Customer Interactions through New Customer Contact Channels
1:55 pm - 2:25 pm Case Study: Webchat and Social Media: Creating Engaging Experiences with Tech-Savvy Customers at Queensland Urban Utilities Sue Coe - Call Centre Manager, Queensland Urban UtilitiesOnce you go live with chat bots, webchat and social media interaction, where do you go from there? Queensland Urban Utilities are plowing forward with their new chatbot and trailing Facebook messenger communication. From embracing new customer contact channels, QUU aims to increase their customer satisfaction and create positive knock on effects in the future as customer learn to engage when they want and how they want.
- Understanding the steps required to identify customer contact habits and develop the channels suited to them
- Developing internal digital competencies with staff to support and successfully roll out webchat and social media functions
- Ensuring interactivity from CX and UX perspective to enable continuous engagement with agents and customer
CUSTOMER CENTRICITY: STREAM A - Improving Customer Interactions through New Customer Contact Channels
2:25 pm - 2:55 pm Three Key Steps to Omnichannel John O'Brien - General Manager, ANZ, Bright PatternCUSTOMER CENTRICITY: STREAM A - Improving Customer Interactions through New Customer Contact Channels
2:55 pm - 3:25 pm Case Study: Creating a More Compelling Digital Service at National Australia Bank to Improve Customer Centricity and Self-Service Outcomes Chris Barnes - Head of Direct Channel Development, National Australia BankThe National Australia Bank is continuing on a multiyear transformational project for its consumer contact centres that focus on investing in core capabilities that enable conversations to be more customer-centric and less around process. Currently, 35% of NAB’s consumer calls can 100% easily be resolved with the use of a digital service, creating a need within the organisation to be more compelling with the adoption of digital service and how to educate customers and staff to leverage simpler channels without losing the humanistic interactions.
- Creating the case to adopt to digital channels by creating conversations and analyse changes in behaviours
- How to enable staff to empathetically connect with customers and ensure it is delivered in a humanistic way regardless of which channel of interaction
- Simplified interaction – How it creates proficiency with staff and greater satisfaction for customers
TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION: STREAM B - Leveraging Automation and Digital Innovation for Customer Service Excellence
1:50 pm - 1:55 pm Opening Speech by Stream Chair: Jean-Pierre Doherty Bigara - Queensland Customer Care Manager, TNT AustraliaTECHNOLOGY INNOVATION: STREAM B - Leveraging Automation and Digital Innovation for Customer Service Excellence
1:55 pm - 2:25 pm Case Study: Merging Contact Centre and Online Services Seamlessly at Life Flight Foundation through Automation Lucas Karchinsky - Executive Manager, Call Centre Operations and Business Solutions, Life Flight FoundationLife Flight Foundation has always run two separate systems for their contact centre and telephony services and their online services. Launching in late 2018, the organisation will now integrate a full digital solution that will automate the entire Life Flight Foundation fundraising operations and seamlessly merge all services and campaigns for enhanced service delivery in the future. By merging services, Life Flight Foundation can continue to provide quality aeromedical care and bring emergency, lifesaving medical treatment where it’s needed the most.
- Profit for Purpose: Exploring the discovery process and business case for implementing technology aspects despite limited funding and maintain community trust
- Reviewing how the merge will enhance rapid response and improve customer contact interactions and helicopter services
- How Life Flight Foundation is working with external providers to create a seamless service, enable workflow automation and ensure agents are on-board with the changes

Lucas Karchinsky
Executive Manager, Call Centre Operations and Business SolutionsLife Flight Foundation
TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION: STREAM B - Leveraging Automation and Digital Innovation for Customer Service Excellence
2:25 pm - 2:55 pm The Age of Programmability: A Better Way to Cloud Richard Watson - Country Director, Australia, TwilioDevang Sachdev - Director, Product Marketing, Twilio
Advances in API-first solutions and AI are being proposed as the answer for bridging the gap between customer experience expectations and the flawed customer experience still being delivered by so many companies. Developers have become a key part of the equation to allow companies to customize the contact center setting the new standard for customer engagement.
Join this session to learn how CX innovators are adopting a new model of programmability in the cloud for designing and delivering customer experiences that set them apart. Focus will be on how to equip agents with one-stop-shop with all the apps, data and intelligence for agents to focus on helping your customers instead of fighting your software.
TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION: STREAM B - Leveraging Automation and Digital Innovation for Customer Service Excellence
2:55 pm - 3:25 pm AI & Ubank: Insights into Robochat and How Virtual Assistant's Deepen Customer Experience and Employee ProductivityAs a digital bank, it's no surprise that UBank has seen success from the adoption of digital tools and social media channels for customer contact. This session explore UBank's AI journey, from building a chatbot to introducing Mia, the world’s first digital human in the home loan space, and how we leveraged it within the customer service team.
• Exploring how AI has helped shape the customer experience
• Understanding how AI fits into a flexible and responsive contact centre management framework
• What is the future of virtual assistants in contact centres?
FUTURE WORKFORCE: STREAM C - Change Management and Capability Uplift in Contact Centre Transformation
1:50 pm - 1:55 pm Opening Speech by Stream Chair: Tom Hatch - Manager, National & Strategic Sales, DFP RecruitmentFUTURE WORKFORCE: STREAM C - Change Management and Capability Uplift in Contact Centre Transformation
1:55 pm - 2:25 pm Case Study: From Contact Centre to Customer Service Operations: How Energy Queensland Managed Operational and Process Changes to Create Multi-Skilled, Super Agents Carly Irving - General Manager, Customer and Market Operations, Distribution, Energy QueenslandSince the amalgamation of Energex and Ergon Energy in 2016, Energy Queensland has consistently delivered a heavy change program to transform the size and skill of their workforce.
Aligning with the roll out of the customer centricity program and digital transformation program, Energy Queensland set out to rebrand operational roles, moving away from ‘Contact Centre Operations’ to now ‘Customer Service Operations’. This focus has enabled staff to develop end-to-end skillsets, keep up with process changes and a role that can transform and adapt as transformations occur. Carly will discuss:
- Aligning your staff to future visions, goals and purposes to engage them with reskilling into new roles
- The three key drivers for change: Deciding on a clear vision to develop a structure that meets customer service needs and future business needs
- Enhancing and supporting the digital capability of staff to support clients

Carly Irving
General Manager, Customer and Market Operations, DistributionEnergy Queensland
FUTURE WORKFORCE: STREAM C - Change Management and Capability Uplift in Contact Centre Transformation
2:25 pm - 2:55 pm Practical Case Studies in Re-thinking Contact Centre Models to Transform Capability and Customer Experience David Jaffe - Director, LimebridgeA range of “traditions” have built up in contact centres that need to be challenged to transform capability. This presentation will explore how many contact centres manage with averages, create skills that suit the company not the customer, take a guess at measuring first contact resolution, and “live with” or are victims of demand for contact. It will explore cases in which contact centres have used a “multi-lever” approach to solve these problems. The presentation will describe real case studies that show examples of organisation getting fantastic results by pulling all these levers in unison. It will show how capabilities have been transformed by:
- Reducing the demand for unwanted contacts
- Re-thinking skills and processes
- Building omni-channel solutions into processes
- Measuring resolution in new ways to transform coaching and process improvement
FUTURE WORKFORCE: STREAM C - Change Management and Capability Uplift in Contact Centre Transformation
2:55 pm - 3:25 pm Case Study: Educating Employees and Changing Recruitment Strategies at Energy Super to Enhance Member Experiences Lisa Kay - General Manager, Member Services and People, Energy SuperEnergy Super has developed a program over the past 18 months which focused on educating contact centre members and change their recruitment strategies to be able to develop deep and meaningful conversations with their service members. The training program is designed around compliance requirements which not only keeps staff multiskilled and engaged, but enhances member experiences and keep up with recent digital transformation projects.
- How Energy Super is changing their recruitment to develop a diverse, multiskilled workforce
- Tapping into new support strategies your agents need to engage in new ways with customers
- Recognising empathy and knowledge as the key drivers enabling agent engagement and best customer service interactions
3:25 pm - 3:55 pm AFTERNOON TEA AND NETWORKING BREAK
3:55 pm - 4:25 pm Focus on Fundamentals: Employee Advocacy and Change Management at TAL to Progress Future Contact Centre Growth
Craig Mendel - Head of Customer Contact, TALSince heading up Customer Contact at TAL, Craig has predominately focused on change management and culture engagement as an enabler for progressing TAL’s contact centre towards a future of automation and digitisation. Getting the fundamentals right and process improvement strategies have been a key focus to ensure a bottom up view of understanding customer pain points but also to ensure staff are empowered with the right tools and capabilities to deliver efficient service.
- How TAL’s diversity strategy and flexibility strategy has allowed 15% of staff to work from home and ability to extend their new contact centre operations without impeding engagement
- Improving coaching and quality frameworks and reward and recognition programs to empower agents and operating rhythm
- Ensuring adequate resourcing of staff and skillsets and understanding core competencies of a successful customer service agent for future transformation
4:25 pm - 5:05 pm Motivational Keynote: What Really Drives Us?
Anthony Bonnici - Director, Move MountainsLet's get one thing straight. Irrespective of what "generation" we belong to, there are some immutable laws of motivational theory that apply to us all.
In this highly educational & entertaining session, Anthony will encourage us all to stop overgeneralising by age or generation and start focussing on the individual in order to maximise performance and output. Using two different motivational theories, Anthony will arm you with a toolkit of approaches to help you understand what makes YOU tick and also how to motivate others to perform at THEIR best.
So if you manage a team of people, or indeed are part of a team that needs that boost in productivity, motivation or output, this session is a MUST ATTEND!
5:05 pm - 5:35 pm Thought Leadership Session from NICE inContact
Brett Theisen - Senior VP Global Channel, NICE inContact5:35 pm - 6:05 pm ADVISORY BOARD PANEL DISCUSSION – Future Proofing Contact Centres: Marrying Customer Centricity, Technology Advancements and People and Culture
John Merritt - Head of Customer Care, Energy AustraliaLauren Reid - Head of Direct Service, MLC Life Insurance
Amanda Rice - Director, Service Delivery, Australian Financial Security Authority
David Daley - General Manager, Member Engagement, ESSSuper
Ria Leason - General Manager, Contact Centres, Allianz Worldwide Partners
Luke Jamieson - Head of Service Centre, First State Super
- How do you re-position and re-design your customer support to move from a lead generator to customer experience driver?
- How do you best determine which solutions and innovations best suit your business needs today and for the future?
- How do you manage the next generation of the workforce and determine strategies for identifying, retaining and engaging talent?
- How can marrying these strategies effectively project your contact centre for a profitable future despite change?