While 2025 was the year of automation, 2026 is building on that trend to layer on more sophisticated technologies that help us provide a more human experience. For example, highly sensitive sentiment detection and a more fulsome approach to agent training is less about how human customer care representatives can be eliminated and more about how we can make the customer experience better.

In a post-pandemic world, NQX recognized the need across client programs to adapt to a growing hybrid workforce with remote and on-site teams. Creating a culture of belonging and engagement among all employees would be critical in optimizing performance and reducing attrition. The goal was to provide guidelines and tools to both incoming and seasoned team managers to lead effectively in virtual settings while staying aligned with the company’s vision of becoming the best hybrid employer in the industry.

This client’s historic outsourcing provider was unable to meet acceptable metrics; showing poor response rates; and struggling with high staff turnover, cost over runs, and poor-quality service. Clearly, the client needed to make a change. The client was so dissatisfied with their vendor that they were willing to transition the work to a new partner in November of 2024 while in the midst of the busiest shopping season of the year.

We've heard for years that customer service will be transformed by artificial intelligence. But between the transformative ideas of the future to what CX frontline teams are experiencing every day, there is a reality that no one is talking about.

One challenge the NQX team noticed was that managers were only flagged as having underperforming teams after they fell below a certain numeric performance threshold on the weekly reports.

When we consider the employee journey in the contact centre, the first 90 days is often a point of vulnerability both for attrition and low performance.

For a major telecom client, NQX identified that new hire attrition was often driven by gaps in hands-on practice. Many struggled to adapt to tools or scenarios not addressed during initial training.

Need to Do More with Less? How to Save Money with Contact Center Outsourcing

If your customer service budget is expanding and you aren’t feeling the pressure to improve service levels… well, congratulations. You are in a very small minority of CX leaders.

But, if you find yourself with a mandate to do much more with much less, you need to be aware of the optional levers you can pull to achieve your goals. […]

A Canadian Crown corporation required a partner capable of handling high-volume, multi-channel customer support across various customer profiles - from general consumers to high-value commercial clients. This key partnership needed to not only deliver service but continuously elevate customer experience across voice, email and chat channels.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a provincial government entity urgently needed contact center support to handle a surge in citizen inquiries and vaccination appointment bookings. The challenge was major:

As consumer expectations have evolved over time, businesses have been exploring new ways to move up the value chain. Customers no longer just buy products or services; they also buy into the experience that comes with them. It’s what we know as the Experience Economy.

In recent years, the corporate landscape has evolved, with remote teams becoming increasingly common. There is no doubt that this shift offers substantial financial benefits; the cost savings can be significant, as the need for office space, utilities, and other expenses decreases. For employees, working remotely offers greater flexibility and improves their overall quality of life. However, companies have been navigating remote work for some time now, and most corporations have growing concerns about productivity and employee engagement.

Whether facing an economic downturn or striving to meet shareholders' expectations, business leaders often turn to cost-cutting measures to improve profitability. Not all costs carry the same weight. Some costs are good, while others are bad. Cutting bad costs is straightforward, generally makes a lot of sense, and is therefore easier to do. But what happens when we are forced to consider reducing the good costs?

Delivering experiences that are satisfying to customers may sound like a straightforward process: Place the customer’s needs at the center of all interactions and meet the customer’s expectations. In reality though, providing world-class customer experiences (CX) is more than just answering calls and resolving complaints.

While customers demand more personalized and digitally enabled services, they also expect an outstanding human experience. And that means for brands to answer the call when all the tech can’t solve the problems […]