The CCMG National Contact Centre Awards are unique in that all of our judges are people who work full time in our industry. Every judge has a deep understanding of how contact centres operate; they know that life isn’t simple and that working in a contact centre brings its own unique challenges. They know what good looks like and they can spot talent when they see it.

Convening Judge

We have a small team of Head Judges to ensure the integrity of the programme is maintained, ensuring the categories accurately represent the industry and that winners are selected fairly and via a robust judging process.

Our Convening Judge is an experienced contact centre leader that has extensive experience in judging contact centre industry awards for the past 9 years.

What is the judging process?

Naturally, some people are nervous about going through a judging process.

Stage 1: Shortlisting

All entries will be reviewed by a panel of judges and shortlisted against the judging criteria. We will advise the within four weeks of the closing        Date.

Stage 2: Interviews

The format for this stage in the process varies depending on the category that you are being judged against.

Finalists in the Individual categories will have a face-to-face interview using a virtual platform.

All Team Finalists will have a thirty minutes  face-to-face interview using a virtual     Platform This is an opportunity to share what you do and what you have delivered. The judges will ensure that they ask questions to be able to assess your nomination against the set criteria fairly.

Team and Organisation category finalists (excluding Contact Centre of the Year or Best Contact Centre Culture) will be invited to attend a virtual panel judging session. Each judging session lasts no more than one hour and will cover:

• Introduction to the judges
• A short presentation of why you think you should win the category you have been short-listed for
• Question and answer session.

Choose your best people and your best initiatives for nominations. Just nominating lots of people in the same category is giving the wrong message to the judges. You need to be confident that you are choosing your best people to have the best chance of being shortlisted and winning.

Keep it simple. It’s tempting to tell our judges about every amazing thing you have achieved, but it’s important to stick to the criteria. Tell the judges about your proudest achievements in a clear, consistent way. For example, tell us the reason for the initiative, how you implemented it, and the results you achieved.

Keep it real. We’re not judging you on a fancy presentation or long words, that doesn’t matter to our judges. Don’t ask a marketing agency to write the entry for you (we can spot them a mile off!) We want to judge real people, doing real things. Tell it as it is, it just needs to be authentic.

Remember that the judges don’t know your organisation. Avoid jargon  and acronyms.

Provide evidence. Keep statements factual, as this will help with the credibility of your entry. For example, instead of saying: “We have an excellent recognition  program, say: “Our recognition programme contributed to an employee engagement increase of x% since the programme began.”

Don’t forget the customer! It’s really important that you make it clear how the individual, team or initiative has impacted customers. Customer testimonials are incredibly powerful – choose the best few examples that clearly and concisely demonstrate your excellence.

Tell your story. Share your motivations, what drives you, what you set out to  do and what you achieved.

Supporting information can help. If you are including supporting information, don’t overload judges with materials that aren’t relevant to your entry. Some good ideas to include are:

• KPI charts, reports, project deliverables
• Colleague engagement results/customer satisfaction results
• Feedback received (internally and externally)
• Organisation chart (helps the judges understand your organisation).

Ensure that you have the remit to make the nomination. Talk to your line manager about the programme and ensure that they support the entry

It’s so easy to enter the CCMG National Contact Centre Awards. Once you’ve provided a little information about who you are or what your company does, there are just a couple of questions to navigate  before pressing submit. Here’s some advice to help you.

• Share the categories internally and seek colleagues’ advice on the categories you should enter.
• Decide which categories you want to enter. Think about your contact centre’s significant achievements and the people who have excelled. Play to your strengths by entering the most relevant categories.
• If you’re unsure about the criteria for any category – call us on 021 856 3071 or email: info@ccmg.org.za
• Ask for our advice if you need it! We are happy to talk through the categories with you to ensure that your nomination meets the criteria

Recognise a significant year of achievement

If the last 12 months have been a year of key milestones and deliverables, then take this opportunity to celebrate those achievements. Give your people the recognition that they deserve to ensure that they feel valued.

Raise your teams profile

Use these awards to let other departments in your organisation know how good your contact centre people really are.

Benchmark your people/teams

Entering the awards will help you benchmark against others in your category. By entering, you will be able to gauge how your contact centre people and teams compare against the very best.

Recognition

We work in a fast changing, busy industry and achievements are easy to overlook. Reflecting on your key achievements allows you to pause and consider what (and who) contributed to your success and to recognise those individuals.

Engage your employees

Winning awards has a very positive impact on a team’s morale and can improve employee engagement. In our experience, being nominated for a national award is a significant achievement and demonstrates that you value their contribution.

Attract new employees

People want to work for an organisation that is successful and people focused. Being shortlisted for a National Award can help you attract the best new employees. People are drawn to award-winning businesses because they want to work for a reputable company.