Get Out of Wrap - Contact Centre Chat

Martin takes a closer look at the near future of the contact centre — not the vague "AI will replace everyone" headlines, but a practical, role-by-role breakdown of how the industry might really change over the next decade. After attending the National Contact Centre Awards in London, Martin reflects on how far the industry has come — and where it's heading. He walks through what a f...

Martin Teasdale is joined again by Danny Wardell of Alvaria for Part 2 of their conversation.  Fresh from a great response to Episode 1, they dive deeper into the realities of contact centre life, from the agent experience to the evolution (or lack of it) of customer experience over the last 20 years.  Danny shares candid takes on CCaaS, proactive outbound, AI, and why buying brand over capability...

Feeling stuck in a cycle of firefighting, endless meetings, and inbox management — and wondering why nothing ever seems to truly improve? This episode might be exactly what you need. Martin is joined by Phil Anderson and Chris Rainsforth from The Forum — an organisation dedicated to raising standards in customer operations — for a practical and thought-provoking session on how to break free from r...

Get Out of Wrap | Episode #263 – Danny Wardell, VP EMEA GTM at Alvaria CX From filing in a damp cellar at a solicitor's office to VP at one of the contact center industry's most recognised brands, Danny Wardell's journey is anything but ordinary. In this episode, Martin sits down with Danny to explore the grit, setbacks, and hard-won lessons behind a career built from a working-class b...

In this episode I am joined once again by the brilliant Lee Houghton for a conversation that gets to the heart of what makes a team a real team, and what gets in the way. They explore why "team" is consistently the number one thing people say brings them happiness at work, the difference between a group that works and one that truly performs, and why artificial harmony might be the bigge...

In this episode I sat down with Jamie Corbett, Head of Operations at Advantis Credit, for a conversation that's as honest as it is inspiring.  Jamie's story starts on the building sites, a plumber by trade who accidentally stumbled into a contact centre when he needed holiday money and ends (for now) at the top of operations.  But it's the messy, human middle that makes this episode un...

Martin sits down with Lee Houghton, the UK's National Coach of the Year and founder of Get Knowledge, for a wide-ranging, honest conversation about artificial intelligence and what it's doing to us as humans. Fresh from the Forum Conference, both self-confessed AI enthusiasts wrestle with a genuine tension: they love how AI has transformed their solo businesses, but they're worried abo...

What if every contact centre agent and team leader had access to an on-demand AI coach — right in the moment they needed it most? In this episode of Get Out of Wrap , Martin is joined by Kathryn Simons-Porter , founder of Flourish Business Consulting, and Maria McCann of NES Wave, for a genuinely groundbreaking live experiment. They introduce R.E.N (Reset. Engage. Navigate.) — an AI coaching tool...

In this episode, Martin is joined by Barry Cooper — Head of Conversions at Smart Currency Exchange, long-time member of the contact centre community, and all-round legend of the Team Leader Community. What started as a five-star review left on a podcast five years ago has turned into a genuine friendship, and now something even bigger. Barry joins to announce the launch of his brand-new podcast: A...

What does it really take to build a workplace where people thrive? Lisa Dolan, Regional VP of Employee Experience at Teleperformance, has spent over a decade proving that happy employees aren't just a nice-to-have — they're your biggest competitive advantage. In this episode, Martin is joined by Lisa to explore her fascinating career journey — from frontline agent to leading employee exper...

Is Voice Dying? The Data Says Not. ft. Steve Morrell of Contact Babel In this episode, Martin is joined by Steve Morrell, founder of Contact Babel and author of the UK Contact Centre Decision Makers' Guide — now in its 23rd year. Steve brings a historian's eye to the industry, grounding the conversation in real data rather than hype. They dig into some of the most striking trends from this...

Boost are in and Team Leaders are centre stage. In this GOOW TV special, Martin announces Boost as the official in-person training partner of The Team Leader Community. But the real focus? The future of the Team Leader. With AI reshaping contact centres, advisors handling more complex conversations, and vulnerability becoming a core capability, the pressure on Team Leaders has never been greater....

Lee Houghton didn’t think he would win. He didn’t hype it up. He didn’t tell many people. He protected himself from disappointment. And then he was crowned  National Coach of the Year . In this episode, Lee shares: The self-doubt behind the nomination The psychology of protecting ourselves from failure What the award really meant to him Why he believes “better is always different” And how leaders...

Join me and the rest of the Get Out of Wrap TV gang as we talk about the big questions in the contact centre and CX world. On this episode we talked about what agents are saying their work lives are like in our industry. This is born out of my work with Calabrio on producing the Voice of the Agent research at the end of 2025.

AI is moving fast. Faster than most organisations and people can emotionally keep up with. In this special episode of  Get Out of Wrap TV , I’m joined by  Kathryn Simmons Porter , founder of  Flourish , to explore what she calls  “The Trust Paradox”  – the growing tension between rapid AI adoption and the human emotions it triggers inside contact centres. We talk openly about: Why AI isn’t replaci...

In this episode of  Get Out of Wrap , I’m joined by the brilliant  Shameem Smillie  – CX leader, writer, speaker, one of the founding members of Women in CX, and Senior GTM Specialist for EMEA at Amazon. Shameem’s journey is anything but conventional. From leaving school with no qualifications, to serving 13 years in the British Army, to becoming one of the most respected voices in customer experi...

This is a milestone episode of  Get Out of Wrap  – and a meaningful one. For episode  250 , I’m joined by  Niki Ignatiou  and  Julia Rosell Jackson  from  ActionAid , an international charity working alongside women, girls and communities to tackle injustice at its roots. In this conversation we explore: How ActionAid works differently by putting communities in the lead Why adolescent girls are of...

I sat down with my good friend Sham Aziz to talk about something that feels uncomfortable but necessary. - Flags on lampposts. - Protests outside hotels. - Intimidation & Fear dressed up as patriotism. But this wasn’t a political conversation, it was a human one. Sham spoke about growing up British and Muslim, being “othered”, parenting through uncertainty, and finding strength in faith withou...

A bit of a different episode this week, this time it was me as the guest and the host was Rob Wilkinson of CX Today and all round awesome human. In this CX Today interview,  I explain why the role of Team Leader is so demanding, why burnout is often invisible, and what organisations can do  right now  to better support their team leaders. This episode covers: The reality of becoming a team leader...

This Christmas special episode of  Get Out of Wrap  is a moment to pause, reflect, and reconnect. I bring together voices from across the contact centre and CX community to look back on  2025 , share honest views on AI, leadership and frontline reality, and talk openly about what really matters heading into  2026 . You’ll hear: Real reflections on a tough but meaningful year Insightful perspective...

This episode of Get Out of Wrap brings you an energy-filled, funny, honest and inspiring conversation with  Cally Heads , a standout leader who has risen through the ranks of the contact centre world by staying completely, unapologetically herself. We talk about what it really takes to thrive in sales today, why culture is the heartbeat of any operation, and how great leaders build teams where peo...

The frontline has spoken — and the results are eye-opening. In this episode, Martin is joined by  Ed Creasey , VP of Solution Engineering at  Calabrio , to break down the newly released  Voice of the Agent 2025  research. Now in its second year, this study captures the real experiences, pressures, and motivations of over  540 contact centre agents  across the UK and US.  We explore: • Why agent pr...

One of my favourite types of episodes, getting to speak directly with the people who  make contact centres what they are . In this episode, I sat down with a brilliant group of  agents from SSCL Sopra Steria  to hear what life is really like on the frontline — the highs, the challenges, and the moments that make it all worth it. They share candid insights about: 💬 What makes a great team leader...

In this episode, Martin talks to  Dan Schlenzig , who leads the CX Sales team at Cisco across 22 countries. Dan shares his journey from helpdesk beginnings to managing international teams and gives a fascinating insight into how Cisco is driving innovation in the AI and CX space. 🎙️ Topics covered: Dan’s career journey and leadership lessons Cisco’s transformation from on-premise to cloud CX The A...

In this episode of  Get Out of Wrap , Martin talks with  Sam Sanford  — writer, performer and former contact centre worker — whose acclaimed interactive show  I Love My Job  (with an asterisk!) shines a spotlight on the fascinating, funny, and deeply human world of customer service. Sam’s one-person play mixes comedy, theatre and audience interaction to explore what it really means to “communicate...