Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Get Out of Wrap - Contact Centre Chat

For this episode of Get Out of Wrap I sat down with ex - Premier League Footballer Matt Jarvis.

A career that took in Gillingham, Wolves, West Ham, Norwich and an England cap is amazing and so are the stories and insights Matt shares.

Now Matt is a mentor, pundit, speaker, business partner and through it all, as you will hear, is a lovely human with a passion to help others.

Through working with Betr Outsourcing Matt is seeing our industry from the inside and meeting & working with the teams at Betr has been seeing how much cross-over there is from elite sport and leadership, sales and contact centres.

This is one of those episodes that will stick with me a long time and I hope you enjoy it !

Susan Terry, SVP and Head of Product at Alvaria, joins Get Out of Wrap for a wide-ranging conversation about the death of "outbound" and the rise of proactive customer outreach. 

Drawing on decades spent leading product transformation across the graphic arts, advertising, and contact center industries, Susan explains why she believes the language we use — outbound vs. outreach — reveals a deeper shift in how businesses should think about customer experience.

She unpacks how Alvaria was built from the merger of legacy platforms Noble and Aspect, why enterprise-scale compliance remains its biggest differentiator (the company powers outreach for 50–60% of the world's largest banks), and how its new "infrastructure as a service" model — already live with partners Zoom and Parloa — lets any business plug in compliant, orchestrated outreach without needing a traditional contact center at all.

The conversation also dives into the decentralization of the contact center, why premise-based systems aren't going anywhere despite the cloud narrative, and how agentic AI is reshaping outbound faster than almost any other part of CX — replacing IVRs, learning from human-in-the-loop supervisors, and opening up use cases most companies haven't even considered yet.

If you've ever wondered why your business is still reacting to customers instead of reaching them first, this episode will change how you think about outreach for good.

• 0:00 – Welcome & Introducing Susan Terry
• 1:38 – Susan's Career Journey Across Industries
• 5:49 – Joining Alvaria: Uniting Noble and Aspect
• 8:42 – Who Is Transformation Really For?
• 11:03 – From Outbound to Proactive Outreach
• 13:40 – Outreach as Infrastructure: Partnering with Zoom and Parloa
• 26:42 – Compliance as a Competitive Advantage in Financial Services
• 29:29 – Helping Customers Find Their Proactive Use Cases
• 36:20 – Legacy Tech Stacks, Cloud, and the Case for Premise
• 42:26 – Agentic AI and the Future of Outreach

•44:45 – Closing Thoughts

Here's a Spotify description for this episode:

#268 - What if leadership didn't need a leader? - Danny Wareham

What if the best leaders are the ones who know how to get out of the way? In this episode, Martin sits down with psychologist, coach, and author Danny Wareham to unpack his book Constellation and the radical idea behind it: that culture — not a single person — can carry the weight of leadership.

Danny shares the research behind the book, born out of studying agile project teams and scrum masters, and reveals surprising findings about how trust, experience, and organizational size shape whether a team can truly self-organize. The conversation takes a fascinating detour into the military, exploring why service personnel can trust a total stranger within a single day — and why civilian workplaces take years to build the same thing.

They also dig into why intentional culture matters more than ever, from climate change to the erosion of institutional checks and balances, and why charismatic, single-leader models often struggle to solve modern, cross-border problems.

Plus: the surreal experience of seeing your own book on a shelf next to Simon Sinek, why traditional publishing wasn't the right fit for Danny, and how Constellation has landed him as a finalist for Business Book of the Year.

A must-listen for anyone rethinking what leadership really looks like in 2026 and beyond..

Martin welcomes back "the Bearded Wonder Man" himself, James Revell, for a wide-ranging conversation on leadership, team culture, and the future of customer experience. Drawing on years of judging national and European contact centre awards, James shares what separates truly great teams from the merely good — authenticity, storytelling, and leaders who empower rather than dominate.

The conversation turns to the evolving leadership journey: from early missteps navigating strategy and communication, to mastering the "dark arts" of stakeholder politics and budgets across different cultures. James and Martin also dig into one of the industry's biggest questions right now — how AI and automation are reshaping the contact centre, the risk of losing entry-level talent pipelines, and why customer experience must remain the driver behind every technology decision, not cost alone.

Packed with hard-won insight from a leader who's built and led award-winning teams, this episode is a must-listen for anyone navigating team building, leadership, and the future of CX in an AI-driven world.

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 future 500-seat operation could look like, and what that means for every team: agents, team leaders, QA, training, WFM, and HR.

In this episode:

• Why transactional contacts will largely disappear — and what that leaves for human agents
• How the team leader role becomes more important, not less
• The evolution of QA from auditors to insight specialists
• Why training will shift towards emotional intelligence, resilience, and critical thinking
• The real risk of removing humans too aggressively — and why customers will punish it
• Why demand for exceptional team leaders will be higher than ever by 2035

Whether you're deep into AI adoption or still running on an Excel Frankenstack, this one's for you.

Share your thoughts — how do you see the contact centre changing?

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 has held the industry back.

A genuinely honest conversation from two people who've lived it from the agent's seat upwards.

Chapters:

0:20 – Being an Agent

3:59 – Has the Job Got Harder?

8:22 – Has Customer Experience Improved?

16:32 – Proactive Outbound

19:22 – The BA Story

28:20 – Service vs. Cost

29:43 – AI & The Future of Contact Centers

41:23 – Wrapping Up

ContactCentre #CustomerExperience #CX #Podcast #Outbound #AI #CCaaS #Alvaria #GetOutOfWrap

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 reactive working and build smarter decision systems.

Together they explore:

• The Failure Loop — why great intentions so often lead to the same problems repeating
• Resetting before redefining — why you need to stop old habits before you can build new ones
• The Eisenhower Matrix — a simple but powerful tool for sorting urgent from important
• The 1-3-5 Rule — how to structure your day around what actually matters
• Decision architecture — moving from reacting to orchestrating
• The Strategy Pyramid — aligning daily priorities to organisational objectives

Whether you're a team leader, analyst, or operations professional, this session is packed with practical frameworks you can start using immediately — no matter what's going on around you.

Plus, stick around to the end to hear about The Forum's Virtual Learning Academy, now available exclusively to the Team Leader community.

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 background in West Yorkshire. They cover early jobs that shaped his relentless work ethic, the rejection that lit a fire under him, what it really costs to succeed in sales, and why returning to carry a bag after a decade of leadership was the best move he ever made.

They also get into the AI hype problem facing the contact center industry, why proactive outbound is the most underused superpower in CX, and the human moments where no technology should ever replace a person.

Honest, grounded, and genuinely entertaining and this is part one of two.

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 biggest silent killer of team culture.

From belonging and connection to healthy conflict, watermelon reporting, and the danger of mistaking agreement for high performance, this episode is packed with honest reflections, practical insights, and more than a few great stories.

Lee also introduces his BOSS framework — Behaviours Observed Set Standards — and why, as leaders, everything we do (and don't do) is setting the standard for those around us.

If you lead a team, are part of one, or simply care about creating environments where people can do their best work, this one's for you.

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 unmissable.

Jamie opens up about bombing on the phones, the hippie colleague who changed his entire outlook with a Dale Carnegie quote, and the Excel V-lookup that quietly launched his career. 

He talks about what it really means to build psychological safety for a team, why he created a secret project called "Project Artemis” to solve a wrap time problem, and the brutal setback that turned out to be the making of him.

If you've ever questioned whether you're ready for the next step, taken a leap that didn't land, or wondered what separates good leaders from great ones, this one's for you.

Topics covered: contact centre culture, emotional intelligence, early leadership lessons, dealing with failure, self-development, and why the best leadership lesson is learning it's never about you.

• From Plumber to Contact Centre
• Learning the Hard Way on the Phones
• The Vinny Effect: Lessons That Last
• Stepping Into Leadership
• Building the Bad Apple Team
• Creating Psychological Safety
• The Setback That Changed Everything

• Jamie 2.0: From Me to We

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 about what we might be quietly giving away in the process. 

Are we outsourcing our creativity, our curiosity, and our human connection along with our admin?

From SatNav and checkbooks to ChatGPT and Claude, Martin and Lee explore how technology has always reshaped behaviour and ask whether this time it's different. 

Lee shares his fear that we're slowly "practicing being human" less and less, while Martin wonders whether AI could actually create space for the things that make us irreplaceable: lived experience, genuine connection, and the kind of nuance no prompt can fully capture.

They also touch on inclusion and exclusion in the AI age, what organisational structures might look like in the future, and inevitably, the looming spectre of Tottenham's relegation.

Warm, funny, and thought-provoking……this one's got real heart.

Topics covered:

• The "AI is as bad as it's ever going to be" mindset shift
• Outsourcing thinking vs. outsourcing the human
• Head, hands & heart — what AI can and can't replace
• Inclusion gaps in an AI-accelerated world
• Why your actual intention behind using AI matters

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 built specifically for contact centre teams. Grounded in emotional intelligence, transactional analysis, and the GROW coaching model, R.E.N is designed to give frontline agents and team leaders real-time support, guidance, and resilience — without waiting for a manager to be free.

The stats are hard to ignore: absence rates in contact centres are running at three times the business average, 83% of agents say their mental health is being affected, and difficult conversations are being avoided every single day. R.E.N was built to change that.

Watch live as Maria coaches R.E.N through a real workplace scenario — a manager overriding an agent's decision — and see how it navigates the conversation with calm, clarity, and emotional intelligence.

This is contact centre wellbeing, reimagined.

🎙️ Guests: Kathryn Simons-Porter (Flourish Business Consulting) & Maria McCann (NEOS Wave) 📬 Get involved: Connect with Kathryn on LinkedIn or email kathryn.simons-porter@flourishbusinessconsulting.co.uk

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: ASA – Average Speed of Answer, a Get Out of Wrap production. Unlike most contact centre content, ASA is dedicated entirely to the people behind the headsets — customer service advisors, sales agents, and anyone on the frontline talking to customers every day. Barry wants to hear their stories, their first-day nerves, their career journeys, and what the job really feels like from the inside.

Martin and Barry also reflect on the power of community, the confidence it takes to put yourself out there, and why the contact centre industry deserves more people who champion it from the ground up.

ASA – Average Speed of Answer launches on 22nd April 2026, every Wednesday.

Chapter Listing:

00:00 – Welcome & introducing Barry "Popup Pirate" Cooper 03:30 – The origin of the Popup Pirate nickname 07:00 – How community builds confidence: speaking at events and showing up 13:00 – How a single podcast review started a five-year friendship 19:00 – Why the contact centre industry needs more voices 23:30 – Announcing ASA – Average Speed of Answer: what it is and who it's for 28:00 – The first episodes: first-day stories, KPIs, and life behind the headsets 32:00 – Launch date, how to get involved, and how to leave a review

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 experience across a 25,000-person region spanning the UK, Ireland, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana.

They cover:

• Why Lisa never expected to find her calling in employee experience — and how a "corner of the desk" role changed everything
• The power of truly listening to employees (and why closing the feedback loop is critical)
• How TP is investing in emotional intelligence with EI coaching, brain profiling, and "leading with heart"
• Communicating across five generations — from a 17-year-old to an 84-year-old — in the same workforce
• The creation of TP Women, tackling the leadership gender gap, and the upcoming Empower Her development program
• Why AI and automation are actually making human connection more important — not less
• How Lisa saved 40 hours a week using Microsoft Copilot (and what she does with that time instead)

Whether you're a team leader, an HR professional, or someone who cares about building better workplaces, Lisa's energy, practical wisdom, and genuine passion for people will leave you inspired.

Connect with Lisa on LinkedIn to continue the conversation.

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 year's report, including why average speed to answer has ballooned from around 16 seconds in 2004 to over two minutes today — and why it shows no signs of dropping. Steve explains how longer, more complex calls are placing a greater cognitive and emotional burden on agents, and why the industry may be sleepwalking into a burnout crisis.

The headline finding? Voice is very much alive. Despite years of predictions that digital channels would take over, live telephony still accounts for around 63% of all inbound interactions — a figure that has barely shifted. Steve shares data on why customers continue to reach for the phone, especially for urgent, complex, or emotionally charged issues, and what it means for businesses rolling out AI-powered self-service.

The episode closes with a practical take on AI adoption: where to start, what to avoid, and why the biggest risk isn't moving too slowly — it's deploying customer-facing AI before it's ready.

The UK Contact Centre Decision Makers' Guide is available free at contactbabel.com.

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.

Nicola and Emily from Boost discuss:

• Why Team Leaders must become strategic coordinators

• Coaching as a core leadership skill

• Managing vulnerability, both in customers and colleagues

• The risk of burnout in a complexity-driven world

• Why in-person learning still matters

This isn’t theory. It’s grounded, practical and built on real contact centre experience.

If you’re serious about frontline performance in 2026 and beyond then this is one to listen to.

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 can move from instruction to true coaching

We explore:

• The power of silence

• Why “why” questions can be dangerous

• How to create genuine human connection

• Why leaders should speak last

• And how to build high-performing teams through connection and curiosity

It’s thoughtful.
It’s emotional.
It’s practical.

And we discover he used to DJ in a monkey costume.....listen for the name alone !

Leadership… but human.

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 replacing people – but changing them

• The emotional responses agents experience when AI is introduced known as AI grief

• Why trust, transparency and purpose matter more than ever

• How emotional intelligence (EQ) is becoming a core business capability, not a “soft skill”

• The real cost of absenteeism, disengagement and poorly handled AI rollouts

• Why leaders must focus on people readiness, not just tech readiness

Kathryn brings nearly 30 years of contact centre experience and a deep understanding of emotional intelligence, blending practical insight with real-world examples including how AI has personally impacted her own family.

If you’re responsible for CX, EX, contact centre strategy or AI transformation, this conversation will challenge how you think about success in the age of automation.

🎧 Listen now and join the conversation.

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 experience and contact centres, this is a conversation about resilience, representation, courage, and doing the work.

We talk openly about:

• What the military taught her about leadership, teamwork, and accountability

• Why contact centres are the beating heart of organisations

• The reality of representation, allyship, and advocating for others

• Why AI shouldn’t scare us and how it can genuinely help agents and leaders

• The importance of culture, candour, and speaking truth in organisations

This episode is honest, funny, powerful, and deeply human.
If you care about leadership, CX, people, and progress then this one’s for you.

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 often invisible – and how they’re changing that

• Real examples of girls influencing policy, education and social norms

• The role of women’s movements in humanitarian crises and conflict

• Why lasting change doesn’t come from systems imposed on people

This episode is about justice, dignity, resilience – and listening to the people closest to the problem.

If you care about leadership, humanity and impact, this one’s worth your time.

You can support Action Aid at https://www.actionaid.org.uk/get-involved

You can also donate for my London Marathon run raising money for Action Aid at

https://www.justgiving.com/page/runwithmart?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL

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 without needing to preach.

We talked about intention vs impact.

About how silence can feel like complicity.

And about why contact centres of all places quietly get inclusion right.

If you’ve felt uneasy but unsure how to articulate it…
If you believe we have more in common than we admit…
If you still think conversation matters…

I’d really encourage you to listen and I hope it's a hopeful episode, I certainly felt hope after chatting with Sham.

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 with little or no preparation

• Why team leaders say yes to everything — and the cost of that

• Coaching, prioritisation, emotional intelligence and workload

• The power of peer support and shared experience

• Real success stories from the community

• Practical advice for contact-centre leaders heading into 2026

And of course I talk about the founding of The Team Leader Community which I founded in February 2023.

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 perspectives on AI, quality, fraud, and customer expectations

• Why people, not technology, remain the beating heart of contact centres

• Festive fun, community interaction, and a live quiz

• Messages of solidarity, hope, and gratitude from across the industry

This episode isn’t about predictions for the sake of it — it’s about learning, humanity, and recognising the people who keep the industry moving.

A perfect end-of-year listen for anyone who believes contact centres are about more than KPIs.

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 people laugh, grow and want to stay.

Cally also gets real about managing friends, dealing with pressure, and why she believes personality and authenticity will always outperform the “traditional” management stereotype. 

A brilliant episode for:
• Team leaders
• Operations managers
• Anyone in outbound sales
• Senior leaders thinking about culture and performance
• People who just want a reminder of why this industry is so special

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 pride remains so high — and why that matters
• Career path confusion: half of agents don’t know what roles exist beyond the phones
• The complex relationship agents have with AI — fear meets opportunity
• Empathy: why 75% of agents feel confident… while leaders think it’s the biggest skills gap
• The stress factor: now as influential as pay in whether people stay
• Scheduling frustrations, fairness, autonomy and the “silent delta” between leaders and frontline colleagues
• What leaders can action today to close the gap

Ed also shares fascinating stories from the field — from analysing live conversations to real examples of empathy breakdowns — and gives practical, grounded insight into where the industry is heading.

This is essential listening for contact centre leaders who want to keep their teams proud, supported, motivated, and future-ready.

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
💬 How they stay motivated and connected
💬 What customers don’t always see
💬 Why teamwork matters more than ever

It’s a reminder that every KPI, every dashboard, and every customer experience starts with people.

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 AI phone booth demo coming to the Contact Centre Expo

• The future of voice AI and multilingual challenges

• Building guardrails and AI quality management

• How Cisco is helping customers build and train their own AI bots

Dan also shares a glimpse of what’s next for AI, how Cisco is empowering customers to innovate safely, and what makes the company such a great place to work.

👉 Subscribe to Get Out of Wrap for more conversations with the people shaping our industry.

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 authentically” in a world of scripts, KPIs and AI. Drawing on her own time in call centres, she shares hilarious and heartfelt stories about the conversations we have — and the ones we wish we could.

Expect discussions on:

• The blurred line between human and AI communication

• The exhaustion of constant conversation

• The joy (and chaos) of customer interactions

• Why treating people like people still matters most

This episode is a celebration of the humour, absurdity and humanity at the heart of contact centre life. 🎭

At just 20 years old, Lewis Parkin is proving that age is no barrier to impact in the contact centre world.

Starting out at Alvaria in an entry-level role, Lewis quickly showed his initiative — creating training videos, planning events, helping with design projects, and even managing customer accounts across the UK and Ireland. His story is a brilliant example of curiosity, attitude, and the power of saying yes.

In this episode, host Martin Teasdale chats with Lewis about:

• How he entered the contact centre industry straight from college

• The perceptions young people have about contact centres

• What he’s learned from working with experienced leaders like Steve Powell, Bruce Skjolde and Phil Jude

• How variety and responsibility helped him grow

• Why proactive customer contact excites him about the future

Lewis also shares what it’s like being part of a global team, how he handles imposter syndrome, and why technology and creativity go hand in hand.

From knocking on doors in the rain to leading one of Glasgow’s most energetic sales operations, Garry Beattie has lived the full contact-centre journey.

In this episode, Garry shares:

• His early lessons in face-to-face sales and how they shaped his leadership style

• The role of support, recognition, and development in building strong teams

• Why outbound sales is still thriving when done with honesty and heart

• The “SAS mentality” that drives his team’s culture and performance

• How Betr develops leaders from within and celebrates success the right way

A must-listen for anyone in outbound sales or people leadership.

👏 Brought to you by Betr Outsourcing — champions of proactive, high-performing contact-centre teams.

A New Way to Lead: Danny Wareham on “Constellations” and Culture as the True Leader.

In this episode of Get Out of Wrap, Martin Teasdale sits down with Danny Wareham, author of Constellations and founder of Firgun, to explore a revolutionary new way of looking at leadership.

After nearly two decades in corporate life, Danny took redundancy and embarked on a master’s-level journey into organisational psychology — a path that led to Constellations, a book redefining what leadership really means.

Danny shares the thinking behind his four-year research project: that leadership isn’t about a single figurehead, but about creating environments and cultures that lead themselves. From the psychology of trust and team dynamics to the lessons organisations can learn from the military and small businesses, this conversation challenges every assumption about hierarchy and control.

Whether you’re a contact centre leader, manager, or just passionate about building better teams, this is an episode that will change how you think about leadership forever.

📘 Constellations is available now in Waterstones, WHSmith, Barnes & Noble, and online.

In this episode of Get Out of Wrap, I sit down with Olly Hobson, co-founder of Cloudax, to hear how he’s making waves in the world of AI-powered voice technology — all before the age of 25.

Olly shares his journey from building websites during his GCSEs to co-founding Cloudax and developing some of the most human-like AI voice systems on the market today.

We dive into:
✅ How AI voice can transform the contact centre experience — replacing IVRs and reducing wait times.
✅ Why this isn’t about replacing agents, but about freeing them up to focus on complex, high-value conversations.
✅ Lessons Olly learned from the NatWest Accelerator and the power of community in our industry.
✅ His vision for integrating AI voice with CCaaS platforms to create a seamless end-to-end customer journey.

What struck me most? Olly’s passion, work ethic, and belief that AI is here to augment, not replace. He’s part of a new wave of entrepreneurs shaping the future of customer experience.

🎧 Tune in to hear from one of the brightest young voices in our industry.

In this episode of Get Out of Wrap, host Martin Teasdale speaks with Phil Jude, Senior Director at Alvaria, about how outbound has transformed into proactive customer contact — and why it’s becoming central to customer experience strategy.

Phil shares his journey from outbound agent to senior leadership, reflecting on the lessons learned along the way. Together, we explore:

• The evolution of outbound into proactive engagement.

• Using data and AI to deliver outreach that prevents problems before they happen.

• Why compliance and regulation are essential foundations.

• How proactive contact drives loyalty, retention, and revenue.

• The future of partnerships and best-of-breed technology in the contact centre industry.

Whether you’re a CX leader, contact centre manager, or simply curious about how proactive outreach can reshape customer experience, this conversation will give you fresh insights.

👉 Listen now and discover why proactive customer contact is the secret to future-proofing CX.

Thanks to my partners Alvaria for supporting the podcast.

On your LinkedIn Live Contact Centre show we talked about hybrid working and whether its helping or hurting your culture.

We also shared the first stats from the State of Contact Centre Technology survey I have recently done with Quetzel.

Chris Rainsforth is back on Get Out of Wrap!

In this wide-ranging chat, Martin and Chris explore:

• The Forum’s Raising Standards conference and collaborative problem-solving

• Why their awards programme is focused on stories and shared learning

• The evolution of training – and whether roleplays still have value in 2025

• The challenge of Learning & Development keeping pace with technology and remote work

• The shift towards wellbeing, empathy, and people-focused leadership

• Reflections on industry progress since the mid-90s – and where we still need to improve

Chris also shares personal insights on mental health, community support, and the importance of looking out for each other. As always, it’s candid, thoughtful, and full of laughs.

In this episode of Get Out of Wrap, Martin is joined by David Paulding, Global Sales & Growth expert at Nextiva.

David shares his career journey from the early days of contact centres in the 90s through to driving international growth today. Together, Martin and David explore:

• Why many organisations are still struggling with the same customer service challenges they faced decades ago.

• The role of AI in customer experience—its potential, the hype, and the reality.

• How companies can avoid “Frankenstack” systems and instead build integrated, digital-first platforms.

• The importance of partnership, ongoing service, and business outcomes over shiny features.

• Why Nextiva is taking a different approach with Unified Customer Experience (UCXM).

The conversation also touches on music, battle-of-the-bands stories, and what the next five years of contact centres may look like.

👉 Tune in to hear practical insights into digital transformation, customer experience, and leadership from one of the industry’s most experienced voices.

In this episode, Martin kicks off September with an interactive live discussion packed with insight, humour, and community spirit.

We start by sharing what’s on everyone’s bucket list — from swimming with great white sharks to playing football on Copacabana Beach — before diving into today’s big industry question:

👉 Customers want quick resolutions and short wait times. So why is it still so hard for contact centres to deliver this?

Together with the live audience, we explore:

• The role of planning, training, and empowering frontline teams

• Why agent autonomy can make or break first-time resolution

• The impact of over-engineered customer journeys and disconnected channels

• The growing influence of AI, automation, and web chat trends

• How focusing less on AHT and more on customer outcomes can transform satisfaction

We also look at fresh research from ContactBabel’s UK Contact Centre Decision Makers’ Guide 2025, discussing web chat vs. inbound calls, automation levels, and the reality of self-service adoption.

As always, the conversation is lively, honest, and driven by the amazing GOOW community.

🔗 If you work in contact centres, this episode will get you thinking differently about how we balance speed, quality, and customer expectations.

Your weekly contact centre show.

Today we chatted about what is missing from the contact centre and CX world.

Then we chatted about channel mix.

To take part in the show head to Linkedin on a Tuesday at 10am

In this episode of Get Out of Wrap, Martin sits down with Kevin McGachy, Head of AI Solutions at Sabio, to unpack one of the hottest topics in the industry right now – Agentic AI.

Kevin shares his journey from the contact centre floor to leading AI solutions, and explains in plain English the difference between conversational AI, generative AI, and agentic AI. We explore what’s actually happening in real-world deployments, where organisations are seeing the most value today, and what the future of AI-powered service might look like.

Expect insights on:

• Why text-based channels are leading the way for agentic AI

• How businesses can build trust and compliance guardrails

• The role of humans in overseeing, coaching, and improving AI agents

• Why reducing customer effort and proactive engagement are key to success

Whether you’re a contact centre leader, a CX professional, or just curious about AI’s role in customer service, this episode will leave you informed and inspired.

Download the e-book here;

https://sabiogroup.com/ebook/delivering-on-the-potential-of-ai-for-contact-centres/?utm_source=get-out-of-wrap&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=2025-07-gpco-ai-for-contact-centres

Listen along to the 102nd episode of GOOW TV from Linkedin Live - streamed on the 29th July the show covers some of the hot topics in our industry and is a real community.

In this heartfelt solo episode of Get Out of Wrap, host Martin Teasdale shares the full story behind The Team Leader Community™ , how it started, why it matters, and what makes it such a powerful space for contact centre team leaders.

Expect personal reflections, real talk about the highs and lows of becoming a team leader, and a deep dive into how the community now supports over 600 members from across the globe.

You'll hear:

• The origin story (including Martin’s “magic weekend”)

• The vision behind the community

• What spaces exist and how members use them

• How team leaders are supported with coaching, resources, and peer-to-peer help

• Why this is a movement, not just a membership

• Big wins from the Next CX Summit, and what’s next

This isn’t just a podcast. It’s a rallying call for better support for the people who drive customer experience every day ...the team leaders.

Subscribe for weekly episodes and inspiring guests.

You've probably met Hannah at the Contact Centre Expo, helpful positive and always helping put on a great show.

Hannah joins me to share details of the Next CX Summit in Manchester on July 15th and also we talk about the Contact Centre Expo in November and how you can get involved.

🎙 In episode #227, Martin is joined by Steve Powell of Alvaria CX to explore why proactive customer engagement is having a major comeback—and what it means for your contact centre.

Learn how Alvaria’s Outreach IQ framework is transforming outbound strategy by combining intelligence, integration, and compliance. This episode is packed with insight on how to move from reactive support to strategic outreach—and why customers are asking for it.

Key takeaways:

• Why reactive CX is broken

• What “Outreach IQ” really means

• The truth about outbound compliance and trust

• How top-tier companies are doing it right (but not shouting about it)

If you're rethinking your approach to outbound or want to deliver better customer experiences, this episode is essential.

🎧 Listen now or watch the full interview.

Join me and 50 people live from Linkedin today for the 100th episode of get Out of Wrap TV.

We chat about working from home vs in the office, what LinkedIn content we like and also what terms we'd like to see consigned to the bin.

Thank you for all your support.

In episode 225 of Get Out of Wrap, Martin welcomes back the inspiring Lee Houghton — this time to talk about The People Puzzle, his Amazon #1 bestselling book.

Lee shares the candid behind-the-scenes journey of writing a leadership book designed not just to be read, but worked through. From the original “Leadership Cheat Code” concept to evolving into four core puzzle pieces — Alignment, Relationships, Feelings, and Leadership — this episode is packed with value for leaders at every level.

We talk acronyms, Aristotle, safe spaces, and how real growth comes from reflection and feedback.

🎧 Tune in for a heartfelt and empowering conversation with one of the most genuine voices in leadership.

Brought to you by our partners: Alvaria and Quetzel.

On the 99th show of Get Out of Wrap TV ( over on Linkedin 10am on a Tuesday ) we discussed a recent article in the Guardian that was titled 'Is Customer Dead & why is it so , so bad?' No one better than the GOOW community to chat about this.

Outbound is far from dead — it's thriving in Loughborough.

In the latest episode of Get Out of Wrap, I’m joined by Steve Powell of Alvaria to introduce an incredible leader: Dan Luik, Head of Currys’ Loughborough Campus. Dan runs one of the most impressive contact centre operations I’ve ever seen. It’s profitable. It’s customer-obsessed. And it’s relentlessly focused on improvement.

We dive into:

• How Currys is redefining outbound as proactive customer engagement

• The role of leadership in a high-performance sales culture

• Why Alvaria’s outbound technology is central to their success

• Real-world use of AI to elevate people, process, and performance

• And why Loughborough is so much more than a contact centre — it’s Currys' largest virtual store.

If you think outbound is old-school or "just sales," this conversation will change your mind.

🎙️ New Episode #222 of Get Out of Wrap is live!

This week, I’m joined by James Connors, founder and director of Quetzel, a business built on honesty, curiosity, and problem-solving. In this episode, we dive into James’ unconventional journey—from life as a roadie to building a trusted tech sourcing partner that’s helping companies make smarter, faster CX and IT decisions.

We cover:

• How Quetzel helps clients navigate a noisy tech landscape

• The importance of authentic relationships with customers and suppliers

• Why being passionate, present, and personal matters more than ever

• Supporting rising boxing star Moses Itauma and Great Ormond Street Hospital

James is someone who lives and breathes his work, and this chat is full of energy, lessons, and laughs (plus a few Arsenal vs Spurs jabs!).

💥 A must-listen for anyone in CX, contact centres, tech, or thinking about starting their own venture.

In this engaging episode of Get Out of Wrap TV, host Martin Teasdale leads a thought-provoking discussion on the future of contact centres, exploring the rapid changes shaping the industry. The episode features lively audience participation and expert insights into how technology, workforce dynamics, and customer expectations are evolving.

One of the standout moments in the show comes when Martin poses a crucial question to the audience and industry professionals:

🟢 “What areas of our contact centres will undergo the most change in the next five years?”

This sparked a dynamic conversation, with insightful contributions from industry leaders. Key themes included:

• The Rise of AI and Automation: With AI becoming more advanced, Spencer Collins highlighted how customer service roles will shift from routine tasks to high-empathy, complex problem-solving interactions. AI-driven sentiment analysis and real-time assistance will reshape how advisors work.
• The Evolution of Workforce Management (WFM) and Quality Monitoring (QM): Nerys Caulfield pointed out that WFM and QM roles will need to pivot significantly, with AI taking on many traditional tasks. She also made a bold prediction: advisor numbers in the UK could drop by 50%, reducing from 900,000 to under 450,000 as automation handles more transactional work.
• The Changing Role of Advisors: With fewer but more skilled agents handling complex queries, there was debate over whether this would lead to improved pay and status for frontline workers. Barry Cooper suggested that while their roles will evolve, businesses need to ensure proper recognition and investment in training.
• Human vs. AI Balance: Morris Pentel warned about the challenge of maintaining human quality in CX while integrating AI. Ensuring that automation enhances rather than replaces the human experience will be key.
• Recruitment & Training Adaptations: Nick Holmes stressed that as AI changes job functions, recruitment and onboarding must adapt. Training will need to focus on critical thinking and problem-solving, rather than just process adherence.

The conversation also touched on controversial AI applications, such as Teleperformance’s use of AI to neutralise Indian accents in real-time. This sparked debate, with some seeing it as a way to improve customer experience, while others questioned its ethical implications.

✅ WFM Adoption: Surprisingly, 17% of contact centres still have no plans to implement a WFM system, raising concerns about efficiency and scalability.
✅ Agent Activity Breakdown: New data shows that contact centre agents spend over 50% of their time on talk time, but post-call wrap-up (11%) and admin tasks (5%) remain areas ripe for AI-driven efficiency gains.
✅ Marathon Fundraiser Update: Martin shares an exciting milestone—over £3,000 raised for Action Aid, with 40 days left until the big race!

This episode provides a compelling look at the seismic shifts coming to the contact centre industry. As AI and automation accelerate change, businesses must focus on employee experience, training, and maintaining the human touch in CX.

Don’t forget—Episode 98 is on April 1st, featuring the much-anticipated Duck Draw Giveaway! 🦆

📺 You can also watch the full episode on YouTube