Contact Center Perspectives🎙️

In this episode, Shmuel Saklad talks about leadership, burnout, mentorship, and the growing pressure of AI adoption in contact centers. After working his way up from frontline agent to senior leadership at B&H, he shares honest insights on building trust with teams, supporting new managers, and why strong leadership matters more than ever in the age of AI.

In this episode, Dan Smitley shares practical insights on how WFM leaders can better balance business goals, customer expectations, and employee needs. We also discuss collaboration, leadership, and where AI is taking Workforce Management next.

In this episode of Contact Center Perspectives, host Tracy Weinger speaks with Florian Raschbichler from HiveMQ about how AI agents are transforming customer success. Florian shares how AI is being applied across the entire customer journey, helping teams scale operations, improve efficiency, and focus more on delivering real customer value. The conversation explores how customer success is evolving from a support function into a revenue driver — and why companies that focus on outcomes and value creation will win in the age of AI.

Jackob Alaluf, VP of Customer Experience at Bridgewise, explains why CX is the ultimate business differentiator. Drawing on 35 years across B2B and B2C, he shares how people, satisfaction, and retention drive long-term success. His perspective reframes how companies should define growth in highly competitive markets.“At the end of the day, the customer experience representatives are the ones who are actually responsible for taking the product or solution and ensuring that whoever is using it is satisfied with what they received, what they purchased, and what they are using. You will also find competitions and similar solutions and products to those in the market. The difference will be with the people behind these products and the solutions. Customer experience is a key differentiator.” — Jackob Kobi AlalufThis episode explores how customer experience transcends departments to become the foundation for business growth. Jackob reveals why retention, trust, and people-first practices are the key to long-term success and how CX alignment can transform satisfaction into a strategic advantage.

Mark McKercher, VP of Global Customer Support at Sovos, explains why most AI efforts fail before they begin. He reveals how unrealistic expectations and weak foundations derail success. He shows how AI can turn support into a revenue driver through cross-functional collaboration. He closes with why change management defines long-term success. “It’s about being deliberate in the technology you choose, while recognizing that no technology is just a light switch. It’s not nearly as much about the technology as people think, but more about change management and helping people shift their perspectives.” – Mark McKercherIn this episode, Mark shares practical ways leaders can move beyond the “AI quick fix” mindset. He explores how data foundations, executive alignment, and transparent communication make AI adoption measurable and sustainable for both support and enterprise growth.

Simas Tamosaitis, Director of Customer Service at Mastermind.com, outlines a mission-driven CX framework that shifts teams from transactional to transformative. He explains how mindset, mission, and clear KPIs create consistent customer outcomes. He shows why empowered agents turn edge cases into advocacy. He closes with a call to build leaders at every level.“Customer service teams do not succeed just because they answer questions quickly. They need the right foundation, they need mindset, they need mission, and they need measurable KPIs. Mission gives purpose and metrics give direction, and together they build a team that performs and grows.” – Simas TamosaitisThis episode explores how a purpose-driven culture turns routine interactions into measurable outcomes. Simas shares practical ways to align mindset, mission, and KPIs so agents handle edge cases with confidence, drive loyalty, and set a higher standard for consistent customer outcomes.

Tracey Djordjevic, Director of Customer Service at Clarion Medical Technologies, explains why embracing constant change defines effective service leadership. She connects personal mindset with team stability through transitions. Tracey cites the principle that growth demands continuous improvement and learning. She details how her approach helps teams adapt smoothly during ongoing change.“You need to make sure you are gathering customer insights, followed by building your customer personas, building out the voice of the customer, doing your customer journey mapping, and tying all that into your strategic planning. Customer centricity should be a key element of your strategic planning as an organization, and you need your other strategic objectives to tie into that from the bottom up and be pushed from the top down.” – Tracey DjordjevicTracey highlights a practical blueprint for leading change from the contact center. She addresses survival mode, then recommends customer insights, personas, journey mapping, and KPI redesign to link activity to revenue. Djordjevic advocates bottom-up execution supported by top-down sponsorship to turn feedback into growth, alignment, and accountable results.

Marcia Daniel, Chief Client Officer at Ferrilli, explains why reliable data is the backbone of customer experience and growth. She connects NPS, CSAT, and help desk insights to business outcomes leaders can trust. Marcia shows how consistency and cybersecurity protect brand credibility and donor confidence. She closes with a blueprint for turning data into stories that align stakeholders.“Your data is going to tell you where your students are coming from, what their background is, if your curricula are on the right track with what you're offering, and what makes up that degree that you are awarding. It's going to tell you who you're weeding out and how you change that all the way through to the consistency in your data.” – Marcia DanielThis episode explores how leaders turn raw metrics into trusted decisions. Marcia outlines a simple stack for proof NPS, CSAT, tickets, and a year-end survey. She explains why unbiased questions matter, how cybersecurity and data integrity protect trust, and how to translate insights into stories that align executives and improve outcomes.

Brie Clements, Senior Director of Customer Service and Support at For The Record, details a practical shift from reactive fixes to proactive services. She maps roles, builds a skills matrix, and stabilizes operations. Brie demonstrates how proactive inspections can generate recurring revenue. She closes with metrics that accelerate trust.“Every interaction we had with a customer was not only an opportunity to solve a problem for them but also to turn that problem into an opportunity to discuss something new that we had or something they didn’t have yet. Customers started to treat us more like an advisor, and that helped us pivot the relationship and provide leads to the sales team.” - Brie ClementsThis episode follows Brie’s practical journey from reactive fixes to proactive, revenue-linked services. You will hear how a skills matrix, role clarity, and cadence-based inspections reduce escalations, create capacity, and unlock recurring revenue. Brie also shares coaching habits and nontraditional KPIs that build trust, inform upgrades, and position support as an advisor to the business.

Amber Scott, VP of Customer Experience at Serta Simmons Bedding, explains why basic empathy is now table stakes. She shares how clear expectations and promise-keeping create trust. Amber connects hospitality with measurable business outcomes. She closes on aligning CX to company objectives for growth.“Customer expectations and behavior continue to evolve, so I encourage leaders to read, stay informed, pay attention, and listen to customers.” - Amber ScottIn this episode, Amber demonstrates that empathy is a table-stakes requirement and explains how clear expectations, consistent promise-keeping, and genuine hospitality translate into measurable outcomes. She illustrates that reliable follow-through and authentic human connection build durable trust across channels. She leaves leaders with a practical charge to keep learning as expectations evolve, speak the language of business, and align CX efforts directly to core objectives for sustainable growth.