This year, we have regional alliance with CC-APAC association (CCAM Malaysia, Auscontact, CCAS Singapore, CNCCA China, HKCCA Hong Kong, ICCA Indonesia, TCCDA Taiwan and TCCTA Thailand).
Warmest welcome to the association members attending CC-APAC delegate gathering and awards on 27 & 28 November 2023.
June 25, 2021 – The first Leaders Talk organized by Contact Center Associations of Asia Pacific (CC-APAC) discussed “Role of Leader in Contact Center Change.” We invited four speakers, who are professionals from contact centers in the Asia Pacific region.
One of the speakers is Kenneth Chong, Chairman of CCAS Singapore & Amazon Web Services Head of Sales of Amazon Connect (ASEAN). Kenneth said that one of the challenges now is workforce because we are in a limited condition as the COVID-19 pandemic is still going on.
In this pandemic situation, the leaders start building management of a virtual workforce. Kenneth said that their team or other team had not met each other in the last 18 months. How we work as a virtual team, we have seen this skill as different. The way we communicate over a video call is no longer involves physical touch. Kenneth states that make sure business still running and well-managed.
Kenneth also shared that contact centers in Singapore have evolved, such as training or engagement in these conditions has also become online. All the training sessions for agents are delivered online. Therefore, it takes different skills when operating or managing a team in person compared to a virtual team. The level of communication or empathy can be different.
Kenneth gave three tips for leaders in the contact center. The first is empathy. Be empathetic to your people and staff. The second is, engage. All critical engagement is vital during this period because your team may not be just in front of you, but they may be virtually anywhere. It is how you stay connected with the key members right now through virtual chat or other means to communicate.
The last key is empowerment. In the team, earning trust and empowering is probably the next area you will be looking for. Leaders are operated to move up the chains, so they can be the next successor. You need to empower someone around you to train them out, and then you can move for a new adventure. (ANF)
June 25, 2021 – In this Leaders Talk, the Contact Center Associations of Asia Pacific (CC-APAC) discussed “Role of Leader in Contact Center Change.” We invited four speakers who are professionals in the Asia Pacific contact center industry.
One of the speakers is Chapman Lam, Former Chairman of HKCCA Hong Kong. Chapman said that the contact center now faces changes every year. From omnichannel, workforce, and care more about customer value. Also, people and technology management are needed to be utilized optimally.
For example, Chapman also shares the changes that happened in the Hong Kong contact center insurance industry. He said optimizing applications and other technologies are the recent projects to make better customer service. In Hong Kong, his insurance company operation is 20% handled by their live agents. Therefore, his channel optimization mission is fulfilled. He moved more towards how to enable the chatbot to enhance that structural processing. The customer can get many instant responses, such as for claim approval or a chatbot answer instantly.
Further discussion about what is the leader’s key roles or what they must do. Chapman said that the contact center is full of talented people. As a leader, we need to push them to take advantage of another role in the organization. It’s not about age or educational background. If they have the passion for making a new customer experience through different channels, they are the best candidates. Let them know that we are supporting them. The more bravely to take on new challenges and push them to take advantage of another role in the organization, the more they can deliver a benefit to their company.
This contact center operation has many university graduates who may not be graduated from the top-tier university. Still, Chapman thinks this industry is one of the best environments for them to grow. Academic will be beneficial, but the staff has many opportunities to demonstrate other qualities to the top management.
Chapman also shared some tips for a leader to face all the changes in the contact center. He is concern more on “why” to move forward in a few directions. You should walk the talk. Whether you are genuine or not, we need leaders’ credibility and motivation to lead the people. It would be best if you drove your staff more towards the purpose of the company. Then, be creative, innovative, inspire your team, and make sure they know the purpose. (ANF)
Many core businesses have changed in 2021, contact center activities have also been challenged to transform rapidly in the last 12 months. Start from the evolvement of customer experience, working from home system, until the evolution of business operations.
Contact Center Association of Singapore (CCAS) presents the 17th Regional Contact Centre Virtual Symposium with two keynote speakers, Annette Franz and Steven Van Belleghem.
We will discuss the technologies and strategies that can help contact centers build better experiences in this digital and new norm world.
Join us for the 3-half day Virtual Symposium from 6 to 8 October for a series of impactful discussions and panels by experts from different industries.
Saravanan Belusami, Chief Executive Officer PT VADS Indonesia. With 30 years of experience under his belt in business, technical and management, Saravanan has served in the full spectrum of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), Telco’s and Customer Experience (CX).
Saravanan is no stranger to BPO industry. He has expertise in various field such as sales related activities, Customer Experience Management and Transformation, people management and daily Operations. He has managed outsourcing services of over 3000 seats in Malaysia and currently heading the BPO business in Indonesia with more than 6000 employees.
He is a Certified Professional Technologist received from the Malaysia Board of Technologists (MBOT), COPC Certified Professional Manager and a member of board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM). In his current capacity he is focusing on the transformation journey that is looking at the customer experience end to end delivery and not to compromise on quality. His blended experience from the Managed Services in Telco environment together with next wave of outsourcing services is an area he is working on right now.
He has participated in many awards from different type of Contact Centre associations such as Contact Centre Association Malaysia (CCAM), Outsourcing Malaysia (OM), Contact Centre Association Singapore (CCAS) and also Contact Centre World Association (CCWA).
Saravanan has won many awards in the individual and team categories as listed below:
Munirah is an MBA graduate from UK, majoring in Human Resource Management. She is a member of International Who’s Who of Professionals and Life Member of International Business Leaders. She has a total of 25 years working experience.
An experienced personnel in the areas of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Customer Experience Management (CEM), Human Performance Management, Strategic Management, Business Process Redesign, Sales & Marketing and Project Management. Her exposure includes both local and foreign assignments with 15 years’ experience in the Banking Sector and has worked and consulted with include BPO, insurance, telecommunication, property development and leisure vacation & hospitality.
She is the Founder/President & CEO of Brandt International, which specializes in the areas of Business Transformation Consulting and Outsourcing with offices in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta and Manila. She is an experienced Facilitator, Human Performance Strategist, Service Quality Management & Change Management practitioner for the past 25 years having conducted numerous training and consulting assignments in CRM, Customer Service Management, Customer Experience Management and Organization Development assignments, both locally and overseas. She is currently a sought-after Speaker and Advisor to various Contact Centre & BPO Associations/Industries in the region, namely Singapore, Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia.
Her contribution has been recognized by numerous awards organizations:
Byron J. Fernandez
Immediate Past President of the Call Centre Association of Malaysia (CCAM)
COPC Certified Implementation Leader
CIAC Certified Strategic Leader
Group CIO of TDCX, Executive Vice President for Malaysia and India
Byron has over 20 years of experience in the Contact Centre Industry leading and running renowned outsourcing providers in Malaysia, India, and the Philippines. Byron has had the distinction of being the President, Vice President and Secretary of the CCAM during his time with the association. He holds an MBA in Information Systems, as well as an Advanced Diploma in Computer Studies.
Today, Byron is the Group CIO of TDCX, a well-recognized and respected boutique CX provider, specializing in delivering superior Customer Experience to some of the worlds most recognized brand names. His expertise in verticals such as telecommunications, banking, insurance, FMCGs, technology and government contact centres make him ideally suited to the responsibility of leading over 3000 of TDCX Malaysia’s best people.
Prior to his career at TDCX, Byron led and managed the outsourcing contact centre business for a large Malaysia outsourcing provider with a footprint in Malaysia, India and Philippines. His experience covers strategic management, digital transformation, customer experience management, business development and people development honed over his 20 years of work in outsourcing.
Byron is committed to the development of the contact centre industry and presently serves in the capacities of:
When not working, Byron rides motorcycles with a charitable motorcycle club (Helang Motorcycle Club of Malaysia) where he serves to plan out and execute community work mainly with orphans and the elderly in Malaysia and Thailand.
Raymond is the Founder & CEO of Daythree Business Services. He specializes in providing strategic management direction, particularly in the field of digital transformation strategy and management.
He has guided several technology companies from ‘start-up’ to becoming leading technology players in the industry. Amongst his many key achievements, Raymond managed one of the largest healthcare informatics implementations in Malaysia and played key role in realizing the IT Outsourcing agenda of a major state government in Malaysia.
Having originated from a corporate finance background, Raymond has strong working and practical knowledge in finance, accounting and banking. He holds a Master of Business Administration majoring in Strategy & Planning. He is a Chartered Accountant, registered with CPA Australia and Malaysian Institute of Accountants.
Raymond is the author of several articles and research papers. He was twice selected by peers in the industry as ‘Best Thought Leader’ in 2017 and once again in 2019 – an award reserved for recognizing leadership aimed at external positioning of the individual’s competencies in delivering value.
Raymond is a member of MDEC’s Talent Expert Network Panel – appointed for his knowledge and expertise in digital technology. He serves as Councillor at PIKOM, the National Tech Association of Malaysia, and is also a member of the Malaysian Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators’(MAICSA) Training Professional Development Committee.
Additionally, he is the President for Contact Centre Association of Malaysia. He also serves as Treasurer of Outsourcing Malaysia and chairs her annual flagship conference committee, GBS Summit.
Above all, he is a sports enthusiast and has a deep passion for music.
July 23, 2021 – Contact Center Associations of Asia Pacific (CC-APAC) present Leaders Talk discussion by the theme “Millennial Leaders in Contact Center”. CC-APAC invited professional speakers to the Asia Pacific contact center.
One of the speakers is Lily Shen, Senior Vice President of HSBC Global Contact Center Shared Operation, China Region. Lily began the discussion with her explanation about the working style of millennial leaders. Lily Shen said that about 70% of employees in her company are young employees. She also explained that the working style of millennials, in general, is quite adequate, attractive, and dynamic.
In addition, Lily also shared what she and her team focus on for millennials. The focus consist of nine future skills: curiosity, creativity, connectivity, customer engagement, human development, communication impact, transformation change, resilience, and growth.
Lily also shared three tips about how to become a strong leader in contact center. If millennials decide to progress in the contact center, they must know it is a very challenging but meaningful business. It is emotional, needs a lot of connectivity, and the human touch is precious in business. Contact center has a crucial role in all kind of business, especially in this covid situation. Therefore, the first tip to be a strong leader is to add or link the purpose of contact center with the individual, then they will find a way to learn and also to grow.
The second tip, Lily knows that millennials focus more on instant return. We can challenge them to understand the efficient looking, especially the future trend of digital interaction that is linked with the human touch. This challenge makes them know how far they can understand that they focus and how far they can progress their careers.
Last but not least, do not just learn from the senior. Millennial leaders must build their own leadership style and branding. Be yourself and show respect to people. Lily also shared that diversity is a strength and a core value in contact center. The customers are diversified and we are all diversified, so build your own leadership style and then it would be great. (ANF)
July 23, 2021 – The second Leaders Talk organized by Contact Center Associations of Asia Pacific (CC-APAC) discussed “Millennial Leaders in Contact Center.” We invited four speakers, who are professionals from the Asia Pacific contact center.
One of the speakers is Joyce Poon, Vice President of CNCCA (China), Vice Chairlady of HKCCA (Hong Kong) & CEO of Equity Global Consultants Ltd.
Joyce said millennials are tech-savvy and are actively attached to the digital world, such as social media and gaming. Not only that, but they are also independent with a strong entrepreneurial mindset. Millennials show concern about the work environment with friendly teams, learning & development opportunities, and work-life balance.
She said that we should empower the millennials to be future-fit by building up their soft skills, such as empathy, collaboration, coaching, persuasion, creativity, adaptability, and more. We should offer learning opportunities for hard skills, such as artificial intelligence, data analytics, UX design, and even video production. They can be role models and leadership brands for contact centers.
Joyce also gave some tips for millennial leaders who are struggling in this pandemic situation. She said millennial leaders are very agile and resilient, and there are many opportunities for them to be involved in digital transformation. They can be the key enabler for digital success, and millennials can make a better work environment for future generations.
She wants to challenge millennial leaders to move from a “know-it-all” culture to a “learn-it-all” culture and nurture their “Growth Mindset.” As the Chinese proverb says, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” We need to nurture the culture in contact centers.
For millennials, you must take a chance, and Joyce hopes we can strive together to create a better workplace and a better experience for the next generation. She said that she feels grateful because we can do it together for the generation coming behind us. The last message to millennial leaders is: “you gain the upper hand and good luck in getting ready for a brighter future,” said Joyce. (ANF)
