The Customer Experience & Contact Center Forum, held at The Wigwam in Litchfield, Arizona from October 8 to 10, brought together industry leaders to discuss evolving strategies for customer service operations. The forum focused on the need for companies to protect service quality, manage costs, and adapt quickly to changing demand.
A central topic throughout the event was the importance of flexible workforce models that can respond to market volatility. Attendees explored different approaches combining domestic and global delivery, tailored sourcing methods, and precision scheduling designed to match staffing levels with real-time customer needs. The aim is to maintain consistent brand experiences while minimizing unnecessary overhead.
Jay Arthur, Vice President of Sales at Liveops, led a roundtable session titled “Scaling Smarter: The Future of Flexible Customer Service.” Graham Eichman, also Vice President of Sales at Liveops, participated in discussions with leaders from various industries. The session addressed three main challenges: managing predictable and unexpected spikes in customer demand; using forecasting and innovative sourcing models for precise staffing; and ensuring quality and brand alignment as workforce models become more variable.
Arthur noted that participants shared practices such as adjusting readiness windows during peak times like Mondays or open enrollment periods. Leaders discussed the use of hour-based surge plans that allow organizations to expand capacity rapidly without extensive preparation. They also described flexible scheduling and hybrid talent strategies that help meet service level agreements while controlling costs.
Certification processes were highlighted as essential for maintaining consistency across teams. Leaders emphasized practical simulations before launching new initiatives and scorecards linking quality metrics directly to business outcomes.
Attendees left the session with actionable ideas on how to better align staffing forecasts with actual coverage needs and how to reinforce certification processes so quality remains high even as operations scale up or down.
Informal conversations during the event reinforced several points: precision scheduling is more effective than simply increasing headcount; paying only for productive time helps control costs without sacrificing service standards; rapid scaling can address seasonal peaks if brand consistency is maintained; and combining data analysis with experienced human judgment leads to better operational decisions.
Arthur summarized the current landscape by stating that contact centers are crucial channels for building customer trust at a time when market challenges are increasing. He observed that many organizations are investing in readiness strategies and focusing on measurable business outcomes as key indicators of success.
Looking ahead, Arthur said his team at Liveops works with enterprise brands to implement intelligent support solutions aimed at reducing unnecessary expenses while protecting the overall customer experience across multiple regions.
"If you are rethinking how your organization handles variability, I would welcome a conversation about right-fit solutions for your operation," Arthur said.