PACE National Conference Recap- 2016

I’m still sitting in sunny Florida just reflecting on the wrap-up of the 2016 National PACE conference held in Orlando Florida at the beautiful Rosen Center and I thought for those that were not able to make it I’d share some thoughts about the event.

The opening keynote started on a high note with Harris Rosen. I was not familiar with his story, but what an amazing person he is and what an amazing philanthropy story it is! One that MUST be read and I hope will be duplicated by others!

The conference itself remains much lower in attendance than the traditional ATA events I remember years ago but there seems to be a sense of renewed commitment to revitalize it again and we saw a number of old friends and new that are all industry experts!  We are excited to see some of the more recent board member changes like Stephen Ferber at Golden Gate BPO as well as some staff updates like Maudree Gardfrey and her boundless energy.  We still have a lot of love for a number of the board members and staff that have been supporting PACE for some time: Dean Garfinkel, Lori Fentem, Michelle Schuster,Stuart Discount,  and Chris Haerich (just to name a few!).

These are ALL respected, smart experienced contact center, customer experience professionals that can HELP you, but we also respect that sometimes new ideas new people can lead to new plans and new energy. CH Consulting Group is hoping to help contribute to that as a new member this year because the rebuilding of PACE will take a village.

PACE needs more members.

Moreover, we believe it is critical PACE stays relevant.  CH Consulting Group wants PACE to thrive!

Here is why we think it matters: Compliance, compliance and more compliance. There was no lack of content and information on this industry critical component. Part of our reinvestment into the PACE organization is because of its tremendous and ongoing leadership in the area of federal lobbying, regulation leadership and compliance.

We are super excited about the new CECP certification and I myself plan to attend the PACE Washington Summit event in September in Washington DC  in order to participate in this individual compliance certification that will allow CH Consulting Group to increase our ability to guide our clients through this ever complicated network of compliance issues. If you have not checked out this program we highly recommend you do so on the website … and support the PACE PAC because no one is monitoring and influencing this better for all business then PACE.

Speaking of compliance, we cannot not mention our dear friend at Contact Center Compliance ~ DNC, Mr. Ryan Thurman. Ryan and this organization has been a stable and critical partner to a number of us in this space navigating data, security and compliance. We love their new litigator scrub and highly recommend that you look to attend their ongoing webinars and regional training options.

In such an emerging technology space, it is impossible to reflect on any events in this industry and not comment on technology. We are excited to see a continued and aggressive push for product development that allows organizations to get to the increasingly critical state of omni-channel for their clients best interests. Although the number of platforms that can truly call themselves a unified agent desktop for an omni-channel platform is less than we would like to see, we acknowledge that there is great progress and increase in this area. We had great conversations with:

• Connect First about the security and customer support they provide (plus they have great conference booth layout and cream-colored couches! Find them at your next show! ~ and congrats on their “Best in Show” award at PACE!);
• C3Logic about their development path and growth we are curious to learn more about and monitor;
• CEO Arthur Nederlof at the VANAD Group about their innovative Europe based BPO and the EXCITING omni-channel technology they are now bringing to US based companies: check out the Aloha platform!

That is my report from sunny Florida. I hope you will consider joining/re-engaging with PACE this year and be at the Washington Summit— regulation, monitoring and influence is critical, and having such a strong group of experienced industry leaders working together is critical as we navigate the future on people, process and technology!

We will see you next at the IQPC Call Center show in Las Vegas!!

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Read here to learn more about CH Consulting Group as a partner and our approach. Feel free to reach out to Christa to learn more about her experience and how she may be able to assist you navigate business strategy, growth and any other contact center customer experience and strategy need you have.