Welcome to our April issue. This issue brings together a range of perspectives and practical insights designed to help us navigate our environments with confidence.
Site selection, once viewed primarily as a matter of cost and geography, has become a far more strategic exercise. Organizations are now weighing access to talent, infrastructure resilience, regulatory environments, and factors that influence employee satisfaction and retention. In our featured article, we explore how forward-thinking companies are reimagining location strategy in a world where “place” is no longer confined to four walls.
Quality assurance continues to be a cornerstone of operational excellence, but it too is undergoing transformation. Traditional scorecards and random sampling are giving way to more dynamic programs that uncover opportunities for improvement and support agents delivering their best work.
Of course, none of these innovations matter without the people who bring them to life. Attracting and retaining talent remains one of the industry’s most pressing challenges. Today’s workforce is looking for more than just competitive pay—they want purpose, flexibility, and opportunities for growth.
That brings us to remote work, which has firmly established itself as a permanent fixture in our contact centers. In this issue, we examine what’s working and what’s not.
What ties all these themes together is a shift from reactive to proactive thinking. Whether it’s choosing the right location, coaching agents more effectively, or designing the future of work, success requires us to challenge old assumptions.
As you explore this issue, I encourage you to reflect on how these ideas apply within your own organization. The path forward may not be one-size-fits-all, but the opportunity to innovate has never been greater.
Thank you for being part of our community.
Linda
Table of Contents, April 2026
FEATURE ARTICLE
Which Road to Take in Site Selection?
By Brendan Read; Q&A with Dennis Donovan
Each route has its twists and turns.
COACH’S CORNER
QA Through the Agents’ Eyes
By Mark Pereira
And how to address common issues involving them.
RECRUITMENT
Why Behavioral Analytics Matter
By Mark Tinney
And more than ever in contact center hiring.
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
The Human Touch Paradox
By Cloud Tech Gurus
Why premium service is the next CCaaS battleground.
CONTACT CENTER SKILLS
Why Screening Harder Won’t Win – Part 1
By April Cantwell
There is a new approach to attracting and keeping talent.
CLOUD CONTACT CENTER
Unlocking the Cloud’s Value
By John Yoho
Smarter strategies for contact centers.
AI VS APPS
The AI Assistant-App Face-Off
By Jamie Timm
How do these digital channels compare?
REMOTE AGENTS
How to Make Remote Work Actually Work
By Michela Lombardi
Supporting remote agents requires commitment.
REMOTE WORK
Is WFH Really DOA?
By Brendan Read; Q&A with Jeremy Hyde
Remote/hybrid work is alive: including in contact centers.
CONTACT CENTER INTELLIGENCE
How to Make Contact Centers Smarter
By Robert Wakefield-Carl
And more scalable, empathetic, and drive revenues.
BUSINESS CONTINUITY
Evolving Threats, Evolving Responses
By Brendan Read; Q&A with Lou Corbeil
How contact centers can best respond to the next disaster.
MODEL CONTEXT PROTOCOL
What Contact Centers Should Know About MCP
By Tony Lama
How MCP helps AI systems access context more reliably.
A special thank you to our authors this month for sharing their insights and wisdom: April Cantwell, Tony Lama, Michela Lombardi, Mark Pereira, Brendan Read, Jamie Timm, Mark Tinney, Robert Wakefield-Carl, and John Yoho.
Sincere appreciation to our vendor community: Ada, CallMiner, Centrical, Cognigy, eGain, Human Numbers, Khoros, MediaShark, MediaSmith, NICE, NP Digital, Regal, Strategic Contact, SuccessKPI, Walker Sands, Webex, and Xima Software.
