Home

 

 

Dina Vance, Senior Vice President from Ulysses Learning, takes on our reader’s question this month. She offers several observations and best practices that are commonly overlooked in contact centers across the US. According to Dina, these are among the top of those best practices that can transform your contact center into a customer experience-focused operation that gets high marks. 

NOTE: We’re looking for more of your challenges. Email your contact center-related questions to: ChallengeSolved@ulysseslearning.com

Q:  What’s on the horizon in terms of training and performance improvement recommendations for our contact center teams?  

Our featured expert for this month’s question is:
 Dina Vance
 Senior Vice President, Managing Director of North American Operations

A: Given the many rapid advancements in AI and other contact center technologies impacting our businesses, along with the increasingly complex world in which we operate, our team of researchers and experts have been looking very closely at ever evolving customer expectations to determine how best we can continue our work to improve the customer experience. 

Given the continued acceleration of AI, automation, and digital transformation across industries, the contact center has entered a new era—one defined not just by efficiency, but by complexity. While technology has streamlined many transactional interactions, it has also fundamentally reshaped the types of conversations that make it to a live representative. 

At Ulysses Learning, our ongoing research and work across industries including financial services, healthcare, energy, and retail has revealed an important shift: the human moments that remain are more nuanced, more emotionally charged, and more consequential than ever before. 

In studying evolving customer expectations and real-world client outcomes over the past several years, three key findings have emerged that are shaping the future of training and performance improvement. 

FINDING #1: The Human Calls That Remain Are More Emotionally Complex
Today’s contact centers are handling a higher percentage of what we would call “sensitive” or emotionally charged interactions. Routine inquiries are increasingly handled by AI-powered self-service tools. What’s left for human agents are the conversations that can’t be automated. These are moments of emotion with complexity.

This shift has elevated the importance of skills like active listening, empathy, ownership, and the ability to uncover the “question behind the question.” While structured call frameworks are necessary, success today depends on a representative’s ability to flex within that structure and to apply critical thinking. 

The best agents are not rigidly following steps. They are adapting in real time. 

We’ve seen organizations achieve meaningful gains in both CSAT and first call resolution by introducing this concept of “flex” into their coaching and training programs. Rather than teaching a linear script, they coach to intent which helps reps understand why each step matters and when it’s appropriate to adjust based on the customer’s emotional state. 

This shift improves outcomes along with engagement. Agents feel more empowered, more trusted, and more connected to the purpose of their work. In today’s environment, that matters. 

FINDING #2: Personalization of Service Delivery Is a Performance Multiplier
Not all representatives apply call strategies in the same way and increasingly, that’s a good thing. Our research continues to show that top-performing agents excel when they are empowered to translate strategies into their own authentic style of service. We refer to this as activating EQ@Work or Judgment@Work—the ability to blend emotional intelligence with sound decision-making in the moment. 

In the past few years, this capability has become even more critical. Why?  

Because customers are comparing experiences across industries. The ease of an Amazon return, the personalization of Netflix recommendations, or the responsiveness of Apple support has raised expectations everywhere including in traditionally more complex sectors like healthcare and financial services. As a result, “good” is no longer good enough. Customers expect interactions to feel tailored, human, and thoughtful.  However, not every CSR naturally brings this level of emotional intelligence or confidence to the role. Factors such as experience level, tenure, and even generational differences can influence how easily someone adopts and personalizes a call strategy. 

That’s where targeted development comes in. Over the past few years, we’ve seen strong results from organizations implementing focused learning “campaigns” designed to build EQ in practical, applicable ways. The most effective learnings are short, behavior-driven reinforcements embedded into the flow of work. 

For example: 

• Micro-learning modules that focus on handling difficult emotions 
• Coaching prompts that encourage curiosity and deeper questioning 
• Scenario-based practice tied to real customer situations 

In one healthcare contact center, this approach led to measurable improvements in both CSAT and employee confidence within a matter of months. In a financial services organization, it helped newer agents close the performance gap with tenured peers more quickly. 

The takeaway is clear: when agents are given the tools and support to make the strategy their own, performance and job satisfaction improve. In a time when retention remains a challenge across the industry, that’s a meaningful advantage. 

Historically, many contact centers have operated with a quality-led model, where QA teams define, monitor, and enforce standards, often somewhat removed from day-to-day operations. While this approach provides structure, it can sometimes feel disconnected from the realities of live customer interactions. 

In contrast, we are seeing increasing success with leadership-led quality models, where operational leaders set the vision for the customer experience and quality teams play a supporting, enabling role. 

This shift has several important implications:

• Quality becomes more aligned with business outcomes 
• Coaching becomes more relevant and actionable 
• The process feels less like compliance and more like development

Organizations adopting this model are reporting higher levels of both customer satisfaction and employee engagement—without negatively impacting efficiency metrics like average handle time. In fact, in some cases, efficiency improves. When expectations are clear and coaching is aligned, agents spend less time second-guessing and more time resolving issues effectively. 

We’ve recently worked with clients to implement this shift through relatively simple adjustments: 

• Aligning quality scorecards more closely with outcomes 
• Involving frontline leaders more directly in calibration and feedback 
• Reducing over-reliance on rigid scoring in favor of coaching conversations 

The result is a more “organic” quality process, one that supports performance rather than policing it.  And importantly, it creates a shared sense of ownership across leadership, quality teams, and frontline staff. 

What Do These Findings Mean for Your Contact Center? 

Taken together, these insights point to a broader evolution in the role of the contact center. 

Technology (AI) is not replacing humans, but it is forcing humans to elevate their performance, education and critical thinking. 

AI and automation are incredibly effective at handling routine tasks, but they also raise the stakes for the interactions that remain. The contact center is increasingly the place where complex issues are resolved, relationships are strengthened, and brand perception is shaped. 

That reality requires a different approach to training and performance improvement. 

It requires: 

• Flexibility within structured call strategies 
• Development of emotional intelligence as a core capability 
• Leadership ownership of the customer experience

Not every organization will need to make the same adjustments at the same pace. But for those navigating rising customer expectations, workforce challenges, and ongoing digital transformation, these shifts can make a meaningful difference. 

Looking Ahead 

Yes, today’s environment is challenging. But it is also full of opportunity. 

If there is one part of the business uniquely positioned to meet the moment, it is the contact center. These teams are closest to the customer, and are exposed to the most opportunities which make a difference. 

At Ulysses Learning, we remain inspired by the work happening in contact centers every day. The resilience, adaptability, and commitment to service we see across our clients continues to reinforce what we’ve always believed: when supported with the right tools, training, and leadership, contact center teams don’t just keep up with change—they lead through it.

We would welcome the opportunity to explore how these findings apply to your organization and where there may be opportunities to enhance performance, engagement, and customer experience.

 

 

 

In her current capacity with Ulysses Learning, Dina is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company and also serves as the chief client relationship executive, working with Fortune 100 clients and other progressive organizations to redefine the way customers are cared for. Under her leadership, Ulysses has been recognized for its work in transforming customer service, sales and coaching cultures through the development of emotional intelligence or “EQ,” enabling reps to confidently, consistently and expertly handle each customer interaction. The company has focused expertise in serving the healthcare, insurance, utilities, and financial services industries. 

Before joining Ulysses in 2001, Dina was responsible for the ground-level startup of two contact centers to serve bankers including Fortune 100 clients First Chicago, Harris Bank, American Express and Citibank.  This led to her role as call center lead consultant and division manager for an international learning organization prior to Ulysses. Outside of work Dina is actively involved in local volunteerism and enjoys cooking, gardening and nature walks.

Dina can be reached on LinkedIn or at dvance@ulysseslearning.com; for more details on Ulysses Learning visit www.ulysseslearning.com

 

Also, you can return to the May 2026 Newsletter Here!