Get ready to celebrate! The
ICMI Global Contact Center Awards party is just two months away, and as excitement builds for the event, we’re thrilled to highlight this year’s incredible
group of finalists. The awards will take place at
Contact Center Expo, October 21-24 in Orlando.
First up, we’re shining a spotlight on the honorees in the Best Small Contact Center category. These fantastic teams have shown remarkable dedication, innovation, and a passion for providing top-notch customer experiences. Let’s give a big round of applause to our outstanding finalists: Gopher Sport, OneCause, StarTech.com, STCU, and WebCE.
Meet These Five Outstanding Small Contact Center Teams
Gopher Sport: Leading the Way with Fast, Friendly, Easy and Right Service
"Their adaptability and quick thinking in handling challenging situations have been commendable, ensuring seamless operations even during peak periods. They truly uphold our Fast, Friendly, Easy, Right (FFER) standards. Their exemplary work ethic and positive attitude make them an invaluable asset to Gopher Sport." - Gary Buescher, Vice President, Procurement and Manufacturing
At Gopher Sport, the contact center embodies the company's mission to be the easiest company to do business with through its core principles of FAST, FRIENDLY, EASY, and RIGHT. They excel in swift service, with goals such as answering 90% of calls within 15 seconds and responding to 99% of emails within 8 hours. Emphasizing a friendly and supportive culture, they invest in team training and internal collaboration to enhance customer interactions. Their multi-channel approach, including phone, email, and SMS, ensures accessible and efficient service, while a commitment to accuracy underpins their dedication to a seamless customer experience.
OneCause: Empowering Nonprofit Organizations Nationwide
“Our customers interact most frequently with our contact center, whether they’re seeking advice on best practices or need help. Their empathy, knowledge, and commitment have made a positive impact on our customers. In 2023 alone, our customers saw over a billion dollars in fundraising proceeds. The service team’s commitment to improved processes and ongoing education for our customers no doubt played a large part in these increases.” - Steve Johns, CEO
The OneCause contact center excels in serving over 6,000 nonprofit organizations with a highly customer-centric approach. Their 35 agents are trained extensively in empathy and product knowledge, supported by advanced CRM and analytics tools to deliver personalized, efficient service. The team’s small size fosters strong relationships and agile responses, while continuous feedback and a culture of empowerment drive exceptional performance. In 2023, the center achieved outstanding metrics with a 97% CSAT, 97% CES, and a 67.7 NPS, showcasing their commitment to providing seamless, high-quality support across multiple channels.
Startech.com: Making Hard-to-Find Easy
“Customer centricity is at the core of everything we do at StarTech.com and no team better exemplifies this than the Customer Advisors and Technical Advisors that comprise our Call Center. One of the most important drivers of our success, our Call Center ensures that we live up to our brand promise of “making hard-to-find easy” for our customers. Our call center is a vital way we build relationships and long-term loyalty with our customers which in turn leads to improved business outcomes for both our customers and StarTech.com.” -Adrian Mezenberg, President, StarTech.com
As the IT Professional’s trusted source for performance connectivity accessories, StarTech.com operates in a multi-channel environment on a 24/5 schedule to support its global, business-focused customer base. They formally support chats, phone, and email in Italian, German, French, Spanish, English, and Japanese. However, StarTech.com always finds a way to address customers in their preferred language, utilizing a third-party translation service (currently CyraCom) to assist with verbal communication when necessary. In recent years, the Customer Support Department has evolved its philosophy to enhance service delivery through a focus on structure, coaching, culture, career development, and technology. The team was reorganized under unified leadership to streamline operations and improve strategy execution. Emphasis is placed on ethical behavior and team impact, with a culture that encourages collaboration and feedback. Key performance metrics such as CSAT (97%), CES (97%), NPS (67.7), and FCR (86.7) are closely monitored to drive continuous improvement and operational efficiency.
STCU: A Central Hub for Outstanding Member Service
“Our Contact Center is the credit union to many of our members. When members say they love STCU they don’t mean the entity, they mean the people who bring the entity to life. STCU has the greatest market share in the Spokane region and as we continue to expand into other areas the Contact Center is the central service hub for the entire credit union. Members call just to say thank you to the team for being present, willing, and able to assist them with their needs.” - Robyn Galtieri, Senior Vice President
The STCU contact center excels in service delivery and innovation, efficiently managing key metrics like call volume and abandonment rates while ensuring prompt resolutions. With high member satisfaction scores and a commitment to continuous improvement, it demonstrates dedication to operational excellence and employee engagement. The center also actively contributes to the community, logging over 400 service hours in the past year. By offering diverse communication channels, including phone, live chat, email, and secure messaging, it delivers exceptional member experiences and maintains a leadership position in the industry. Member satisfaction remains high, with scores between 9.38 and 9.5, and a strong net promoter score of 87. In addition, employee engagement is robust at 90%, supported by ongoing improvements in communication, workload management, and system enhancements. The center’s impact is further demonstrated by over 400 community service hours and a multi-channel support approach, including phone, live chat, email, and secure messaging.
WebCE: Leveraging Contact Center Talent to Build Personal Connections
“The Support Services team at WebCE is one of our company’s biggest differentiators. Each team member is taught to care for the client calling in, taking the time needed to answer all questions and go beyond just a standard answer. Our team is trained to solve the customer’s problem or question completely. If that requires a longer than normal call or reaching out to another department, regulator or an external partner, we will do that.” -OneCause Executive Team
WebCE has been recognized as one of the Best Companies to Work for in Texas by Texas Monthly magazine in 2021 and 2022 and won Business Insider’s 2023 Best Place to Work in Insurance award. They also received a 2024 Silver Stevie Award for Outstanding Customer Service and the 2023 Texas Consilium Business Excellence Award. WebCE’s customer service approach leverages each team member’s unique talents to create personal connections and effective solutions, with employee feedback driving continuous improvement and growth. With 113,695 calls answered in the past year alone, the phone is their contact center’s primary channel, with satisfaction rates high there, too. 98% of customers said it was easy to reach a resolution with their call.
Join The Celebration at ICMI Contact Center Expo
Each of these organizations has set the bar high, and we can't wait to see who takes home the gold! Are you ready to help us cheer them on?
Join us this October 21-24 in Orlando, Florida for ICMI Contact Center Expo, and don’t miss the ICMI Global Contact Center Awards party on October 23!
Register here and use the code CELEBRATE400 to save $400 on any conference pass.