Sytel CEO Named UK Contact Center Industry Champion

Michael McKinlay, CEO of Sytel Limited, a global supplier of contact center solutions, has been named UK Industry Champion 2011 by ContactCenterWorld, for his work in promoting responsible automated dialing practices for outbound call centers.

McKinlay has played a key industry role over the past 15 years, in guiding the FTC in the US and Ofcom in the UK in the drafting of regulations, and also in promoting best practice through magazine articles and speaking engagements.

\\\"We at Sytel are delighted to be associated with and honoured by Contact Center World.\\\" said McKinlay. \\\"Proper outbound is worth fighting for, and we have campaigned many years for high standards in outbound calling.\\\"

Raj Wadhwani, President of ContactCenterWorld commented \\\"Our awards are designed to celebrate and encourage best practices throughout the industry. Michael has demonstrated time and again his pioneering commitment to responsible and sustainable outbound and we are delighted to recognize him for his work.\\\"

In both the UK and the US, outbound calling by predictive dialers has come to the attention of the regulators over the issues of silent calls (where there is a delay before an agent becomes available) and abandoned calls (where the call is dropped because no agent is available).

McKinlay commented \\\"In the late 90s outbound dialers were facing extinction due to an over-reaction to customer complaints. I was glad to help both the regulators and the industry consider what was actually achievable and sustainable. Answering machine detection is the next fight. The regulators still need to wake up to the negative impact this has on the outbound market.\\\"