The North East Contact Centre Awards (NECCA) 2025 brought together more than 400 guests from across the region to celebrate the exceptional people, teams and organisations that make the North East one of Europe’s leading contact centre hubs.
Hosted at The FED, Gateshead, the gala dinner marked the 22nd year of the awards, recognising innovation, dedication and service excellence across the industry.
This year’s awards once again showcased the outstanding talent, teamwork and leadership that continue to make the North East a benchmark for customer experience excellence in the UK.
The awards featured 22 competitive categories, with honours presented across three main areas: Individual Stars, Awesome Teams, and Outstanding Organisations.
The major winners of the night included:
- Contact Centre of the Year (Over 250 Seats): Sage UK
- Contact Centre of the Year (Under 250 Seats): toob
- Best Customer CX Strategy and Transformation: Xplor Technologies
- People Centric Organisation: Teleperformance
- Special Judges’ Award: Lemon Contact Centre
Individual accolades included Sam Wright of Atom Bank, who took home Customer Service Star, and Laura Scott of Dialect Communications, crowned Inspirational Leader.
Acknowledging the Supporters
The event would not be possible without the generous support of its sponsors and partners, including headline sponsor Greenbean, event partner Betr Outsourcing, alongside B2W Group, Boost, Invest North East England, Quetzel, Sunderland City Council, SVL, The Forum, and others.
Organised by Fresh Start Events, the North East Contact Centre Awards continues to provide an important platform for recognising excellence and promoting the region’s thriving customer service sector.
Looking Ahead
The full list of winners is available at www.necca.co.uk. Planning for NECCA 2026 is already underway, with details to be announced early next year.
Reflections from Sarah Hunt – Lead Judge
“What a Night! Celebrating the Best of the North East Contact Centre Industry.
Friday night saw the return of the North East Contact Centre Awards, and what an incredible celebration it was.
As Lead Judge again this year, it’s always an honour to be part of something that shines a spotlight on the amazing talent, teamwork, and innovation that make this region so special.
This year’s awards brought together over 400 guests from across the region, with more than 150 organisations taking part in some capacity, a brilliant reflection of how vibrant and connected our industry continues to be.
The North East remains the beating heart of the UK contact centre and customer experience industry in fact, the region has the highest proportion of people working in CX anywhere in the country.
The energy, creativity, and collaboration on display this year were a powerful reminder of why we lead the way. Across every category, one thing stood out above all else: the people.
Behind every process improvement, every new technology, and every customer success story were individuals and teams bringing passion, purpose, and heart to their work.
This year’s winners reflected the diversity and strength of our region from transformational leaders and innovative support teams to compassionate customer champions and pioneering learning professionals.
A few key takeaways really stood out for me this year:
- Innovation is thriving but it’s human-centred. AI, automation, and digital tools are being embraced, not as replacements for people, but as enablers of better service and stronger connections. The best examples showed tech being used to free up time for empathy, creativity, and problem-solving.
- The link between people, culture, and performance has never been stronger. The highest-performing teams were those where values, inclusion, and engagement are woven into daily operations not treated as initiatives but as the foundation of success.
- Leadership is evolving. Today’s outstanding leaders are authentic, humble, and hands-on. They coach, empower, and inspire creating teams that deliver excellence because they feel supported and trusted to do so.
- Customer experience is now business strategy. The most successful organisations are those that have integrated CX into every part of their decision-making linking people, data, and technology to deliver smarter, faster, and more personalised service.
- Learning never stops. The innovation coming from L&D teams this year was exceptional using digital learning, coaching, and data to drive capability and career growth across all levels.
The quality of entries was exceptional, and every finalist had a story worth celebrating stories of growth, resilience, and transformation. The judging this year was tougher than ever, but what a privilege to hear so many inspiring journeys.
A huge thank you to my fellow judges for your time, insight, and passion; to our sponsors who make this event possible; and to everyone who entered you truly make this industry what it is.
Congratulations to all the winners and finalists you represent the very best of the North East. Here’s to another year of innovation, collaboration, and continued success.
And of course… on a Halloween awards night, it was only right that there was a bit of magic in the air!”
Author: Guest Author
Published On: 6th Nov 2025
Read more about - Industry News
