This Christmas special episode of Get Out of Wrap is a moment to pause, reflect, and reconnect.

I bring together voices from across the contact centre and CX community to look back on 2025, share honest views on AI, leadership and frontline reality, and talk openly about what really matters heading into 2026.

You’ll hear:

• Real reflections on a tough but meaningful year

• Insightful perspectives on AI, quality, fraud, and customer expectations

• Why people, not technology, remain the beating heart of contact centres

• Festive fun, community interaction, and a live quiz

• Messages of solidarity, hope, and gratitude from across the industry

This episode isn’t about predictions for the sake of it — it’s about learning, humanity, and recognising the people who keep the industry moving.

A perfect end-of-year listen for anyone who believes contact centres are about more than KPIs.

This episode of Get Out of Wrap brings you an energy-filled, funny, honest and inspiring conversation with Cally Heads, a standout leader who has risen through the ranks of the contact centre world by staying completely, unapologetically herself.

We talk about what it really takes to thrive in sales today, why culture is the heartbeat of any operation, and how great leaders build teams where people laugh, grow and want to stay.

Cally also gets real about managing friends, dealing with pressure, and why she believes personality and authenticity will always outperform the “traditional” management stereotype.

A brilliant episode for:
• Team leaders
• Operations managers
• Anyone in outbound sales
• Senior leaders thinking about culture and performance
• People who just want a reminder of why this industry is so special

The frontline has spoken — and the results are eye-opening.

In this episode, Martin is joined by Ed Creasey, VP of Solution Engineering at Calabrio, to break down the newly released Voice of the Agent 2025 research. Now in its second year, this study captures the real experiences, pressures, and motivations of over 540 contact centre agents across the UK and US.

We explore:
• Why agent pride remains so high — and why that matters
• Career path confusion: half of agents don’t know what roles exist beyond the phones
• The complex relationship agents have with AI — fear meets opportunity
• Empathy: why 75% of agents feel confident… while leaders think it’s the biggest skills gap
• The stress factor: now as influential as pay in whether people stay
• Scheduling frustrations, fairness, autonomy and the “silent delta” between leaders and frontline colleagues
• What leaders can action today to close the gap

Ed also shares fascinating stories from the field — from analysing live conversations to real examples of empathy breakdowns — and gives practical, grounded insight into where the industry is heading.

This is essential listening for contact centre leaders who want to keep their teams proud, supported, motivated, and future-ready.

One of my favourite types of episodes, getting to speak directly with the people who make contact centres what they are.

In this episode, I sat down with a brilliant group of agents from SSCL Sopra Steria to hear what life is really like on the frontline — the highs, the challenges, and the moments that make it all worth it.

They share candid insights about:
💬 What makes a great team leader
💬 How they stay motivated and connected
💬 What customers don’t always see
💬 Why teamwork matters more than ever

It’s a reminder that every KPI, every dashboard, and every customer experience starts with people.

In this episode, Martin talks to Dan Schlenzig, who leads the CX Sales team at Cisco across 22 countries. Dan shares his journey from helpdesk beginnings to managing international teams and gives a fascinating insight into how Cisco is driving innovation in the AI and CX space.

🎙️ Topics covered:

• Dan’s career journey and leadership lessons

• Cisco’s transformation from on-premise to cloud CX

• The AI phone booth demo coming to the Contact Centre Expo

• The future of voice AI and multilingual challenges

• Building guardrails and AI quality management

• How Cisco is helping customers build and train their own AI bots

Dan also shares a glimpse of what’s next for AI, how Cisco is empowering customers to innovate safely, and what makes the company such a great place to work.

👉 Subscribe to Get Out of Wrap for more conversations with the people shaping our industry.

In this episode of Get Out of Wrap, Martin talks with Sam Sanford — writer, performer and former contact centre worker — whose acclaimed interactive show I Love My Job (with an asterisk!) shines a spotlight on the fascinating, funny, and deeply human world of customer service.

Sam’s one-person play mixes comedy, theatre and audience interaction to explore what it really means to “communicate authentically” in a world of scripts, KPIs and AI. Drawing on her own time in call centres, she shares hilarious and heartfelt stories about the conversations we have — and the ones we wish we could.

Expect discussions on:

• The blurred line between human and AI communication

• The exhaustion of constant conversation

• The joy (and chaos) of customer interactions

• Why treating people like people still matters most

This episode is a celebration of the humour, absurdity and humanity at the heart of contact centre life. 🎭

At just 20 years old, Lewis Parkin is proving that age is no barrier to impact in the contact centre world.

Starting out at Alvaria in an entry-level role, Lewis quickly showed his initiative — creating training videos, planning events, helping with design projects, and even managing customer accounts across the UK and Ireland. His story is a brilliant example of curiosity, attitude, and the power of saying yes.

In this episode, host Martin Teasdale chats with Lewis about:

• How he entered the contact centre industry straight from college

• The perceptions young people have about contact centres

• What he’s learned from working with experienced leaders like Steve Powell, Bruce Skjolde and Phil Jude

• How variety and responsibility helped him grow

• Why proactive customer contact excites him about the future

Lewis also shares what it’s like being part of a global team, how he handles imposter syndrome, and why technology and creativity go hand in hand.

From knocking on doors in the rain to leading one of Glasgow’s most energetic sales operations, Garry Beattie has lived the full contact-centre journey.

In this episode, Garry shares:

• His early lessons in face-to-face sales and how they shaped his leadership style

• The role of support, recognition, and development in building strong teams

• Why outbound sales is still thriving when done with honesty and heart

• The “SAS mentality” that drives his team’s culture and performance

• How Betr develops leaders from within and celebrates success the right way

A must-listen for anyone in outbound sales or people leadership.

👏 Brought to you by Betr Outsourcing — champions of proactive, high-performing contact-centre teams.