The call center industry is at a crossroads today, with tech seemingly overshadowing the people factor. Customer experience (CX) leaders and organizations are confronted with finding the right balance between a people-focused culture vs. tech overreach. While technology continues to drive impressive transformation across the CX landscape, there’s a growing risk: in our rush to innovate, we’re losing sight of the very thing that built this industry—people.

Today, the call center and business process outsourcing (BPO) industry is a $300 billion marketplace, projected to reach $500 billion by 2030, according to Grandview Research. The broader adoption of outsourcing, combined with innovative technology, has fueled the explosive growth of BPO within the customer experience ecosystem. The CX community has smartly embraced innovations that drive customer excellence. But lately it seems tech is overshadowing the fundamentals of “call center 101.”

Let’s dive into this a bit deeper.

Tech Can’t Solve Everything

Since call centers were founded, we have been, we are, and we will always be a people-centric industry. Technology enables us to be more efficient and analytical. However, overreliance on tech is causing a “disturbance in the force.” In my interactions with leaders across our industry, there is a consensus that we are overwhelmed by technology, tech talk, and tech everything. So much so that we may be losing touch with the basics of daily blocking and tackling, most importantly, the people factor.

I am not an AI hater, an AI denier, or anti-tech. Like many of you, I welcome tech innovations, as they can enhance customer experience, agent performance, and much more. Much like the early days of the internet, AI is omnipresent and permanent. My concern isn’t about AI replacing humans in call centers. I’m more concerned that tech hysteria may distract organizations from the fundamentals required to effectuate CX in call center operations.

At the core, tech can’t run an effective agent focus group. Tech can’t create the right culture in your organization. Tech can’t coach/counsel a call center agent in need of mentoring and direction. Nor can tech teach leadership skills and groom today’s agents to become tomorrow’s management rockstars. Tech can’t solve every staffing or workforce management problem, a client solutions crisis, or any other issue that requires critical thinking, intuition, experience, and instinct. Tech is a tool to enhance, not replace, human connection.

The Lost Art of Communication

As our industrywide reliance on technology continues, are call centers of today becoming a reflection of society? We complain that technology is slowly diminishing the art of human connection and communication. That our kids are raised in a culture where interpersonal skills are secondary to tech-talk nomenclature and social media idioms that dominate our language today.

Are we so over-focused on technology that we’re losing the art of communication with our agents, leaders, and peers? I hear complaints about this from every corner of our industry. We banter and joke among ourselves that “we don’t talk anymore.” However, this issue seems to be more real now. Organizations are hyper-focused on becoming tech leaders and latching onto the latest AI because they’re afraid of losing market share. This is understandable, but you must extend the same passion to your people, who are still the heart and soul of your operation.

Are we effectively communicating with people in our organizations? Are we fostering open dialogue and measuring sentiment? Are we taking feedback to drive organizational success and cultural synergy? Or are we hyper-focused on AI, automation, and other technologies as our foremost priority over people?

The future is uncertain, but you can manage the controllables today. Losing touch with your people will put you at a greater disadvantage than losing the technology race vs. your competitors.

And no tech solution can fix a broken culture.

Leading With Tech – Forgetting the Basics

This new wave of tech hysteria seems existential for many organizations, which feel that they will become surplus to requirements because of AI. Maybe, or maybe not. We simply don’t know the answer, and it is too early to tell. Again, let’s put this issue on the back burner for now and wait and see how things shape up in the CX industry in the years to come.

My chief concern is that too many BPOs are trying to become technology companies like “Microsoft” and “Google,” leading with tech solutions first instead of talking about how they will deliver on quality, culture, reduce attrition, effectively manage performance, manage a crisis, etc. As I mentioned earlier, the basics of “call center 101.”

An abundance of CX leaders have expressed their displeasure with BPOs that overlook the client’s stated needs and overload sales pitches with technical solutions and jargon. Or many BPOs present themselves as being focused on call center 101, then bait and switch the client to tech sales pitches. Again, I’m not a tech hater. However, the fact is that not every CX leader or brand is interested in purchasing your tech stack or prioritizing AI over people. Tech is among the many priorities that CX leaders are dealing with, not always “the” priority.  

Numerous brands and CX leaders seek BPOs that focus on the essence of effective call center management, driven by, supported by, and augmented by effective technology—not the other way around.

Tech vs. Culture Growth

How many AI sales pitches do you receive daily? At some CX conferences, the sessions are overwhelmingly slanted toward technology-related solutions. What happened to peer-to-peer knowledge sharing on other fundamental aspects of effective CX? Like how to conduct effective agent and leadership training. Or how to create a partnership with your BPO, or manage client expectations successfully, or create the right culture.

I enjoy listening to leaders share their journey—this is inspiring. I remember when BPOs and clients alike would invite motivational speakers to give “TED”-like talks to rally and motivate their teams. Are we still doing this? Many of today’s CX leaders, like yours truly, were coached and mentored by our predecessors. They taught us how call centers function at a molecular level and how to lead effectively. We learned to appreciate the essentials of people management, processes, and, of course, technology.

The best BPOs prioritize culture and employee sentiment above all else. They understand that successful CX relies on productive agents and experienced leadership combined with innovative tech solutions. The best tech stack in the world cannot create an inspiring culture that motivates people, retains employees, and produces exceptional results. And the best tech stack can never replace effective frontline leadership who are trained, skilled, and ready to take on the most complex CX challenges.

What Do Your Fellow CX Leaders Think?

We asked a few of our fellow CX leaders to share their thoughts, and here is some fascinating insight:

 "AI right now, is great at handling most routine tasks, basic questions, simple transactions, and standard requests. But that means human agents are now dealing with the more complex, emotionally charged, or high-stakes interactions. So, while AI boosts efficiency, it also raises the bar for people on the front lines. That is why it is more important than ever to invest in agent training and development—because human skills like empathy, problem-solving, and adaptability are becoming even more valuable. Even as AI technology improves this dynamic will continue and probably become even more pronounced. "

John Parente | Director, Contact Center Operations, Stanley Steemer

"In the rush to implement AI technology in contact centers, it's vital not to lose sight of what truly sets exceptional service apart: the human element. While automation can enhance efficiency, it is emotional intelligence, genuine human interaction, and the thoughtful development of skilled agents that build lasting relationships, foster client trust, and establish BPOs as indispensable business partners. True innovation lies in blending smart technology with the irreplaceable power of human empathy and connection."

April A. Sealy | Executive Vice President, Elevate

“I look at AI as a set of tools that improves both customer and employee satisfaction by driving excellence in execution. AI is a piece of the picture, not a replacement of what is done in great ways by agents. We need to be able to help our agents gain proficiency faster, while giving them training experiences that cement great CX practices. Through high levels of achievement, agents gain more job satisfaction and end customers are better supported driving higher end results. AI is a piece of the picture, not a replacement of what is done in great ways by agents.”

Mike Nessler | Executive Chairman, Support Services Group (SSG)

“BPO’s must remain focused on what built their business-- investing in their people, coaching them and building a strong culture to best support their teams and clients.  In the rush to differentiate themselves from each other through expanded services (software, analytics, AI-driven agent assist, etc.), BPO’s cannot afford to take their eye off the ball.  Having a high level of engagement with their teams allows them to provide the best possible service.”

Pablo Pareja | Director of Call Center Vendor Management, Cox Communications

Summary

In the immortal words of Depeche Mode and their 1984 song “People are People”—truer words were never spoken. This sentiment should be the theme song for BPOs and the CX ecosystem because no matter what technological innovations emerge, people drive technology, and people are required to perform the fundamentals for call centers to be successful.

I can’t tell you how many outsourcing contracts BPOs lose because they no longer do the basics right. Many are leapfrogging into tech so quickly that they’re forgetting the foundational requirements to win and retain their clients in this highly competitive industry, which is poised for exciting growth.

The future of CX belongs to those who can harness the best of both worlds—cutting-edge technology and deeply human leadership. Let’s not trade one for the other but elevate both together. Technology will continue to evolve, but our true competitive advantage will always stem from how well we support, lead, and invest in people. Let’s never forget culture isn't created by code—it’s built through connection.