Tugs and Adrian Smith - ATAC Global CX - Proof, Not Promises: Certifying the Remote Contact Center Agent
Release Date: 07/09/2026
Randy Arellano - AI Is Changing BPO Sales. Relationships Are More Important Than Ever - Ascent Growth Advisors
CX Files
CX Files Episode 436 – Randy Arellano, Founder, Ascent Growth Advisors, Dallas, Texas AI is changing how companies research and select BPO partners. Buyers can now compare suppliers, investigate locations, and explore solutions long before they speak to a salesperson. So what does this mean for the future of BPO sales? In this episode of CX Files, Mark Hillary and Peter Ryan introduce a conversation with Randy Arellano, founder of Ascent Growth Advisors and an experienced BPO sales leader. Randy argues that AI is raising the bar for sales professionals. Relationships and personal networks...
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Victor Manzanera - Scale Edge Group - Beyond FTEs – The Road to Outcome-Based BPO Pricing
CX Files
CX Files Episode 435: Beyond FTEs – The Road to Outcome-Based BPO Pricing Guest: Victor Manzanera, Founder and Principal Analyst, Scale Edge Group – Oslo, Norway Everyone in the BPO industry is talking about outcome-based pricing, but how do we actually move away from charging for headcount and hours? And is the industry ready for such a fundamental change? In this episode of CX Files, Mark Hillary and Peter Ryan explore the challenges of traditional BPO contracts before Mark interviews Victor Manzanera, founder of Scale Edge Group. Victor has just published The Outcome-Based BPO Model, a...
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Peter Ryan - Ten Years of BPO: What Changed, What Didn’t, and What Comes Next
CX Files
This week, the CX Files turns the tables on co-host Peter Ryan. Ryan Strategic Advisory has just celebrated its tenth anniversary, so Mark Hillary interviews Peter about what he has learned from a decade of advising BPOs, enterprise buyers, governments, and CX leaders around the world. Peter looks back at how the industry has changed since 2016 — from the growth of remote and hybrid work to automation, AI, employee experience, and the changing ways companies discover and select CX partners. He also explores the evolution of global delivery locations, including the continued strength of...
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Victor Botto - TP - Why Kenya Is Ready for the Global CX Stage
CX Files
In episode 433 of the CX Files, Mark Hillary talks to Victor Botto, Vice President for Business Development for Sub-Saharan Africa at TP, about why Kenya deserves far more attention as a global CX and BPO location. Victor explains why Kenya’s opportunity goes well beyond lower-cost customer service. They discuss the country’s highly educated workforce, deep experience in fintech and tourism, its growing technology ecosystem, and the importance of an employee-first culture in building better customer experiences. The conversation also explores the bigger African opportunity. Could...
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Brian Riback - CMSWire 2025 Contributor of the Year - Beyond AI Visibility: How Brands Build Trust
CX Files
Brian Riback is the CMSWire 2025 Contributor of the Year. Brian is a strategic leader with over 20 years of experience as a CRM and retention specialist. He ias based in New Jersey, USA. In June 2026, Brian published a detailed article exploring how brands can build trust in the era of AI discoverability. The article was titled "How CMOs Build Brand Trust Across AI Search, Agents and Answer Engines." In this conversation with Mark Hillary, Brian describes his ideas around how to operationalise trust - a process he calls TrustOps after a paper by Andrew Frank from Gartner. --- For over two...
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Jeton Aliu - Olymp BPO - Why Kosovo Is Emerging as a CX Hotspot
CX Files
In this episode of the CX Files, Mark Hillary and Peter Ryan look at the changing European nearshore landscape before Peter talks to Jeton Aliu, Founder and CEO of Olymp BPO in Pristina, Kosovo. Jeton explains why Kosovo is becoming an increasingly important CX and BPO delivery location. He discusses the rapid growth of the local outsourcing industry, the availability of a young and multilingual workforce, and Kosovo’s particular strength in languages including German and English. The conversation also explores the growth of delivery beyond Pristina, government support for the...
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Matt Fry - eClerx - Culture Is 50/50: Why Clients Can’t Blame the BPO
CX Files
In this episode of CX Files, Mark Hillary talks to Matt Fry, SVP for AI, CX and Digital Transformation at eClerx and publisher of The CX Marketplace, about why culture cannot simply be outsourced. Inspired by Matt’s Substack article Culture Cannot Be Outsourced, the conversation explores why successful CX partnerships require shared responsibility between clients and BPO providers. They discuss culture during the RFP process, employee engagement and attrition, the importance of client involvement, and how relationships can move beyond SLAs and penalties toward shared ownership of the...
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Andrew Kokes - Pivot AI Global - If AI Can’t Find You, Your Buyers Won’t Either
CX Files
Peter Ryan talks to Andrew Kokes, Chief Marketing Advisor at Pivot AI Global, about how AI is fundamentally changing B2B marketing and sales. As buyers increasingly use ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and other AI platforms to research suppliers and build shortlists, traditional search engine visibility is no longer enough. Andrew explains why companies now need to think about AI discoverability — ensuring that answer engines understand who they are, what they do, and why they should be recommended. The conversation explores why clear positioning and a well-defined niche matter more than ever, how...
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CX Files Is On A Summer Vacation
CX Files
CX Files will return on September 3, 2026. Enjoy the summer! Mark & Peter
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Simma Kularatna - Interact - LinkedIn Has Lost the Plot - Can the CX Community Fix It?
CX Files
LinkedIn Has Lost the Plot — Can the CX Community Fix It? LinkedIn was once the essential networking platform for business professionals, but today it can feel overwhelmed by sponsored posts, algorithmic recommendations, automated sales messages and bland AI-generated content. Even genuine attempts to connect and start conversations are increasingly met with silence or suspicion. Peter Ryan talks to Simma Kularatna, Head of New Business at Interact Contact Centres, about why LinkedIn has become so difficult to navigate and whether it can still deliver value for the CX community. Drawing on...
info_outlinePeter Ryan speaks with Tugs Smith and Adrian Smith, co-founders of ATAC Global CX in Oshawa, Ontario, about the launch of the Certified Remote Service Agent certification. The discussion explores why remote contact center work now needs a trusted global standard, how agents can prove they are ready to handle real customer interactions from home, and why resumes and interviews are no longer enough.
Tugs and Adrian explain how the CRSA combines written assessment, live call simulation, and blockchain verification to create a portable credential for work-from-home CX professionals. They also discuss how certification can help agents stand out, reduce hiring risk for employers, and give BPOs a stronger signal of quality when competing for new business.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tugssmith/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriansmith-atac/
Summary:
Mark Hillary and Peter Ryan discuss the CRSA (Certified Remote Service Agent) program developed by Tugs and Adrian Smith of ATAC, a work-from-home company in Canada. The CRSA is a blockchain-verified accreditation for remote customer service agents, ensuring they can handle complex interactions effectively. The program includes a written assessment and a live voice call simulation, evaluating agents on professionalism, communication, CX operations, technology, health and safety, and compliance. The dynamic and randomized nature of the evaluation ensures agents are tested on their real-time problem-solving skills. The CRSA aims to improve service standards and reduce hiring risks, benefiting both businesses and agents.