Now before you answer this question let me provide some context. Crises have a way of accelerating trends already in motion and the COVID-19 pandemic has proven no exception. The long-term trend that sees people embark on multiple careers and many more jobs in a lifetime is only increasing as COVID reshapes the skills required for the workplace of the future.

You may have read the article I wrote a couple of weeks back that focused on the micro-behaviours that set the best customer-focused agents apart from the rest. A number of people commented on how insightful it was to get down to such a specific behavioural level. Still, their next question was often how do you actually embed these behaviours to deliver long term results?

Have you ever wondered exactly what separates the best sales and service agents from their peers when they’re talking to customers? If you’re like every other sales and service professional I’ve met, you probably have heard terms like building rapport, engaging, understanding and closing in mind.

But let’s go back to the question I posed above, exactly what are the best customer-facing people doing?

Over the past few months, I have had many conversations with senior leaders in some of the largest sales and service businesses in Australia. What has amazed me is the speed with which businesses have been able to transform into a work from home model and keep servicing their customers.

Each year GRIST runs a project to identify Australia's best - most consistent, engaging and compelling - contact centre sales teams. This year, the reigning champion has been toppled with new company and industry taking out the top spot.