Michael Gray is the Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer at Spacial Working. He is based in London, UK.

Spacial Working is focused on helping companies to create a flexible work environment that embraces both working from home and working in offices. The aim is to create a flexible arrangement that works well for the company and employees.

The media often reports that WFH is finished and most employees are heading back into offices, but the reality is quite different. There is less WFH than during the pandemic period, but it has plateaued and is not dropping much further - so there is much more flexibility today compared to 2019.

But many companies still struggle to make it work well so what does Michael advise?

https://spacialworking.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelgray7/

Summary:

In this CX Files episode, Mark Hillary speaks with Michael Gray, Chief Strategy Officer at Spacial Working, about what the pandemic really changed — and what it didn't — in customer experience operations. Gray explains that work-from-home in the contact center industry is not a temporary COVID experiment but part of a much longer evolution enabled by technology and workforce expectations. While some executives continue pushing return-to-office mandates, the evidence shows the future is hybrid: organizations must redesign recruitment, training, management, and performance measurement rather than simply sending agents home with laptops. Flexible working can improve retention and productivity, particularly for parents, carers, and geographically distant employees, but only if supported by proper monitoring, communication structures, and culture. The real challenge for CX leaders is no longer deciding whether remote work works — it is learning how to operationally manage a permanent hybrid workforce.

Disclosure:

Mark Hillary is a research adviser to Spacial Working

Jacqui Turner founded the Turner Corner Leadership Academy. She is based at Great Malvern, which is close to Stratford-Upon-Avon in the UK.

The academy is focused on customer service training, leadership programmes and coaching interventions. Training followed by coaching with Jacqui's team has been proven to make training much more effective, in terms of staff productivity, performance and business results.

In this discussion with Peter Ryan, Jacqui talks about vulnerable customers. How do businesses define their vulnerable customers and how can they design CX that works better for customers with special needs or the need for greater consideration?

Vulnerability in CX design is often overlooked, but it is essential and for many types of regulated business this is mandatory.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacqueline-turner-leadership-trainer/

https://turnercorner.co.uk/

SUMMARY:

Peter introduces Jacqui Turner, who emphasizes the importance of understanding and addressing vulnerabilities in customer service. Jacqui highlights that vulnerability can manifest in various forms, including age, health issues, financial struggles, and digital illiteracy. She stresses the need for organizations to have policies and training for handling vulnerable customers across different communication channels. Jacqui also advocates for AI technology to be designed with vulnerability in mind to maintain accessible communication.

Rob Joubert is the founder and CEO of Boomerang BPO. He is based in Cape Town, South Africa.

2025 was the 20th anniversary year for Boomerang, so at the end of the year Peter Ryan called Rob to talk about BPO and CX trends and what it takes to build a successful BPO operation from the ground up.

20 years into the journey, what has Rob learned about what clients want from a BPO partner in the 2020s?

https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-joubert-89176011/

https://boomerangbpo.com/

Last November, Leigh Hopwood, CEO of the CCMA (Contact Centre Management Association), was on the CX Files talking about the 25th anniversary of the European Contact Center and Customer Service Awards (ECCCSAs).

https://cxfiles.libsyn.com/cxfiles/leigh-hopwood-ccma-25-years-of-the-ecccsas

At those awards on November 25th 2025, The Best Customer Service Into Europe award was won (gold) by TUI working with Transcom.

https://ecccsa.com/2025-winners/

Peter Ryan recently called Leo Ooms (TUI) and Dario Bakovic (Transcom) to talk about the award and what it takes to build a BPO partnership that can win a prestigious 'Best in Europe' award...

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Leo Ooms

Head of Customer Services BPO TUI Group

https://www.linkedin.com/in/leoooms/

https://www.tui.com/

Dario Bakovic

Head of Global Accounts EMEA at Transcom

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dario-bakovic/

https://transcom.com/

This special live episode was recorded on January 21, 2026 live in London, UK. This is the 400th episode of the podcast.

Lian Rowlands quizzed Peter and Mark about the origin of CX Files and what they plan for the future of the podcast...

Thanks to everyone who attended the live event in London last night - it was great to see so many friends of the podcast out in person!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lian-rowlands-a26119/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhillary/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-ryan-montreal/

Join Mark Hillary and Peter Ryan, co-hosts of the CX Files podcast, for a special live networking event in London as they celebrate the show's 400th episode!

This informal evening brings together members of the global Customer Experience (CX) community for drinks, conversation, and connection.

Mark will be flying in from São Paulo, Brazil, and Peter from Montreal, Canada — a rare chance to meet both hosts in person. They will also have copies of the CX Files book - to be launched at this event in London.

During the event, Mark and Peter will record a short live segment for the 400th episode in front of the audience, marking this milestone moment in the CX Files journey.

Tickets are free, but you do need to register so we can control the numbers. Click this link to register your place for this live CX Files event.

https://cxfiles.eventbrite.com

In this special episode of the CX Files, we are looking to the end of 2025 and into 2026.

Peter Ryan called Paul Smith and David Rickard - two expert advisers on CX and BPO - to talk about what just happened in 2025 and their top predictions for CX in 2026.

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Paul Smith

Principal Consultant, Quinn Growth Advisers

Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

https://www.linkedin.com/in/swsalesexec/

https://quinngrowthadvisors.com/

David Rickard

Partner, Everest Group

Clanfield - near Portsmouth, UK

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dwrickard/

https://www.everestgrp.com/

Summary:
In the CX Files podcast episode 399, hosts Mark Hillary and Peter Ryan discuss 2025 highlights and 2026 predictions with Paul Smith from Quinn Growth Advisors and David Rickard from Everest Group. Key points include the significant AI hype in 2025, the lack of differentiation in the market, and the slow progress of AI in customer experience (CX). They predict that 2026 will see more AI pilots moving into production, increased competition from in-house GCC capabilities, and a need for better buyer-seller communication. They also emphasize the importance of understanding customer needs and the potential impact of an AI bubble.