Leading organisations from across the UK have been recognised for excellence in customer service and experience at the CCA Excellence Awards 2026, held last night (Thursday 23 April) in Glasgow. 

Hosted by CCA Global the awards brought together around 500 senior leaders to celebrate innovation, performance and best practice across the customer contact industry. Now in its 25+ year legacy, the awards recognise achievement across 25 Excellence Award categories, with organisations from sectors including financial services, retail, utilities, government and outsourcing represented among this year’s nominees and winners, while also acknowledging long-standing member collaboration and accreditations that support continuous improvement. 

The awards come at a time when customer experience plays an increasingly critical role in organisational performance. As expectations rise, organisations are facing more complex and emotionally driven interactions, alongside growing pressure to deliver seamless, trusted experiences. This year’s winners demonstrate how organisations are balancing digital innovation with human empathy to deliver secure, responsive and personalised services in a highly regulated environment.  

The winners of the CCA Excellence Awards are: 

Director of the Year (Joint Winners) 

Stuart Balnaves, Department of Education 

Justin Barrett, Places for People 

Customer Experience Brand of the Year – sponsored by Capita Experience 

Legal and General 

Innovation in Customer Service  

GOLD: Coventry Building Society 

SILVER: TalkTalk 

BRONZE: StoneX Financial Ltd – StoneX Client Management 

Most Effective Customer Vulnerability Strategy 

Scottish Widows 

Best BPO Partnership 

Concentrix and Asda 

Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 

Energy Saving Trust 

Excellence in ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance)  

Legal and General 

Excellence in Continuous Improvement 

GOLD: SGN 

SILVER: Currys 

BRONZE: Barclays IVR Optimisation Team 

Excellence in Digital Transformation 

DVLA 

Best Use of AI and Automation 

GOLD: Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) 

SILVER: Lenovo Premier Support EMEA 

BRONZE: Barclays Virtual Experience Lab  

Best Technology Partnership 

Capita and Centrical 

Best Use of Customer Insight and MI 

GOLD: The Very Group Customer Care Insights Team (Speech Analytics) 

SILVER: SGN Customer Experience Team 

BRONZE: RAC & Renault Group 

Outstanding Learning and Development Programme 

Concentrix Learning and Development and Egencia 

Trainer of the Year 

James Cahill, Barclays Bank 

Rising Star 

GOLD: Stuart Shearer, Places for People 

SILVER: Sophie Knight, Legal and General 

BRONZE: Jack Hartley, NatWest 

Team Leader of the Year 

GOLD: Vickie McHugh, The Co-Operative Bank 

SILVER: Samantha Taylor, Currys 

BRONZE: Tracy Miller, Barclays Bank 

Manager of the Year 

GOLD: Carla Horrigan, Capita 

SILVER: Fiona Quinn, Legal and General 

BRONZE: Simon Pilkington, Currys 

Back Office Team of the Year 

GOLD: SGN Social Impact and Careline Team 

SILVER: Chase UK – First Party and Fraud Mule Investigations Team 

BRONZE: Currys Transformation Team 

Customer Engagement Team of the Year 

SGN Safe and Warm Team 

Complaints Team of the Year 

GOLD: SGN Complaints Team 

SILVER: Barclays Customer Relations Complaints Team 

BRONZE: Currys 

Fraud Prevention Team of the Year 

GOLD: Barclays Fraud and Scams Prevention Team 

SILVER: The Co-Operative Bank 

BRONZE: Starling Bank Fraud Operations and Strategy 

Employee Support Team of the Year 

Currys ICE Team (Inclusion, Charity and Events) 

Learning and Development Team of the Year 

GOLD: Chase UK – Learning and Development 

SILVER: NHS 24 Training and Practice Education Team 

BRONZE: Concentrix Learning and Development and Egencia 

Multi-Channel Support Team of the Year 

DVLA Contact Centre Multi Channel Team 

Customer Service Team of the Year 

GOLD: Virgin Money Mortgage Ops – Customer Contact Centre 

SILVER: Scottish Widows 

JOINT BRONZE: Birmingham City Council 

JOINT BRONZE: Scottish Widows Workplace Operations 

The winners of the CCA Global Accreditation for Customer Experience Achievement© Awards: 

Platinum Award for consistently achieving CCA Global Accreditation for Customer Experience© for 20+ years 

Coventry Building Society 

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) 

Gold Award for consistently achieving CCA Global Accreditation for Customer Experience© for 15+ years 

Jigsaw Homes Group 

Silver Award for consistently achieving CCA Global Accreditation for Customer Experience© for 10+ years 

DPD Ireland 

Scottish Widows Workplace Pensions 

Bronze Award for consistently achieving CCA Global Accreditation for Customer Experience© for 5+ years 

Scottish Widows Protection 

Scottish Widows Retirements 

The winners of the Member of The Year Awards: 

For Exceptional Leadership and Support in Launching The CCA AI and Digital Capability Matrix® 

Steve Hall, Financial Conduct Authority 

For Outstanding Engagement and Excellence In Member Collaboration 

Stephen Pier, NatWest Group 

For Longstanding Leadership As Chair of The Judging Panel 

Andy Mends, Gavi Alliance 

Entries were assessed by an independent panel of professionals from across sectors, each with extensive experience in customer service and multichannel operations, and evaluated on innovation, impact and customer outcomes.  

Commenting on the awards, Anne-Marie Forsyth, CEO of CCA Global, said: Customer experience has become a defining factor in how organisations build trust and long-term relationships. The organisations recognised last night are setting the benchmark, combining digital innovation with real human support to deliver experiences that feel consistent, responsive and genuinely helpful when it matters most.” 

Andy Mends, Chair of The Judging Panel and Director of Operations and Procurement at Gavi Alliance, added: “The standard of entries this year was incredibly high, with organisations clearly focused on delivering real outcomes for customers. What stood out was how effectively many are combining innovation with practical delivery, embedding customer experience into everyday operations in a way that drives meaningful and lasting impact.”