The one with expanding representation & BPO partnerships - Megan Bassler VP Strategic Partnerships at OP360 E115

🎤🎞️Opening career doors and building communities in “The one with expanding representation & BPO partnerships“ with Megan Bassler VP Strategic Partnerships at OP360 in CX Passport E115🎧What’s in the episode?...

CHAPTERS

0:00 Introduction

2:44 The partnership role and OP360

4:29 Jet fuel for career learning - BPO industry

9:00 Expanding representation and diversity in BPO leadership

12:31 Practical tips for creating Communities

18:36 AI and the BPO industry

21:14 1st Class Lounge

26:13 Keeping humanity in the AI and Digital solutions

29:22 Equipping agents to successfully represent both brand and BPO

33:15 Contact info and closing

Thank you, OP360 for your sponsorship of this episode. 

Listeners, read the EX4CX blog post on the philosophy for CX Passport sponsorship

https://www.ex4cx.com/blog/2023/3/3/if-i-would-have-them-on-my-show-for-free-i-might-as-well-get-paid-for-it

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Hosted by Rick Denton “I believe the best meals are served outside and require a passport”

Watch at youtube.com/@cxpassport or listen on any of your favorite audio podcast apps 

Show notes and other helpful CX & Total VOC content at www.cxpassport.com

Episode resources:

Megan LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-lyn-vonderach/

OP360: https://www.op360.com/

CX Passport Show Sponsorship Philosophy: https://bit.ly/cxpassportsponsorship

Transcript

Megan Bassler: 0:00

I have just an issue with the word young because to me, I feel like if I were to describe myself, I would say I'm experienced, I'm seasoned, and I'm youthful. I don't like using the word young because I feel like it's often linked to an experienced not were taken seriously, not as eligible...

Rick Denton: 0:28

You're listening to CX Passport, the show about creating great customer experiences with a dash of travel talk. Each episode we’ll talk with our guests about great CX, travel...and just like the best journeys, explore new directions we never anticipated. I'm your host Rick Denton. I believe the best meals are served outside and require a passport. Let's get going. What do you think when I mentioned partnership? A partnership is incredibly valuable when done right benefiting all parties involved. That benefit extends beyond the partnership as products, ideas, concepts, everything that's created or delivered in such a way that you improve relationships, better customer experience and expanded opportunities for business growth and more. If that's the benefit, clearly it's an area companies would want to grow and get right. Get that's not often the case. The BPO industry is a great example of partnerships and the spectrum that exists of how well those partnerships deliver. When done right. What a wonderful expansion of the brand and the customer experience. When done wrong. Well how quickly we as consumers become frustrated with brands. That's why I'm so excited to talk today with Megan Bassler, Vice President Strategic Partnerships of OP360, the sponsor for today's episode, with a career that includes experience at Mattel, folks, the toy company, Mattel, how cool is that? Megan now has the core responsibility for building exactly what I described earlier, great and mutually rewarding partnerships for OP360. Those don't get built haphazardly, so we're gonna get a chance to learn more about the how of building partnerships. In addition, there's a lot of ground to cover in the BPO industry from increasing representation and career paths to the opportunity and the threat of AI. Megan's in my early conversations have been peppered with discussion around my favorite town where I grew up Austin, Texas, and she's had a chance for a few recent trips there. We just got done talking about a recent trip of hers right before we hit record on the show. So of course, you know, we're gonna get out of the business space and into a travel discussion today as well. Megan, welcome to CX passport.

Megan Bassler: 2:40

Thank you so much, Rick. I'm so excited to be here. Thanks for having me.

Rick Denton: 2:44

Let's have a great show. This is gonna be a lot of fun. But let's let's start right off the bat. Can you just give me a quick overview of OP360 And your role there?

Megan Bassler: 2:53

Yeah, absolutely. So, Office Partners 360 or OP360360. As we like to call ourselves we are a owner operated very fast growing US based BPO. And today, we have approximately like 4000 global employees. So all of our agents and operations are offshore, either in the Philippines or India or near shore and Baranquilla, Colombia. And then our primary focus really is customer experience customer support. So when you think of SMS chat, email, voice support, tech support, sales and marketing support, that's really kind of our bread and butter. And then we also have clients that will utilize this more for back office AI operations, content, moderation, etc. So, as you mentioned, I am the Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, I've been with OP360, almost a year and a half, I'm coming up on and was brought on to really build out our strategic partnership program as well as our advisor program, which is ultimately like our referral network.

Rick Denton: 3:56

What, uh, what, what a fun role to have right now. And then certainly, for a great company. I do, as we've talked about before, CX passport is intentionally a global podcast with a global list. And that's one of the things I really enjoy about talking with in the BPO space. And specifically talking now with OP360 Is this that global aspect that you were describing, even in the employee bases shall have around the world. I want to get into that partnership building aspect of your role, but a little bit later, because I want to actually stay just in the BPO space. To start off. I'm a huge fan of the industry, as I mentioned earlier, and some of the opportunities that really provides this wide spectrum of communities around the globe. It does seem though, that it has remained somewhat traditional in its corporate and leadership realms. For example, I haven't seen as many young professionals targeting that world. So how did you come to the BPO space? And what are some of those opportunities you're seeing for expanding the representation of all groups in the BPO company space across the entire spectrum of the BPO company?

Megan Bassler: 4:58

It's a great question. I mean, I think ever since Since I was a little girl, you know, it was like I want to be in BPO. When I grow up, that was just the dream, right? Isn't that what we all want? We all think,

Rick Denton: 5:07

no, but if we checked your elementary school journals, those would not be the career choices that were in.

Megan Bassler: 5:13

You're absolutely right. I mean, I think like so many of us, you often get kind of thrown in to your career, right. I knew from very early on. I loved working with people. I like engaging with people. I like building relationships with people. So when I started my career and graduated from college, I actually started out in recruitment and HR, I was a tech recruiter working for a large recruitment agency. And I found a real passion in playing kind of matchmaker getting to know my candidates and matching them to the right positions. And then from there, after a couple years of doing more agency recruiting, I started working at TaskUs, which was the first exposure I had into BPO full transparency had never heard of BPO had no idea what outsourcing really meant. I was originally attracted to task us because they were known for having a really strong company culture, which was and still is, you know, extremely important to me today. So moved on to task us I was a corporate recruiter for them. I was there for about a year and then had the wonderful opportunity to move on to Mattel, which, honestly was like a dream job I had friends and family were like, it's like the mothership is calling you because growing up it was like Barbie and American Girl and Hot Wheels and just so much nostalgia and passion around the products and brands. So I was at Mattel for a few years, I was a lead recruiter for them assisting with all of their marketing and creative recruitment efforts. And Never did I think I would I'd be leaving good old Mattel to get back into BPO. But here, here I am. And I think what's been really interesting about the BPO space and why would encourage perhaps folks even earlier on in their career to really consider BPO is the exposure I've had to so many different parts of the business. We're for example, we're industry agnostic. So I'm getting to interact and work with clients within e commerce and retail, FinTech in banking, legal entertainment and gaming, travel, transportation, hospitality. We have some clients that are startups, we have some clients that are fortune 500 businesses, I've gotten to dabble in operations, sales, partnerships, recruitment, I just feel like you really have the opportunity to explore so many different areas of business and really understand where kind of your passions lie, what things you enjoy doing, what things you don't enjoy doing. So I again, I never would have imagined kind of getting into the space. But when I had the opportunity to come back, when I was really excited about you know, getting to build something from the ground up, that was really exciting for me. But just, you know, the amount of experience you get i You hear people joke, it's like one year and BPO is like seven years worth of experience. It's like dog ears, where it's like you get that experience and that exposure and you do walk away with just a wealth of knowledge on a wide variety of different areas that make up the space.

Your CX Passport Captain: 8:10

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Rick Denton: 8:36

That's and I like that it reminds me a little bit of what at least, okay, I came out of school in the 90s. So I'm now admitted that in a couple of episodes. But that was what a lot of folks would say about the consulting industry, you immediately jump in and you get this massive exposure to it. Well, as you describe the BPO industry that exposure immediately to all of these opportunities and industries and companies and size and scale and all of like that makes a ton of sense to me. Now, it seems like that would be as appealing as the consulting industry would be to this wide spectrum. How? How are you seeing sort of that increase? It may be an overused word, but really it's important that increase in representation across all spectrums, be they gender, be they cultural, be they geographic, be they whatever they are, how are you seeing that sort of grow in the BPO space?

Megan Bassler: 9:24

It's a great point. And it's honestly when I'm really passionate about I think diversity in the workspace is so incredibly important. And I think a lot of companies, you know, especially more recently have really taken that more into it the fact that like they need to really widen the spectrum of the types of employees, they're hiring and, you know, I will say I think predominantly, I think we've gotten a lot better but the BPO space traditionally I think was very male dominant and very male driven and I attend a ton of conferences where yeah, there's there's women there, but there's not a ton and I feel like the women that are there do You tend to kind of stand out where it's like, oh, wow, like, Well, what do you what do you do in the BPO space, and I've formed some really incredible relationships with other women and BPO. Because I do feel like you tend to just kind of gravitate towards each other, because there's not a ton of us, I feel so proud to be a female leader within the space and to be at a company that really has embraced that and given me the opportunity to grow with the company and really have a seat at the table. And another thing, you know, in addition to just gender representation, which is so important, you know, I will say, age gets brought up all the time, in conversations with me, people love to acknowledge that I'm, you know, earlier on in my career, or, you know, a ton of references of like, oh, you know, this is probably way before your time, like, people love to call that out. And I get it. And I, I have just an issue with the word young, because to me, I feel like if I were to describe myself, I would say I'm experienced, I'm seasoned, and I'm youthful. I don't like using the word young, because I feel like it's often linked to an experienced, not were taken seriously, not as eligible. So, you know, I really think that's something that just as a workforce as a whole, we need to get better at. But being younger in my career, and especially with my role in BPO, I understand Gen Z, I understand millennials, I understand the target audience and consumers that our clients are going after. So I know that my team especially has really valued my input my point of view, my perspective on how things are constantly changing, and how there is this whole new demographic that we need to really focus on moving forward.

Rick Denton: 11:47

And that right there is the epicenter of why representation matters, I along with it just being right. Okay, we could end the sentence Period, end of sentence, it's just right. But it's intelligent for a business to go at it that way. And I think that's going to be very important as the BPO industry continues to evolve. I think that takes us to another thought that I alluded, I wanted to get to, but a lot of what you're describing fits what I think you're helping me understand of partnerships, right, your spirit that you described from beginning of your career and how you wanted to connect people and you were all about building relationships. Well, so much of that goes into that representation, and that that spectrum of what we all are as a human community. Well, I imagine it's incredibly satisfying for you to now be in where that's a defined role creating these partnerships, bridging these people together. So you've done a successful job building this in the year and a half that you've been a part of OP360 What are some tips that you'd want to offer out there for other community builders that are doing this in their own practices?

Megan Bassler: 12:52

Yeah, it's, it's a great question. It's so funny to see it's like full circle, I started my career with playing matchmaker with candidates to jobs. And now it's like matching up, you know, clients, with partners and us with partners. You know, like I said, having the opportunity to build it from the ground up was very exciting. little nerve racking. And that's you got to really figure out, you know, how do you even start this? How do you build a program from scratch? So my first year was really just laying that foundation. First things first, making sure the entire team understands our mission statement, what our goals are for the partnership program, what type of partners are we looking for? What do we hear our clients and prospects bringing up as potential solutions that they're looking for? Really just setting the groundwork, the foundation, then from there, it's understanding, okay, what is the partner lifecycle going to look like? Who are the types of partners we want to go after? How are we going to initiate conversation? How are we going to make sure that our team understands what they do and that their team understands what we do? How do we keep them engaged? How do we onboard them? How, you know, there's there's so many questions of kind of, how do we do this successfully. And for us, you know, as a BPO, the reason we decided to build out such a program, as you know, we don't have a specific technology offering, we as we like to say we provide the butts and seats, we're tech agnostic, what our clients are using will get on board with. But we acknowledge there is a real opportunity there because more often than not, clients do come to us asking for our preferences or our recommendations on technologies. So that's where we're like if we can start to establish some great relationships with various tech companies within the CX space. That's going to be an even extra value add for us to our clients, where then we can start pointing them in the right direction. It's been interesting for me because, you know, again, I said I started my career out as a tech recruiter. Now I'm working with all these technology companies. I am the first one to say I am no tech expert, by any means, but there has been now this other layer where now it is on me to really understand what Our partners do what makes them different from the competitors in the space. Because when my team comes to me and says, Hey, client XYZ is looking for this type of solution, who do we know, who do we know in this space, I need to be able to kind of give my ultimate recommendation on hey, here's, you know, one or two partners that I think we should seriously consider. So my advice, in addition to the things I kind of just briefly mentioned, is, you know, one, quality over quantity, we said, from day one, we're not going to be looking to bring on just any and all partners, we want to be really selective, we want to have maybe one to three Max partners within each kind of tech bucket, where we can really focus on building the relationship and go after partners that, you know, one we think we work well with, but to have a similar kind of target clients have similar goals and values. So quality over quantity is very, very important. And then to after you really focus on building those relationships, honestly, I think since Partnerships has become very relevant more recently, and companies, a lot of the partners that I talked to every single day are kind of in the same boat of like, hey, so like, what's working for you guys? What hasn't worked? Like, what are your ideas, and I'd say, you know, really embrace those new relationships that you're building and learn from each other. And don't be afraid to share, you know, hey, this is kind of what's working for us. This isn't what's working for us. And then really just collaborating on how, you know, how do we really put this strategy into strategic partners? How can we start bringing each other in the conversations, we recently started bringing partners into like, RFPs, and things like that. So then it's really figuring out once the foundation is like, it has been, you know, formed, then how do we take it to that next level, to really make sure it's a mutually beneficial relationship on both ends?

Rick Denton: 16:52

You know, what it reminds me of, as you're saying that it's a lot of what we say, and just the pure play customer experience world, right. And that is, first of all, you're talking about just listening to your customers, right? So by you getting better aware of who your partners are, you are then more in tune with how you can match them across your partnership world with between clients and partners. And then I love that that spirit of you know, but we're just not going to allow anybody pass the velvet rope, right? This is going to be a meaningful when you recommend a partner, your clients can know All right, wait, they've already been vetted to even get into our space. And then I Megan, know them personally, personally, corporately, that they are the right space for this. And that that makes a an absolute ton of sense. The other thing that I want to make sure that I re emphasize that you said there the company as well is this idea of, of it's not competition, but no, we're using the word partner a lot, because well, it's a partnership role. But this idea of let's do this collaboratively. And so even if you're talking to another company that's building a partnership community, that idea of sharing ideas across I think that matters inside your partnership community that you're creating. But then across all of those who are responsible for creating partnerships, I've had a lot of conversations with folks who are doing exactly what you're doing, creating communities. And it has been it maybe it's just the personality of folks like you who are doing that. The sharing that goes across that partnership space, it reminds me a little bit, the customer experience, professional space, and that everybody just sort of use it, hey, let's just share great ideas, because ultimately, it will be good for all of us. Yep, exactly. Megan, there's an there's something out there. That is, I would imagine you're talking about a lot with your partners inside your company, across industry peers and with your clients themselves. And it's certainly the topic du jour and it is AI, right. And we know that digital solutions are absolutely they're nothing new in the BPO space, there have been digital solutions probably as long as the BPO industry has existed. It's this, the ability of AI, the increase of that ability over what I would say is the last six months. And it really may be just the public perception of that. But the public awareness of the power that AI can deliver really presents some unique aspects to BPO specifically. Now I imagine it's both this phenomenal opportunity, but also a potential challenger to the industry. How are you approaching AI?

Megan Bassler: 19:14

Ah, that's a great question. Honestly, it's one that we get a lot, you know, with, with the advancement of AI, you know, we get a lot of questions of like, oh my gosh, are you guys so concerned that AI eventually is going to wipe out the need for humans and for agents and, you know, even there's been all this buzz now with chat GBT and oh, like, how is that going to affect your guys's business model? At the end of the day? We truly do welcome the advancement of AI and tech. We feel combining our technology partners and OP360's people that that that creates an extremely powerful combination. So we believe that as AI really transforms some of the less complex work, our teams will be wired to perform the more complex and nuanced works, work types, which we absolutely welcome. And I mean, going back to the partner marketplace, we recognize and understand that yes, AI is becoming more and more dominant in this space, our clients are going to want to start incorporating some sort of AI, you know, more and more in some way, shape or form. So that's where, you know, building out in the marketplace, we have quite a few partners that are AI companies, because we understand, in order for us to be successful, we're going to have to learn how to work with them, partner with them. And going back to the point of if that means that the more complex customer support issues are, what our teams are handling. Fabulous. I don't know about you, I still am the person that, you know, anytime I call a customer support line, I'm the one that's like, representative, Representative representative. Um, that's just my personal preference. I like to speak to a human who knows down the road, what's going to happen. But, you know, again, we really do view it more as like, hey, if we can figure out a way to partner with AI to really help benefit our clients, we're more than happy to do so. And we really do welcome that.

Rick Denton: 21:14

All right, Megan, we're going to take a little break from technology, I think all of us would enjoy taking a little break from that we're going to pivot out of the business world here and talk a little travel a little change of pace. Yeah, I know that the California to Austin flights not that long, but I can see oh, there's some disruptions. Sometimes that can be a challenge on a flight it can be nice to stop in the first class lounge. So I want to invite you to do that. And join me here in the first class lounge we'll move quickly here and have a little bit of fun what is a dream travel location from your past?

Megan Bassler: 21:42

From my past, okay, I'm probably gonna get some judgment here because it doesn't require a passport. But Hawaii by far is probably my favorite place ever. I was very fortunate. I got to travel to Hawaii, you know, kind of throughout my childhood and then my husband and I actually went on our honeymoon to Hawaii this past January. So definitely have a sweet spot for Hawaii Maui if I'm being more specific,

Rick Denton: 22:07

getting even more precise. So first of all, there will never be judgment on CX passport. That's not who we are. So you travel wherever you want. And realize that Hawaii is an international destination to many around the globe. So very proud passport for some so it was absolutely welcome within the list and congratulations, by the way, what a wonderful place to celebrate a wedding. What is looking forward? What is a dream travel location you've not been to yet?

Megan Bassler: 22:32

Ooh, that's a good one. Okay, um, very, very top of my list has always been Italy. I've heard amazing things. It looks beautiful. But honestly, I think it's because my three major food groups are Pizza, pasta and bread. Actually, if we're talking for let's go wine and wine in there, but yeah, Italy has always been number one on my list.

Rick Denton: 22:54

You and I are food spirit animals. It is sounds like we share a very similar approach and enjoyment of that which is wonderful because the next question the first class Lounge is what is a favorite thing of yours to eat?

Megan Bassler: 23:09

Okay, so for not talking carbs, like I just mentioned on the carbs. I also I really love sushi. And actually fun fact I'll share real quick. The sushi restaurant I grew up going to up in the bay area where I'm from a few years ago redid their menu and the Megan role is now officially on the menu.

Rick Denton: 23:30

No way. Yeah, well, congratulations. I'm

Megan Bassler: 23:35

about that. Thank you.

Rick Denton: 23:36

Okay, we'll talk. We'll talk off mic as to where that restaurant is. And we'll go we'll go check that out some time and enjoy the the Megan roll what is in the Megan roll?

Megan Bassler: 23:45

Ah, see, this is where you're gonna think I'm boring. It's nothing super fantastic. It's ultimately like a good ol California roll with some salmon on top and some special sauces and toppings and things. So I'm not extremely experimental when it comes to my food. But it was I always ordered the same thing every time I've gone since I was honestly four or five. That was pretty awesome. They added it.

Rick Denton: 24:11

That's awesome. And I will discard your disclaimers. It doesn't matter whether it's complex or simple. If it's still something special, it is something special. You're talking to someone who lives in Texas and barbecue can be one of the most simple ideas out there and is still incredibly special. It's going the other direction if you're eating sushi that young this will be an interesting answer. But what is something your parents forced you to eat but you hate it as a kid?

Megan Bassler: 24:38

I was and still am honestly so picky when it comes to food like I it's I'm weird. I'm weird with my food preferences. Growing up. I would just say in general veggies they tried to push veggies on me constantly wasn't about it. Even today. I could be a lot better about eating my greens. But I'd say just like that whole category as a whole was always a struggle getting me to

Rick Denton: 25:03

love it veggies come up quite a bit as an answer to that question. So thinking to the travel, you even delay you have Italy and in the future, you've got other destinations I'm sure you've been to and you want to go to what is one travel item, not including your phone, not including your passport that you will not leave home without,

Megan Bassler: 25:21

oh, that's a good one. Um, you know, for for Christmas, one of our partners actually gifted me a Kindle. And I've never been a big reader. Over the years, it was more kind of like personal growth books, things like that. But since January, I've read 13 books, and it's become like a true passion and kind of obsession. So I think I'd have to say I would bring my Kindle

Rick Denton: 25:54

I love the Kindle, I'm glad that someone has introduced or reintroduced the love of reading to you I, I have found myself enjoying reading a lot more these days. But I'm not near the the amount that you're consuming. That's impressive to get through that many books. But I'm glad that that is your one item I wanted to so before we entered the first class lounge, we were talking about AI and AI, there's a second theme that I want, and you actually started to introduce it, but I want to really double down on this one. And that is the humanity element of AR AI. You even talked about how you're the one going agent representative. Right? And so customers in general for now, and I can't believe I'm saying for now are primarily human. And I say that because yeah, there's actually non human customers out there, which is another topic for another show at a different time. But now with all of the digital solutions of the past and the present and the promise of technology that AI has to offer, how do you see us keeping humanity in these digital solutions going forward?

Megan Bassler: 26:55

It's a great question. You know, for AI, or any type of intelligence tool or technology to be effective, we still need to have a small aspect of human intervention, that human intervention is what's going to really keep the humanity in it. You know, at the end of the day data is data data doesn't have emotions, feelings, or indicators of whether or not this is the right time to push certain information over to the consumer. So we still need a small amount of human intervention to provide the more emotional, soft logic, that type of insight into pure data. And its quantitative around what a consumer or a specific buyer or audience is going to look at. It doesn't have the qualitative layer yet that layer is always going to keep humans. Well, yes, hopefully keep humans in business. And we really need that layer to be able to provide that emotional context to it. For example, if there is a tier one customer support issue, where it's like I am locked out of my account, and AI can help me reset my password, fantastic. If I have a question because something on my account looks fraudulent, you better believe I'm gonna want to talk to a human on the other line, to really explain to me what happened to empathize with me, and to reassure me that the issue has been resolved. You know, AI doesn't have that personality, the warmness the human touch, or they're not able to really give me kind of that peace of mind that I feel like so many humans still really need today. So, you know, maybe we'll get there in the future, which is really scary to think about. But I just, I don't think we're there yet.

Rick Denton: 28:40

I like that. Absolutely. That that warmth, that humanity that when when something's bad, you also alluded right, the complexity element of it right and there that if reset my password, great. I use the example of when I'm booking a reservation at a restaurant, I almost resent when there isn't a digital option. At this point, I don't actually want to call and talk to the person managing the reservation book, I want to do that. But when it comes to something more complex, like and I've used this example before, but when my flight is canceled, and my family is stranded in Fort Lauderdale, I really don't want to deal with a bot, an app or any other digital solution. I want a human helping me in that situation with concern, compassion and efficiency. And keeping that in our digital solutions is so vital. And I like the approach that you're describing there. Let's stay with those humans. OP360, we talked about the global aspect of 360. And one of the things that you introduced to me when we were first getting connected. And me understanding the brand is this model that agents are dedicated to one account. Now that gives them this dual objective, right? They're both an extension of OP360 And the client brand, which is great, right? You'd want them to be that extension of the client brand. That's got to be challenging, though. So I'm curious, how do you select and perhaps even more importantly, how do you equip agents to deliver on that dual objective?

Megan Bassler: 29:55

Yeah, yeah. I mean, we fully believe in And we believe that the customer experience that our agents deliver can only be excellent if they are fully embedded in our client's brand. So our agents need to be able to really breathe the brand, you can tell when someone really understands what the company's objectives are just by talking to them on the phone. So from the very beginning, we're hiring the right agents, onboarding them correctly, and putting them through extensive training. And we're always looking for various markers, when recruiting in terms of skill set, flexibility, personality, interest, willing to learn about different industry types, I mean, a perfect example is, if we have a gaming client, and we're looking to bring on agents to support that specific account, we're going to really target agents that have some sort of interest or passion with gaming, that when they're talking to the consumers and customers, they're actually able to, you know, connect and relate with them a little bit, we're going to be we're going to be recruiting a very different personality, if we're looking for agents to support, you know, do it technical support for an IT company versus the types of agents that we'd be recruiting for a gaming company. So we really provide them with the right ongoing knowledge and education that make them feel like they're truly a part of the client company. And then going back to OP360. I mean, we really pride ourselves on our culture. You know, we do a lot of things with CSR within our communities, lots of engagement events with our employees, so that they really feel that there are many benefits to working at OP360. And we go out of our way to make them feel, you know, I hate to even say It's so cheesy, like to feel a part of the family. And we want it to be our end goal is that when they put their headset on, they are client XYZ. But when they go home, they're a part of the OP360 family and community. And we really keep that community tight amongst each other across all of our different clients. And something that's important to us.

Rick Denton: 32:10

Yeah, man, there's so much in there, holy cow, the idea of hiring a gamer interested in having them, even just the casual language choices that would be available. If you're hiring for talent that is interested and passionate and aware of a particular industry, they're going to speak differently than how I might speak. And yes, I do love my video games here and there. But I would never call myself a gamer. So there's slang, there's things that I don't know. But that that's definitely going to be a different personality and someone that is having to support a, you know, a private equity firm or something like that.

Megan Bassler: 32:49

I think I was gonna say, I think that's also what's really exciting too, for the agents, where it's where they're thinking like, oh, wow, I actually could could get to support an account that I, I myself am a consumer of or I really enjoy. It's not where it's like, oh, every single day, you're supporting a different client, you're kind of just getting dragged around, you really get to learn the brand and truly be a part of it, which is really exciting for our agents as well.

Rick Denton: 33:15

Well, Megan, I've really enjoyed our time here. I actually have a dozen more questions that I want to ask you, though, but we're out of time here. I do want to make sure though, that if folks want to know more about you and your approach to partnerships and learning how to do partnerships, and and even you and your growth in the BPO industry in your career experience. And if folks want to get to know a little bit more about OP360 And what they offer, what are the best ways that folks can get in touch with you or learn more about OP360?

Megan Bassler: 33:44

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, LinkedIn, I'm very active on LinkedIn, I love to connect with folks. And on there. We also do a ton of in person events throughout the year. Right, I know you joined one of our more recent ones. So yeah, if there's anyone out there that's interested in learning a little bit more about OP360, or just connecting with myself or anyone on the team. LinkedIn is probably the best bet. And we'd love to host anyone at any of our upcoming events, if they're local to the areas where we're going to be

Rick Denton: 34:10

awesome. And I will definitely give a plus one recommendation for those events. Y'all did a great job with the one in Austin. It was great to be have a business reason to go to my hometown, but y'all made a spectacular event. And it wasn't just the venue folks. I'm being very sincere here. It was also the well and Megan kudos to you for the partnerships and the relationships that people were able to make even at those in person events. It was actually quite delightful, Megan Oh, get all of what you said in the shownotes scroll down below. You'll see that listeners you'll also see a link about my philosophy around show sponsorship as I am so thankful to OP360 and their sponsorship for this episode, Megan brilliant conversation. I think there's some really good nuggets around how one can create a successful partnership community. I really appreciate you being kind of raw and honest when it comes to what it means to build a career. In an industry that isn't filled with folks that are traditionally like you and how you are hoping to grow and help grow the representation of folks inside the BPO industry, and then great, you know, getting your perspectives on on AI and what that means for the BPO industry had a brilliant conversation today. Megan, thanks so much. It was great. Thank you for being on CX passport.

Megan Bassler: 35:21

Oh my gosh, I had so much fun. Rick, thanks so much for having me.

Rick Denton: 35:30

Thanks for joining us this week on CX Passport. If you liked today’s episode I have 3 quick next steps for you Click subscribe on the CX Passport youtube channel or your favorite podcast app Next leave a comment below the video or a review in your favorite podcast app so others can find and and enjoy CX Passport too Then, head over to cxpassport.com website for show notes and resources that can help you create tangible business results by delivering great customer experience. Until next time, I’m Rick Denton and I believe the best meals are served outside and require a passport.