Customer service is an ever-changing industry that evolves with the consumer. Contact centers that want to be successful have to keep track of changing trends and new technology. And one of the best ways to do that? Keeping up to date by attending conferences and conventions.

Since contact centers have a growing presence in the job market both in the U.S. and internationally, there are plenty of conferences for employees and supervisors to attend. Here are just a few of the conferences scheduled in the U.S. in 2017.

Temkin Group Workshops

Held in various spots around the country, these events, created by Customer Experience Professionals Association co-founder Bruce Temkin, stress interactivity and networking.

The speakers work to engage the attendees and talk about cutting-edge developments in customer service.

There are currently dates scheduled in Miami in March, San Diego, and Alexandria, Virginia in April and Boston in June.

Next Generation Customer Experience
March 27-29
Park Hyatt Aviara Resort
Carlsbad, Ca.

This year’s lineup of speakers at the NGCX’s convention includes Micah Solomon, author and customer service expert; Tabitha Dunn, vice president of customer experience at Concur; and Christopher Barefoot, vice president of communications and guest relations at Opus One Winery.

Experience 2017
April 18^th-21^st
Las Vegas, NV

Hosted by customer-experience management firm Medallia, this expo-style event will feature over 300 different customer-service companies and over 800 attendees taking in strategy sessions, dynamic speakers and multiple networking opportunities. Medallia bills this conference as “The Customer Service Experience Event of The Year.”

The 13th Annual Customer Contact, East: Leveraging Customer Contact as a Strategic Asset
April 23-26
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Hosted by the growth-partnership firm Frost & Sullivan, this conference stresses collaboration. It’s a one-of-a-kind meeting of professionals from the fields of customer contact, customer care, customer service, customer experience management, call centers, and operations experts.

International Customer Management Institute (ICMI) Contact Center Expo & Conference
May 22^nd-25^th
Walt Disney Resort
Orlando, Fla.

ICMI’s massive conference is expected to host over 1500 attendees and more than 100 vendors.

The event will features tours of successful Orlando contact centers, extensive case studies of various effective call-center programs and more than 75 guest speakers.

National Credit Union Call Center Conference
October 16^th-18^th
Harrah’s
Las Vegas, NV

A more narrowly-focused conference, this event focuses on the nation’s financial services sector, specifically credit unions, and how they can improve the customer-service experience for their members.

The agenda includes seminars on improving job satisfaction for contact center employees, better understanding the credit union members, exhibitor demos of new technologies, and roundtable discussions on best practices for contact centers.

2017 Best Contact Center Practices
June 20^th-23^rd
Rosen Plaza
Orlando, Fla.

One of the more interesting elements of this conference is that in addition to the expected seminars on technology, customer engagement, IT and employee satisfaction, the Best Contact Center event features a seminar on social media, and the role it could play in the reputation and growth of your contact center.

Call Center Week Conference & Expo
June 26^th-30^th
The Mirage
Las Vegas, NV

First, a bit of background on the week this event centers around: Rather than focus on a couple of days, the IQPC (International Quality and Productivity Center) hosts a full week of events meant to honor and educate those working in contact centers around the world.

The centerpiece of this week is the expo, which spreads various seminars, tours and vendor shows across five days. This conference is one of the biggest in the world and typically features a dazzling array of speakers.

This year is no exception. In addition to site tours, awards ceremonies and workshops, a glance at the conference agenda includes speeches by Mandalay Entertainment CEO Peter Guber, Disney Institute Vice-President & General Manager Jeff James, MGM Resorts International Chief Marketing Officer Lili Tomovich, and two speakers from the AARP, Customer Experience Design VP Celika Caldwell and Experience Strategy VP Michelle Musgrove.

Contact center managers and supervisors know they have to stay on top of developments in customer service to remain competitive. For more on the latest trends impacting customer service, read our post “Customer Service Trends for 2017.”