Insights from the contact centre at OVO Energy
Alannah Martin shares what happened when her team replaced a traditional Interactive Voice Response telephone system with natural language technology to reduce call transfers in a live contact centre.
Alannah Martin shares what happened when her team replaced a traditional Interactive Voice Response telephone system with natural language technology to reduce call transfers in a live contact centre.
00:00 Introduction: what GEMBAfication is all about
00:33 Welcome Alannah Martin, Digital Innovation Value Owner at OVO
00:57 What a “value owner” does in practice
01:39 The problem: why customers were ending up in the wrong place
03:29 Getting the data right: baselines, insight, and early blind spots
05:23 Taking a phased, low risk approach to change
06:40 Introducing natural language and AI in a live contact centre
08:55 The unexpected win: self service without forcing customers
10:22 Making change stick with performance insight and reporting
11:42 Stakeholder reactions: excitement, concern, and resistance
13:58 Results: customer experience, transfers, and operational impact
16:19 What didn’t go to plan during wider rollout
18:28 Balancing customer need, compliance, and business outcomes
20:22 Lessons learned on trust, controls, and leading change
27:01 Final reflections and outro
Alannah Martin is a Value Owner at OVO Energy, working with operational teams to improve processes, customer journeys, and how value is delivered across the organisation. Her role focuses on identifying friction in day to day operations and working with stakeholders to design practical, data informed improvements.
With a background in Lean Six Sigma and Agile ways of working, Alannah supports change initiatives that rely on experimentation, insight, and collaboration rather than top down solutions. She is particularly experienced in translating complex operational challenges into clear, workable improvements that teams can sustain over time.
Alongside her improvement work, Alannah has played an active role in building inclusive cultures at OVO. She previously led the Engender network, supporting initiatives to improve gender equity during a period when OVO was recognised as a Times Best Place to Work for Women.
Every episode centres on a candid conversation with someone who’s led change from the inside. We deliberately explore both sides of the story, from the moments where improvement delivered meaningful results, to times when things didn’t go to plan. Our guests are generous with their honesty, talking openly about decisions made under pressure, warning signs they noticed too late, and what they’d do differently next time.
In our world, every experience is valuable, and hearing how others have navigated the realities of performance improvement makes the work feel less isolating, and far more achievable. So if you’re looking for thoughtful reflection, practical insight, and reassurance that progress rarely follows a straight line, GEMBAfication is for you.
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