Today’s episode of the Punk CX podcast features Paul Hughes, who is Head of Direct Sales for the UKISA region at Mitel, where he helps organisations use technology to deliver human experiences built on trust, empathy, loyalty, and logic. Paul joins me today to talk about why hybrid is the new default and not a compromise, the dangers of a CCaaS monoculture, the problem with AI sameness and why most bots feel identical, linking UC/CX investment to business outcomes like revenue, resilience, and wellbeing as well as Paul’s best advice, his Punk CX brand and his very own good news story.

This interview follows on from my recent interview – Loyalty is the core economic engine – Interview with Sara Richter and Fred Reichheld – and is number 573 in the series of interviews with authors and business leaders who are doing great things, providing valuable insights, helping businesses innovate and delivering great service and experience to both their customers and their employees.

Here are the highlights of my chat with Paul:

• Hybrid is the New Enterprise Default: The market is shifting from “cloud purity” to a pragmatic hybrid approach, which is necessary for enterprise-level organizations, especially those in highly regulated industries that must comply with on-premise and cross-border data requirements.
• Prioritize Experience Over Technology: To avoid the CCaaS “monoculture” trap, CX leaders must shift the focus away from purely infrastructure discussions to deep discovery and an understanding of the impact that new tools will have on customers and employees.
• AI’s ROI Failure is a Discovery Failure: The high rate of AI deployment failure is linked to a lack of proper discovery. Investments must first validate the “why” and “is this required” by assessing the effect on employees, customers, and the overall business model.
• Experience Outcomes Must Replace Cost Reduction: To move past the “AI sameness” of basic deflection, strategies must focus on creating better, more contextual customer journeys rather than merely chasing cost reduction or replacing human agents.
• Redefine Your CX Metrics: Traditional contact center KPIs like Average Handling Time (AHT) are becoming irrelevant in an AI-augmented world. New metrics must tie directly to tangible business outcomes, such as customer retention, revenue protection, and compliance.
• Address the ‘Toggle Tax’: High contact center agent attrition (globally around 52%) is significantly influenced by “toggle tax”—the overwhelm of navigating 8-10 or more systems. This represents a significant, yet often overlooked, human and business cost.
• Implement a Hybrid Solution for Employee Experience (EX): The solution to “toggle tax” is not necessarily a single pane of glass, but a hybrid integration strategy that effectively surfaces multiple tools into 2-3 consolidated views to improve agent focus and reduce friction.
• The Power of AI is Augmentation, Not Replacement: AI should be strategically implemented to augment the agent, listening in real-time and proactively surfacing information. 
• Adopt a Disciplined, Slow-to-Go-Further Strategy: Executives should resist “shiny object syndrome” and “innovation for innovation’s sake.” A disciplined product strategy that focuses on one or two use cases and proves value before expansion builds trust and delivers a more reliable, steady service.
• Define a Clear North Star Story: Leaders must articulate the strategic vision by clearly envisioning and telling a detailed story of the ideal customer and agent experience. This clarity is essential for building a focused, long-term roadmap that avoids “big bang” technological gambles.
• Paul’s best advice: Fix friction before you add features and keep the human experience at the heart of your AI decisions.
• Paul’s Punk CX brand: No specific brand, but all brands that focus on clarity and trust and doing the basics right. Brands that keep it simple.

About Paul

Paul Hughes is Head of Direct Sales for the UKISA region at Mitel, where he helps organisations use technology to deliver human experiences built on trust, empathy, loyalty, and logic.

A seasoned sales leader with over 25 years’ experience across the telecommunications and IT industry, Paul bring deep expertise in sales leadership, coaching, strategy, negotiation, and proposition development.

Passionate about customer experience, Paul believes CX sits at the heart of modern business success and is driven by the idea of the “human experience”, using technology not just to connect systems, but to connect people. At Mitel, he works closely with customers and colleagues alike to shape more meaningful, human-centred experiences through technology.

Check out Mitel, and feel free to connect with Paul on LinkedIn here.

Credit: Photo by Noble Mitchell on Unsplash