When we think about customer experience in the charity sector, Macmillan Cancer Support sets the standard. At Calabrio’s recent UK Customer Connect, we had the privilege of hosting a conversation with Hannah Mahoney-Smith (Head of Supporter Customer Care), Anna Bradshaw Jones (Resource Manager), and Daniel Keeshan (Senior Service Demand Manager) of Macmillan Cancer Support, who gave us a look behind the scenes at how their contact centres deliver empathy at scale, while staying efficient and resilient.
Supporting Two Very Different Audiences
Macmillan’s contact centre operation is split into two core functions: one supporting people affected by cancer, including patients, families, and friends, and the other driving income through fundraising. While the audiences are different, the approach is unified: human connection, backed by the right tech.
“We support people at every stage of the cancer journey,” said Hannah, Head of Supported Care. “But we also need to inspire people to give their time, energy, and money. That means both contact centres need to deliver incredible experiences, whether someone is climbing a mountain for us, or calling after a diagnosis.”
Empathy vs Efficiency: Why Not Both?
One of Macmillan’s biggest challenges is balancing emotional sensitivity with operational performance. Anna, Resource Manager, shared how they structure the working day to allow space for recovery.
“We build in time for debriefs at the end of every shift. Advisors can also use wellbeing codes if they’ve taken a tough call, and someone will check in. The goal is to help them reset, because every conversation matters.”
Tech supports this balance too. Their chatbot handles basic queries so advisors can focus on the heart of the conversation. Scheduled autonomy, shift swaps, and rolling annual leave give the team control, while Calabrio helps resource accurately against unpredictable demand.
Getting It Right on Social
Dan, Senior Demand Manager, talked about the evolution of fundraising at Macmillan, and how social media is now a major frontline channel.
“We handle around half a million contacts a year. Voice isn’t even our biggest channel anymore—social media is. So, we centralised our social media operations into one team to ensure consistent tone, faster response, and better moderation.”
But with high visibility comes high risk. That’s why Macmillan takes a thoughtful approach to resourcing and training. Advisors need the right support to shift quickly between messages – from grief to celebration—while maintaining sensitivity and speed.
Preparing for the Unpredictable
Training is no small task. New advisors on the support line undergo a 12-week induction, including time with Macmillan’s “Cancer Voices” (people with lived experience), safeguarding training, and sessions with nurses to understand treatments and side effects.
“There’s also a strong focus on active listening, emotional triggers, and knowledge access,” said Anna. “It’s about feeling prepared for whatever comes next.”
On the fundraising side, with 150+ live products at any given time, the challenge is breadth. Dan’s team revamped their SharePoint knowledge base and introduced a senior advisor ‘hunt group’ via Teams so that advisors can get quick answers when they need them.
“We may not always be able to invest in all the tech we want, but we invest in our people. Tools like Calabrio help us remove the tasks humans don’t need to do, so our teams can focus on what matters.”
Tech That Enhances, Not Replaces
AI and automation have a role to play, but never at the expense of human connection.
Dan explained, “What we’re excited about is using tech to surface the right information at the right time. Whether it’s real-time call summaries, insight into sentiment, or faster access to knowledge—it’s about helping our people stay in the moment and deliver better service.”
Anna echoed that sentiment, especially around using analytics more intelligently. “We’re already bucketing transcripts by theme, but we want to go further. Calabrio is helping us look at emotional content in context, because not all ‘negativity’ is actually negative when it comes to these conversations.”
For Macmillan, it’s not just about technology or targets. It’s about staying human, even when scaling support across hundreds of thousands of interactions each year.
As Hannah summed up: “We may not always be able to invest in all the tech we want, but we invest in our people. Tools like Calabrio help us remove the tasks humans don’t need to do, so our teams can focus on what matters.”
Macmillan is proof that contact centres can be both high-performing and deeply human. And with the right tech behind the scenes, they’re ready to support even more people today and in the years to come.
Curious to dive deeper into Macmillan’s journey? Watch the full interview and explore more powerful sessions on Calabrio Customer Connect On-Demand today.
When you’re ready to see how Calabrio can help your team thrive, we’d love to hear from you!
