Capita's new CX spin-off plans to fix customer service

People rarely enjoy contacting customer service. Whether it's navigating self-service portals, following up on a query or lodging a complaint, the majority of contacts are seen as a chore. And  artificial intelligence (AI) isn't improving things. 

In late 2025, data published by the Institute of Customer Service confirmed half of UK consumers say service feels "overly automated, joyless and exhausting". 
Now, a new UK-based BPO is looking to change that for the house-hold names it serves. 

ellio launched in August and describes itself as a "new-generation customer experience business". Divested from Capita, ellio now runs as a standalone CX operation with a five-year strategy focused on "growth, specialized propositions, and outcome-based value delivery". 

"The most exciting thing for us as ellio is the chance to redesign an industry people rarely love, into one they actively enjoy," CEO Corinne Ripoche tells CX Network.

In this interview, Ripoche explains how that transformation will be delivered, the key skills the workforce of the future needs and the most exciting thing she sees happening in CX right now. 

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Making  a name in a fast-moving space

ellio isn't entirely new to CX and service. Parent company Capita has a long history in outsourcing, serving  government, defense, education and health. ellio takes that expertise beyond the public sector with a focus on telecoms, utilities, financial services, retail and the third sector. 

It launched with a 7,000-strong workforce across the UK, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, South Africa and Bulgaria, and a number of household name clients such as Starbucks, the RSPCA, M&S and T-Mobile, located across the UK, Ireland, Germany, and Switzerland. 

Its USP is that it doesn't sell capacity. In the BPO space, where AI threatens the very nature of the business model, that can easily become a race to the bottom. In countries like India, the Philippines, South Africa and Bulgaria, where BPOs are major employers, the AI threat looms large.

The organizations that would traditionally hire these services are too often looking for the lowest cost per seat and the highest capacity model. In today's economic climate, it isn't about outsourcing for quality, but cost and convenience. 

In the US, where the FCC is voting to bring off-shore contact center jobs back on-shore, there is a concern that instead of hiring human, US-based workers, as the FCC wants them to, organizations will instead shift to AI-enabled self-service. Recent and rapid advances in technology – such as generative and agentic conversational AI and voice bots – only strengthen this temptation. 

Ripoche says ellio will utilize the technology that is so often tipped to undermine a capacity-focused BPO customer service sector, but balance its application with the human touch  while leveraging its "data-led approach" to design "outcome-based solutions". 

She explains: "We are far more than a traditional BPO. The insights of our team, and expertise of our people, means that we actively help our clients redesign and modernize their customer experience journeys."

Switching capacity for curiosity 

What ellio does specialize in, is curiosity, which Ripoche says supports the skills the best people in the business need. 

"Technology alone doesn't drive innovation. People are very much at the heart of moving our industry forward and that's why we have built ellio on the promise of curiosity," she explains. "I genuinely believe that the most important thing a person can be - in any room, on any call, in any conversation - is genuinely interested."

She adds: "Curiosity naturally develops active listening skills, empathy, emotional intelligence and the ability to build trust, all skills that will continue to be core for the future workforce."

On the other key skills the CX workforce of the future needs, Ripoche says that as digital tools reshape industry and capabilities, tech-fluency is in high-demand. "When teams seamlessly partner with AI – using real-time guidance, predictive analytics, and instant data – they shift to making fast, highly informed decisions that build long-term trust," she says.

Quick links  

• Before you cut your contact
• center workforce for AI agents, read the fine print3 Human skills AI can't replace (and why they matter now)
• How TikTok Shop cut ticket resolution time 150%
  
  

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