Balto, the #1 Real-Time Guidance Platform for contact centers, has launched a new research and data team focused on providing actionable insights for the contact center industry: the Conversation Excellence Lab.
In 2021, Balto released two of the largest surveys of contact center operations: The Contact Center Agent Report and the Contact Center Coaching Report. These reports each delivered valuable insights on the effectiveness of current training methods in the contact center. In addition, Balto recently crossed another major milestone by becoming the first to guide 100 million conversations in real-time.
Now, Balto is building a team that will expand and scale data-backed research based off these previous successes. The Lab will publish insights in consumable formats that enable every contact center to optimize and scale excellent conversations.
In its first year, the Lab will leverage industry surveys and Real-Time Guidance call data provided by Balto to publish a regular series of reports. The team will also establish academic research partnerships to validate the Lab’s research and share data that only Balto can provide. All reports will be available in the public domain, without any paywalls.
“Balto is in a unique position to scale thought leadership that can make tangible improvements in contact centers,” said Balto CEO Marc Bernstein. “We’ve proven that twice already through our Agent Survey and Manager Survey, where we found agents benefit from reminders and current coaching isn’t working as it should. The Conversation Excellence Lab will be a leading voice in guiding the contact center industry towards better operations, improved attrition rates, and more revenue.”
Beyond Real-Time Guidance: Why Balto is Investing in Contact Center Insights
While Balto has established itself as the leader in real-time technology for contact centers, the Conversation Excellence Lab will not focus its work solely on real-time. Instead, the Lab will explore topics impacting the contact center industry every day: attrition rates, in-person vs. virtual impacts on productivity, industry-specific insights, etc.
“Balto has logged 100 million conversations and 260 million real-time recommendations; that’s an endorsement of Real-Time Guidance on its own,” said Marc. “The Conversation Excellence Lab is a bigger picture. We want to uncover what’s influencing the contact center from all angles. We want to make content that any contact center leader can read and immediately understand how they can improve their team.”
In the coming weeks, the Lab will begin publishing its first reports through the Balto website. An email subscription is also available for readers who want to receive Lab reports directly.
About Balto
Balto is the #1 Real-Time Guidance platform for contact centers. Balto is centered around a simple truth: Better conversations make more money. Powered by AI, Balto scales best practices to agents with the push of a button and gives immediate insight into what’s working and what’s not. Founded in 2017 and based in St. Louis, Missouri, Balto has guided over 100 million conversations around the world.
Maria Edington
Maria Edington is the Vice President of Marketing at Balto, where she works closely with contact center leaders to improve how teams function day-to-day and plan for what’s ahead. Over the past five years, she’s led initiatives focused on performance, quality, compliance, and the practical use of AI across the contact center floor. Her experience spans complex, high-volume industries including Medicare, P&C insurance, financial services, collections, home improvement, and banking—sectors where conversations are tightly regulated, high-stakes, and often the last mile of the customer experience. Maria has contributed to research on Medicare Advantage trends, MedPAC policy, and eBroker financial performance, and regularly works with operators navigating shifting compliance requirements and productivity demands. With a background in engineering, Maria brings a systems-level mindset to how contact centers work—and how they can work better. Her focus: helping contact centers modernize—adopting smarter tools, better habits, and a stronger foundation for what’s ahead.
