From manual dialling to a modern contact centre: Thomas Direct's partnership with Kaizn
Kaizn advised Thomas Direct on modernising tele-fundraising, implementing MaxContact to increase connected calls by 125% and reduce cost per seat by 25%
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Thomas Direct are an Australian specialist in charitable lottery/ raffles and tele-fundraising for not-for-profits. Based on the Gold Coast, they are experts in the industry, operating for over 30 years, and have developed an ethical approach to fundraising. The business has a long-standing focus on people, training and performance.
For many years Thomas Direct had relied on a manual telephony system, and focused heavily on training & growing people which has been key to a successful tele-fundraising business. However, in recent years Thomas Direct have explored dialler technology to streamline business processes and boost agent productivity.
As the operation matured, Thomas Direct began exploring dialler technology to streamline processes, improve visibility, and increase agent productivity. Having already trialled and used multiple diallers, the team had a clear view of what worked and what did not.
They needed a modern, scalable contact centre platform that aligned with their operating model, supported multiple high-volume campaigns running simultaneously, and delivered strong reporting, intuitive campaign management, and ease of use for a mature agent base. Business continuity and CRM integration were also non-negotiable.
Just as important as the technology itself was finding a partner who would take the time to understand their workflows and guide them through the decision with clarity and confidence. Since they had already used two diallers, Thomas Direct knew what they were looking for and were clear that advanced reporting and easy campaign management was important.
Kaizn engaged Thomas Direct to assess their existing workflows, operational requirements, and performance goals. This advisory phase focused on understanding how campaigns were run, how agents worked day to day, and what success looked like across management, IT, and contact centre leadership.
There were a number of requirements for the new solution, some of the key requirements were:
- Ease of use for agents – Thomas Direct have a mature agent base so the solution had to be easy to learn.
- Business Continuity Proof – In case a need arose for home workers.
- Real Time Information – Clear visibility of KPI’s was important for Thomas Direct.
- CRM integration – Thomas Direct required an update of every call to be passed to their in-house CRM
Based on these insights, Kaizn recommended MaxContact as the platform best suited to Thomas Direct’s needs. The decision was supported by tailored, in-person demonstrations for the management team and a structured proof-of-concept period to validate the platform against real operational scenarios.
Kaizn led the implementation end to end, ensuring the solution delivered against key requirements including intuitive agent experience, real-time KPI visibility, business continuity readiness, and seamless integration with Thomas Direct’s in-house CRM.
Throughout onboarding, Kaizn worked closely with the Thomas Direct team, listening to feedback, refining configurations, and ensuring the platform aligned with both current operations and future growth plans.
“The onboarding process with MaxContact, and Kaizn team's ability to listen and cater for our requirements, was a breath of fresh air.” Adrian Smith- IT Manager
“We started using MaxContact with the confidence that we were using a technology that would satisfy our clients and supporters needs.” Vanessa Gilbert - Contact Centre Manager
Since going live, Thomas Direct has seen improvements across all key performance indicators.
Agent productivity has increased, supported by clearer reporting, easier campaign setup, and a simplified admin experience. Campaigns can now be onboarded quickly and managed efficiently, even at scale.
The organisation has achieved a more than 125 percent increase in connected calls, reduced cost per seat by 25% and improved average talk time to over 1 minute and 45 seconds. The number of persons to success now averages 7.48, reflecting stronger contact quality and campaign performance.
Beyond the numbers, Thomas Direct has gained confidence in their technology stack, knowing it can support their clients, supporters, and internal teams as the organisation continues to evolve.
AVERAGE TALK TIME = > 1MIN 45 SECONDS
COST PER SEAT SAVING = 25%
CONNECTED CALLS INCREASE = OVER 125% +
NUMBER OF PERSONS TO SUCCESS = 7.48
