The health & wellbeing sector has always been rooted in human connection. Whether it’s supporting someone on their fitness journey, guiding a patient through treatment, or reassuring a customer about a sensitive health concern, the role of empathy is central.
But as the industry expands fuelled by digital-first healthtech, growing demand for wellness subscriptions, and rising consumer expectations, customer contact teams are under strain. The question for leaders is clear: how can we scale, stay compliant, and still deliver a deeply human experience?
From Cost Centre to Care Hub
Contact centres in health & wellbeing have traditionally been seen as a cost to control. Yet every conversation from a dietary query to a mental health support call has the potential to strengthen or weaken customer trust.
Forward-looking organisations are reframing service operations as a growth driver. For example, brands in this sector are exploring:
– Streamlined renewals and cancellations to reduce friction in subscription journeys.
– Smart routing for repeat callers, ensuring recurring issues are addressed quickly.
– Consistent omnichannel service so customers feel supported whether they call, chat, or message via an app.
When the contact centre is positioned as a core part of the brand experience, it moves beyond cost reduction and becomes a foundation for loyalty.
Automation with Empathy
The volume of routine contacts in this sector is significant – booking appointments, tracking deliveries, resetting passwords, updating payment details. These are tasks that can be handled by AI and digital workers, delivering instant, 24/7 responses.
The real opportunity is in blending automation with human empathy:
– Real-time agent assistance: AI surfaces the right knowledge at the right moment, helping advisors answer health or wellbeing queries accurately and sensitively.
– Vulnerability detection: AI can flag signs of distress in a caller’s tone or language, prompting the advisor to adapt their approach or escalate where appropriate.
– Conversation wrap-up & QA: Every interaction can be automatically summarised, with 100% of calls checked for compliance and quality, giving leaders confidence that standards are met consistently.
This partnership between people and technology doesn’t replace the human connection. It amplifies it, giving advisors the space to focus on empathy while automation handles repetitive, time-consuming tasks.
Scaling Securely & Sustainably
The growth in health & wellbeing services from digital fitness programmes to home diagnostics demands agile operating models. Customer demand can spike rapidly, whether during seasonal health peaks or major product launches.
To stay ahead, organisations are:
– Leveraging flexible sourcing models (nearshore, offshore, hybrid) to expand capacity quickly and cost-effectively.
– Adopting workforce management (WFM) tools to optimise scheduling and keep wait times short.
– Embedding compliance and security (PCI DSS, GDPR, sector-specific regulations) to ensure every interaction is safe and brand-protective.
By combining these capabilities, health & wellbeing brands can scale without losing sight of what matters most: trust, care, and the customer’s wellbeing journey.
The Strategic Shift Ahead
The contact centre is no longer just a helpdesk. It is becoming the front line of wellbeing experiences, where automation drives efficiency, and skilled advisors deliver empathy. For leaders in the sector, the challenge (and the opportunity) is to design operations that are both sustainable and human-centred.
At Customer Contact Panel, we connect organisations with over 220 delivery providers and 115 technology partners. We help health & wellbeing brands navigate their options, align technology with their customer journeys, and build resilient, customer-first operations fit for the decade ahead.
