Joel breaks down how Five Star Call Centers supports companies as a true BPO partner—sometimes supplying full-stack customer experience (recruiting, training, tech, QA), other times filling specific gaps like staffing or process design. He explains the five traits they look for in great partners, why seasonality matters, and how their 99% work-from-home team across small-town America delivers world-class care.We dig into practical AI: avatar-based interviews, adaptive training, real-time speech analytics, “Agent Assist,” and when to deploy modern digital agents (not the old, frustrating chatbots). Joel also shares their growth story—from a single site to a remote-first U.S. team with expansion to Guatemala and the Philippines—and what it takes to get data, teams, and systems truly AI-ready.   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Be A Guest Are you a successful business owner or professional with insights to share? Apply to be a guest on https://grittogrowthpodcast.com/guest and share your expertise with a wide audience eager to learn about you.