The Customer, The C-Suite and The ?

Earlier this year in the Gartner Executive Survey CEO’s put customer service as the most important priority after growth.

“The big rise of explicit mentions of the word “customer” was very noticeable in the results of this year’s survey,” Mark Raskino, vice president and Gartner Fellow.

Great – The Customer finally has a seat at the top table, so why are many organisations still struggling to deliver great service?

Just because the “C- suite” have finally recognised the importance of the customer, does not mean that the customer experience within these organisations will suddenly improve.

As we know saying, or thinking something and actually doing something and taking action, are two very different things.

CCMA Seminar and UK National Contact Centre Awards 2016

Last week we headed to the CCMA Quarterly Seminar and UK National Contact Centre Awards at The Brewery in London in London.

The Seminar featured a number of speakers from across the industry; first up was Richard Kenny, Head of Global Contact Centre Marketing, Plantronics.

What’s Next For The Development Of Your Live Chat Channel?

The Digital evolution is here! You have managed to convince the exec team that the investment is required and you have successfully established your web-chat channel, or strategy.  Great! , so…..what next?

Customer Strategy & Planning 2016 – All The World’s a Stage

This year, Customer Strategy and Planning headed to Stratford-upon-Avon on the weekend of the 400^th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death, so the conference was full of inspiration and quotes from one of our greatest ever writers.

This year’s conference ‘Breakthrough Performance’ focussed on the fact we can go; ‘Further, Faster, Together’.

What makes you stand out as a professional – ‘An eagerness to learn and continually develop’ said Paul Smedley.  This was certainly true of everyone at the conference, who were keen to share and learn from best practice and see some exceptional results from the Innovation Award Finalists.

Winning with Customer Experience 2016

A few weeks ago I headed to London to attend the Winning with Customer Experience conference. On arriving at the American Square Conference Centre the venue was impressive and I was greeted with a smile and guided to the conference, just in time for a coffee and networking, I was raring to go.

We Can’t Live Without Them so Why Do We Hate Them So?

Mobile Phones, Broadband, TV and WIFI, we just can’t live without them. So why, oh why do we dislike our telecommunications, or network providers so little?

Reach for the Stars

It is a big space theme this week; with the release of Star Wars, the Force Awakens and the first ‘official’ British Astronaut, Major Tim Peake to blast off to the International Space Station.  Over 40 years ago, I doubt Tim Peake’s parents, or, George Lucas could dare dream what might become possible.

Photo NASA/Kowsky

The Digital Experience Awards 2015

It was pleasure, as always, to be a part of this years’ Digital Experience Awards at the Riverbank Park Plaza, London, and to chair the judges’ panel for the ‘Best use of digital to improve customer experience’ category.

Customer Service Delivered to Your Door?

At the end of 2014, consumers spent more money than ever online; with Black Friday, Cyber Monday, an improving economy and the pre/post-Christmas spend, we generated an estimated £100 billion worth of online sales.  As we head towards yet another Black Friday, consumer spending looks set to continue.

Much has been written about the demise of the high street due to the ease of websites such as Amazon and e-retailing from our trusted brands. Where online shopping has negatively impacted the high street, it has had a more positive outcome for the parcel delivery, distribution and logistics industry, who have seen increased demand and contracts.

Back to the Contact Centre of The Future – UK National Contact Centre Conference 2015

Last week TeamDJ headed to the British Library for the UK National Contact Centre Conference from the CCMA. 

The CCMA promoted the event as:

No waffle, no sales pitches, just straight talking industry experts!….they kept to their promise.

How Do We Better Recruit Resource Planners

A few weeks ago I attended the inaugural National Planning Conference, many coffees were drank, cake was eaten and best practice shared across an ever growing community built on the foundations of openness and celebrating innovation.

Douglas Jackson were there in force with both myself and our new planning and analytical specialist, Perry Fletcher, both of us were there to absorb and learn as much as we can from the planning and operational support community.

One theme was present throughout a number of the sessions, but also in many of the breakout and one to one conversations I had with various leaders and organisations.

How Do We Better Recruit Resource Planners?

UK Customer Experience Awards 2015

Last week we headed to London for the UK Customer Experience Awards.

This year the event was held at the Park Plaza Hotel Westminster Bridge, which had some great views of London.  This one, of Big Ben was taken on the 5th floor, just outside our judging suite (which also looked out on to the Shard). 

Competent Leaders are Key to Driving Business Growth

In recent weeks, some of TEAMDJ watched Horrible Bosses 2, not the best film in the world, (in our humble opinions).  Fortunately, we are not here to challenge Claudia Winkleman for the Film 2016 gig, but the subject of having a good or, bad boss, demonstrates just how important it is for both business and employees to have respected, competent leaders and managers, to drive and achieve business growth as well as to develop and retain your employees.

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(L-r) JASON BATEMAN as Nick and KEVIN SPACEY as Dave Harken in New Line Cinema’s comedy “HORRIBLE BOSSES,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

Top Tips for a Successful Interview Preparation

This subject, alongside CV Advice, is where the team at Douglas Jackson  spend a great deal of time, helping and supporting our customers (candidates) to prepare for that potentially, life changing meeting.  Here we we share our Top-Tips for a Successful Interview Preparation.

Sorry We Can’t Hire You – Wrong Industry!

I have now been working in staffing and recruitment for a number of years and I am starting to see some interesting trends from both hiring managers and candidates.

One of the most common objections I have been coming across is ‘oh, that seems absolutely spot on, but it’s a shame about the industry’