Self Management – Are You Ready to Start Firing?

You’re Fired!  Not words anyone would like to hear, however words fans of the Apprentice will know well. There is much talk about being fired this week, with the sudden departure of James Comey, FBI Director, at the hands of President Donald Trump.

‘Releasing Potential’ Customer Strategy and Planning 2017

It’s that time of year again and this year to Harrogate, home of the famous Betty’s Tea Rooms and Turkish Baths for the Customer Strategy and Planning conference from the Forum, held at the grandly named Majestic Hotel.

Chris Rainsforth kicked of the opening keynote with a brief history of Harrogate, also known as “The English Spa” and since 2013, polls have consistently voted the town as “the happiest place to live” in Britain.

Nicola Callan, Head of Engagement and Learning at The Forum introduced us to storytelling, and the art of ‘Telling Stories of Success’;

Here’s to the next 10!

10 years ago Douglas Jackson was born, what a ride it has been.

We are so proud of the growth and development of the business, over what has been a challenging economic backdrop and a constantly changing customer landscape.

Are Your Leaders Hiring the Right Person?

How confident are you, or your leaders, when it comes to hiring the right person for your business?

Following a recent business survey, The Recruiting Times found that 55% of business leaders believe their lack of recruitment credentials, process, or technology would lead to hiring the wrong candidate.  Read the full article here.

Have You Turned for Customer Experience?

Did anyone watch The Voice debut on ITV this weekend? Don’t worry if talent shows and reality TV is not for you, as this is not an article about those, Will.i.am, or Tom Jones, but about Domino’s Pizza and the rise of their customer experience, coupled with their business success.

UK Digital Experience Awards 2016

 

I have judged at the UK Digital Experience Awards every year since it has started and I am still amazed each year with the amount of time and effort that is put in to, not only the entries and presentations by the finalists, but also by the organisers of the event to make sure that it runs smoothly. Yet again, this was a really great event, which gave some of the more well known and favourite brands, as well as new and upcoming organisations, the chance to showcase their digital propositions and the reasons why they thought themselves to be worthy winners of various different categories. See the finalists and categories here.

Does Customer Experience Drive Revenue Growth?

Does Customer Experience Drive Revenue Growth?

According to the Forrester’s report ‘Customer Experience Drives Revenue Growth, 2016’, yes it does!

It’s Magic – The National Data Analytics & Insight Conference

Last week we were back at The National Data, Analytics & Insight Conference 2016, hosted by The Forum, which, once again proved to be a great success. The Forum gave an overview of where our industry is right now which was followed by some best practice seminars, split across Customer Insight, Quality and Customer Experience focussed sessions.

There were lots of ideas and improvement initiatives shared which gave the 200 strong audience much to take back to the office to help drive their continuous improvement and customer transformation programmes.

Ian Robertson, Customer Contact Specialist at The Forum, started the day off with a magical start.

UK National Contact Centre Conference 2016

The UK National Contact Centre Conference 2016 proved to be yet again, one of the most worthy annual events on our industry calendar. The event was hosted by Ann-Marie Stagg, Chief Executive of the CCMA, who also gave us a good overview of where our industry is right now on various subjects which were spoken about in more detail by nine industry experts.

UK Customer Experience Awards 2016

Last week we were back at the Park Plaza, Westminster Bridge for the 2016 UK Customer Experience Awards.

With one of the best views from a hotel lobby in London,(in our opinion), this event just gets bigger each year, with over 800 attendees, there to celebrate improvements within customer experience.

Hire More Successful Leaders Who Stay Longer

You have made the decision to hire a new Customer Service Director.

You know this appointment will make, or, break the success of your differentiated brand experience.   Your new Director will be entrusted to design, define, develop, lead and deliver your enterprise-wide Customer Experience strategy across a constantly evolving multi-channel environment.

You go through a thorough selection process. Hire what looks like a great individual.  They had all the right experience, a good track record, good references but then, they just don’t work out!… Does this sound familiar?

4 Key Learnings from The Job Interview

Have you been watching and enjoying, the The Job Interview on Channel 4 and if so, what have you learnt from the adventures of those featured?

#Thejobinterview has been featuring two companies who have a real vacancy to fill each episode.

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?