view from the chair - engage customer
TRANSCRIPT
The Irony of aTechnological Future
VIEW FROM THE
CHAIRMike Havard
Director, Ember Services
Published by
CUSTOMERENGAGEMENTSUMMIT 2016TUESDAY, 8 NOVEMBER 2016WESTMINSTER PARK PLAZA, LONDON
The Irony of aTechnologicalFuture
VIEW FORM THE CHAIR1
CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT SUMMIT 2016
I was again delighted to be chairing the annualCustomer Engagement Summit this year -undoubtedlyone of the most important events in the calendar forcustomer (and employee) engagement professionalsand leaders, with close to 1000 people gathering inWestminster, London to network, share, learn and seekinspiration.
This year's theme was Technology - the Great Enabler' and it was a timely focus oninnovation and tech in the world of customer management. In my own business,Ember, we have spent the year helping many of our clients understand andimplement a whole range of innovations and technology solutions to remove costand improve the service experience for their customers and so I know therelevance and timeliness of this theme. But here is the irony. It wasn't until earlyafternoon at the event that specific technologies in any detail were discussed fromthe platform. The focus was very much on the human as the key piece in theservice delivery model. And in particular on the human characteristics that ourcustomers and organisations value and that which technology is there to supportor better unable, not replace. Characteristics like compassion, empathy,astuteness, sense, flexibility and empowerment.
This is an important notion - about how to keep technology in its place and ensurewe are making the right overall investments for long term value, not short termreactionary gains. This I know is easier said than done. Especially in today's cost-driven, rapidly evolving work landscape. But the power of hearing fromorganisations who have taken a longer term view of customer value, and clearlyfocusing the role of enabling tech on enhancing the personal service experience,was timely. We heard from Timpson's, M&S, Domino's Pizza and many others wherethis idea shone through and their service reputation continues to excel. Jo Moranat M&S was unequivocal -'Make Every Moment Special' she said - thoughrecognised that they might often fall short of their own high standards, thesentiment was well received in the room. I made the point on the day that it wasthe German philosopher and scientist, Georg Hegel, who had once said that 'In therelationship between master and slave, both are dehumanised' and this draws
Mike HavardDirector, Ember Services
“This year's theme wasTechnology - the Great
Enabler' and it was atimely focus on
innovation and tech inthe world of customer
management.”
2
comparison with how many firms thinkabout customer service and technology,and indeed employee engagement,today. We are often slaves to ill-considered technological and 'humancapital' doctrine and I do not get thesense that many organisationsunderstand true customer value (andhow it relates to the key businessmetrics of P&L, Balance Sheet and Risk)and why it should be carefully nurtured.Have we dehumanised the way that weoften manage and engage our frontlinestaff? Or the way we expose customersto self-serve technologies? Or the poordesign of customer journeys? Or theimpending role and application of A.I.and robotics in our businesses? Ratherthan try and humanise the automationand provide support to the individual andincreasingly complex needs ofcustomers, we have often automated thehuman or the human role. And thisserves little benefit to anyone - let alonethe organisation in the long term. But wecan't be complacent or luddite about thepotential of technology and innovation tohelp transform our organisations. Thepotential is undoubtedly there, howeverwe look at it. For the current situationeven now is that, according to CEBGlobal, 'Customers are four times morelikely to become disloyal after a serviceinteraction'. This is a damning findingand suggests that, despite our fearsabout the dehumanising effect of sometechnologies, humans aren't always thatbrilliant either. Or more likely ... aren'tallowed to be.
At the summit, I laid out the key questions, as I see them, for technologicalinnovation as an enabler to the way that organisations derive better value fromtheir customer engagements.
1 Who will build it? i.e. where does innovation come from and how do you identify and land it in your organisation? It was Einstein that said that 'Scientists should only determine what is, not what should be'. It is you, the business owner, who needs to take the leading view on this, not the techies. So who are the vendors you can trust to deliver and who are the challenging upstarts that can give you real competitive edge by moving quickly and positively by helping you disrupt your market?
2. Who will own it? i.e. what new models of ownership and commercials better suit your new operating models and the business case for investment and change?
3. What real value does it offer? i.e. how does the tech actually support positive behaviour change in your customers, reduce the cost to serve, open up new or agile opportunities or reduce the risk or your activities?
4. And who needs to look for a new job because of it? This was perhaps one of the interesting themes at the event amongst the coffee-break chatter - what new roles are required and what jobs have a clear shelf-life? The way I see it is that we should be looking to technology to improve our collaboration capability as people and with customers, not to fully replace it.
Professor Arturo Bris of the IMD Business School in Switzerland recentlysuggested that' 60% of the next generations' jobs do not exist yet. One job in fivewill disappear in the next 5 years'. Knowledge is clearly now a commodity, availableinstantly everywhere via browsers, apps and knowledge base technologies, andaccessible through increasingly fast, reliable and sophisticated interfacesincluding natural language and virtual reality domains. 'Knowledge was the keyasset of the 20th Century' he said; 'imagination is the key asset of the 21st'". Thisis an extremely important idea in how we perceive the role and future oftechnology in our firms. Machines don't have imagination. They don't havecreativity or conscience either. These are the important character strengths for ourpeople to thrive and lead in, now and in the future, and not to delegate the ideas ofthese to a dystopian technology-led future as Stephen Hawking feared might bethe 'biggest threat to humankind'.
So it wasn't really a summit about technology after all. It was about humans,customers and value. Much more important in my view. Perhaps next year's eventwill focus deliberately on the people ... and be chaired by a robot? I really hope not.As one infamous robot once said ... 'I'll be back'.
Mike Havard is a Director of Ember, a business services group focused oncustomer management innovation, advice and related services for championbrands globally. He can be contacted on [email protected] and @emberMikeHavard
VIEW FORM THE CHAIR
CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT SUMMIT 2016
The Irony of a Technological Future
The Team
Steve HurstEditorial [email protected] 506 304
David [email protected] 506 300
EDITORIAL
Katie DonaldsonMarketing [email protected] 506 302
Hannah MuleaMarketing [email protected] 302 112
MARKETING
James CotteeSponsorship Sales [email protected] 506 309
Dominic StoneSponsorship [email protected] 506 303
Dale AyliffeSponsorship [email protected] 302 110
Kimberley BishopSponsorship [email protected] 506 308
Dan MoranSponsorship [email protected] 506 303
SPONSORSHIP
Dan SkinnerDelegate [email protected] 506 307
Jamie RossDelegate [email protected] 506 306
MEMBERSHIP
Sabrina ClarkeFinance [email protected] 500 103
Jenna PollardAccounts [email protected] 428 542
FINANCE
Nick [email protected] 506 301
MANAGING DIRECTOR
VIEW FROM THE CHAIR
Mike Havard, Director, Ember Services
CUSTOMERENGAGEMENTSUMMIT 2016TUESDAY, 8 NOVEMBER 2016WESTMINSTER PARK PLAZA, LONDON