Key Takeaways from the 2020 Chief Customer Officer Forum

There were some fascinating discussions at the 31st Australian Chief Customer Officer Forum meeting.  Our theme was Transform, Fine Tune or Evolve which turned out to be very relevant to all the change that had occurred because of the pandemic.  We were privileged to hear from industry leaders who had managed transformation and rapid change a...

Teach the machines better or face the wrath of customers

It feels like “Groundhog-day” for many customers with the latest wave of sales and service technologies in the form of chat and speech bots producing customer hostility. A 2018 survey found that 51% of US customers disliked chatbots. A recent survey found that 49% of Australian customers would rather wait for five minutes to talk to someone t...

Managing a distributed team is harder

In our last paper (“Is at-home working?”) we discussed some techniques that can be used to get a better grip on performance now that working from home is becoming the new standard in most organisations. As much of the business world has moved to at-home work, we’ve noticed that those who manage teams have been through some of the most dramatic change. They have...

The “Operating Model it is a Changing”…

You’ll have to excuse the Bob Dylan reference but the times sure are “a changing”.  Almost every business we know is operating in a new state with a significant amount of at-home work. Many transitioned to at-home working in a few hectic days in March.  Few had time to plan it properly, but many companies aren’t rushing back to the office.  This is partly bec...

Never waste a good crisis 

As many organisations entered the COVID crisis they were forced to work in new ways and achieved changes in three weeks that many said would normally take three years.  The crisis tore down change barriers and sped decision making as only a good crisis can do. The sudden move to working from home wasn’t the only thing that happened. The restrictions also forced customers...

At-Home is Here to Stay in Some Form

The COVID-19 Pandemic will change ways of working permanently, in our opinion.  Even if a vaccine becomes available soon and workplaces start to re-open, many restrictions will remain.  These limitations mean the office isn’t always looking that attractive. Working from home has emerged as a useful part of the location mix and companies we are talking to, believ...