Thanks Graham. Wise words as ever! The holacracy experiment was undoubtedly a failed experiment at Zappos and I believe they ditched it not so long after it was implemented. Still, isn't one of Campbell's 12 stages the 'ordeal' phase?!

I don't dispute that there's a tinge of Americanisation in the culture book approach but what I do like about it is that a) it's something that is sculpted by employees and b) it is designed to evolve over time. Sometimes businesses go through culture change exercises, create a bunch of new values and then never revisit and revise them, which means they inevitably become meaningless. I guess this is one approach and trying to avoid that.

Thanks Andrew. Some excellent points raised - specifically on budgets/ allowances being difficult to manage. We've certainly seen examples of customers 'gaming' these offers in recent times - especially via social media.

I agree with your points about rules vs guidelines and many businesses appear to be seeing sense when it comes to giving their staff some flex on their guidelines in order to resolve customer queries. It's a pity that we're still seeing examples (such as the one at the start of this article) of businesses that are leaning the other way, even when the outcome seems obvious to most.

Glad this has sparked a few ideas for you Hans. We'd love to hear how you get on!

*Update on 9th July, from the ICO in relation to the intent to also fine hotel chain Marriott International £99m for 2014 data breach, notified to the ICO last year: https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/news-and-events/news-and-blogs/2019/07/...

Definitely the kind of positive determination that will be required this year Edward! Thanks.

Some great insight Steven. If ever there was any doubt about the impending impact of #3, Shufersal in Israel announced this week that ALL of its grocery stores would be switching to 'seamless' cashierless technology:
http://www.intelligentcio.com/eu/2018/11/26/israeli-supermarket-is-first...

Hi Emma.

Thanks for your comment. You're absolutely right- it's about establishing which channels are most likely to foster which behaviours among the different demographics/ personas you serve, and then ensuring you are able to offer the relevant engagement options to meet the expectations.

There's all kind of research to suggest that the phone is still the channel of choice for those looking to speak to humans about complex queries, so even with an IVR or AI-driven system at the start of that process there's a risk you'll alienate or anger your customers.

Thanks Jeff - very relevant. Also, the research you referenced in 2016 around duel-screening and multitasking is extremely pertinent, as it highlights one key truth: that focus is being taken away from serving customers.

Interesting in that multitasking/ duel-screen research that the argument around managing complexity appears to lead to increasing the number of tasks an agent can do at any one time, yet this invariably leads to a more intense workload, leading to the burnout you've mentioned. Doesn't feel like the right solution - something I hope this article goes some way towards highlighting.

Thanks @NogRock.

I share some of your concerns but I don't wholly agree that all of the interest is with the brokers and marketers - I hope the article doesn't come across as solely suggesting this. Hopefully, the benefits of third-party data can still be found in making communications and marketing more relevant after GDPR.
The problem is that too often the relevancy has been tossed aside. But with no third-party data there's an argument that as consumers, we'll receive more unrelated spam, not less.

What should happen as a result of GDPR is that unscrupulous vendors are rooted out and made an example of. That, to me, is what's happening as a result of the Cambridge Analytica revelation.

Hi Leslie.

Thanks for your comments.

You can contact Bruce directly by private message via his user profile (top and bottom of page) if you wish to follow up with him directly.