Monday 25 February 2019

Is Automation Killing Good Service?

We use automated systems and processes in many daily tasks, whether it’s setting up a subscription or payment instruction, buying a product or service, booking a plane ticket or something else.  There’s no doubt that automating many of the activities that used to be carried out by actual people has done much in terms of improving efficiency, saving money and making lives easier in general.

As many of us will have found, however, when the “system” fails, things can go badly wrong.  We can find any number of stories about how the “Customer Service/Helpdesk/Hotline” weren’t able (or, sometimes, willing) to resolve a problem.  In the case of being unwilling, training is one of the answers.  In the former (being unable), we encounter one of the downsides of automation.

When we look at the way that automation has replaced repetitive, manual tasks, we see that it has also replaced the knowledge of what actually happened to get them done. In much the same way as a child learning maths is taught the “manual way” of adding 1 + 2 to make 3, if we just give them a calculator they can still do it, but won’t understand how the process works.  

Similarly, Helpdesk/Hotline staff may not be aware of what actually happened to result in the problem facing them (although this will, hopefully, disappear as they acquire more experience).  Things break down because, as they lack the understanding of why “1 + 2 = 3”, they are usually obliged to resort to a checklist or putting customers “on hold” whilst they refer to someone else.  

Why do organisations do this?  The answer is, it’s cheaper.  An inexperienced employee is generally cheaper that an experienced one.  In one anecdote, a friend of mine commented that one of the world’s largest banks had made its experienced staff redundant (thereby losing goodness knows how many combined years of corporate experience) and replaced them with people who simply don’t have the basic knowledge.

Yes, automation helps, but if it’s viewed as a replacement for experience and knowledge, this is where we risk going wrong in our bid to save costs.  Much better to ensure that it complements experience than replaces it.


I have spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management.  I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. My websiteprovides a full picture of my portfolio of services.  For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.

Labels: , , , ,

Wednesday 20 February 2019

Did We Miss an Opportunity?

At the end of December 2018, I treated myself to a new Apple iPad 2018 generation tablet.  As accessories, the device can be matched with a keyboard that doubles as a cover and a “pencil” that connects by Bluetooth and acts as a wireless pointing device, kind of like a mouse.  Apple make both the keyboard and pencil and I thought it would be nice to get the “set”.

The store I went to had the device I wanted, but no keyboard and no pencil.  Another store in the same city had the pencil, but still no keyboard.

Never mind, I thought to myself, when I go back to where I live, there’s an Apple retailer there and I can pick up the keyboard.

No such luck.  Fast forward nearly 2 months and there is STILL no keyboard available.  

Luckily, some 2 years previously, I had purchased a bluetooth keyboard made by another third-party supplier.  When I looked at it more closely, I found that it had more features than its Apple counterpart, all of which were compatible with my new iPad.  Without going into a long list, this keyboard had been paid for, was more suited to my needs and had cost me a fraction of what the Apple one would have.  I could also use my new iPad with or without it, as opposed to the Apple keyboard/cover which comes as a single unit.  

Had the keyboard/cover been available when I bought the iPad, I would have bought it, even though initial reviews suggested that, despite being an improvement on its predecessor, it still lacked certain key functionality.  

So… because Apple hadn’t shipped enough of its new keyboard covers (and nearly not enough pencils), I ended up saving money and with a superior accessory to what I would have purchased for the “name”.

It makes me wonder how often we miss opportunities because we haven’t anticipated potential demand. In these days of commoditisation, copying and imitation it’s hard to recover from an opportunity lost as the competition has already gained momentum.

Part of how we minimise this risk lies in planning (not always easy) and the other in experience gained as we realise what we missed because we may have been looking in another (or the wrong) direction.  Our customers and staff can be valuable sources of information as to where things are headed – it pays to listen to them.

So now I ask myself, “Which way am I looking and why?”…

I have spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management.  I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. My websiteprovides a full picture of my portfolio of services.  For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.


Labels: , , ,

Wednesday 13 February 2019

Are You Being Judged?

“Judge a person by their actions, not by their words” is a saying in one form or another in many cultures.  A person’s behaviour reveals more of who they are than any other measure of judgement.  Talk is easy, delivery, not so much.

I frequently hear people bemoaning the fact that their business “missed out” on a deal because “someone” didn’t respond, or that they missed out on an opportunity to bid for similar reasons, or something else.

How we respond to things determines a lot how others perceive us as a person, business, professional, friend, intellectual, colleague, someone to take seriously.  I know of one manager whom their  subordinates don’t take seriously because they make an announcement that they will do something, or that something will happen, and then nothing does.   This very same manager commented that the improvements suggested by a consultant for his business hadn’t been implemented.  When I asked if he’d followed up, he looked surprised and answered that he had issued the instruction but it hadn’t been carried out. 

There followed a discussion about the importance of following up to show that one is serious and to check whether people need additional help.  His team were so used to him saying something and not following up that they simply hadn’t bothered carrying out his instructions.

Others constantly judge us (perhaps unfairly at times) on
  • How we respond to queries
  • How we treat others
  • How others treat us
  • Whether we follow up
… and a host of other factors.  The scary thing is that, we may have acquired a “reputation” for something, but may not actually be aware of it as it’s all in our subconscious (and, perhaps, others’ subconscious as well).  

Every inward message needs a response, even a “holding reply” to show it’s been received and is “on our radar”.  After that, a more considered/researched response can be given to keep the relationship and the business if needed.

Self-awareness is critical in business.  If we’re losing business, referrals, opportunities to pitch, it may be something to do with us.  No reply is taken as “no interest” (although what usually happens is we see the inward email or message that someone called, think to ourselves that we should respond and then get caught up in the “firefighting” that is part of every manager’s life.  Miss a few opportunities like this, and they no longer come our way. 



I have spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management.  I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. My websiteprovides a full picture of my portfolio of services.  For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.

Labels: , , , , ,