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The Digital Dilemma: “Twist or Stick” … “the winners are increasingly twisting!!”

The Digital Dilemma: “Twist or Stick” … “the winners are increasingly twisting!!”

When it comes to Digitalising your business we are often asked 3 “Key” questions:

  1. “Where do I start?”
  2. “How do I navigate my way through this myriad of change?
  3. “Is the pain worth the gain?”

“Where do I start?”

The businesses that start with a mindset of seeing data as an asset invariably accelerate their Digital progression faster & deliver stronger results.

Woman sketching a business plan on a placard at a creative office

It’s common sense really, structuring your data in a meaningful way is a “cornerstone” to any digital strategy. In fact I’d go further it’s a key component of what sets customer focused businesses apart from the rest. Get it right & you lay the foundations for using your data & business intelligence insight smartly with both your current & prospective customers. Skip this step & you’re setting your self up for failure & disappointment.

“How do I navigate my way through this myriad of change?

If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, but the transition really isn’t as difficult as you image, particularly if your a business that has Customer & Staff advocacy at the heart go your business values.

Our role is to help you set out a clear path so that the change is:

  • Built on strong foundations
  • Manageable
  • Controlled & phased
  • Focused on the priorities
  • Embedded into your business

For some business starting this journey is intimidating, but typically once you have a clear framework around how you are going to go about this, it becomes:

  • Exciting
  • Cultural
  • Progressive
  • Energising

Is the pain worth the gain?”

For those that get it right, unquestionably “yes”. Whilst digitalising your business is “not for the faint hearted”, the benefits once you’ve started on that journey far outweigh the costs involved (time, energy, & financial).

Shot of a group of businesspeople arranging sticky notes on a glass wall in a modern office

Businesses that have a clear Digital Strategy & transformation plan in place:

  • Tend to attract higher acquisition multiples
  • Attract in investments
  • Think about how they can use & access their Data as a real asset
  • Focus more on how they can enhance their customer journey
  • Attract in Talent
  • Attract Customers
  • Typically enhance their customer loyalty
  • Are best placed to use predictive analytics to win
  • Gear themselves up to improve their efficiency
  • Customer experience driven businesses tend to see better returns on investments & outperform others across a whole variety of Customer metrics including higher average order value, & improved acquisition & retention.
  • A growing % of customers (particualrly in the 18 to 34 age bracket) are prepared to share their data in return for personalised experiences.
  • Members of loyalty programmes generate up to 18% more revenue than non members.
  • Customers who have high quality experiences are 2.7 times more likely to keep buying from a brand than customers who have low quality experiences.
  • Customers who have better historical experiences with transactional brands spend 140% more compared to customers who had bad past experiences.

Customer expectations continue to evolve & being able to access information & engage through their preferred “medium” is central to winning in an increasingly “Digitalised world”.

Author Derek Findlayson

A common dilemma or misconception – Do I Invest in Digital or do I Invest in People?

A common dilemma or misconception – Do I Invest in Digital or do I Invest in People?

I’m often asked what is the right strategy for my business? Invest in digital or invest in people.

My response is simple, you’ve got to invest in both, but in a complimentary way.

In my experience, those businesses that are thriving in the rapidly evolving digital world blend the speed, ease of access, convenience & efficiency of digital services with the authenticity, experience, & expertise of talented empowered people. It’s about getting the mix & balance right.

If I think about how my children, who have grown up in an increasingly digitalised world, like to access products & services, they look for:

  • Ease of Access
  • The speed and convenience of digital services, particularly for straightforward administrative tasks,
  • Supported by ease of access to talented people when they are looking for specific advice & guidance.

A selection of staff in some of my clients gave an interesting alternative perspective on the “dilemma”. Whilst some saw the advent of digital as a potential threat to their futures, the majority, saw it as an opportunity to:

  • Strip out some of the inefficient, duplicated, & mundane processes they have historically had to  do day in day out.
  • Deliver a better, faster, & higher quality service to their clients
  • Focus their skills on the areas where they can really add the most value to their customers
  • Contribute positively to the culture that attracts high quality talent into the business.

As someone who is passionate about:

  • Talent development
  • Creating the culture to grow your people
  • Building an exceptional customer experience
  • Using Technology & Data as an intelligent Business enabler

it feels to me that those business that blend their digital & people strategies in a well thought through complimentary way are the most likely to:

  • Grow their businesses faster & more profitability than the rest
  • Create an environment that attracts in the best & most dynamic talent
  • Stimulate a continuous improvement culture that uses technology & people expertise in the right proportions & in the most effective areas
  • Deliver a dynamic & engaging customer experience

Author Derek Findlayson

 

 

 

The relevance of coaching in a data driven world

The relevance of coaching in a data driven world

I am working with a client at the moment, whose business is leading edge in that it is data driven. His view is that Agile businesses who ‘learn fast or ‘fail quickly’ have the edge in this market, but his concerns lay in his employees’ business skills and business practices are not keeping pace with the technological advancements around them.

The number one challenge for his business was not only to change and develop faster than his competitors but to create systemic change within his organisation.
In the last few years, his business has made step changes to engage with an ever-changing technological environment, moving from hierarchies to flatter structures, from command and control to employee engagement and leadership. Yet, still his people were not where he needed them to be. He decided to engage us as external coaches to coach his internal staff & leaders.

Our aim to work in partnership to embed a coaching culture, overlaid with KPI’s & data efficiency, to develop their business and staff for strong business growth – – ‘This is how we do it’.

Talk to us if you are interested in knowing more about embedding coaching programmes for cultural change.

Author Kate Mutter-Bowen

The Power of Effective Delegation when Developing Talent in your Team

The Power of Effective Delegation when Developing Talent in your Team

I have been working with a team, who are highly engaged, brimming with ideas, but are frustrated by the lack of opportunities given to them to develop their ideas and career. They pointed to their Leader as being the key reason for this.
It made me look back at my own career and consider the most effective Leaders that I have worked with and for. It was those that took time to consider which aspects of their role could be delegated and had thought through the projects that would develop me the most. Some of which, quite simply took me out of my comfort zone.

The key with these Leaders, was that they saw delegation as not simply passing the responsibility for a task or project to someone else with little or no guidance as to how they should set about achieving a successful conclusion. They set about delegating to me with clear thought process, structured guidelines, and regularly checked in with me to see how I was doing.

They were fearless in their delegation, never abdicating responsibility, but recognising that good performance in the task reflected well on both of us.

Speak to us today if you are interested in a fresh approach to engaging & developing your people proposition.

Author Kate Mutter-Bowen

Getting the most out of People

Getting the most out of People

Working with a client recently I was asked what did I think is the key to motivating people. The business had a very clear commission structure, however the MD was struggling with engendering team spirit across the front-end teams.
I have been brought up in business to understand the simple fact is that all people are motivated to a degree, but it is up to the Leader to recognise whether their team is motivated by achieving targets they have been set, or by something else, something less tangible. Simple, trite even, but nonetheless true. Throwing money at people only works so far, assuming of course that there is fair pay for a fair’s day work to begin with and that targets are SMART!

The highest performing Global companies undergoing Business and Transformational Change are those whose leaders intrinsically recognise the motivational needs of their team, and reward by:

  • Appreciation – Thanking their staff sincerely and on a regular basis when appreciation is deserved
  • Recognition – Seeing and acknowledging what team members have achieved and contributed
  • Encouragement – Instilling confidence to their teams and individuals to be bold, to take calculated risks and not to be afraid of facing challenges that arise
  • Empowerment – Communicating openly with their teams and engaging them in decision making, whilst giving them the tools to achieve this
  • Delegation – Delegation is the key to the success of a team, and must be done in a supported, unambiguous and structured way – delegation is not abdication of responsibility. Effective delegation will free up the Leader’s time to focus on his/her own goals, and will develop more self-confidence in the delegates to achieve even more of their and their team’s goals

Speak to us today if you’re interested in a fresh approach to Leadership and Motivation for your people proposition and Business Transformation.

Author Kate Mutter-Bowen