13 Things We Heard at the Customer Strategy & Planning Conference

Here are some of the great tips and insights our Editor, Megan Jones, heard when she attended The Forum’s 2023 Customer Strategy & Planning Conference in Nottingham.

1. Phil Anderson, Director at The Forum

“Don’t just add something new into the mix, make time to reassess and stop the things that aren’t working too.”

2. James Lawther, Director at Squawk Point Consulting

“Bad systems will always beat good people.”

3. Richard Brimble, Author of ‘Choose to Be Relentless’

“Find your passion in life, put yourself out there when new things are happening, lean into learning, choose to be hopeful, be kind and care about others, find positive energy, be encouraging to others, and learn from success as much as failure.”

4. Conference Attendee

“Why not apply ‘Gold, Silver, Bronze’ grading to performance reviews instead of ‘Red, Amber, Green’ for a more positive mindset?”

5. Dr Phoebe Asquith, Lead Psychologist for Wellbeing Solutions & Senior Business Consultant at Sabio

“We need to use psychology and data to change the way we look at the workplace. We need to look at where we are today and where we need to go.

“We need to shift from being reactive to being proactive with tangible action for meaningful change.”

6. Phil Anderson, Director at The Forum

“Shaping a better future comes down to understanding the value of time and what agents use that time for, so you can get the best out of your teams – it’s not about giving agents less time to complete tasks.”

7. Dawn Wray, Therapist and Coach at The Listening Collective

“When you’re having a conversation, you’ve got to think about what’s happening in between too.

“The past experiences, emotions, and more that are driving the real conversation.

“People don’t see the world in the same way, and everything is subjective.”

8. Mark Lockyer, UK Sales Director at CallMiner

“Analytics has previously focused on quality and customer experience, but we need to use it to help agents too. They are currently facing a perfect storm of amplified regulations, the cost-of-living crisis, and vulnerable customers.

“When we look at analytics for employee experience (also known as ‘engagement analytics’) we can structure all of this data in real time to help agents do the very best they can.”

9. James Lawther, Director at Squawk Point Consulting

“You have to create an environment where people do their best work – and this isn’t about buying a ping-pong table!

“It comes down to purpose, learning, and culture.

“After all, if you aren’t sure where you’re going, you can’t excel.”

10. Dawn Wray, Therapist and Coach at The Listening Collective

“How well do you know yourself? You bring yourself to work, to meetings, to conversations. If you don’t know yourself, how can you be aware of the impact that you’re having?”

11. Dr Phoebe Asquith, Lead Psychologist for Wellbeing Solutions & Senior Business Consultant at Sabio

“Right now, there’s a lot of reactive tick-box exercises going on, including adding fruit bowls and introducing yoga classes.

“Whilst these are valuable in the context of a wider strategy, they do not address the root cause of many wellbeing challenges.”

12. James Lawther, Director at Squawk Point Consulting

“To achieve excellence, you need to get everyone to face in the same direction, focus on long-term instead of short-term decisions, foster good communication, and stamp out blame culture.”

13. Phil Anderson, Director at The Forum

“When looking to make improvements, it’s useful to map out your ‘known knowns’ (your operating rhythms), but also your ‘unknown unknowns’ (your blind spots) and this is where networking and gaining new perspectives can really make a difference.”