Every day's a school day
As the sun shines and we are all becoming a little more chilled, it seems cruel to inflict the agony of anticipated exam results on our youngsters. For Scottish students the wait is finally over, exam results arrived on Tuesday. Now of course it's not so much a thud through the letterbox but the ting of a text.
In our household the ting arrived at 3.45am and by breakfast 'everyone' was instantly up to speed about who got what, complete with selfies and sound bites (lol!) The wait is also over for those in our network, patiently waiting to find out whether they have been shortlisted for the CCA Annual Excellence Awards, which test organisations and individuals on a whole range of competences and skills relating to customer service. Click here to view shortlist for 2014.
As the education system produces results which continue to outperform expectations, so too does the quality of award submissions year on year. Judges this year reported outstanding examples of innovation and dedication.
Today's workplace demands a vastly differing range of skills than those required 20 years ago when CCA started out. One of our special advisors Professor Carsten Sorensen from London School of Economics lectures on the Future of Work, and he captures these changes in a phrase 'from Fordism to Amazonism'. In other words, regardless of the discipline you are in, success is increasingly determined by an ability to thrive and prosper in an 'always on' world of information and engagement.
As an example, take the much publicised news this week about the universal preventative wonders of the simple Aspirin tablet; only a few weeks before the guidelines were quite contrary. Those affected (just about everyone over 55) might wish to seek clarification using whichever information and advice channels were available. Pity those working in GP surgeries or on the lines of NHS 24 who were no doubt deluged by the public at large seeking reassurance.
We seem to be living in a world drowning with information, resulting in a pressing need for highly honed skills in interpreting and communicating the 'truth' that exists at that time. Regardless of whether your organisation is in public sector or private enterprise, the Holy Grail is the efficient harnessing and effective utilisation of data from consumers, much of which is generated in our everyday transactions via contact centres.
Organisations in our network are challenged by the need to keep learning at the forefront of the agenda, and in particular to innovate in the area of internal communication to ensure that colleagues, wherever they may be, have the support in place to keep up to date with the latest insights from customers, as well as developments in their own enterprise.
So for all those striving to learn more, let’s finish with words of Mahatma Gandhi "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever".