WorkTak

[worktak]

Coaching - An Overview

A manager is a title, it does not guarantee success. Coaching is an action, not a title and actions will result in successes !     -  Catherine Pulsifer

I cannot think of a time when coaching wasn’t around.  The process of coaching has been there time immemorial.  Only the perspectives and approaches have been going through changes over time.  People, who are good at caring for others well-being, always step into the shoes of coaching and mentoring. 

In simple terms, coaching supports individuals to attain their goals.  Coaching has its institutional process and framework that the professional coaches follow.  At the end of it all, the philosophy of coaching is to equip the client (coachee) with the necessary knowledge and tools that boost and sustain the required confidence to achieve the goal

Types of coaching

There are several types of coaching depending upon the purpose and goals of the individual or the institutions that the coaches work for.  There are leadership coaches, who help individuals to take over leadership roles and functional role effectively; career coaches, who help professionals seeking change in their career paths; and executive coaches, who assist the professionals in dealing with complex professional situations, and so, the list of coaches goes on.

Qualifications of a coach

As for the qualifications of a coach, experiences in related profession, pleasant personality, effective listening, and problem analysis forms the basic or imperative requirements.  The other requirements, such as specific college degree, coach or other certifications, and professional attributes will creep in specific cases, but on a general note, these requirements take a back seat.

Coaching, mentoring, and counseling

The common question that often pops up is about the difference between coaching and mentoring.  The answer to this has been well articulated by many authors. However, in simple terms, coaching as a process helps you to uncover the solutions from within you. 

Mentoring, on the other hand, helps you when the mentor-hand holds you and walks you through a situation and helps you attain your goal − more on this and other related aspects in the coming write ups. 

Counselling is a concept, in which principles of psychology is applied, that is close to but not same as coaching.  This role is more for psychologists.  Will discuss these differences separately. 

The basic coaching process

The coaches ask specific questions, for which the client reflects upon and answers, and the solution lies in the answer itself, thus making the coachee a problem solver. 

Here the science and art lie in the questions that a coach puts forward.  For example, what is the change you are looking up to?  Why do you seek this change?  What obstructs you to get there? − well the answer to these and many more questions almost clears the cloud. 

In addition to all these coaches should have − either inherent or acquired ability − to listen to the client’s narration with no bias, and intervene at right points of the conversation. 

Coaching effectiveness

The key to an effective coaching depends upon a number of factors.  Some put the results of coaching in absolute and promising terms and some point out relative factors like the coach’s ability to relate to the client’s task on hand, clients commitment towards achieving the goal, coaching environment, understanding of client cultures and more. 

The coaching is a time-bound process and is conducted over multiple sessions over a timeline depending upon the task on hand.  There are tasks to accomplish over a few days (sometimes in hours), and it can go on over months. Outcomes depend on many factors.  Often personal experience points out that outcomes have been as expected or good when client aligns to the goal that was formed during the coaching session, works on assignments and aligns well with a committed coach.In some ways,I attribute 99 percent of the credit to the client and 1 percent to the coach! 

The fallout of a coaching process or a coach is when expectations of the client does not meet.  So, what does this mean?  There are a number of ways that expectation gap can arise.  Client often thinks that coaches “help” them to reach the goal.  Subtle feelings the change could come over piggy ride. 

I occasionally get a few clients in a year, who expects me to put a word to the top leadership regarding the capability since the leadership takes it seriously.  It is not uncommon to have clients who are used to complacency and refuse to move out of their comfort zone.  They like to grow but refuse to work.  This is like holding the brakes and pressing the pedal of your car − imagine the scene! 

Coaching fallout

After the initial discussion with the client, there would be a mutual understanding (agreements in professional approach) of the scope and number of sessions amidst other commitments; however, often the client tends to break the session schedules.  This can often happen because the client begins to feel good and assumes she can handle from here on. This is sometimes is a short-lived fact as it is necessary for both client and coach to conclude the session at a meaningful stage. 

Selecting a Coach

The key to select your coach is based on your task on hand and also the geography you are in.  These days coaching sessions happen on electronic medium, such as telephone, zoom, Google meetings, and a host of other platforms, and geography matters less.  However, the coach should relate to the client in more than one way like client’s work culture, expectations, etc. 

Clients should take into account the previous experience of the coach, coaching fee, and their own synergy with the coach.  If the coach has worked with more celebrities and if the client is from non-celebrity background, then make sure of the coach’s expectation aligns with yours. 

There are professionally trained and certified coaches, some of the well-known institutions to list, ICF and IAC.  There are some small-time training institutes in major cities, who train and certify professionals; however, to get a problem − personal or professional − you need a person who can understand, listen, and guide you to safety and that way any one like your manager, friend, or a relative will still be your good coach.

Each one of the subheading here is a subject of interest and calls for focused discussion.hence will be discussed as an individual post . Meanwhile your comments are welcome on [email protected].

[worktak]

The Automation Quandary

The robots of the cartoons and movies from the 1970s are going to be the reality of the 2020s.           ~Alec Ross. 

Global scene The apprehensions of technology replacing jobs have been a perennial issue since the industrial revolution of the 18th century. It all possibly began with the advent of spinning shuttle and power looms in Britain’s textile sector.

Those technological innovations were perceived as a threat to Britain’s cottage industries In the town of Lancashire loom workers were irked by the adoption of new technologies, attacked the looms and strongly protested. Long after Lancashire and elsewhere, the society is where it is today.

All along, in many parts of the globe technology has been angering sections of the workforce that have been resisting its growth - but in vain! In India.

India industry 4.0 (fourth ind revolution beginning the early ( 70s) was marked with a “big thud” by the advent of the computers in the 80s .This era also marked the beginning of the job (in)securities of people. 

It was not uncommon to see people from different institutions opposing the “computerization plans” and many financial institutions such as banks and public sector employees often took to streets as a protest against bringing in computers to manage administrations. 

Automation Automation is a means of controlling a process by electronic devices and this reduces human intervention to a very minimum. a row of street lights that switch ON and OFF by itself sensing the level of darkness is said to be automated. This minimizes the number of staff in a power supply company to go around the streets and manually switch on the lights every evening. However, the need to monitor the lights remains even today, though small. Many processes can work on least human intervention and the fear of losing jobs remain the genuine concern of the workforce. Going by the stats automation is likely to displace 69 and 77 percent of the jobs in India and China.We still are not sure in what time frame this can happen Not that every job is going to be replaced by automation in a short time it is an evolutionary process. We can still see our milk vendors supplying the milk - not the drones! waiters serving us coffee and not the robots, automation is certainly in areas where repetitive tasks happen in IT services and production houses where there is a need to increase mass production. Benefits and Drawbacks Automation comes with a pack of advantages to businesses and individuals. It can perform the task of five persons with two or three in a smaller time. Hence productivity is high. The return on investment is much faster, One may count on its output consistency, and this aids business and employee growth. as human intervention is minimized. It is also a factor in safety matters While automation brings in a lot of benefits it's not - like every technological innovation - without drawbacks.. let's point out a few automation involves heavy capital investment. Beyond an initial investment, but often, up-gradation to automated systems also can get costly. Humans can become so dependents over some time that if for some reason the systems break, life can come to a total standstill. Going forward First of all the good news is that not the whole of the industries and regions is going to get automated and everyone now working gets displaced. Secondly, it is not all that bad for those who can upskill and there are many ways to shield any job displacement. This is much easier for people with ten to fifteen years (or lesser)of work experience. Skill upgrades may be slower in others, but not a "mission impossible" act. 

Yet, for those who decide to stay in "skill race" and catch up with the changing scenario nothing stops their upward growth.We as corporate professionals and society have to accept that there is a section of the workforce who can't and don't want to be one in the skill race and this is just fine. We have to find ways to accommodate long earned experience and skilled workforce which certainly adds value but in a different business sphere.

The choice to opt-out of the upskilling is not a reason to punish one's professional career to perish. The common saying that "if you don't up-skill or re-skill you don't have a place..." seems more like a punishment for not upskilling. By this many, well-established careers would perish and industry will lose out valuable experience and wisdom and this is not prudence. 

Many options can plug the loss of jobs due to automation and a couple of them can include.-Establishing should the need arise in case of a change due to automation or otherwise (say in case of a lateral shift), the SMG can interface with the employees and the management to support the change management. It would be a good idea to establish a skill management group (SMG) whose primary job - on a routine mode - is to map existing skills to other value-adding roles within the organization

These skill banks – with whatever nomenclature they would be known as – could be networked across the industry with a focus on re employments of those displaced due to automation or generally due to technological shifts within the organizations. More on this in the next discussion

It’s nice to establish employee counseling Human resource groups to assist people to migrate to roles that support their skills within or outside the organization they are working.many of my clients tell that they do have some kind of this support. 

However, in those orgs which already have this, I found that its either informal, inaccessible, or ineffective systems supposed to be working assisting employees. 

The success of these groups quite depends on its process, networking, and ease of accessibility. In conclusion, those are a few thoughts to kick off better ways to deal with those displaced employees due to automation there are, am sure, more prudent solutions. If you have one of them do contribute here as a post or even write to [email protected].

The video here is all about how AI/automation is supporting humans in critical areas of life.  

[worktak]

Auto Woes

It takes about 8,460 bolts to assemble an automobile, and one NUT to scatter it all over the road.. - Anonymous 

Indian auto industry is an interesting story to follow:  An industry, which contributed 27 % of the Indian GDP and 49% of the manufacturing GDP, did not possibly expect a road hump or any impediment for its linear growth; however, this growing Indian industry suddenly started experiencing a virtual breakdown. 

The breakdown has been quite intriguing for seekers like me. As I set out to find what is holding the segment’s growth, I chatted with a number of friends in the auto segment and carried out secondary research before drawing some personal inferences. Naturally, the story here is limited to the value derived from those sources 

The global market, since 2018 for the industry, is sliding backwards and Indian markets is no exception, and this gradient seems to be steeper in 2020.  Every business has its cycle between its best and worse and auto sector is not immune from this. 

Prior to 2018, auto industry was on its high speed growth and the industry pundits had pointed towards larger demand for both passenger and commercial segments. Large inventories were built around these forecasts; however, host of things seems to have gone wrong ever since then. 

Some of the common reasons attributed by the industry pundits for the slow growth are the regulatory reforms, technology disruptions, and now the C-Virus! 

In any case, the auto manufacturers, its employees, and the economy that had to bear the brunt.  As i started my seeking journey to get insights, quite a few more pointers emerged. 

Transitioning BS 4 to BS 6:

One of the elements contributing to the slowdown is the new policy introduction of converting all vehicles to Bharath stage VI (BS VI) from Bharath stage IV (BS IV) and this in a small time frame of 3 years.  It is said that Europe had ten years’ time frame for the same process. 

The emission of pollutants like nitrogen oxide and sulphur along with the particulate matter (this is a mixture of particles and droplets), which is believed to be carcinogenic, is now reduced by 80% in BS VI vehicles. 

The policy was to be in effect from April 2020 and noncompliance of BS VI standard vehicles means risking non-registration of vehicle. This not only slowed down the production, this also resulted in buyers postponing their buying decisions till mid 2020.This transition meant additional cost to manufacturers and buyers eventually. 

GST:

At 28%, GST is making vehicle acquisition more and harder. There have been varied thinking among those leading manufactures on how to go about this. 

Recently, one of the prominent leaders of the manufacturing opined that GST should be reduced only for those vehicles that have compiling with BS VI standards.  This seems to make sense in some way, but there are voices of concerns around about the need to push their existing vehicles out of dealer stocks and are asking for GST to be reduced to 18%.  Well, would this happen?  Let’s wait! 

Axle load norms

The regulatory amendments on axle load norms have been one of the key factors attributed to slowdown factor. 

According to new policy, maximum safe axle weight of 7 tones is introduced from 7.5 tons for single axis.  Two-axle truck now would come with a load capacity of 18.5 tons from 16.2 tons.  The three-wheeler truck is expected to come up with load capacity of 28.5 tons from 25 tons. 

Incorporating all these changes to the existing inventory is not an easy task besides a host of other things - this calls for time and money. 

The EVs

Just about the time when people were thinking and talking about their vehicle upgrades to BS VI and auto gears, the possibility of policy decision that may bring electric vehicles (EVs) soon on roads was quite a disruptive signal among the passenger vehicles buyers.  Although this is a reality of the future, how soon this will take over is still a question; this does not seem to be answered in a sure tone.

Finally: 

The Lockdown:

The most unexpected of all the reasons is that C-virus that has been a game changer in many ways the world functions and auto industry is no exception.  Just around the time there was some relief from regulatory sources and an expectation of the changing trend in auto sales, the lockdown came into effect ! 

The lockdown has brought a different way of corporate working and it is going in the direction that working from home seems a norm for a long time to come.  The corporate employees, who form significant part of the passenger car segment, now see car for work as almost redundant. 

The commercial segment is still to recover from the losses due to lockdown and this is still in an uncertain point; however, the forecast of possibly the good Ragi season ahead ushers some hopes. The government stimulus package may have an impact on the buyer motivation. 

Going forward:

Please scroll to watch the conversation with Pradeep( CEO of OEM org, Jarkhand) 

The crux of the problem is the lower demand and there is a surplus supply.  This is mainly pointed towards wrong forecasting and a rush to acknowledge this as true by the auto manufacturers, so the existing stocks have to be cleared as-is. The reduction in GST would bring down acquisition cost and this can be a part of the buyer motivation.  The government will certainly weigh the pros and cons before bringing this into effect. 

Extending the timeline for manufacturers to comply with BS VI norms − at least, till the current stocks are sold out − is a relief to the manufacturing sector.  Banks may offer vehicle loans at a cheaper rate of interests for a limited period. 

The transition to BS VI cost, which is estimated to be around 10%-15% overhead, should not be passed on to customer; this is easier said than done. 

Industry opinions are now suggesting that policy on scrapping of old cars should be brought in with an incentive rather than simply for nothing. 

As of now, there seems to be no magic wand to wipe out the woes of the auto industry, may not be, at least, till the 2H of the 2021; however, the industry is much of a giant to be kept in a sleep mode for long and will soon wake up to see its brighter days. 

You are welcome to suggestions and discussions on this topic by posting it on “submit your post.” or write to [email protected]

 Other Interesting read  :

Relief for Automobile industry....

Reactions to MSME relief package ...

[worktak]

WFH - Boon or Bane  ?

Alright now that you got (WFH) use it well don’t let either work or home spoil your life.You are more important then the either - Sri Gopal                                     

Work From Home (WFH)  is finally a reality in the 21st century.Many men and women  dreamed of it and even fought a  battle all their life in vain.They never saw the light of the day and finally retired from work - may they have peaceful ,healthy and prosperous retired life.

Industry professionals -including me - prayed that they didn’t have to board those crowded bus, metro or drive on the roads infested with crazy drivers ,maddening  crowd and polluting vehicles that left the air densely polluted.All these  to  reach their reluctant destination called work place located miles and miles away from homes.Oh those Monday mornings!

 Homes then meant a transit place like a motel for many busy young executives for the night to sleep and only to wake up  to face another day of reality.The  routine  more like a curse of doing what is not your’s and in a place you don’t belong.For many working men and women ,each day had its pain story between the extreme poles of Monday and Friday ! Going forward this will change.

All those stories seem to change from the beginning of the 2020. My wife, like most women has embraced WFH .Employed as an executive in a global org ,she had a travel sickness commuting 12 Km one way between home and office on the roads of Bangalore and she is just an example of millions of women working in many cities of the world.Perhaps its the women who prayed more for WFH . That wish seems to have been granted,but under a very unpleasant global circumstance.  

The new working mode has both sides of its impact - a boon and may sometime in the near future may even be a Bane.Lets look at a few critical reasons from both sides. 

WFH is a Boon when..

WFH turns out to be a boon for employees, organization and  eventually the society when its employees and the org understand that they are now on a 2-in-1 life style system - living and working on the same platform.Infringing on personal and family times may cost a high price for the freedom they asked.

Working Hours 

Work is generally referred to as 9 - 5 and best now when followed.Since the travel time is deducted it could be a very productive 9 to 4 or anything that suits your work timing.Unless compelled  otherwise ,stick to your regular hours and switch from work mode to home mode at the end of the day.Try to go out for a walk or visits/invite families to spend some time.Sports is great !

The Attire 

The tendency to be casual,wearing a night suite on a Monday morning and host of other unfriendly habits of WFH ( we will discuss many of those habits later)   may lead to sloppy work and even fatal results.Hence be mindful of what you wear and how you sit ,what you eat  and don’t forget to walk 2-3 mins in intervals during work hours.

Working Couples 

Couples working together from home - avoid serious discussions during work time that may lead to arguments and sourness This will naturally impact the work scenario.May be both can pretend to be colleagues at work ! being a little romantic is not bad . Also choose a place that gives both of you some independence and work privacy.Also try to change the work place once in a while.

Best when couples avoid discussing office politics with each other say, after a work call.This can lead to inviting the partners into each others work sphere and may mean counter productive for both.

Managing Family

 Sometimes elders seeing you around without giving them attention may cause sourness at home and this may flow to your work desk.A brief enthusiastic chat in intervals without being drawn into long conversations should be a win-win for both. 

Children who seek your attention should be definitely be the priority especially when they are back from school. Infants will need a care as you would have engaged during your previous office going days. 

Eating Habits

What we eat matters. For many WFH means home food for some it may mean from one of the nearby restaurants. Avoid this over the call foods and have working lunch at home.Also avoid random snacking and beverages between work. Binging can be quite consequential especially for foodies like me,must be mindful of this.Alcoholic beverages! keep them out of your sight and mind, specially when at work.

For those spiritually inclined   

Adopt to the new forms of working. For those spiritually inclined it doesn't hurt to read a few pages of good book, take off on a few minutes of meditation - all between work.See if you can have a quick yoga on your chair .All these can keep you in shape and spirit also make you fit.These are just doable if not very regularly ,as and when possible.

Napping

 Quite a few asked me about napping - yes , if your work lets you do, there should be no guilt in taking a 20-30 min nap it can only freshen you up and make work more productive.Combining lunch break and nap together in most cases should not hurt. Avoid deep sleep it may not go well.  

WFH can be a bane when 

Odd hour meetings 

The organizations take it’s employees for granted.Scheduling  meeting calls on holidays (formally or informally) , timings beyond sane and agreed working hours. 

Meetings... meetings 

Too many tele meetings that either interferes with the task on hand or distracts the team from working.Tendency to micro manage the team often can land individuals into frustrations. 

The high productivity that results from WFH mode should not be taken for granted by organizations .It comes with a price and the organizations must be tracking this “cost” factor that comes with.It may be in the form of personal and family freedom, economic impact it can create , relationships that may wax and wane and many more.All these  should be accessed and periodic  course corrections should be made .  

Would be better when organizations 

Have real time meetings(post lock down ) in person in the office premises periodically.A little light moments of partying post work meeting should not hurt

Family meet 

Occasionally having a family meet will let the org know what the WFH environment of its employees is like and offer a support where it’s required .This can also be coordinated with counselor or welfare officer.

Short Outing 

Travelling as a team to short travels for a day or more can instill a sense of togetherness and emotional connect with colleagues.

Those were from this end.Am sure you have more to add from your experience and looking forward to hear from you.Please do post as comment , submit a post or write to [email protected]

    .

[worktak]

Business 2020 -Trends Ahead!

Since the beginning of 2020 Corona has been an agent of global change.Infact we hear that there is a 13% fall in the global trade now ! The change has multiple dimensions and includes every sector of human activities. As for the business in  the subcontinent - specifically the Indian environment- there has been a sea of change.

.By the way, all the views here is just from: my thinking space,which is flowing over a cup of tea that am sipping now, understanding of facts from secondary and tertiary sources and  some intuition on changing trends .So by no means its a academic or expert’s opinion.  

Trends 

While the lockdown has hit all industries in general ,it has  hit harder the small and medium industry. Even harder the smaller sectors popularly referred  to as  micro industries.The large industry seems to manage the hit to an extent and the dent in their earnings takes a long time to recover.

Some Opportunities

I see a sea of opportunities for small and medium sectors specially the service sector.Some of the trends and ideas  have already being echoed by experts.Oh! the you tube is full of them.

With all the digital platforms like Zoom ,Google’s meetings and many more being made available for free and a reasonable fee ,has paved way to number of home made businesses.If you are one of them who has a number of ideas of matters like , academic subjects Say,in  BFSI (banking ,finance, securities and insurance ) or arts and crafts,even astrology,yes its the time for you to jump in and try training ,teaching and even casually “showoff “ your knowledge(just meant showcasing).The how and what it can be a separate discussion.

For starters - Solopreneurs ! time to start from where you are. The waiting just got over. This is the sector that might not even need a big money to start !(Think of teaching math/organic gardening over zoom!)

The customers preferences  have just changed and those who can read and make early business offers for this change could certainly walk in the land of the rich.  

Small Industries 

In the coming days the black and blue hit smaller sector has a good chance of early recovery for those leaderships who make lemonade out of lemon and dare to plan and implement them well.

The Medium Industries 

Those medium industries which accepts that the market and customer preferences is changing post the advent of the virus now, may look at the innovation as their best tool and  invest in innovation and reorient their product & services towards the new market trends.These businesses will have a red carpet welcome in the market.The challenge lies in understanding the changing customer preferences and meet the market demands early.   

The larger industries

The larger industries is best when they reorient themselves in every way they are presently working.The bigger  the organization bigger seems to be the problem.However, It would be advantageous to reorient the employee engagement process,also completely re look at customer experience strategy,manage finances - dis invest and reinvest in specific areas such as product and market research and more.

In all, the recovery for the large sector seems longer then a year,but depends on a whole lot of specific factors.They may  need to spend more time and money on unlearning and learning.Depending on business and region, will have to come up with innovative business models. It may not be as simple as   “C’mon lets restart our business now....” 

Money

Where is the money going ? don’t worry it’s all safe and is just becoming more and more digital .better save your currencies to show your grandchildren as a form of exchange in “those days” .Bitcoins - I have little clue on this - may draw a lot of attention in a couple of years. 

If you are a foody - i mean a cooking buff - best to demo a absolutely  hygienically  prepared healthy food 

If you have the knowledge of stoneware for domestic usage make an educational video enroll students,be a new age (though stoneware!) kitchenware consultant and sell it online/offline in newer regions.As i said will come up with what sells better later on. 

Healthcare - all matters relating to be health(y) not necessarily the Doctors and para medical professionals  but also those who can engage in daily activities leading to better health such as food,yoga ,other fitness etc can attract a good market opportunity. 

Those running regular classes in art,music ,dance in all forms can institutionalize their talents.This can be done both on and offline classes 

Employees 

For the employees’ group there is a hectic thought process in them to go business  and many of them are talking about their business ideas and would succeed in implementing them in concurrence with the emerging  market trends  because of the current crisis .

Oops! This write up is getting longer then i thought. I will get off here and based on your discussions that emerge in the comment section,will come back again,perhaps with a better home work.Until then keep thinking ,doing and sharing the experiences .looking forward to hear your thoughts and  story . You are welcome to post your comments here or write to -  [email protected]

As I part, will leave you with the words of  Rahm Emanuel -You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it's an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.

[worktak]

Designing a client experience

Continuing from the previous post on client experience ,here we focus on how to design a client experience architecture  for a service business.Before we move any further on this topic lets touch upon client experience : Its that experience a client wishes  to carry with him through out the buying and post buying process. And providing a good experience  determines the success of any business,even more, in a service business.

So what are the basic principles that help us in developing an effective frame work for designing a client experience ? 

While every service category , industry segment , and geography has its own factors to include in the framework,here are a few important ones common to all:

 Service definition 

Defining the business and the customer profile  in unambiguous terms is the first step.This could also help in defining your mission and vision statements later. 

Defining the Value Proposition

Clearly define what problem the service offer solves and how does the service benefits the client.

Customer Empathy 

Step into the customers’ shoe.Understand and list the basic expectations you expect from the business you as a customer and  categorize them as must , good and nice to have fulfillment factors to design an effective client experience.

The act and process of  client understanding is not an one time affair, It requires continious observations feedback analysis,fine tuning at regular intervals.Say annually or as the business and its environment requires.It is a biggest learning for businesses that how the advent of COVID 19 completely  altered the client expectations from Service business.  

You may call this objectives of the client service framework and this forms the basic purpose of the organization.Display this key purpose across the organization and other digital platforms that employees so that it reminds the employees and other stake holders about the basic purpose of the business. 

Orient the entire organization 

Now that there is a set of known expectations we need to completely orient the entire organization beginning the founders all the way up to front desk- this may include those guarding your gates to those help keeping the premise clean. virtually everyone in the organization towards the client service framework.This now becomes the organization’s growth trajectory. 

Training the service team 

This is the team that actually delivers the promise of the organization to the client and hence there should be an extra emphasis on this team.Along with skills specific to the service,one common skill that all of them should carry with them is empathy. There are personalities who have a empathy embedded in them, that’s a natural.However, considerable degree of empathy can be instilled thro’ training and this should work too.Have an  an exclusive employee recognition policy in place - they are the prime movers !  

Test the service with a sample group and gather feedback effectively.This is a critical action .Many times its disheartening to hear a negative feedback in spite of our best efforts but then what we think may not be what it is .An effective feedback gathering is a best tool.

One aspect to be taken into account is the fact that,however best the design of the client service architecture be - with the best of it’s vision - there is bound to be a gap at the service implementation stage and the task of keeping this gap at it’s most minimum measure rests with the organisation’s upper management.  

Client data and feedback log is an essential will form an essential part of the client data and feedback analysis .This would help in furthering the CX architecture better.  

[worktak]

The Client  Experience

“The customer experience is the next competitive battleground.” – Jerry Gregoire

Can you remember those “wow ! moments that has made you feel this is exactly what i just wanted and  am getting it..” perhaps this could be as you checked into  a hotel as a guest  or when your saloon professional attended on your hair cut or a travel agent organized  your trip in a foreign land or just about any thing.

This is what our focus is all about in this topic -the wow ! moments - and in the service industry we generally call this Client Experience. This is perhaps is the single most important factor, next to the service offering that a service provider makes.

So what’s this client experience all about ? its the experience a person wishes to carry with him - sub consciously - when he decides  to take up a service offer. This begins at the inquiry stage and goes all the way up to buying the service and post buying. 

Lets say , i wanted to check in a hotel in New York sitting in India . I call or write  them to know about the hotel .The front office helps me for a booking.Check in experience - My first impression is built here.Then I check in at the hotel and during my stay i engage with the room staff , restaurant, travel desk etc and the stay experience is built here .As I check out on my scheduled date,again i interact with the the front office persons and  experience the the closure- thus a  closure  experience is built here.A sum of all these moments induce an experience in me that decides the image of the hotel ,its policies and practices those smiling and ever-ready- to-help staff ,the way they reached out voluntarily when i needed them most and many more of such experiences in total.This is likely to stay in my memory for a long time. 

Why is this important? It is this that gathers mass among other prospects and spreads the good word of mouth which is a back bone of service business,this is what makes clients come back time to time thus creating loyalty and above all this is the purpose of the business. 

Remember your favorite lunch place you prefer to host your meetings ? or  one of those particular  Star Bucks where you want to spend some time contemplating on some thing new or calling over some one for discussion ? Yes this is what client experience is all about.

The service businesses must heavily focus on providing the best experience for its prospects and clients to stay ahead of competition and also stay afloat in business.

Designing a customer experience is the first business of the service provider and we will discuss about this soon in the coming days.  

Here is a conversation with Pradeep ,CEO of a multinational OEM manufacturing company . 

I look forward to hear from you your experiences as a client (both good and not so good ones) you may post it in the comments section or write to [email protected].

[worktak]

Client expectations

Make the customer the hero of your story. – Ann Handley 

 It is a well known fact that  prospects or clients rarely avail a service with out any expectations.No matter what the service is meant for - health, education, transport , hospitality etc, clients do come with a bunch of expectations. Although some expectations vary from service to service and a number of other factors  there are common expectations that a client looks forward to experience and this becomes a critical factor of services success.  Hence this write up is about those critical  expectations which would help services to align itself .This is  more likely to bring new clients and sustain a larger base of repeat clients and grow from there.  

First ,The most popular  expectation from a client -or let me interchangeably use the term ‘people’  for convenience - is a pleasant service experience ,I would say this forms a make or break of a service business.

Second,  providing people with adequate information - clearly before roping them in ! consultative selling of sorts .We will discuss this sometime soon exclusively 

Third,every client looks forward to receiving the service aspects as mentioned in the time frame promised (turn around time -TAT)

Fourthly , the service fee is as mentioned earlier and agreed upon with no hidden fee which spring as a surprise.

Those are basic expectations .However , the service provider may walk an  “extra mile” by supporting the client when a need arises.As in :The hotel may help their clients to book the flight tickets at no extra fee when the guest for some reason is unable to do so! 

I would come back soon and discuss each one of them more in depth. Meanwhile you are welcome to share your ideas on this topic in the comments or post it to [email protected]

[worktak]

Welcome  to service sector

“Don’t feel bad if people remember you only when they need you. Feel privileged that you are like a candle that comes to their mind when there is darkness.” ---     Anonymous 

 Its too hard to think of an era,where service wasn’t around for people of this world. However its been particularly interesting for us in the later part of the 20th century as this assumes a commercial value and this is fundamentally due to the evolution of the  industrial  growth globally and further ‘service as a business’ was accelerated with the formation of  the world trade organization(WTO) in 1995.Its here that service was categorized as something the member nations can export.

Thus was born the Information technology , information technology as enabled services , tele medicine and a host of other fields that shifted the economic paradigm of many nations ,especially those categorized as third world nations.

Today many of these service areas are knowledge driven less capital intensive , in some cases labour intensive - good in a way as it provides high employment growth , improves economy at the individual, family and national level by leaps and bounds.

Services sector are  contributing over 50% (close to 70%) to the global economy and in India service industry contributes over 50% to its national GDP.IT sector alone has been contributing more then half of the national GDP.

Every year there are newer services that is seen as added to the industry .Some of these were much needed since long but never was though as a business.The Zomatos , swiggys are one such services along with urban clap and severa others.These services were never thought in the previous century although the need for such services existed much long.

Some of the reasons for the birth of these services as business could be the change in social - such as moving away from joint to nuclear families  and also economic status - such as increased buying power due to shift in economic status in many nations hitherto considered developing nations and other changes such as globalization, availability of the capital for many categories of services today, coupled with people also willing to buy such services. The investors began to see a definite  opportunity in this booming industry.We will discuss more about investors and categories  one of these days.

For now its concluded that service as a business is in its infancy -Some of my friends say in  ‘adolescence’ - in any case its in its early stages,its come here to stay and grow in the present form .With growing need and with minimum entry barriers for most verticals, Those contemplating on a service business should give  it a go and its right time to pitch in your business plan,

If you wish to share your thoughts on service as a business do post it as your comment or write to [email protected]  

[worktak]

Of what value is your idea to the  customer ...

If an idea to start and run a business persists  in you, then it’s about time you bring that to life.The first step is to translate thoughts into an idea .

lets say, you like to start something on your own ,may be a food joint, a preschool or a consulting practice in your field of expertise. You would generally begin to share these thoughts with friends ,relatives and some well wishers as something like .... 

As informal interactions happen and  the level of certainty gets growing those thoughts gets further refined  and gets the form of a business idea. You may now share the  business idea in the place of an unclear thought : “I would like to start and run a vegetarian restaurant in this city”.Now a business idea is impregnated.

After moving from  ‘something’ to a “ vegetarian restaurant  in this city”   The next step is to build on your business idea and  postulate  “of what value is your idea to all its stake holders  the customers in particular.” and take  take this idea forward to potential investors, partners, customers and other stake holders. Thus a  customer value proposition is born ! 

Let’s work on a CVP now :

Lets visualize your (now on ours !) restaurant and ask this question “what kind of restaurant do i say “yeah that’s my favorite place” and what triggers me to say that? I recollect  the one which i had been in Bangalore a few years ago - .Besides ambiance ,the food joint had  taste , hygiene , a  friendly manager caring to stop by and ask if i liked the food and those waiters were not only courteous but also were  keen on serving  food  with care . My family and I - specially my dad -  besides food. enjoyed  every moment in the restaurant   ,.

 From that experience lets take cue and construct a simple CVP : fresh Garden Foods (FGF) caters to Veggy lovers ,  weight watching foodies who care ,hygiene conscious  and for those looking for diabetic  diet plans .FGF is a place for  them”.Of course ,this construct can be presented even better . It’s kept simple here. 

Lets now take our FGF venture idea further .First , our potential  investor.  let’s call him Mr Richy,  In our earlier visit to Mr Richy when we sounded the business idea -  something like...thought and even mere idea we observed we  failed to trigger  his interest and we were seen off with a “ Good luck !” gesture .It’s an obvious conclusion that he wasn’t keen on an investment.

Post the CVP presentation the response was : “ Seems like an interesting proposition ,(you) come back with a detailed plan” .This is good enough encouragement to work further. 

After all most giant companies of today had it’s beginning this way - an idea backed with a customer value proposition - and is currently occupying its position.  

 Value proposition is a critical aspect and sometimes makes or breaks a business and there is so much to discuss about Value proposition concept we will take it as we move forward .Meanwhile nice if you can go over some of these resources :

 As an additional resource you may go through  some write ups here

Here are a few examples of popular value proposition    

[worktak]

The Idea Seed...

It’s common among humans for thoughts to come and go.Some thoughts may persist for a longer time and one or more of these thoughts could be a seed of future fortune ready to sown.By thoughts here ,i mean a seed for an idea, I mean a ‘business idea’. At first the thought may occur as a -  ah! it’s a  nice thought ; a self suggestion or even a joke ! Let’s think about a time when we said something like this on a Sunday : “I don’t feel like making breakfast today,oops ! don’t even feel like  walking up to the restaurant ,too lazy... wish could call someone and the breakfast arrived at home! ”  looks like someone  heard that thought and became an idea to grow for Swiggy,Zomato and others.

A common question I face as a consultant : What if there are a steam of thoughts instead of a flash of a single thought that can qualify for an idea  ? Well  nothing unusual about it. Its not a freaky thing to have small note pad and put in all your thoughts as it flows. Don’t worry no VC is peeking behind you to evaluate your ideas ,plans and decisions.Its all for you and you alone. Make notes and leave this for a while.While i use notepad commonly for jotting down my thoughts there are other ways like using mobile phone, stick notes,evernote trello, and many more you may explore.  

 Peep back into the list of ideas once in a while and circle the one which seems closer to you.Lets say you have five thoughts and each time you visit the list you are circling one which is closer to you and  its quite possible,after a little while, you would have dark circles around one or two of those in the list which may later qualify for an idea construct . Those (thoughts) that were left behind  may be a part of the larger thought and may be merged in the idea construct.

Another approach when the stream of thoughts persist is to  talk it out with your well wishers and other professionals around you. 

After those steps,It is highly likely that you arrive at the one core idea that belongs to you.This could now well be your fortune seed for the idea .

Post validation, it is likely that the original idea you had framed before  might have undergone a change and now may appear in a more modified form. Be ready to accept this new modified idea if it means value to you. Now  get ready to plant  the seed - Go ahead  accept this as your Business Idea and be open to discuss with your qualified individuals and groups..

Here is an interesting story of a doctor couple who came up with a novel of idea of helping the poorer section of the society to get access to the high quality medicine and the idea led to other forms of entrepreneurship  ..

Lets take the idea forward in  few days... till then keep dreaming and smiling!