Podcast #16 | Blain Slater | TSA

In this episode we chat to Blain Slater from TSA, who shines a light on managing the brand and customer experience in outsourced contact centres.

He also shares his leadership journey, from being ‘on the phones’ to the Executive team.

https://tsagroup.com.au/

Show notes

Drive - a book by Dan Pink

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6452796-drive?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=oLr2QJJbOs&rank=1

Cornerstone LMS - online learning platform

https://www.cornerstoneondemand.com.au/learning

The five dysfunctions of a team - a book by Patrick Lencioni

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21343.The_Five_Dysfunctions_of_a_Team

Fist of Five - simple way for teams to show their confidence in decisions

https://www.lucidmeetings.com/glossary/fist-five#:~:text=The%20Fist%20to%20Five%20is,wild%20enthusiasm%20(Jazz%20hands!)&text=One%20way%20to%20define%20the%20Fist%20to%20Five%20scale.

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Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-agile-contact-centre-podcast/id1485239665 

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RadioPublic: https://radiopublic.com/the-agile-contact-centre-podcast-Wx0yDO 

Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/gl7zy9s8

Podcast#12 | From TEAM to COMMUNITY with Marcie Murray from Shopify

This snippet comes from our chat with Marcie Murray and Eduardo Nofuentes that was part of the Remote Ready series.

Its pint-sized but jam packed with everything you need to know about transforming your team into a community where like minded people feel connected and rally around the work. Marcie also talks about how this works to combat feelings of isolation that can arise when working in a distributed team environment.

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Anchor: https://anchor.fm/the-agile-contact-centre 

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-agile-contact-centre-podcast/id1485239665 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/30Hsw0MpgaAnhTSiy5Fh8y 

Breaker: https://www.breaker.audio/the-agile-contact-centre-podcast 

Google Podcasts: https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9mMjFkMDdjL3BvZGNhc3QvcnNz 

Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1485239665/the-agile-contact-centre-podcast 

RadioPublic: https://radiopublic.com/the-agile-contact-centre-podcast-Wx0yDO 

Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/gl7zy9s8

Podcast#11 | Failure Demand | The 'how to guide' on improving the customer experience

We cut right to the chase in this mini episode and give you the 'how to guide' for improving the customer experience. 

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Anchor: https://anchor.fm/the-agile-contact-centre 

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-agile-contact-centre-podcast/id1485239665 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/30Hsw0MpgaAnhTSiy5Fh8y 

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RadioPublic: https://radiopublic.com/the-agile-contact-centre-podcast-Wx0yDO 

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Podcast #10 | Trust with Tim Buzza from IAG

Welcome to the first in a series of super short eps for you to snack on during your day. We go into the archives for the conversation with Tim Buzza from IAG who talks to us about the topic of Trust - how to cultivate it and the benefits to people's mental wellbeing we you hand over control of their working day. We hope you enjoy it.

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Anchor: https://anchor.fm/the-agile-contact-centre 

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-agile-contact-centre-podcast/id1485239665 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/30Hsw0MpgaAnhTSiy5Fh8y 

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RadioPublic: https://radiopublic.com/the-agile-contact-centre-podcast-Wx0yDO 

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Podcast #9 | The Productivity Paradigm

In this episode Arnie and I take a meandering walk through the productivity paradigm, it’s a paradigm because of the entrenched nature of the way we think about our approach getting work done. 

Like a good stroll we take some twists and turns but we keep coming back to a few central principles ... trust, shared accountability, value creation and focusing on the systems that create the work.

By thinking and working in this way you change the goal from just getting through the calls or emails to understanding how you can help your teams perform the work better and ultimately help your organisation reduce the amount of work needing to be done. 

Paradigms like productivity can serve us well but inevitably paradigms must change so that we can adapt to make work better. 

We hope this provides not only food for thought but some ways for you to reframe what getting the work done means in your contact centre.

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Anchor: https://anchor.fm/the-agile-contact-centre 

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-agile-contact-centre-podcast/id1485239665 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/30Hsw0MpgaAnhTSiy5Fh8y 

Breaker: https://www.breaker.audio/the-agile-contact-centre-podcast 

Google Podcasts: https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9mMjFkMDdjL3BvZGNhc3QvcnNz 

Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1485239665/the-agile-contact-centre-podcast 

RadioPublic: https://radiopublic.com/the-agile-contact-centre-podcast-Wx0yDO 

Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/gl7zy9s8

Podcast #8 | Self-organising teams | Unleash the human potential in your team to create a customer experience with no limits!

This episode explores the dark art of self-organising teams. 

We break it down into manageable chunks and show you that it really is achievable for your contact centre teams. 

We shine a light on: 

- The key attributes that define these types of teams

- Why you might want to embark on this journey

- And of course, the nitty gritty on how to do it

Enjoy!

Show notes:

Psychological safety : The five keys to a successful Google team

Discover Holacracy

Subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts: 

Anchor: https://anchor.fm/the-agile-contact-centre 

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-agile-contact-centre-podcast/id1485239665 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/30Hsw0MpgaAnhTSiy5Fh8y 

Breaker: https://www.breaker.audio/the-agile-contact-centre-podcast 

Google Podcasts: https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9mMjFkMDdjL3BvZGNhc3QvcnNz 

Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1485239665/the-agile-contact-centre-podcast 

RadioPublic: https://radiopublic.com/the-agile-contact-centre-podcast-Wx0yDO 

Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/gl7zy9s8

Podcast #E7 | How to run 'safe-to-fail' experiments and build continuous improvement into your operations

Episode 7 of the podcast is here and Arnie and I are celebrating hitting the 500 listen milestone. If you are one of our loyal listeners we can't thank you enough for tuning in.

In this episode we talk about the ability to adapt and respond quickly when faced with constraints and how building the right mechanisms into your operation enables teams to continually develop and sharpen their edge while fostering healthy team dynamics through collaboration, teamwork and knowledge sharing. 

In this episode we discuss:

• Continuous improvement and experimentation and why it’s so important to build that into the way you work.

• We dip into systems theory and how that relates to the leadership practices that help teams make decisions in a complex world.

• We discuss the Improvement Kata and the Retrospective and when to use them for the best results.

https://www.theagilecontactcentre.com.au/remote-ready

Subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts: 

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Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-agile-contact-centre-podcast/id1485239665 

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RadioPublic: https://radiopublic.com/the-agile-contact-centre-podcast-Wx0yDO 

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Podcast #Ep 5 Deanne Martin | How to build an agile recruitment process and amplify the voice of your contact centre

"I’m proud to say we’ve brought the right people into customer service who can sit at the table and talk about how we solve a UX problem or sit with HR to create new flexible working policies. When you start thinking outside of your people being just transactional to being capable to lean in and solve problems the whole landscape of you’re talent pool changes to being broader than just customer service”

Listen on iTunes

Listen on Spotify

In this episode we are joined by Deanne Martin, the Head of CX at Seek.

This is a great conversation with a truly humanistic leader who talks to us about two hot topics for any contact centre.

1. The perennial challenge that is recruitment. Deanne has embraced the key tenets of agile in her recruitment process by involving the people that do the work in the decision making.

2. How to elevate the role of the contact centre to amplify the voice of the customer. This is an inflection point for any contact centre looking to play a leading role in driving the CX strategy.

I think you’ll find that Deanne is one of those rare non-conformists who has backed herself to be different with her approach to leadership and we hope this inspires you to find the non-conformist within too.

Podcast #4 Tim Buzza | How to scale self managed rosters for 400 people using a trust based system

“I got to a point where I realised the real opportunity for me to make a difference is to actually start working on the system of work that sits behind or within the contact centre. And if I can effect a change there, even by a little a bit, it wouldn’t just impact a few hundred employees it could potentially impact thousands or a couple of hundred thousand people working in call centres in Australia”

Listen on iTunes

Listen on Spotify

Tim Buzza and the team at IAG have achieved the impossible, they have created a system for people to self-manage their rosters, at scale, without any additional review or approval.

This is anything but a podcast about rostering, its a unique insights into how the human systems in your contact centre can flourish when you focus on trust, flexibility and collaboration.

Here are some of the highlights:

• How they went about creating an app for hundreds of people to self manage roster changes.

• The innovative feedback loop in place so people know if they have made a helpful change or not.

• The transformative impacts this has had on the lives of the people working there.

Donate here to help Indy get her seizure dog

https://www.mycause.com.au/page/208410/indys-therapy-dog-for-epileptic-seizure-alerts

Show notes 

-        Tim talks why the stakes are so high in self-organising rosters and schedules and the impacts on the people who interact with the system that is created to manage rostering. (1:24)

-        A quick dive into systems theory (4:34)

-        Tim talks about his background, previous jobs and career that has led him to live a life of impact (8:24)

-        Tim talks about his first roles in contact centres and the positive impact leadership can have in the lives of people in contact centres (10:47)

-        The culture that exists can be a response to the systemic forces on a contact centre and while it may look positive on the surface, it may be hiding problems (13:37)

-        We talk about ‘Switch’ as a solution to improve flexibility and control over the rostering process to people’s rosters (16:01)

-        How they iterated to create ‘Switch’ (22:51)

-        How they built a feedback loop into the system so people knew if the change they made was helpful or unhelpful (24:33)

-        How trust and reciprocity is the foundation of the solution (26:13)

-        Another quick dive into systems thinking to explain why this solution works on a large scale (29:35)

-        Tim talks about the real ways they have had a positive effect on the people that work at IAG (35:19)

-        The app’s impact on mental health and well being (40:07)

-        How leaders have benefited (43:23)

-        Tim shares a case study of a team members experience and benefits since implementing ‘Switch’ (46:17)

-        Concept of trust and reciprocity is explored and flexibility in the workplace (55:21)

-        Next steps for ‘Switch’ (57:41)

-        What to do if you wanted to create self-organising teams in your contact centre (59:30)

-        Tim talks human connection and isolation the current state of work as he sees it and what he sees as the opportunity (1:02:18)

 References

-        Cynefin framework – system thinking model https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynefin_framework

https://hbr.org/2007/11/a-leaders-framework-for-decision-making

-        Wizard of Oz experiment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wizard_of_Oz_experiment

-        The Lean Start-up http://theleanstartup.com/

-        Human centred design https://www.wired.com/insights/2013/12/human-centered-design-matters/

-        Warwick Endinburgh mental health score https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/med/research/platform/wemwbs/

-        Rachel Botsman on trust https://rachelbotsman.com 

-        Reinventing organisations – Q&Q with Author Federic Laloux https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcS04BI2sbk

-        A great illustration of Lean and Agile Adoption with the Laloux Culture Model

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0Jc5aAJu9g

Books

-        Spiral Dynamics: Mastering Values, Leadership and Change – Don Edward Beck

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/204687.Spiral_Dynamics?from_search=true&qid=3f1WyzNhw8&rank=4

-        Dying for a paycheck - Jeffrey Pfeffer https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35181013-dying-for-a-paycheck?from_search=true&qid=h8wOUdnrNy&rank=1

-        Drive – Dan Pink

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6452796-drive?from_search=true&qid=tYkNGd4b9Z&rank=1

 -        When – Dan Pink

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35412097-when?from_search=true&qid=TSp3eewa1H&rank=1

 Podcast

 -        Eat, sleep, work, repeat

https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/eat-sleep-work-repeat/id1190000968

https://open.spotify.com/show/5KUW5Lu36O4nnfIFqIIUh4

Podcast #3 | Understanding failure demand to transform your cost centre to a value centre

“Taking this approach to serving customers, by addressing the root cause of the reason they are calling, becomes the job of the front line, its way more fulfilling than just answering calls.

And when you do this you create a culture of continuous improvement, people are more engaged, stay longer and customers get more value”

Listen on iTunes
Listen on Spotify

Show notes

What is Failure Demand and why it is important in reducing the effort it takes for customers to interact with your organisation and Arnie shares a personal example (1:00)

Discuss the difference between Value and Failure Demand (4:30)

How to start to tackling Failure demand – identifying the type of demand you are receiving and the benefit in engaging your people to drive this process from the start (6:15)

Arnie shares an example of Failure Demand, the pain for the customer and how simple it can be to find improvements quickly (9:45)

We share an example of Value Demand and why it’s good for the bottom line to focus on both Failure and Value demand and the opportunity for the contact centre to deliver more value in the form of marketing, sales and cost reduction (15:30)

Grab a pen! we to the practicalities of how to put in place a continuous improvement system to address Failure demand, identifying, prioritising, delivering and then tracking it over time (19:53)

The mindset required as a leader to make this work and the operating rhythm to support it and how to engage the rest of the business to support the improvement initiatives (24:11)

How a focus on Failure Demand will change the view the contact centre in your organisation from a cost centre to a value creation centre (26:35)

References: John Seddon and The Vanguard Method for contact centres https://vanguard-method.net

Podcast #2 Lauren Reid

"This was one of the highlights of my career, I was having the most fun with this radical change...we created a fantastic team with an amazing culture and a great brand”  

Welcome to Podcast #2 featuring special guest Lauren Reid, formerly the Head of Direct Service at MLC Life Insurance now the Manager of Member Services at ESSSuper.

In this conversation we cover:

• Harnessing the collective strengths of your people to improve CSAT and engagement through collaboration and shared accountability.

• How different personal and leadership styles can flourish in an agile environment.

• The importance of telling the story of your agile journey to the rest of your organisation to engage and influence, in particular, how agile contact centres demonstrate customer value to stakeholders to get things done.

  Listen on iTunes
  Listen on Spotify

Show notes

-Structure of the team, the environment at MLC at the time the work began (1:15)

-Giving the team a voice to improve the customer experience and how to set the environment up to support this (4:34)

-Lauren discusses her personal style and how the changes being made challenged her leadership style, confidence and what she learnt about being vulnerable (7:13)

-Learning that the agile principles can be applied in many different ways depending on the goals you want to achieve and trying to implement a solution from another contact centre isn’t necessarily going to be the right solution for you (10:19)

-Understanding that all personalities and skills have a place in an agile contact centre, from creative to very structured types (14:02)

-Servant leadership and the importance of direction and purpose and how this change in mindset changed the way they leaders supported their teams to give them a voice (15:55)

-How this fostered an environment of collaboration and teamwork which lead to peer to peer coaching to leverage the strengths among the team (18:17)

-This leads on to a discussion around shared KPI’s and we deep dive what the ‘System of Work’ is. Lauren talks about removing AHT as a KPI and what that meant for forecasting and budgets (21:00)

-Lauren discusses the pros and cons of CSAT vs. NPS as a metric and the shift to using CSAT as a shared KPI. How this improved the customer experience and lead to greater ownership of the customer which resulted in a huge improvement in CSAT and engagement (26:43)

-How the teams were empowered to coach and support each to improve CSAT and build a strong culture of teamwork (33:02)

-A detailed discussion about how the team told their agile story to the rest of organisation and promoted the new ways of working. How they used metrics everyone understood and how this was driving real business value. Giving the teams a role to run tours and present to other teams at on what they were doing and how this engaged other teams to support initiatives to improve the customer experience (36:27)

- Lauren wraps up by talking about what to do if you were thinking about embarking on a journey to reinvent her contact centre and the leadership mindset to adopt to support you in doing this (50:57)

Podcast #Ep 1 - Anand Rego

This is Podcast#1 featuring special guest Anand Rego, Head of Contact Centres at Open Universities Australia.

Anand talks about how this journey has transformed his leadership style, how his teams have created an environment of continuous improvement, shared accountability and a daily focus on their Purpose.
We get into the detail around how he has practically applied agile ways of working and my highlight, how they used shared KPI's to tackle a problem in the system of work leading to poor student outcomes.

Click here to listen on iTunes
Click here to listen on Spotify

Show notes

- Setting the scene for what lead to contact centre needing to reinvent itself (1:24)
- The realisation that the way they were working wouldn't get them to were they needed to be and the first time they heard about a new way of working (6:24)
- Anand talks about the structure of the team, their contact channels and the decision to move away from individual KPI's (10:50)
- The importance of vision, purpose and values to connect people to the organisation and helping them make the right decision for the customer (16:56)
- How people can find a way to game the system if the system is not aligned to the purpose (17:52)
- How his life experience and previous roles shaped his approach to leadership and leap of faith to become a servant leader (23:25)
- What Anand has done to support and sustain his change in style. Including visualisation of the work, stand-ups, sprint planning and the power of the Retro (27:06)
- Arnie jumps in explain the Retro for this playing along at home and Anand gives an example of how Team Leaders use Retro's to get in the moment feedback from their teams (36:24)
- We get into the way to set up self-organising teams around the customer use the right metrics and visualisation (46:38)
- Using the agile principles and mindset to deliver a telephony upgrade in record time - 8 weeks from start to finish (48:22)
- The benefits the team are seeing in staff turnover and engagement and the changes they made to salaries and KPI's to create shared accountability by putting the customer outcomes before those of individuals (1:03:50)
- Anand talks about "6x multiple" to consider when setting targets for people that features in a book called Primed to Perform and the link to Cobra farms (1:06:24)
- How shared sales KPI's are getting better outcomes for students than ever before and even happier people (1:08:47)
- Anand finishes with a great example of how he has developed the agility in his leadership to seek out opportunities to have his own assumptions tested (1:15:12)

Links to books and articles from the show
Article: Why should anyone be led by you?
Book: Primed to Perform: How to Build the Highest Performing Cultures Through the Science of Total Motivation by Neel Doshi & Lindsay McGregor