Impact Innovation

A smile makes a big difference!

2012-03-07T17:14:00.001Z

Infectious smiles from the girls at Impact!

As I was walking into town on my lunch break, I saw agentleman walking towards me smiling to himself. He looked so pleased and happythat it caused something similar to the infectious yawn syndrome in me and mademe smile at him. Bemused that it had that effect on me, I decided to try it outon another passer by. Although I felt slightly awkward, I smiled at the ladyapproaching me. To my surprise she smiled back and nodded her head inacknowledgement. Strange but it made me feel good!

That evening I was watching a programme about the Londonunderground called ‘The Tube.’ In it was an interview with a gentleman whostands at the barriers monitoring people passing through the turnstiles. Whatstruck me was that in the footage of him at work, he acknowledged every personwho came through the barriers. Whether it was saying good morning, offeringwith people’s bags, asking about the weather or simply smiling, he acknowledgedevery single person. He later went on to say that every morning when he comesto work at 5am he puts himself in the shoes of the people passing through. Forsome of them, he said, he is the first person they see in the morning and he seesit at his job to get their day off to a good start. In fact he summed it up ina lovely way by saying ‘London can be a lonely place – a smile can often be thedifference between a bad day and an alright day’

There’s something nice when someone smiles at you. It is thefeeling of being seen and acknowledged. It adds to your experience and often itis something you remember because sadly, it doesn’t happen often enough. Weforget the impact a smile has. A smile from someone has the power to melt awaynervousness, calm you down, make you happy and feel good. Moreover, a smile tothe people you work with, walk pass, live with is like an injection ofenergy. It is the nudge into the placewhere you think ‘I’m going to have a good day.’ Try it! Smile and see thepeople you work with get a spring in their step, be more productive and watchthe atmosphere lighten!

And to get you smiling, here’s a link to a beautiful poemsent to me by Kim…
Poem

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Have you got time to care?: 1 brand, 2 salons, and 2 very different service experiences!

2012-01-27T10:29:00.001Z

Running a good 5 minutes late for my haircut appointment, Icalled the salon to let them know I was still coming ‘Well, how late are yougoing to be?! We do shut at half 6!’ was the curt response I was ‘greeted’ with onthe phone. Terrified I was going to miss the appointment, I ran to the salon. Iwas barely through the door when one of the hairdressers took my arm andstarted ushering me to the cloakroom. I barely had chance to catch my breath asmy gown was wrapped around me and I was whisked away to have my hair washed. I wasso flustered I could hardly articulate what I wanted as I felt I only had 20 secondsto say it in. The rest of the experience was ok I guess, but the feeling ofgetting me out of the chair by half 6 by the overtly time conscious staff wasfully present and as expected, I was out of the door on time.

On the other side of the city, my sister was in her localsalon which was part of the same chain. She also had the last appointment ofthe day and was a few minutes late. Asking her about her experience, she hadnothing but praise. In fact she told me she had no concept of time at allwhilst her hair was being washed, massaged and cut. She didn’t leave until 20minutes after the shop had closed and said the remaining staff continued toclean and organise for the next day whilst she was there and she never oncefelt she had stayed past her welcome.

It’s funny how time or rather perception of time cansignificantly affect the service given by some members of staff. My hairdresserdid not make any effort for conversation at all whilst with me, perhaps in fearthat it might add on significant ‘overtime’ minutes. It would have made a greatdeal of difference to my experience had she allowed me 5 minutes to get settledat the start of the appointment. However, a perception of a shortage of timefor her meant a lack of time to smile, lack of time for small talk and a lackof time to really listen and find out my haircutting needs…and I was only 5minutes late!!

The experience my sister had was in complete contrast. Theteam in her salon took the view that the last appointment of the day meant theycould relax with the client as there was no pressure of the next appointment. Andeven if they were frustrated that they would have to stay a little late, they never letit show, remaining professional and friendly.

Customers are incredibly intuitive to their surroundings andif you are rushing/flustered/can’t be bothered, trust me, they will notice!Even in busy, time pushed environments, great service is possible! There is abig misconception that great service takes time but this is not the case. Asimple interaction that lasts a minute can be a great one, if the staff memberis smiling, and friendly. Be mindful of your approach – and remember, the lastcustomer of the day should be as valued as the first!

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Do regular customers really have a right to complain?

2012-01-20T12:44:00.000Z

During a celebratory dinner following my sister’s graduation,I found myself in a dilemma upon discovering a piece of glass, the size of a 5pence piece, in my starter. Now, undernormal circumstances, I would have been outraged. This would be one of thosetimes where the manager would need to be called, letters written to headoffice, complaints made to the chef. However, I was dining in one of myfavourite restaurants, I was a regular customer and I had never, ever, had abad word to say about the place. I couldn’t possibly cause a scene and on mysister’s graduation… well it wasn’t worth the fuss, surely. It was a mistake,an accident.

But, my service switch turned on and I felt I should reallysay something, for the sake of Health and Safety at least. I whispered to the manager, who wascompletely mortified. With all credit to her, she dealt with the problem in atext book fashion. She asked if I was alright, she apologised profusely, tookmy plate away and explained she was going to talk to the chef.

Upon her return she explained that some crockery had beenbroken earlier on in the day, apologised some more and then was gone. Hang on,was that it? The meal wasn’t going to be on the house? I wasn’t going to get afree glass of champagne?

Should I have complained more? Did she think my regularcustom so far would ensure I would continue to dine in her restaurant? If I wasa ‘new’ customer would I have been treated differently?

I finished the rest of my main course half heartedly, and asthe table was being cleared the manager approached me and offered a freedessert for everyone on my table and not only that, slipped me a £25 voucherfor next time. And whilst making me feel valuable, I couldn’t help but feel thatif I’d exercised my right to complain, I would have been compensated differently.

It’s got me thinking how much we accept when we are loyal toa brand. Do we put unacceptable behaviour down to just a ‘one off thing,’ astaff member having a bad day? Should regular customers be just as, if notmore, demanding? I guess what I’m saying is that as businesses and ascustomers, we shouldn’t get complacent with the service we give and the servicewe expect to receive. Every experience just be just as valuable. Businesses shouldnever cease to impress us and customers should never cease to expect more!

Regular customers have just as much impact as new ones. Passivelifetime loyalty is somewhat a ‘dated’ concept now with businesses trying to domore and more to win customers over. Discounts and freebies are the norm andthe savvy shopper will go to where the deals are, unless there is a differentiatingfactor that has a stronger pull i.e. customer service. For customers, it isabout making businesses work harder for our custom and for businesses, it isabout creating fantastic experiences for customers that are wished to berepeated time and time again!

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Too much coaching or just un-coachable? You decide!

2012-01-04T17:19:00.001Z

As part of our teamcelebrations for Christmas, we decided to get competitive at the local bowlingalley. Having only been once or twice before when I was significantly younger,I was quite up for the challenge – after all, I’d seen it done plenty of timesand honestly, what can be hard about rolling a ball down a 10 metre stretch tohit an entire array of targets?

Well actually, there isquite a lot that is hard about bowling (either that or I am REALLY bad…) Ok…well...it transpired that I was bad. Phenomenally bad.

My first few attempts wereok - not too bad but still worthy of a few coaching hints and tips from mycolleagues. Armed with this extra information, I was all set for my next turn. However, my next few turns were all ‘no hits!’My teams’ score was starting to suffer and so I was given more coaching from anumber of people on my team on how to release the ball, where to look and whento bend my knees.

‘Ok, I can do this’ Ithought. Just follow all the advice. But when it came to my turn, I was soconscious of doing everything I was told, that my brain was in overdrive and mybody unable to keep up with all the instructions I was giving it. I ended upjust dropping the ball and watching it fall into the side resulting again in a‘no hit’.

I knew I was exceptionallybad when the guys from the opposing team came over to coach me. Being therecipient of all this coaching should in theory have made me better but I wasgetting worse.

It only dawned on me afterthe game that maybe what I needed was space. Multiple coaching can be confusing andnot only that, but it knocks your confidence instead of increasing it.

Whilst not all coachingwill take place so openly, the fact that everyone knew I was struggling and Iwas openly being coached was not easy for someone that likes to be good ateverything! The repeated pressure of being watched, the expectation from thecrowds and resulting public failure proved to be a little too much.

What may have worked wasto have everyone else step away and have one person coach me. It is easier totake direction from one person than from many. This allows you to build a collaborativerelationship with your coach. You can talk about what is difficult, what youare struggling with and what you can do about it and importantly, how your coach can supportyou. Coaching is a personal concept and to have multiple contributors can be bothdisheartening and confusing.

So have a think about thepeople in your team that require coaching and how they are being coached. Is it too directional? Is coaching collaborative? Are they too manycoaches? Are there too many points to focus on?

Despite my shockingperformance, deep down even I know, that there is no such thing as beingun-coachable – it is about finding the method of coaching that will allow youto learn and have a positive outcome for both you and your coach!

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Merry Christmas!

2011-12-15T10:28:00.001Z

As 2011 gently winds down and we look on to the start of2012, it’s that time of year for reflection on all the great things that havehappened this year at Impact.

Some of our favourite things…

We’ve done some great work around improving the patient and staff experience in healthcare
Helped to design and deliver a customer service improvement programme for an oil retailer in Canada
Designed a Proposition Development Techniques workshop – using chocolate making as an other world experience
Celebrated our 10^th birthday!

…and of course, published ourfirst two books from the ‘Dangerous Books’ series.

It’s been a fantastic year! Here’s to a ‘dangerous’2012!

Merry Christmas!

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A JDI week at Impact! (that's a Just Do It week!)

2011-12-06T11:24:00.001Z

If there’s onething that always increases this time of year (as well as expenditure,waistlines and shopping queues) it’s lists! I don’t know whether it is just me,but lists start to appear for all sorts of tasks that must be completed withurgency as the wind down for Christmas begins; lists for presents, lists forthings to do, things to cook, people to send cards to, even at work – lists forpeople to see, meetings for wrap-ups, start-ups and the like.

Charlotte, acolleague of mine wisely said this week as she settled for Monday morning, ‘Thisweek is a ‘JDI’ week.’ ‘A what week?!’ I asked? ‘A Just Do It! Week’ she said ‘Lesstime for thinking about things and more time for doing things!’

It’s strange, butthere are always things on my list that I look at and think ‘oh, I really don’twant to do that’ and find that it gets pushed to the bottom, not only of today’slist, but the next day and the next. However, Charlotte’s JDI mantra had somehow got etchedin my mind this week – at home and at work. And I it’s funny how one saying cantruly impact on your approach to tasks – Charlotte was whizzing though her listand I wasn’t doing too bad either.

Psychologically,what stops you doing a task is the thought part of it. How you perceive it willmake you feel, how you perceive it will make others feel and all the thoughtsand associations that go along with it.

I guess what ‘JDI’ does,is that it aims to stop your brain before all the cognitions get in and startall the self doubt/unwillingness/journey into panic zone etc. It’s like adefence system that allows you to act rather than think too much about things.

This is not to saythat you shouldn’t think but it is recognising the point where thinking needsto turn into action and the thoughts that stop you from doing this.

I urge you to tryit for a week and feel the satisfaction of crossing things off your list – goon…JDI!

Sun, Sangria and Service!

2011-11-09T11:35:00.002Z

It’s funny how once you startwork in the service sector you can never switch off your internal servicemonitor – even amidst tapas and flamenco!

Whilst I am able to speak a basiclevel of Spanish, I was travelling to Madridwith my non Spanish speaking family and it sure made for interesting meal timesat the local eateries and restaurants.

What struck me was that thewaiters and waitresses didn’t ignore my family and whilst it could have beeneasy for them just to ask me what my family wanted to eat, they actually madethe effort to go round the table and acknowledge everyone. Whilst it meantcommunicating through lots of head shaking and finger pointing at menus, itprovided countless laughs and really involved everyone at the table.

It got me thinking that thebasics go along way in a service experience – even if you can’t speak thelanguage, a smile and a hello go far in improving an experience and perceptionsof service levels. It’s about recognising that everyone essentially has thesame needs. The Spanish waiting staff didn’t let language become a barrier.They understood the basic concept that if were in a restaurant, we wanted toeat and the challenge of uncovering what we wanted to eat was actually quitesimple.

We live in a very diverse,multicultural country and we will inevitably encounter customers from lots ofdifferent cultures. It is unrealistic and difficult to expect organisations tolearn about every culture and their customs. However, it is not so difficult toreally make the most of the cultural capability within your team. It’s aboutbeing curious and opening the channels to learn from each other and asking afew simple questions to gain insight into different cultures within your team,to help understand your customers a bit better. This will also allow you todraw upon key members of staff for when a customer’s experience will benefitfrom a cultural/linguistic insight.

Service doesn’t and shouldn’t haveany barriers. In many ways, service across cultures is like service acrossages. When I worked for one UK retailer, we were told toalways acknowledge young children who are with their parents - it improves theparent’s experience as well as the child’s, which, if you think about it, isvery important in forming a new generation of customers.

My family ended up learningSpanish and were saying ¡Hola! and ¡Gracias! to all the locals! It added totheir experience and it would have been completely different if they had beennot acknowledged in this way. Although repeat custom and loyalty are notbenefits the restaurants in Madrid will get back from us in bucket loads(unless we visit again), they will definitely form the basis of lots orrecommendations and positive reviews on traveller’s websites!

Learn more about Service across Cultures in our book‘Dangerous Customer Service.’

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Get ENGAGED! (with your work that is!)

2011-11-01T12:50:00.000Z

When people talk about engagement at work, it isoften from a company perspective – How can we get more people engaged? How canI get my team engaged? But what often gets missed out, is the bit that needs tocome first – self engagement.

Take for example, two employees; one says ‘timegoes so fast when I’m engrossed and enjoying what I’m doing’ and the other says‘it’s boring, time just drags and I’m constantly looking at my watch.’ Fromthese two simple comments, it is easy to see how self engagement in a task hasthe potential to lead to greater productivity. But how does one go aboutgetting team members to self engage?

We recently did some work with an organisation whowanted the drivers of their vehicles to really engage with not only thepractical side of their job, which they were doing really well but also thecustomer service side too. The challenge was to make service matter to thevehicle drivers and for them to engage with the service aspect of their job.

We began by simply talking to the vehicle drivers,understanding their challenges and gaining insight into their world – a simplething but one that makes a huge difference. They perceived themselves to be atthe bottom of the service chain. The organisation had somehow got itself into aculture where conversation with the vehicle drivers was only directive. In turnthe drivers felt they had little input into the work they were doing andconsequently became disengaged and only focused on the practical delivery sideof the role.

However, through talking with the vehicle drivers, itbecame apparent that there were some really passionate drivers. Our task was touse these people to ignite the passion in everyone. We called these people,firelighters.

We also asked managers to really open upconversation around barriers to service and challenges, and to build thisconversation into channels that already existed with the drivers i.e. morningmeetings, daily check-ins etc. We anticipated that the vehicle drivers may behesitant to talk about barriers/self engagement blockers at first, so we askedthe firelighters to break the ice and to begin the discussion.

Bringing their challenges to light allowed managersto put corrective actions in place to enable the engagement blockers to beremoved or at least highlighted for action to be taken. Managers used theirdaily check–ins more effectively, remembering to always have a 2 wayconversation and reinforce that they as drivers, were in fact the most important people inthe service chain as they were customer facing. People who are positivelyengaged in what they do often feel as if they have a personal responsibilityfor the work they produce and therefore, more likely to want to do well.

It’s important to get yourself engaged with whatyou are doing before anything else. And if you are not engaged, to identify theengagement blockers so that you can start enjoying what you are doing and do itwell!

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Using Pride To Stretch That Little Bit More...

2011-10-20T16:40:00.000+01:00

Our pride and joy!

The excitement about our ‘Dangerous Books’ series is stillgoing strong in the Impact offices – I don’t think anyone quite believes thatwe have really been published! In fact I keep seeing colleagues proudly pickingup copies, leafing through and smiling to themselves with a great sense of pride andachievement.

It’s been fascinating to see the journey from creating anidea, stepping into our stretch zones to make it happen, feeling the pride thatcomes with achievement but then actually stretching further because of thispride. We’ve used the Dangerous Books as a catalyst for some fantastic change.

We’ve refreshed our website (something that was always onour to-do list) to give the books pride of place – you can read the synopsis,find out more about us and even pre-order your copies! There will be more changes over the next fewweeks so make sure you keep coming back! See the refreshed website

Then there’s this blog you are reading, which regular readerswill see has been given a make-over that even Gok Wan would be proud of. It’snow easier to move between blogs and it’s a lot easier on the eye too.

And to show your appreciation for everything you see, youcan now ‘like’ our Facebook page dedicated to our Dangerous Books where you candiscuss favourite chapters, seek advice, challenge us and to generally let usknow how you are getting on - Click here to like Dangerous Books

All of these changes have been driven by our books and thebig learning for us is that the beauty of the stretch zone is that it keepsstretching and that often while you’re in that zone, you might as well keepgoing! It’s easier to stay there than to retreat somewhere safer only to haveto make that journey again. And the result of pushing yourself that muchfurther, is pride, which is a great thing – it brings with it happiness, courage,achievement and even adds to greater productivity!

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p.s. If you like what you see, you can now even click the ‘like’button at the bottom of the page (shameless, I know)

Impact Innovation unveils 'Dangerous Books' series!!!

2011-10-12T11:17:00.007+01:00

After months of locking ourselves away in quiet corners of the office, battling and then winning the war with writer’s block, Impact Innovation have great pleasure in unveiling (big drum roll please…) our ‘Dangerous Books’ series!!

These books are the result of a lifetime ambition of my colleagues at Impact Innovation who are now ready to impart all the knowledge and experience they have accumulated over the years. We are REALLY excited about these books! All of the stories, examples and anecdotes in both books are real accounts. This, coupled with all of the (dangerous!) challenges and exercises along the way, makes for a really thought-provoking and practical guide on how to transform your services.

We can’t deny that we are slightly nervous about our venture into the publishing world and we are waiting with baited breath as we watch the pre-orders come in. Thing is, we’ve worked in so many different organisations and between us got so many great, funny and sometimes not so great experiences that it would be a shame not to share them. So go on, what are you waiting for? Make our day and get your very own copy of…

Dangerous Customer ServiceIf you’re ready to deliver dangerously great customer service, then we’re ready to tell you how!

This book covers absolutely everything you could ever wish to know on how to turn an average customer experience into something gold star. From all the basic things your customers expect as standard, to all the things they take for granted, right through to all the things that add the magic (you’ll be surprised at how easy some of it is!), we’ve got it covered.

And the second book in the series…

The Dangerous Guide to Leading InnovationThis (dangerously) practical guide is full to the brim with fun, tried and tested methods that will help your team deliver greater results through new innovative ways of working AND to help you become the leader for innovation! There are plenty of stories and examples on how Impact Innovation’s simple but often radical strategies have transformed the people, the teams and the organisations we have worked with and how you can do the same!

Both books will be available from all the usual suspects from the 7th November (you can even pre order from our website if you’re really keen) and if you can’t wait that long, we will be printing an excerpt on our website very soon just to tickle those taste buds.

And if you are feeling lucky, look out for your chance to win a copy of the books on our website too

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Creative Idea Generation: I Always Knew Chocolate Was The Answer!

2011-09-30T10:34:00.009+01:00

Recently we were approached by a company who were having a difficult time differentiating themselves from their competition. They were unsure if their unique selling point was still, well…., unique. Having tried to think of new ways to be different about the products they offered, they got in touch with Impact Innovation to try and utilise their upcoming Company day as a vehicle to develop skills around generating new ideas.

From past experience we know that the most common blocker of new ideas is that people always begin in the same (mental) place to create them. Think about it, when you are trying to come up with an idea, most of the time you approach it in the same way you always have. You’ll look at the same research, do the same analysis or even try re-using the same ideas you had before.

For this particular e-commerce organisation, we set them the challenge of coming up with a brand new chocolate bar/product as part of a chocolate workshop for their Company day. The thinking behind this was to take people (literally) into a different but related world and to get them using and developing the skills that they needed to apply back in their organisation. This included thinking creatively about new products, how to take them to market, developing exciting propositions in an engaging way and utilising the range of skills in a team.

As part of their chocolate challenge, we provided marketing materials, props, access to analysis of the chocolate market and of course, it wouldn’t be complete without a master class with an expert Chocolatier!! We even had teams present their ideas for their new chocolate bar to a panel of ‘judges’ in order to develop their pitch technique.

The Company day was lots of fun and we had some great ideas around chocolate innovation but more importantly, it had helped to show people how they needed to approach their current challenge with the same amount of passion and creativity.

The next time you have to generate ideas, try imagining being in someone else’s shoes or imagine how a different company would try and tackle the issue. We’ve been known to tell people to imagine they are everyone from Richard Branson right through to Gordon Ramsey (after all, everyone needs to vent!)

Get in touch and see how we can help you to approach the issues in your organisation differently and with some creativity and innovation!

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Lead with confidence and I'll follow...

2011-09-16T12:09:00.011+01:00

When I’m in a busy supermarket, waiting behind 3 people at the checkout, there is only one thing that can reassure me and give me some confidence - a team leader actively managing the situation. Whether that’s opening another till point, apologising to me for the wait or even organising someone to pack my bags, it gives me confidence that everything is under control and being managed.

From our work with patients and team members in hospitals, to customers and team members in the retail and hospitality sectors, we’ve found that the presence of a strong leader on a shift makes a huge difference.

Effective leaders not only set the tone for their staff but also put in place the processes and systems needed to give customers and patient’s confidence in the service they receive. For staff, it gives them someone to look up to and for customers, it provides a signal that there is someone to take overall accountability for the service and experience they are receiving.

We’ve found the following are great confidence creators that leaders can adopt for their team:

Be more visible - The signal this sends out to customers and the team is that there is someone in control, setting direction and being responsible for overall running of the shift.
Talk to your team more, as a group and individually and not just about work – give them confidence that you are listening to and acting on their needs.
Coach your team – be aware of their strengths and weaknesses and use these to provide a better service
Get the basics right for your staff and customers – is the working environment clean, positive? How about the customer environment?
Set the tone of the day/ shift – how are you feeling? If you are grumpy/unhappy, you will not be able to motivate your team to be positive
Communicate success and improvements – keep you team involved
A good leader will take responsibility in creating confidence in the organisation and in their team, which in turn will give confidence to customers and team members, who will then provide a better service.

As leaders, it is important to always be aware of the reality on the frontline and spend some time everyday to absorb this and think about whether the experience is as good as it could be. Think of the little things you can do everyday to enforce your role and presence as a leader in the workplace, to create confidence in service, for your team and your customers.

Get in touch for more confidence creators!

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It's never too late to turn that frown upside down!

2011-09-02T11:59:00.007+01:00

I recently placed an order for a coat online with a well known store. When I was still waiting 6 weeks later for it to arrive, I started to get a little concerned – it was meant to arrive within 3 weeks. I called up the Customer Service line only to be told the order had been cancelled, ‘Cancelled?! By who?!’ I demanded. ‘Oh, the system cancels orders which have not been actioned within the 3 week slot’ the advisor said flatly. But that’s just ridiculous! Was anyone even going to tell me?! To add to my frustration, the coat was now showing as ‘out of stock’

I got off the phone outraged and vented my anger into an email to the Customer Service department and printed off a copy to send to Head Office. 3 days later, the Head of Customer Service called me to apologise, and to say they were going to perform a nationwide search in all the stores and warehouses to try and get me the coat. I was pessimistic to say the least, it was a sale item and the words needle and haystack sprang to mind.

However 2 days later, I got a call to say they had found one! The following day, a parcel arrived with ‘URGENT’ stickers all over it (what a signal to me of my importance!) and inside it, the gorgeous coat!

What a turnaround! I felt like the most important customer in their international business! From vowing to never shop with that organisation ever again, I suddenly felt so valued and happy at their ability to rectify a mistake, that I took back all my words.

It is never too late to turn a negative service experience into something magical and that is something we can all learn from. As customers, it is about letting organisations know how they can be better and what they can do to enhance our service experience and as organisations, it is about demonstrating the value of people’s custom to create brand loyalty.

Positive and negative service experiences have a powerful domino effect amongst friends and family. When you lose a customer, you’ve potentially lost them, their friends and family. Nothing acts as more of a deterrent than a ‘ooo I wouldn’t shop there, if I were you!’ and no amount of expensive marketing is as powerful as the spoken word!

Without customers, businesses just wouldn’t exist so it is great when people go out of their way to prove that despite having millions and millions of customers, each individual and their contribution really matters - it sure worked for me!

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Complaints Versus Compliments! What's easier to give?!

2011-08-15T11:41:00.004+01:00

‘Ok, that’s everything. We will see you in a year’s time…’ My heart sank a little as I heard these words. A whole year?! But, I was enjoying this! I didn’t want to wait that long to see these lovely people again!

Whilst you can be forgiven for thinking this exchange was taking place with some dear friends or even relatives from abroad, it was actually taking place at my local opticians - let me explain, after numerous lunchtimes spent trawling the high street for the best deals on optical care, I came across one particular high street brand that literally had me at hello. From the second I walked through the door, into the bright lights, smiling faces and relaxed atmosphere, I knew I’d found the one.

I was greeted politely and the friendly sales assistant carefully listened to my needs and went through all my options. On my visit for my appointment, it got better. They had kept all my notes about my requirements and had care plans and options ready for me on my arrival. This was service heaven! Everyone who worked there had this ease about them and they all acknowledged me, whether they were directly involved in my care or not.

I gave them this feedback and they were extremely modest, ‘but I work in service!’ I told them ‘This is gold star!’ They were slightly taken aback by my enthusiasm and admitted that it’s a rare occasion to receive such praise. Is positive feedback really such a rarity? It seems complaining comes easier to us than complimenting in the service world! There's no doubt that 'complaints' make for a great way to learn and improve but what do they do for morale?

Maybe it is because we expect positive experiences and when we have one, we feel like our needs and expectations have been met – therefore no need to comment but I think regular injections of positivity make for a healthy team!

For one of our clients, we have introduced a positive feedback initiative that service users as well as team members can use to acknowledge great service behaviours in each other. The brilliant thing about the initiative is that there is no room for negativity! You’d be surprised at how successful this method is and how much it means to someone to receive a small thank you as by way of recognition. We’ve seen team members stick our ‘Thank you’ cards on their desks, in their lockers and around their offices. It is a reminder that the work they are doing is not going unnoticed and it significantly raises morale and consequently, productivity.

There are some real service gems out there and some great people working very hard for our custom. Giving some recognition lets people know they are on the right track, allows them to feel appreciated and to continue giving great gold star service!

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Letting Your Inner Teenager Out!

2011-08-03T11:01:00.009+01:00

With Impact reaching its 10th birthday this year, conversation around the Impact table quickly led to reminiscing about our very own 10th birthdays. They were remembered mainly for that feeling of being on the cusp of our teenage years and the excitement and anticipation of a new era ahead.

Aside from the acne, moodiness, slamming doors and generally feeling like the world is out to get you, being a teenager certainly bought with it some more admirable and more positive qualities.

We can all identify with the teenage years where:

We thought we were invincible
We were experimental, and wanted to try everything
We wanted to be independent and be given more responsibility
We challenged and questioned everything
We felt like we knew all there was to know
And we had that ‘sod you’ attitude towards everything (and everyone!)

Ironically, however, it is only with hindsight that these qualities are admired. At the time, they were often discouraged, dismissed or worse still, laughed at!

But it has to be said that if this mentality of a teenager was bottled and sold, think about the effects it would have on individuals in the workplace. Attitudes would be more resilient, there would be a greater desire to try new things and a greater inclination to take risks and be challenging of peers.

And at the risk of reeling off lots of clichés, the possibilities were endless in our youth, and the world truly was our oyster. There was a go-getting invincible mentality with teenagers not being afraid of pushing boundaries and having conviction in our decisions.

I can appreciate that it wasn’t all smooth sailing and that long with desirable, comes the undesirable shrugging of the shoulders, rebellion and deviating from the rule book. But it’s that sense of adventure! That glint in your eye. With this in mind, we are aiming to make Impact’s next ten years even more exciting, more ambitious and more experimental!

As we enter the world of work we all tend to pack our youth away (or save it for the weekend!) but injecting a bit of ‘teenager’ into the workplace certainly has its benefits!

So go on, break away from the norm and bring out the teenager in you!

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The Key to Success? Just a Little bit of Flexibility!

2011-07-18T15:03:00.008+01:00

I must say this year has been an exceptional year for weddings with 3 of my closest friends getting hitched. With not only the wedding itself but pre wedding parties, post wedding parties and hen parties to organise, I’ve had itineraries coming out of my ears – and I’m not even the bride!

Managing caterers, DJs, timings, panicked brides and everything else that comes along with big fat Indian weddings, led me to have a moment half way through proceedings, about how resilient I had become throughout the day – nothing could faze me. I was so determined to make the day special for my friend that I had suddenly transformed into a jack of all trades – handyman, makeup artist and wedding planner all in one!

I’d developed a ‘bring it on, get on with it’ attitude and my resilience came from the knowledge that the success of big events like weddings comes down to flexibility. Despite the bride having formulated a day plan with military precision (with accompanying excel spreadsheets!) I still needed to have the skill to adapt the plan numerous times throughout the day as a consequence of unforeseen glitches!

Similarly, back in the workplace when we run workshops/training events/team days for organisations, we always factor in flexibility. It is not necessarily about having a plan A, B and C practiced and ready, but more about preparing yourself mentally with an approach.

Your approach and composure when faced with things going a bit (or a lot!) off track is often the defining moment in the success of your event. You can either adopt the ‘It’s all going wrong, I can’t do this!’ or the ‘Right! How can I make this work?!’ approach. It’s not easy dealing with setbacks but simply approaching an event with the view that you may need to reshuffle a few things once you get started, makes it easier if and when you do need to.

Remember, it’s not things going off plan that define whether you’re successful but more how you deal with things going off plan that define your success…!

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IT'S OUR 10th BIRTHDAY!!!

2011-07-05T17:05:00.005+01:00

Impact Innovation officially reached double figure territory this week and not shy of celebrating, we donned sunglasses, packed a mouth watering picnic (thanks Melissa!) and made our way to one of Britain’s ultimate castles – Warwick Castle.

Exploring the magnificent grounds and watching the grand ‘Flight of the Eagles’ whilst devouring sandwiches and strawberries, we relaxed, before making our way to learn some exciting new skills at ‘Warwick Knight School.’

With our very own Knight in shining armour to show us the way, the Impact team learnt and practised the skill of archery, mastered the crossbow (well attempted to anyway, if you count missing the target and shooting straight through the crossbar!) and were then given a lesson in sword fighting. Needless to say the boys took this lesson VERY seriously and the girls, well, we’re too polite for all of this fighting business but Sharron sure did give Simon a run for his money!

A quick outfit change into something altogether more glamorous and we made our way to our very own private dining experience to reflect on what has been a FANTASTIC 10 years. It’s hard to imagine that 10 years ago, Impact Innovation was nothing but a twinkle in the eyes of 3 friends. Lots of hard work, plenty of passion and 3 very supportive wives later, Impact Innovation was born.

Having just celebrated my first Impact birthday, I think it’s hard not to succeed when you are as enthusiastic as my colleagues are. I can vouch for a company that puts it’s people before anything else and the creation of a culture that is relaxed, genuinely fun to be a part of and based on strong foundations of trust, openness and of course friendship. Our celebratory day out is a true testament to this.

Right, we’re off to crack open another bottle of champagne and toast ourselves to another 10 glorious years!

Happy Birthday Impact Innovation!

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Will you be there to catch me...?!

2011-06-16T10:34:00.006+01:00

Not too long ago, I was a volunteer for a listening support telephone service. The service was non advisory and simply aimed to provide a comforting ear for anyone who wanted to talk. We dealt with issues from depression, bullying and anxiety right through to providing information on local activities, taxi numbers and where you can go for pizza at 5am – a 118 style number but with heart if you like!

The thing that sticks in mind from my time as a volunteer was the one phrase that was uttered time and time again, from my training right through to every meeting we had…

‘[the organisation] is behind you and will support you 100% in every decision you make on your call’
The reassurance this provided every time I was on a difficult call was fantastic and such a confidence booster. I felt so supported and part of the team. It was the only rule they had and I don’t think there was anything more they could have said to ease those nerves on the first few calls that I took.

The idea behind this was to trust the judgement of whoever was making the call and as team members to support this decision even if you would have done things differently. The crux of it being that you can still support someone even if their style is different to your own.
It got me thinking about trust in the workplace and how we all support each other. Whilst we all like to think that our colleagues feel supported by us, how often do we actually say it? The organisation I volunteered for couldn’t have been more explicit with signs and utterances of this at any given opportunity – I can only liken it to a pledge that was said at every meeting.

Support, coupled with trust from others, is a winning formula for confidence and moreover a catalyst for productivity. I wanted to take more calls and volunteer more time and expose myself to a wide range of calls as a result of this. It was because I knew I was in an environment that fostered learning through experience - something that Impact Innovation actively advocate and back up with support and coaching.

It doesn’t even require putting in place any new processes or anything on a grand scale – just a simple ‘I trust you can do this, and I will support you 100%’ to a team member. Try it and see the difference it makes, not only to someone’s day but also to someone’s approach and confidence in the workplace…!

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And I thought I didn’t need any Pub Landlord wisdom…!

2011-05-27T11:37:00.007+01:00

When an email appeared in my inbox inviting me to an evening of comedy with the Pub Landlord himself, Mr Al Murray, I was little dubious to say the least. The pint drinking comedian didn’t have huge appeal and I wasn’t sure whether his upfront style and picking on members of the audience was up my street.

Nonetheless, in the spirit of trying something different and not missing an opportunity to hang out with my fellow Impactors, we made our way to the Leamington Spa Centre on Monday night.

The theatre was packed to the rims and as Al Murray walked on to the stage with 2 pints in hand, stealing a third from an unlucky audience member (!), the crowd cheering, I wasn’t entirely sure what I’d let myself in for.

Al was straight in with the witty one liners, drawing on the entire audience for inspiration. His ability to go from one audience member to the next resulted in a very cleverly put together performance based on fast paced humour. The first half flew by and I found myself drawn in with anticipation to the rest of his act.

The entire evening was a laugh a minute and I hold my hands up to the fact that, yes, I was proved wrong. I’m not sure what I based my assumptions on, having never really seen any of his performances but I wasn’t expecting a lot. I came away from the evening, pleasantly surprised. In fact the entire evening, from my initial doubts, to his performance, to the feeling afterwards, was a real experience. For the first time, I actually didn’t mind holding my hands up and admitting I was wrong.

I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve not gone out to an event because ‘it’s not my thing’. Makes me wonder how many missed opportunities for a good time I’ve let slip. After some thought, I’ve concluded that we should all give something a go that we normally wouldn’t. It’s a win-win situation. If you’re proved wrong, then at least you’ve had a nice time and if you’re proved right, well, ‘I told you so’ isn’t such a bad feeling either...!

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A Talent For Making Eggs...!!!

2011-05-16T14:36:00.004+01:00

If I were to ask you how well you know your colleagues, what would you say? Would you be able to tell me something interesting about them?

Considering that most of us spend more of our waking day with our colleagues than our families, it’s surprising then, that in a recent survey 43% of employees didn’t know whether the person they sat next to in the office was single or married. Whilst it’s unrealistic to expect you to be able to list the birthdays of all your colleague’s children, sometimes knowing their hidden talents can be very useful.

At Impact, we have a game we call the Fried Egg. When we do workshops we like to play the Fried Egg with the team to see what they know about each other and to uncover the vast array of hidden talents in the room.

This simple game involves filling different parts of a fried egg (a drawn one, obviously!) with things the group all have in common and things that are unique to them as individuals.

It never fails to surprise me when the amazing unique talents are read out and even better are the surprised faces and gasps that go around the group as the different talents such as ‘I can speak 5 languages’, ‘I can take apart computers and put them back together again’ and ‘I know the basics of sign language’ are found to belong to in the people they sit next to in the office.

Workplace demands and pressures can sometimes lead us to become a bit blinkered in our working areas. We often get so consumed by daily tasks and getting things done that we forget the people we work with are in fact people!! The Fried Egg game isn’t just about talent spotting but more about getting to know the people we work with and strengthening the team through conversation.

Getting to know your colleagues, allows you to understand their motivations, their skills and their approach to work. So take some time to play the Fried Egg game and get to know your colleagues – you never know when their talents may just come in handy!

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And Here’s One We Made Earlier…!

2011-04-15T11:39:00.008+01:00

2 pieces of MDF Board, a tin of black paint, 5 giant plastic tubes and millions of coloured balls can only mean one thing… it’s Tube-o-metre time!!

Whilst also a reason for the fantastically talented Kim to show us her Blue Peter skills, the real reason why screwdrivers and paintbrushes were bought out in the Impact Office was to help one of our clients gather feedback from their team using the infamous 'Impact Innovation Tube-o-metre.'

We've found lengthy questionnaires, followed by an in depth analysis and presentation of results don’t work in the real world of busy organisations and ever pressing priorities. The tube-o-metre may sound rather complex but the concept is simple and the execution, depending on your DIY skills(!) is straightforward too (or you could just ask us nicely and we'll do it for you!)

In a prominent area, like a staff room or canteen, we place a question or statement above 5 giant, clear, plastic tubes, all of which have a response; agree, disagree, indifferent…you know the drill. We then place a large container of multicoloured balls next to the tubes and then sit back and watch as members of your team drop a ball into the relevant tube based on their response to the headline statement.

The reason why this technique works is that it is the most overt way of signalling to your team that not only do you want their views, but their views are important. It is also the most transparent way of showcasing your feedback results back to your team as they are available for viewing at all times of the day with the spread of results clearly visible - without the need of mind boggling pivot tables!

It’s important to remember that feedback isn’t really complete until you have used the results to say what actions are going to come about based on the feedback, implementing these actions and then gathering some more evaluative feedback – a continuous cycle of interactivity with your team.

And why stop at staff, give your customers the tube-o-metre experience too!

Feedback is such a valuable tool – the only real way we can be better. If you’d like to hear about other fun ways of gathering feedback or if you’d like to ask Impact to bring the tube-o-metre to you, then get in touch!

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Putting the Royal in to Royal Leamington Spa...

2011-03-30T10:59:00.006+01:00

Roads were closed, streets were cleaned and the school children were out in force. Flowers, flags and packed lunches lined the streets. It could only mean one thing…the Queen was coming!

There was a buzz in the Impact offices too as we basked in the excitement of a royal visit. Glad rags were donned, hair was brushed and lip gloss was applied before making the 5 minute walk to the centre of town towards the growing crowds.

In the end, we only managed a quick glimpse of her majesty’s pink coat before she disappeared into the building. However, it was the walking down together as a team, posing for photographs together and making conversation with the locals that was the real experience. We returned to the offices in high spirits and the 30 minutes away from the desk provided a great sense of freshness.

We always hear about the benefits of team away days, planned events out and team building sessions but I think these little events work just as well too. For us, having this shared experience really gave us something to connect over. It is about seeing colleagues outside of the work environment, taking time out to have some non work related experiences and building the foundations of good working relationships. Those who couldn’t make the royal visit didn’t miss out either as the visit made for a great ‘show and tell!’

There’s some science about shared experiences too! Psychologists say that humans have a natural, innate need to feel they belong to teams and groups and often it can be a really simple affiliation like a shared experience that can contribute to the buildings of strong team connections.

Make the most of local opportunities on your doorstep to team build. You’d be surprised at the other suggestions that have been heard around the Impact desks – feeding the ducks, having lunch in the park, visiting the free museum – it really doesn’t have to be expensive or time consuming and you can support the local community at the same time too.

We all know the big things work but give the small things a go too!

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Stuck in a (Chocolate) Rut....!

2011-03-18T15:02:00.005Z

This year, I’ve decided to give up chocolate for lent which is no mean feat for a self confessed chocoholic! I am determined to get through 40 days and 40 nights without chocolate cereal, chocolate biscuits, chocolate bars, hot chocolate, chocolate milkshakes, ice creams…you name it, not even a chocolate chip on a cookie is going to get pass my lips!

Day 10 and I’m going strong and to be absolutely honest, it is not as nearly as hard as I thought it would be (aside from the occasional bout of light headedness from the lack of sugar!) Whilst I would like to put this down to my immense will power, the truth is, I’ve suddenly discovered flavours and foods I never knew tasted so good – vanilla, lemon, orange, ginger even pistachio! It got me thinking what else I was missing and how my tried and tested method of always picking the chocolate option has stuck me in a chocolate rut.

Taking a break from the norm causes you to look at thing differently. I am now actively scouring bakeries/biscuits/dessert menus for the non chocolate alternatives and funnily enough I am finding it strangely refreshing.

We all have a routine that we partake in everyday. From the rituals we perform whilst getting dressed, the route we take into work, the programmes we watch and to the things we eat. It is incredibly easy to get stuck in a routine that is ‘easy’, ‘comfortable’, ‘quick’ or ‘convenient’ but the possibilities and opportunities outside the norm are not nearly as scary as they seem.

Sometimes even changing a small thing can help in temporarily escaping from the safety of routine. How about only responding to emails at 10 am and 3 pm for a couple of days or bringing in a differently themed lunch for a week or even sitting somewhere different in the office for a day – it’s up to you!

So go on and give it ago! Give something up, try something new or do something differently! You could be surprised at the results…

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Step in to Your Stretch Zone and Reap the Rewards!

2011-03-04T15:30:00.002Z

At Impact, we like to practice what we preach and if making things happen means stepping into your stretch zone then I well and truly jumped into mine at a concert for my favourite artist, Neyo!

Having seen his thrilling performance, I was on a high and really wanted to congratulate the man himself. Despite knowing what a long shot it was trying to sweet-talk myself backstage, I saw it as a stretch zone challenge – after all the worse that could happen would be the scary doormen saying no.

As it happens, the scary doormen did say no - ‘no pass, no entry, so go home love’ to be exact. However as chance would have it, Neyo’s tour manager overheard my conversation, admired my persistence and personally took me and my sister to go and meet the man himself. It just goes to show that sometimes the choices we make and the challenges we take really can open up doors (…quite literally!)

At Impact, we do the Comfort, Panic and Stretch Zone activity with our clients to help illustrate that whilst the benefits of being in your comfort zone are many (it’s safe, familiar, non threatening etc), it is more important to place yourself in your stretch zone – the zone where despite the few butterflies in your stomach, you are ready for a challenge and to try something new. We believe the stretch zone is the only place where you can learn and open yourself up to new opportunities. It is the happy medium between comfort and panic.

Alongside this, our choices are important. We choose whether we stick to what we know or whether we cross the boundary into something more challenging and more exciting.

So whether it is taking more risks, taking the plunge to start doing things differently, plucking up the courage to have the conversations you have been avoiding or whatever it may be, it is all about being brave because just like I found out, sometimes being brave (even a tiny bit!) can have extremely rewarding consequences!

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Smartphone Technology and Even Smarter Service!!

2011-02-23T10:34:00.007Z

I was reading an article just yesterday about a new app for your smart phone that when shopping in a certain department store you can now scan the barcode and receive instant product reviews directly to your phone. Not only that, but if they haven’t got the colour/size/model you want, it will find out where has and have it delivered to your door - What an amazing service!

It got me thinking that we are now in a world where we have the ability to demand everything at our fingertips. Everything has become instantaneous – there is even a name for this phenomenon, Nowism. However, rather than human-beings fulfilling this need, it is the magic of technology. It seems to me that more power is being given to the consumer - if you want to place an order, check its status, change it, cancel it or whatever, you can now do this without speaking to a single member of staff and often from the tap of the screen on your smartphone.

Technology, now more than ever, is helping to pre-empt our needs as a customer before we know them ourselves!

As businesses, there is now the challenge of trying to incorporate this technology into the everyday to really enhance the customer experience. It is about thinking how you can make this ‘now’ culture work for you. Is it about being able to book hospital appointments online through your phone or pre-ordering your meal via an app so that it is ready for you on arrival at the restaurant.

I guess the possibilities are endless. But it does make me think that in order to prevent losing out to the virtual world, organisations need to keep up with the online experience. They need to develop their members and their organisation so that they can offer the same level of convenience, the same level of expertise and the same level of fluidity of service in store to match the online experience.

For some, nothing can beat the experience you get when walking into a physical organisation. The bright lights, the colours, the buzz of people and the physical act of making a purchase. And for me, people are important! A smile and an opportunity for a little chat, alongside great use of technology, are the things that add real value to the customer experience.

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Start your day with a stand-up - well they do say a problem shared is a problem halved!

2011-02-08T11:54:00.003Z

I remember when I first arrived at Impact and was told that before we did anything that morning we were all going to do a ‘stand-up’. I was slightly alarmed to say the least at this impromptu request and hastily started thinking of my best joke. Needless to say it wasn’t that kind of stand-up!

This was an all together different type of activity where every morning the Impact team gather around and in turn say all the things that they will be focusing on that day. Whilst the concept is simple, the act itself is one of the highlights of my day. Not only is this an opportunity to reel off the list of things you have to do, it is an opportunity to say ‘It’s 9 am and I’m already having one of those days!’ or ‘I need some help today’ or even ‘Would anyone like to share my soup this lunchtime?’ – You get the drift!

It is a chance to check in with everyone, see how the team is feeling, identify what the priorities are and have a quick 10 minute catch up before the day begins - and obviously there is an Impact twist! We use our stand-ups to exercise our first bout of creativity (or even our third or fourth if you’re lucky). This involves anything that is a bit of fun to get everyone switched on for the rest of the day such as reciting the first song lyric that comes into our head, choosing an animal that best represents how we are feeling or drawing on the white board the first dream holiday destination that comes to mind.

In a time where workplaces are busier than ever and email is taking over communication channels, it is important to maintain that human touch. Think about the things you do (or would like to do) with your team. How can you utilise these opportunities to give your team a boost, see how they are doing and what they are focusing on?

Stand ups are a really easy way to use and capitalise on those first few minutes of the working day – you can lift the spirits of those that need it, give some feedback and really just touch base with everyone in the team. It’s a great way to encourage a really productive start to your day

Like we always say, it the little things that can make the big difference…!

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2011-01-13T16:46:00.011Z

So it seems my last blog has tapped into something that is very hot right now. My cries for us all to take a step back and be nice to each other in terms of service has been recognised!

Every magazine I pick up, every news site I go to and even on two of the mainstream TV channels (Mary Portas ‘Secret Shopper’ on Channel 4 and Michel Roux Jnr ‘Service’ on Channel 2), people are all talking about service! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12123463

The underlying story seems to be that us Brits just aren’t very good at the basic components of a great service experience. Whilst I don’t agree with this vast generalisation, I am all for this re-focus on the interaction that turns the act of purchase into something that could be fantastic for your business.

The whole point a great service experience is to allow the customer to build trust with the brand to enforce customer loyalty, to enforce repeat service, to get some free publicity – (because we all know how people talk) and who can forget that all important job satisfaction!

The spotlight is well and truly upon the service industry and rightly so. When everyone is feeling the pinch, service providers need to work hard and persuade us that their organisation is worth every precious penny of our hard earned cash. Above all we want to feel valued as customer! If we are choosing in the hardest of times to part our cash with you, we want to feel we are appreciated for doing so! – not too much to ask is it?

Visit us at www.impactinnovatio.co.uk

Beware of the scaremongers…I’m telling you 2011 will be fantastic!!

2011-01-07T13:02:00.004Z

So it’s the New Year and if you believe the media, rather than going off with a bang it seems the year has began more like the snap of a cheap cracker.
Everywhere you go it seems the message is the same – jobs are unsafe, fuel costs have risen, people are scared of spending, organisations are down on their profit and the list goes on…How are we supposed to feel positive when we are being told things are so bleak with all this scaremongering ?

Yesterday, we sat down with one of our clients and told them one of the secrets to a winning organisation is the ability of the organisation to look after everyone in the team, so that the team can then look after their customers, patients or whoever it may be. This couldn’t be truer right now.

This is the time for leaders to shine by providing reassurance where possible, looking after their employees, keeping morale high and providing that much needed boost. Looking after your employees means they are then free to look after your business. This means giving great service, bringing in revenue, and being more productive.

It’s about maintaining a great culture and providing some positivity in these times of uncertainty. What we all need is an injection of optimism, a ‘seize the day’ mentality and plenty of energy!

We all know the reality and yes it can be pretty grim but we are all in it together! The least we can do is support each other and look after each other, even if it is in the smallest ways – as we all know, a cup of tea can go a long way!!

If you're looking for some new ways to be inspired visit us at
www.impactinnovation.co.uk

Sticking to your guns Part 2 (because Conformity is a BIG topic!)

2010-11-24T12:20:00.013Z

Having talked about conformity last week, I realised that I forgot to say a very important thing: however much we may dislike the fact that we conform to majority views, we NEED conformity in our lives! Imagine how hard it would be to live in a world where everyone only ever wanted and got things their way. There would be very little harmony indeed.

In our everyday lives we conform all the time. Whether it is joining in with the applause after a performance, wearing something because it is ‘in fashion’ to agreeing that you will have a cup of tea ‘if everyone else is having one’ or going to the restaurant that the majority wants to go to even if it is not your first choice. Conformity makes things easier! It is an essential process which helps us to simplify the world around us.

The reality is that it is precisely activities like conforming that allow us to balance our wants. Otherwise you could say we would be more than a little over self-indulged! People like to conform in situations where they want to be seen as part of a group or feel like they belong to a group which isn’t always such a bad thing when you want a team culture.

The trick isn’t preventing conformity but spotting it in ourselves and others. It is about knowing when it is beneficial to conform and knowing when we need to stop and follow our instincts and encouraging others to do the same.

It doesn’t matter when or how you do it. You could be the one conforming or you could be the one that people are conforming to. Whenever these episodes occur, just recognise that they are happening and most of the time that is enough. It will allow you to make a better judgement about the decisions and responses of your team and take occurrences of conformity into account. In some situations this could even mean the difference between going with the majority or deciding to ask for people’s opinions in a different way.

Sometimes it also makes sense to ask people to elaborate or give some reasoning behind their responses as this can unveil the logic behind the responses and highlight potential conformity.

Visit our website: www.impactinnovation.co.uk

Why We Don't Always Stick To Our Guns...!

2010-11-16T09:49:00.012Z

We’ve all been there…had a gut instinct, heard the opinion of others and then against our better judgment, conformed to the majority. Don’t beat yourself up about it. There’s a perfectly good reason. In fact many would argue there’s a scientific reason why we just don’t follow our instincts.

There was once a rather intelligent psychologist called Solomon Asch. He designed a study which he believed would show that even the most strong minded of people are susceptible to a little influence. Asch drew on a board 3 straight vertical lines in varying lengths. He made it pretty obvious which line was the longest, the shortest and in the one in between. Next to the 3 lines, Asch drew another line which matched in length to one of the 3. He then gathered some of his friends together and asked them to state which 2 lines matched.

Asch had secretly briefed all his friends except one, to give the same incorrect answer on purpose. However when going around the group, even the friend that had not been briefed, whilst looking visibly perplexed, followed suit and gave the wrong answer.

Asch then repeated this experiment over the following days with as many different people as possible and in many different ways, always ensuring a majority were briefed before hand to give the incorrect answer. He found 37 out of 50 participants gave into social pressures and conformed! When asked after the experiment why they did this, Asch found the following:

1. People wanted to be liked by their group so they gave the wrong answer on purpose in order to fit in and avoid possible social exclusion.
2. People doubted their own intelligence even when the correct answer was obvious as they thought the group were better informed.
3. People feared they would face ridicule if they gave a minority answer even though it was obviously correct.

This experiment has taken many forms over the years, from getting participants to guess the amount of beans in a jar to solving more complex verbal reasoning tests however the findings are still shockingly the same - with a majority swaying the minority with a obvious incorrect answer. Watch out for it in your organisation, especially in meeting situations when you go around the table asking for people’s opinions as more often than not, what people are saying is not necessarily what they are thinking as there will always be an innate tendency to conform to the majority view.

Visit us at www.impactinnovation.co.uk

Hmm..So what are you really saying?

2010-11-10T13:01:00.004Z

Have you ever noticed how a supermarket always displays fruit, veg and flowers as the first thing when you walk through the doors - they are signalling to your unconscious mind that they are just like their products, fresh, natural and at their best. The majority of Hotel’s now provide tea and coffee (and sometimes even a Mars bar if you’re lucky) in their rooms signalling to you that they are ready for your arrival and anticipate your needs.

These unconscious signals have been the hot topic of conversation in the Impact offices for some time. It can be something as little as sticking pens to a stand in a bank (implying that we are all pen thieves!) to having a dozen security guards in a department store watching us when we’ve been browsing for too long (implying that we are all clothes thieves!).

It’s these acts of seemingly innocent behaviours that we observe that can evoke the most unusual or even uneasy reactions in us. Take Professor Milgram for example. He managed to convince members of the general public like you and I to administer high voltage electric shocks to participants in an experiment simply by wearing a white coat and telling them they ‘must obey and respect the requirements of the experiment.’ His explanation stated that our unconscious mind makes automatic associations between a white lab coat and a signal of authority and so the participants placed trust in him.

These associations happen so quickly that we don’t always have time to question them. It can be liking a person or place without really knowing why or feeling uneasy or uncomfortable in a situation without a tangible cause.

It’s the little things that can make people respond in a certain way. Think about not only what you say but about all those hidden messages embedded in your organisation that can and do effect your customer much more than you think.

Back to www.impactinnovation.co.uk

If there’s one thing our clients always say to us, it’s once they’ve been on an Impact Service Safari, there’s no turning off the service switch!

2010-11-02T12:12:00.028Z

Imagine if we told you to take on the role of a detective and gave you the challenge of visiting unsuspecting organisations, famed for their service, to see what really goes on - from what it looks like on the outside, to the smells and sounds inside. Imagine what this highly alert state of mind would cause you to notice! From the smile you receive when you enter the store, to being handed a basket and even the layout, no stone left unturned.

It is always surprising to see what our ‘detectives’ find out but one thing always remains the same. You see, for many people service is a passive experience. You only really notice it when you need help, seek advice, want a refund or at any point when you have to speak to someone. Our ‘detectives’ always conclude (and we at Impact couldn’t agree more) that the Service Experience is more than this. Customer Service forms one element of many in the overall Service Experience. Suddenly everything matters – how warm the store is, how far you have to walk to get to the till point, how easy/hard it is to get an assistant to help you, how clean the shelves are etc. Sometimes there doesn’t even have to be any interaction with a member of staff to have a good/bad Service Experience.

Our Service Safaris are also about recognising your needs as a customer and the little things that can enhance or shatter your Service Experience. The learning doesn’t stop there. We always ask our ‘detectives’ to name the things they can take back and apply to their organisation straight away and sometimes it’s as simple as ‘making sure my receptionist says hello and smiles to everyone who walks through the door.'

The really amusing thing is, when we speak to our clients weeks after their Service Safari, they always say the same thing - that they still have a little Service Experience detective that sits on their shoulder (totally impossible to shift!) wherever they are, always evaluating the Service Experience. Our Service Safari puts you as the most important person in the room because quite simply, you are!

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Feedback: We all have an opinion so come on and give it!!

2010-10-21T16:19:00.007+01:00

Buying a new mobile never seems like an easy experience. A dozen different tariffs, networks and phones to chose from not to mention upgrades, downgrades and cash back offers… however I was very pleasantly surprised with the ease and simplicity of my latest purchase. So pleased in fact that I was determined to give feedback on the young gentlemen who made the whole process seem effortless.

When I asked how I could give my feedback he replied ‘sure, just reply back to the Feedback text message that you will receive in a few days time’ I was slightly taken aback by this new method of voicing my feedback but thought it actually rather ingenious! What could be quicker and simpler!

True to his word, I received a series of 3 text messages each requiring a short yes/no or a/b/c type response. Quick, efficient and done in 2 minutes. Yes it was a little impersonal as I was unable to elaborate on my responses but nonetheless it captured the sentiment.

Feedback is a useful tool. It is the single most effective way in which we can not only improve the services we can offer, but also better ourselves. Long gone are the days when we had to write letters of our magic and tragic service experiences or wait for lengthy reports detailing our progress. These days it is all about convenience. How can we receive feedback and how can we give it with minimal disruption to our busy lives.

Be innovative! Make it part of your daily routine. We at Impact favour the ‘3 minute feedback’ tool, a quick on the floor process between two members of staff that can happen at any time during the day. And make it easy (and interesting) for your customers to give you feedback by using all the options available to you, whether it is online, face-face or as I experienced, by text.

Above all make your customers and your people feel like their opinion counts – value their feedback and make sure it is heard!

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Say hello (and not goodbye) to the weakest link in your Service Chain!

2010-10-14T14:21:00.009+01:00

Picture this…A typical Hotel, it’s 8.30am on Friday morning, peak time for hotel checkouts…

The Hotel Manager receives a phone call from the Finance Department at Head Office.
Finance Dept: ‘I really need that report by 10am so that I can collate the UK’s results, we’re waiting on you’Manager: ‘OK, OK, I hear you’

A member of staff from reception walks in…
Receptionist: ‘We are swamped at the front desk, have you got a minute to help?’Manager: ‘No. I’m much too busy’Receptionist: ‘Oh...’ and she returns to the desk.
The next customer arrives to check out. The unhappy receptionist processes them, pan-faced whilst thinking, ‘Why should I even bother to give great service?’ The customer leaves thinking, ‘She wasn’t very friendly. She didn’t seem to care’.

I think we’ve all been there. Either on the receiving end as the disgruntled customer or on the service end, having to juggle a million and one things, consequently neglecting the customer. Despite our best intentions it always ends in a lose – lose situation, unhappy staff and unhappy customers.

However, there’s a simple way to prevent problems like this. We at Impact Innovation call this the Service Chain.
‘You are the Weakest Link…Goodbye!’ (well, not quite!!)
The Service Chain is about bringing together all the different links in an organisation – from the big wigs to the frontline, from the IT experts to the maintenance masters and obviously the most important person, your service user, whether it is a customer, patient, or business. It demonstrates the importance and influence of every individual, every team and every department in delivering a fantastic final customer experience, from start to finish.

I’m sure you’ve seen it and experienced it, individual departments becoming isolated and operating ‘heads down’ on their part of the business only – each rating their importance as higher than the rest. Our Service Chain framework enables people to see the bigger picture and how their role links to that of others and how they each contribute to the delivery of the final product, service or offering.

By helping companies to focus on their flow of service, the Service Chain helps businesses to prioritise projects and to focus on the needs and expectations of their end service user. A true teamwork culture is created. Everyone has a better understanding of the needs, challenges and pressures of others, whether they are at the next desk or in another part of the business a hundred miles away.

By redirecting the attention of your staff to a universal goal, it allows them to rethink their priorities in a way that benefits the customer. It also improves relationships between staff as there is an understanding and recognition that everyone wants to achieve the same thing.

So moral of the story…Use the Service Chain and stop and think before you call! How will your actions affect the end user?
Nowadays in the hotel, the Finance Department ask themselves ‘what will the situation be like in the hotels right now?’ See! It’s the little things that make the big difference!

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‘The customer is always right…..’ Wrong!

2010-10-06T09:14:00.007+01:00

‘The customer is always right…..’ Wrong!

Interestingly the phrase ‘the customer is always right’ was first penned by the brains behind world famous department store, Selfridges - a Mr H. Gordon Selfridge. But I think Mr Selfridge had it wrong. It’s your staff, not your customers who are always right.

Organisations that recognise this are few and far between. Very often customers do not know what it is that they even want when they walk into a store. They often don’t even know what it is that you are offering.

'Showing customers the right way….not just telling them!'

I love to browse through products and information – it forms part of my shopping experience. I want my experience to be enjoyable and to make me feel good. I don’t want to find the experience hard. I don’t want to feel guilty about what I have bought or how I have bought it. I certainly don’t want to have lots of unanswered questions. I simply want to enjoy the experience of finding, purchasing and playing/wearing/using my brand new purchase!
I look to staff to guide me, excite me and inform me. I believe the advice they impart is the right advice and take their word, so in many cases, for me at least, the adviser/assistant is always ‘right’

Lots of companies think that they support their employees in giving this service to their customers. But they are wrong. Customers don’t prioritise the things that stores assume they do. For example, it is a common mistake in the retail industry to assume that shelves need to be packed high with products and choice and so staff are directed to constantly fill shelves, seemingly at the expense of all else. Customers, however, are placing increasing weight on the importance of personal service in their shopping experience. Retailers who do not realise this suffer as staff directed to fill up shelves are directed away from serving customers.
Additionally, it’s not enough to just have lots of staff milling aimlessly around the shop floor under the guise of service givers. Large numbers of staff can actively hinder the customer experience if they are not properly trained, enabled and knowledgeable of the company’s culture and values.

Organisations need people whose specific role is just to help the customers and it is the quality of staff, not the quantity which determines the success of the customer experience. Having lots of bad staff can damage the brand as whoever the customer talks to, becomes the embodiment of a business as a whole. Customers will judge the entire business on that one interaction. Therefore it is really very important that staff feel motivated, supported and happy in their role.

It can not be stressed how much truth there is in the concept that it is the staff that will reinforce repeat business within your organisation based on the service they deliver to customers.

If staff feel valued, they will bring value.

So is the customer always right? Well, only if the staff say so!

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Does what we wear in the workplace really matter? Does it have an affect on our attitude? The way we present ourselves… Even our productivity?

2010-09-29T15:00:00.005+01:00

During my short spell of unemployment, I found myself searching the internet for a new job. Scanning the jobsites, I came across a role for an Events Manager. Good location, decent salary and with a well established hotel chain - I thought I was on to a winner. That was until I scrolled down the page and saw one of the perks was ‘a branded uniform.’ This was enough for me to shut down the webpage and carry on my search elsewhere.

There’s no denying that what you wear has an impact on your behaviours as well as your reactions. Putting on a power suit or a uniform in the morning tells the world you are ready for business, you are a professional and above all you want to be taken seriously. It’s a cliché but we do work better and feel better when we look good. When we’ve put effort into our work appearance it allows us to radiate a type of confidence that allows others to place their confidence in us too.

‘Presenting to the Board in your weekend jeans just wouldn’t quite have the same effect…’

Psychologists call this creating a positive self image. We all have a sense of who we are, how we are feeling and what we are good at and what we are not so good at. The way we dress can enhance the way we feel about ourselves allowing us to view ourselves positively. Just think about the feeling you get when putting on a smart shirt or suit. Interestingly it also works the other way in that we actually respond better to people who are smartly dressed. We trust them more and are more likely to want to engage with them.

But whilst a suit or a uniform can evoke positive reactions it can just as well produce feelings of intimidation, detachment and inferiority for those around us- just think about how nervous we feel when being followed or being approached by a policeman.

So why did I not want to wear a uniform…? Well because we sort with our eyes and communicate with our clothes…
Psychologists frequently document the infamous Milgram Shock experiment where members of the general public inflicted what they were led to believe as extremely high voltage electric shocks to one another simply because the researcher was wearing a white laboratory coat. They associated his clothing with expertise and consequently followed his instruction against their own better judgement.

These associations we make when we see people in a suit, a uniform, or whatever they are wearing can be summarised by the fact that our brain needs to categorise information as quickly as possible and we use cues from the environment to do this. When we see someone in a uniform, out brain quickly uses past information to tell us what this person can do for us and what they represent. Similarly when someone puts on a uniform they feel a sense of belonging to a team, a way of defining who they are as well as recognising the role they play based on the uniform they wear.

If you look, you feel good and we all know happy workers are more productive workers…

A number of organisations including Impact Innovation now allow their employees to wear what they would like to work. Having a business casual or even just casual wear dress code comes from the idea that the more comfortable people are, the better they will work and the more creative they will be. This creative value is like gold dust to organisations who are able to really utilise the intelligence and skill base of their workforce.

However this has just opened up a minefield of questions for me. How casual is casual? Can I wear my rolling stones t-shirt? And how high is too high when it comes to heels…?

The answer lies in the way I want people to see me. What we wear has become an extension of our personalities and the assumptions we make about others are just as important as the assumptions we want people to make about us. So it is about remembering the quick snap judgements colleagues will make when they see me, based on what I wear, what I look like and how I behave.

Research even suggests that when casual, the smarter you are dressed, the more likely you will be chosen over less smarter individuals for a promotion. Well that’s that then! I guess that means I’ll be saving the rolling stones t-shirt and heels for the weekend!

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Back to Basics with a bit of Memorable Magic!

2010-09-28T00:17:00.000+01:00

I was in one of those popular coffee chains over the weekend – in between sale shopping and finding a quote for home insurance. Admittedly I was already a little bit stressed out by the time I was placing my drinks order. However when I asked for a hot chocolate, the barista gave me extra marshmallows and cream, and then held the door so I didn’t have to struggle with the drink and all my shopping bags. An act of service which managed to turn my attitude a complete 180 degrees by simply adding a bit of memorable magic to a basic experience

Basics and Magic…

The Basics of a customer experience can be described as the everyday basic requirements of a product or service which are expected as standard by everyone. Think about when you travel on a train. The absolute essential things which you expect as standard on that journey include expecting the train to be safe, on time and clean. You expect to get a seat. You expect the staff to be accessible and polite. Ask any 100 people, regardless of their age, gender or wealth, everyone expects these same Basic things. These are the Basics of train travel.

The Magic of a customer experience is what makes an experience something really extra special for you. Going back to train travel, it’s the things that make your journey enjoyable. It could be something physical, such as a reclining chair or a mobile-free carriage, or something emotional, like a pleasant conversation with a ticket collector, but the chances are that it is something subjective and personal to you like receiving extra marshmallows in your hot chocolate! The point here is that when you ask people what it is that makes a customer experience really special the lists they write will suddenly and dramatically diverge. What is Magic for me may not be Magic for you, but it will always be something additional to those Basics you expect.

Getting back to Basics and adding some Memorable Magic...
The Basics and Magic combine the products you offer and the service you provide to form the overall customer experience. If you ask people what made their customer experience amazing, memorable and enjoyable, they will always talk about the Magic. They’ll enthuse “staff remembered my name from last time”, “I got a free gift”, or “they carried my luggage upstairs”. Magic things have the power to delight in this way. But Magic things alone are not enough to ensure that the overall customer experience is viewed favourably and keeps people coming back… because if you ask people what made their customer experience bad, they will always talk about the Basics. They’ll grumble “my coffee was cold”, “the train was late” and “I couldn’t even find a parking space…” What becomes evident from this is that if you get the Basics wrong, the Magic becomes utterly irrelevant – the customer experience will always be a bad one. Even if you have something Magic in place, without the Basics as foundational support you are just wasting time, money and energy. This is because Basics focus on needs, Magic on desires. And needs must be satisfied primarily before people turn their attentions to additional desires.

So the fundamental ‘Impact Insight’ to remember for a great and exceptional customer experience is that both the Basics and the Magic count equally in making any experience wonderful and memorable.

Go ahead and make our day!

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Welcome to our new blog...

2010-09-24T15:31:00.000+01:00

It's a very rainy Friday afternoon so thought it was the perfect time to start our brand new blog. We'll be sharing our thoughts and insights around the world of innovation and creativity and hopefully sparking your interest, your conversation...and definitely your creativity.

In the meantime checkout our website: Impact Innovation

Check back soon...