Staring into the long weekend at the end of a long week we are all hoping the weather improves. The start of this year has been a long haul and judging by the volume of traffic on the road, everyone seems to be wanting to get away for the weekend.

I have been out, but my sojourn to the office last week, had the odd effect of making this week, by comparison, feel somewhat flat. It was been busy, but once again there was less variety in the day. It was all a bit like returning from holiday, to face an overflowing inbox and a stack of things to do by Tuesday…. very productive mind you and a few good discussions to keep things interesting.

Omni-Channel

This week seemed to be all about exploring the omni-channel experience. Digital processes have become increasingly important in the last few months; self serve portals and webchat being good examples. Many of which have been overlayed on existing processes, now needing to be integrated and blended with existing voice.

An automation opportunity? maybe. Driven by customers habits? almost certainly, but there is another aspect to this too which you notice when meeting people in person – just how much more information is available, how the volume and quality of information changes by the communication channel. For example.

• Email – largely one way, similar to a letter, relatively cheap
• 2 way chat – a little more interactive, you pick up more nuance, but still tends to be short-form communication. Little more expensive
• Voice calls– Interactive, extra information from not just what is said, but how it is said. Extra context and extra cost
• Video calls – Facial expressions now in the mix. It is not just how it is said but now what did it look like too. The conversation still constrained like a call.
• Live in-person – A full flood of information, mixing in contextual environmental information, and micro-expressions that we all see and use, even when we are not aware of it. Not constrained and the most expensive.

So as much as we think about channels in terms of cost, we also need to think in terms of information needing to be gathered. Ie not using high-cost channels for transactional interactions, but absolutely using them for those where we need to gather more complex information. And, each of these interactions can be interwoven, automating transactional elements before bringing in human interaction when needed. The true omnichannel experience I suppose. (There is much more to come on this soon in a couple of future video interviews).

FCA guidance on outcomes

The other discussion this week was around the new FCA proposal on creating stronger protection for consumers in financial markets.

Although fair treatment of customers is already top of mind with 6 key outcomes, this ups the ante further, proposing a new overriding principle for treatment of consumers… either

Option 1: ‘A firm must act to deliver good outcomes for retail clients’, or
Option 2: ‘A firm must act in the best interests of retail clients’

FCA – A new Consumer Duty

Feedback is needed by 31 July 2021. With COVID and pandemic fallout also hanging over us, expect more from this and quickly I would think.

Other key stories

• One in ten hotels in London and South East could close – can much of the boom in hotels be linked to contractors and business travel
• Tenants in England fear losing homes after eviction ban ends, says Shelter

Have a good weekend everyone.

This week was the week I had my first in-person meeting. It was a prospect that generated both excited anticipation and a feeling of slight nervousness. It had been 15months after all.

The day arrived and a few things were indeed a surprise. In particular it was how quickly I fell into the same routine from before.

Signs of life

Yes, we were wearing masks, but if you got distracted it was all too easy to forget, almost as if the last year had not happened…. if this is the case more generally, once the brakes come off it is likely many things will bounce back quite quickly I think.

Yet the signs were still there, yes lots of traffic on the road, but few people on buses, in the streets or in the office. Regular retail chains open, with the omnipresence of plexiglass for employee safety, but many smaller restaurants, including a couple of good ones I used to frequent, closed and by the look inside not coming back…. there will still be impacts, especially in some specific sectors.

Shared experiences

In the office, there was clearly comradery amongst those that have been coming in over tall his time. Adversity often results in bringing people closer together and it seemed particularly the case for those in during the first lockdown. Everyone talked of it. It was clearly a strange time when nothing moved and they were all working in an empty city, quite different from later lockdowns… undoubtedly a shared experience and one we will all remember in our own ways too.

Technicolour

Workwise, there is no doubt that in-person meetings do have their benefits. It is an avalanche of non-verbal information, that in our process-driven world we can forget about. As human beings, it is something we have been built to process. In some ways it was like moving from black and white to full colour again.

However, as great as this was, a live in-person conversation obviously commands all your attention and takes time.

Nothing wrong with this, but there was less efficiency moving between meetings and a greater likelihood the meeting would be longer and/or overrun. We have got used to 30min focused meetings… they are going to be difficult to sustain, and I think will likely disappear again as we move to in-person again… it is just too hard but it will impact productivity.

Time for lunch

So I was thinking about the best analogy to help illustrate this whole experience. As usual, it seemed to gravitate towards food… but, returning to the office was like lunch.

Remote working is like having lunch at home. It is quick, easy, efficient, you can grab something quick (a cuppa soup or from the fridge), and move on with your day. The choice is more limited, but it’s cost-effective and can control what you consume. You can even eat at your desk to multitask and get some emails done while you ‘take a break’.

Working back in the office is like going to a restaurant. A pleasant environment, social, with great smells and sounds of sizzling food. The choice is wide, sometimes overwhelming and it can be hard to choose, falling into the same routines with the same people – Chicken Jalfrezi, please!. Dishes are tasty, but not necessarily healthy. It is a great experience, but not necessarily efficient nor less cost-effective, especially every day.

It is not one size fits all

Just like eating out, meeting in person, in the office is a rich, full colour rewarding experience. It is however less efficient, time-consuming, and more expensive than doing the same, for some tasks, remotely.

In some situations, it does have a unique advantage. Building relationships, understanding each other as people, is information that is harder to glean in other ways. But, the value of this reduces over time and if you need to be transactional, just get stuff done it soaks up the time you need elsewhere.

And herein lies our choice…. it is probably no one or the other, but a blend, based on the intended purpose and the situation itself. It will evolve… but likely mainly remote for efficiency, but with some special days in the office when needed…. it is not one size fits all, but will depend on the role, job, situation, and need… on-site, in the office team building, here we come!

All in all, an interesting week.

A couple of other stories this week too

• North of England accounts for half of pandemic property repossessions
• Bank of England will not hit panic button yet over rising inflation