Why I went back to Blackberry…

Posted on June 2, 2016 by Chris Warburton

blackberries-1377070_1280I have a new iPhone for work.

It is great, there is an app for everything; ordering a taxi, checking traffic, the tides in Fiji or looking to see if that rumble was indeed an earthquake or just I missed lunch.

An app for everything…..

It was the same on my old android too. These smart phones have very quickly become the Swiss army knife of the 21st century, everything in one and everyone has one.

Why then did I make the decision, on replacing my android phone, to eschew an upgrade and go back to a Blackberry?

… back to basics can be good

No, it was not because it was once a proud Canadian icon of technology, nor nostalgia for a bygone era, (remember the BlackBerry 5810 anyone?)…. it was for functionality.  It is just really good at what it does.

It was the same reason I changed my watch.

I had one of the early smart watches, MSN Direct.  News, texts and weather all on my wrist.

However just like the smart phone I was a slave to my charger… never more than 12hours away from the electrical socket… It drove me crazy.

‘Downgrading’…

So I ‘downgraded’, switched to an automatic mechanical watch. It never needs winding, there is no battery to charge, or to change.

It simply tells the time and does it well…. what is there not to like, I have not looked back.

… seems to work

So now it is now the same for my smart phone. The Blackberry is my communicator; calls, emails, messaging and diary, that’s it.

With the keyboard, it is great… who would write long form notes standing on the train with an iPhone…!   and I don’t need to recharge all the time.

Of course I do miss some of my apps. Banking, booking hotels, trains, reading news and entertainment….. but isn’t this what the tablet is for?

Simplify… do a little less, but do it a little better.

Maybe this is just reverse snobbery or maybe advancing middle age… will I next have a desire for an allotment and start getting slippers for Christmas I wonder…  however sometimes it feels like we need to simplify, have things that do less, but do them well.

A pen needs to be a pen, paper paper, phone a communicator and the tablet is now the computer.

So far I am happy with the choice, just not sure how long it will last….

Still, off to snapchat about my problems with carrot fly (…in my slippers of course)!

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The UK – EU referendum: An analogy

Posted on June 1, 2016 by Chris Warburton

landscape-644323_1920I don’t normally stray into politics, however there is an excellent article by Alicia Ngomo on FinExtra, who relates some of what she has been hearing regarding the EU referendum.

I have been hearing something similar and agree it is concerning.

It appears decisions being made based on impressions, not facts, with real experts not being listened too and armchair experts given equal airtime. No wonder people are confused.

This is an important decision and important we all listen. Expert opinions matter and we need to fully understand the potential consequence of such a decision. I feel this not the case at the moment.

The story below explains why…

    One morning you are on an airplane. Onboard is an experienced crew. They are all highly trained, have been doing this for years and it is relatively routine.

    Then mid flight some passengers decide they don’t like how the plane is being flown. They are frustrated about being told what to do; when to put away their bags, fasten their seat belts, even when they can go to the toilet….. the route being flown is just too slow.

    They feel there a better way, less rules, less regulations, quicker and at a lower altitude. It should be warmer and everyone agrees they like being warmer.

    The pilots quickly advise there is a reason for the rules and there is bad weather using the alternative route. At a lower altitude their is also the danger of mountains.

    However there is disagreement and a large number of passengers, led by a couple that have had experience flying kites, demand a vote. “We could even open the windows and doors if we fly lower” they explain… cheers erupt.

    So a vote is held. It is a binding decision.

    Strangely some of the passengers don’t seem to be bothered by this. “It’s okay” they say, “the drinks trolley came before, it will come again and I will have another glass of wine, who cares…”

    The rest of the passengers, together with the entire cabin crew, go white with fear. “This is crazy” they explain, “I have flown for years, it is not a good idea”.

    The vote goes through and a majority, 45%, vote for the change. So the autopilot is set, the plane turns, sets a new route and descends into the cloud.

    The storm is quite unlike anything any the passengers have felt before. This is the reason storms are normally best avoided, they now realise… together with the importance of wearing your seatbelt.

    By now, the passengers are now all screaming “change direction”, but it is now too late to return to the old route.

    Despite the heroic efforts of the crew, the plane is now too low….. it is unfortunately not what anyone really wanted that morning.

The moral of the story: Sometimes it is worth listening to trained experts, facts, and fully understand consequences of a decision. Yes there may be niggling annoyances, but it is often less risky to stay the course and make smaller changes more gradually.

9/10 experts say we should remain in the EU.

[Disclosure: For me, the consequences of leaving outweigh any benefits and we should definitely stay in].

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Digital and Customer Centric: The Future of Collections?

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Chris Warburton

IMG_20160511_233601The other week I was lucky enough to be able to attend my first roundtable discussion with Arum at the Caledonian Club in London.  These are held with key individuals across the industry to discuss key trends; with this time being a discussion on “the Future of Collections”.  Great to be part of this and even got to write a piece for the website.

Welcome to the Caledonian Club

The Caledonian club was indeed very grand.  Advertised as a piece of Scotland in London, you do indeed walk in to see stag heads, stone staircases and portraits on the wall.  It certainly transported me to some of my visits with the National Trust for Scotland.  (Although in Scotland I seem to remember consuming more tea and toasted sandwiches than Haggis and Neeps, but can’t complain, it was extremely pleasant).

“The Future of Collections”

The work conversation was engaging and I was struck by a couple of things.

  1. The extent of digital adoption, across all age groups
  2. The normalisation of customer centric collections

Digital adoption:  Beyond the tipping point

We have all got used to interacting online, applying for products, purchasing items, checking balances and statements.  From the conversation it really felt we are now reaching the critical mass of users, where you have to be online and full functionality is expected.  The feedback is now being heard… “many individuals prefer to interact via an app than by person”.

We all have experience of this, with many relatives, who never used computers, now becoming technology adopters.  The fear of computers has largely disappeared, everyone is and needs to be online.  This includes the collections process too and the pressure is on.

Customer centric:  Have we forgotten how to collect?

It has been interesting the last few years in the UK, to watch the massive change in the collections industry that has taken place.  Since 2008, it has turned itself inside out.  It is now much more customer centric and focused in most industries.

This is clearly seen in some of the recent figures from the Citizens Advice Bureau.

Overall the number of problem debt enquiries to CAB is down, and the comment was made that this has been largely achieved without a massive increase in impairment/bad debt charge.  The customer service element is a focus today, and is clearly becoming ever more important.

This is undoubtedly a good thing, but what about if there is another downturn?  Has the financial services industry forgotten how to collect or has the paradigm shifted so much that it no longer matters?

My personal view is the industry has shifted, and been shifted, to having more grown up conversations with consumers.  It has always been about solving issues and if there is a downturn this experience it will still be useful.  The industry hasn’t forgotten how to collect.

However there has been a more fundamental structural change.

The days when a collections process could be relied upon, by force of action, to manually control and manage impairment/bad debt is most likely over…..  extra turns on the dialer are a thing of the past… the control points are now much more subtle.

A new challenge

This presents a challenge going forward.  Ensuring a robust linkage between the front and back end of the customer lifecycle is going to be critical.

Once one of the collections team speaks with a customer, I am confident they still have the tools and sensitivity to handle a situation well.  However what is now crucial is the intelligence from these interactions is gathered and flows upstream, in real time.  Pricing and decisioning criteria are going to have to be adjusted much more dynamically to remain in control.

Collections teams are still a big part of the process, handling what is often a sensitive situation.  The need for them and their data to now become ever more embedded in the decision making process.  It is going to be critical to profitability, especially in a changing economy.

Using an analogy…. “we are now flying a B747/A380, times have changed and the old days of flying by the seat of your pants could get you in a lot of trouble”…

All in all, a thought provoking and interesting evening.  Certainly with useful insight into some of the current changes, thinking and future in the UK.

You can read the rest of my report here.

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