Tag Archive for: globalization

Change in Business: Resistance is Futile

Change. It’s a part of nature, allowing for life to evolve. In essence, change is responsible for our survival. Change is what allows us to adapt to new scenarios, overcome obstacles, and grow as individuals and as societies. And as companies. In the same way that nature forces us to change as a species, change is business is not only inevitable, it’s vital to the survival of the business.

Last week, I talked about the risks involved with company pillarization, a symptom of growth without change. The article discussed how a mature company runs the risk of doing what it’s always done, because that’s the way it’s always done it. Think about those businesses who refused to embrace the Internet because they believed it was a passing fad and would never take off.

This week’s topic is specifically about the concept of change in business, and we’re starting with a favorite source, Vusi Thembekwayo.

“Change is nothing new.”

Change in business is a direct result of the changes happening in the world. Society changes depending on the development of technology.

“Technology is any time you are able to introduce a new variable to the same set of circumstances and create an exponential different result.”

The direct result from society’s technological development is change: change of needs, change of circumstances. And, as society’s needs change, businesses have to change along with it in order to keep up. Building a business to weather the future requires that business to understand the changes being made in the world around it – technological and social. This is especially important for larger and more mature businesses who have ‘settled into’ a way of life.

 

What Thembekwayo is suggesting – and indeed saying outright – is that change is disruptive, but it isn’t anything we haven’t faced before. The difference being, of course, that the more humanity advances our knowledge, the faster changes are forced upon us. Take social media, for example, businesses strive to stay ahead of the growing technology – marketing departments are told that they ‘should really look into that new platform that’s coming out’. Apparently, it’s no longer good enough to just be on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram – oh and Twitter, but that’s been ‘dying’ for a while now, according the experts.

A business isn’t an individual, who can take up Snapchat or Hyper (set to ‘explode’ in 2016 according to Forbes) on a whim and in the blink of an eye. The very nature of a business is that it makes choices a lot slower than a single person, no matter how motivated and enthusiastic the individuals powering that company. Change in business, like change in technology, is never perfect and often faces resistance.

And yet, change is inevitable because humanity is changing rapidly.

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Company Pillarization & Disconnection: Why Change and Adaptation are Vital to Company Growth

As companies grow, they change. It seems obvious, but it’s impossible for any business to stay in that ‘start up’ phase forever. As a company matures, its very nature changes, and often this can cause company pillarization. Originally a cultural and religious concept – based on the Dutch word ‘verzuiling’ – pillarization talks about systematic segregation and alienation of elements of society.

In history, this is best illustrated by the separation between Catholic and Protestant communities in parts of Western Europe after the reformation. Protestant families would only buy from Protestant grocers, while Catholics would only go to Catholic vendors. Society was split across its religious lines in such a way that that was as little interaction as possible between the two elements even though those elements were part of the same, larger community.

We start to see company pillarization in more mature companies. These businesses have developed strategies and policies in their start-up phase, or they have set down strategies and plans afterward. The result is that many of these businesses rely on strategies designed years earlier, based on scenarios and circumstances of that time. One of the problems that can arise from this is company pillarization.

Company Pillarization: The 3 Big Areas of Concern

Communication

One of the first things to break down in a company pillarization scenario. Pillarization creates a disconnect between departments, allowing them to grow distant and focus only on their own tasks. As a result, inter-company, cross-departmental communication is difficult and occasionally non-existent.

Responsibility

A direct result of the breakdowns in communication, keeping track of responsibilities becomes difficult. When company pillarization occurs, departments – and their individual team members – become entrenched in only their own tasks. Even as disconnection begins to occur in communications, a disconnection happens between the tasks and the bigger picture. That leads to a disinterest in taking responsibility or ownership over cross-departmental projects.

Engagement

When a department is disconnected from the company as a whole, the members of that department suffer from the same disassociation. People get drawn in, choosing ‘sides’ with their own department rather than with the company as a whole. This, combined with the breakdown in communications and growing sense of lack of responsibility leads to a downturn in employee engagement. Employees no longer feel connected with anything but their work, or, at best, their department and this impacts the company as a whole.

Overcoming Company Pillarization

Overcoming divisions in any organization can be difficult. Particularly if these divisions have grown subtly over time. The first step is always to recognize that there is a problem. This is something that companies can find difficult to admit; it may be construed as a failure in the eyes of stakeholders, but without this admission there can be no resolution.

In the end what it all comes down to is the disconnection between people, departments and the company as a whole. This can be the result of a number of things such as the company has outgrown its management, the company’s culture isn’t moving with the direction of its employees (in terms of socialisation opportunities), and possibly just the general style of work – perhaps the products that the company is now creating aren’t as interesting as they were before. The disconnection between the company and its individuals is the end result of all these issues.

In order to overcome company pillarization, then, companies have to reconnect with their employees and vice versa. It’s a two-way street.

One of the factors that can help address the issue of communication, for starters, is to take a look at the physical distances between departments. If they are housed on different floors or even different buildings, then face-to-face communication becomes less likely. While not always possible, bringing departments closer together has the potential to help resolve this issue.

Other tried and true ideas is to sit down and take a serious look at current HR Policies: do they reflect the current needs of employees or have things changed? If the company no longer has the best interests of its employees at heart then this is a good place to start looking. Similarly, it’s a good chance to give employees opportunities the chance to express themselves. This will generate information to help bridge the gaps on an individual level and will hopefully improve on issues of engagement and responsibility.

Onwards and Upwards

Many people compare businesses to sharks: when they’re not moving forward they’re sinking. This may not apply to every business on the face of the planet, but it’s often used as a generalization. It applies here too: if a business isn’t addressing issues that are causing breakdowns in responsibility, engagement and communication then what’s the point? It’s fair to say that while not all companies can be compared with sharks, it’s perfectly reasonable to argue any company not addressing its internal issues is heading for the  bottom of the ocean.

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Improving Global Customer Service: The Long-term Mission

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At AQ, we’re all about improving global customer service. Our mission statement says it all: “To let people experience great service.” But what do we mean when we say that? Today, I want to break the ice, crack the fourth wall, and tell you a little about that.

When AQ was founded in 2001 by Jan-Willem Smulders and Thomas Kascha, the theme was simple: advance quality service. The goal was to help businesses improve their customers’ experiences by improving the level of service they were experiencing. Over time, AQ focused on mystery shopping. Why? Improving global customer service requires both qualitative and quantitative data. More importantly, however, is that to truly understand what goes on in a business, the human element has to be measured. That’s not something that’s done with other market research tools like surveys or external focus groups for example. By specializing in mystery shopping AQ can pinpoint the cause of a drop in sales with quality accuracy.

Taking this specialization, we partner with our clients to help them develop a better understanding of their own employees and their own systems. Sometimes all it takes to boost sales and engagement is a little bit of insight from a reliable source. AQ strives to be that reliable source. We put an emphasis on quality assurance precisely for that purpose, insights are all well and good but if the foundational data isn’t of the highest quality no one benefits.

Ultimately, our quest is to make sure that every industry around the world has the highest level of customer service possible. The trouble is, of course, that customer expectations keep evolving. Our work will never be done, but it is our hope to keep adapting to these changing concepts and demands and guide our clients along the way. We believe in continuous improvement, doing the right thing by everyone, and, above all, that everyone deserves to experience great service.

 

 

 

 

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Bridging the Generational Gap with PokémonGo

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Different generations do things differently and bridging the generational gap can be a trick in itself. 2016 has experienced some major changes in how the different generations view each other. The year’s only half done.

We’ve witnessed a massive conflict generations in the United Kingdom with Brexit, in which the divide is pretty clearly split across the generational divide. The new (and successful!) Star Wars has allowed grandparents, parents and children to talk to each other about something other than changes in fashion, the price of bread, and ‘that horrible stuff you call music’.

And now there’s PokémonGo…

What is PokemonGo?

If you were a child anywhere after 1996, you’d have grown up with pokémon. There were cards to collect, video games to play, television series to keep track of, movies to watch and millions of dollars worth of merchandising that you just had to have. I myself still have the Pikachu stuffed animal that I insisted on having, and I’m pretty sure many of us still have the card decks we studiously collected, traded and won. Pokémon have been a Millennial obsession.

We now have competition for that obsession:

“Omg! The sweetest thing just happened! I was sitting here watching Netflix when all of a sudden I hear two cute little knocks at my front door. A boy and a girl, like 12. I asked what’s up? They said, “excuse me, sir, but there’s a pikachu in your backyard and my sister and I were wondering if we can go in and catch it?” I look down at these two young Pokémon trainers and see myself in the little boy. So I slam the door and run to the back yard. GUESS WHO HAS A PIKACHU…” [Source]

Which raises the question for the uninitiated: what in the name of all that is holy is PokémonGo?

First, we have to assume by this stage that you’ve been hiding under a rock the entire month, but we’ll forgive you and explain. Basically, it’s the latest outbreak of what’s been fondly referred to as ‘pokémania’ [source]. A free Android and iOS based game that involves using your phone to find and ‘catch’ pokémon in the real world.

Creating a Product that Closes the Generational Gap

When a new product or service is launched, marketers tend to target a specific demographic. We pick who, what, where, and why – it’s easier to track the impact this way and we can better guarantee positive outcomes.

Say we’re in charge of creating an advertisement campaign for the latest smartphone. We’ll be targeting the younger Millennial generation and Gen Zs, people who are ‘good’ at adapting to new technology and are eager to upgrade at every given opportunity. We might segment even further, maybe we’ll aim at the male population, specifically in western Europe and North America rather than Asia and Oceania. Every segmentation made will determine the style and design of the advertisement: what colours we’ll use, whether we use a voice-over – what type of voice we’ll use! – what message we really want to send. Why do we want you to buy this phone? Because it’s cool, and it’ll help you win the attention of gorgeous women like Scarlett Johansson.

How we market well we market the product will determine how many sales we make and that means knowing our target audience.

Now imagine we’re twenty years into the future when Gen Z is in full-swing and are baffled by the super-virtual-worlds of the Alpha Generation (assuming that’s what we’re going to call them! [source]). We come up with a brand new smartphone-equivalent that we Millennials find just as interesting and easy to get into as our Alpha grandkids.

Congratulations, we’ve successfully closed the generational gap and created an omni-generation product that sells to pretty much everyone on the planet. Nice work. Bonuses all around.

Entertainment values aside: This is what Star Wars: The Force Awakens accomplished. This is why everyone is talking about and playing PokémonGo.

What’s the big fuss?

The generational gap is often ignored because it can be incredibly difficult to bridge them. Why would you waste time, effort and money attempting to market to the entire world when you can narrow your target and generate better ROIs?

From a sales and marketing perspective both Star Wars and PokémonGo are powerful examples of the possibilities that are out there. Innovative ideas sprung out of ideas from the older generation can give rise to powerful opportunities to create better communication across the generational gap.

For those of us in business, understanding these innovations and really learning what makes them tick can give us deeper insight into our marketing and sales strategies.

And it never hurts to have a little fun on the side. Just remember, work first, pokémon later.

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How the Evolution of Multicultural Workplaces has Changed Our View of Business

Multicultural workplaces have become a reality. The nature of the world is that cross-cultural barriers are coming down, allowing for multiculturalism to establish itself in the workplace. Several weeks ago, we discussed the impact of globalization on businesses and their customer service experiences, today we’re going to touch on how globalization has created multicultural workplaces and what that means with regards to employee and customer relations!

The Evolution of Multicultural Workplaces

Many companies now boast a global presence. This has lead to a rise in multicultural workplaces. In an age where most of us are celebrating diversity and cross-cultural communications, this is the face of the future. Just as it made sense for Victorian explorers to hire local guides to lead them through the heart of Africa, it made sense for businesses venturing out of their comfort zones to employee people with local knowledge.

That need has evolved.

With the growth of regional and global markets, diversification of industries and the growing availability of education, companies are able to hire people based on their merits rather than their place of birth.

There are still hurdles to be crossed, racial issues to be fought, and it’s certainly not paradise on earth yet. All judgments aside, humanity has come a long way from those Victorian explorers.

Go back thirty years – chances were most Western companies would send out ‘Season’s’ Greetings’ cards to their clients and employees around Christmas and New Year’s. Meanwhile Asian companies would do the same for Chinese New Year and Thaipusam, while the Middle East would celebrate Eid al-fitr. Different regions of the world had different festivities.

Now, with the growing diversity and awareness of that diversity, many companies realize they can’t just hold to ‘their’ primary holiday season.

The Internet’s Role in Multiculturalism

This is subject is an entire thesis all by itself. We’ve all accepted that the Internet has been a vital ingredient of globalization. It has brought down borders, opened communication lines, and connected people, regions, and countries – it’s also started social movements, and not always in a good way, but we’re not here to judge today.

In short, the Internet has given the world access to itself. People now have access to each other’s cultures in a way they never did before. It’s not just about the greater awareness of different cultures, but also because, thanks to the Internet, companies don’t necessarily only deal with clients, consultants, or other companies within the borders of their nation/region.

Similarly, customers on the hunt for something specific are no longer bound to use the business down the street. Ecommerce has seen to that – can’t find something? Try eBay.

It’s Not just about Employees

The increase of multicultural workplaces isn’t just about the people who work there. Take our office, for example – we’ve got more than 15 different nationalities across our 8 offices. That doesn’t just mean a diverse cultural awareness, but more than that, it grants us – and our clients and customers! – access to different languages as well! Across our offices, we have roughly 20 languages in house. This helps us overcome language barriers that previously would have made business difficult.

Clients and customers should be able to communicate with a company on their terms, in a way that avoids misunderstandings and miscommunication. This isn’t just about language. Multicultural workplaces have an increased awareness of different customs and traditions. In Thailand, public contact is discouraged, in the Middle East offering your left hand is offensive, while in many parts of South-East Asia pointing with your index finger is the equivalent of ‘giving someone the finger’ in North America. These little bits of knowledge add up to an ability to respect different cultures which put clients and customers at ease.

The Impact of Multiculturalism on Companies

This continued evolution has allowed for multicultural workplaces to spring up all around the world, in all manner of companies, in all manner of countries. Even small businesses operating solely within borders are becoming more and more exposed to the wide world and the many cultures in it.

Where globalization has driven companies to become more competitive, the growth of multicultural workplaces has allowed for an improvement in both customer and employee experiences the world over.

Yes, there are still issues on the table: not all workplaces are as welcoming of multiculturalism as others; but the undeniable fact is that the world is moving towards global multiculturalism, and it is likely that those companies who are going to survive are the ones who can best evolve along with these social transformations.

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