Jabian Journal - Spring 2019

Your Customer [Experience] Is the Star P. 30

We Cover Five Topics That Revolve Around Customer Experience

P. 10

Can Robots Do It Better?

P. 18

The Value of Diversity and Inclusion

P. 56

IoT Devices and Security

SPRING 2019

No business can survive without customers.

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THE JABIAN JOURNAL

No business can survive without customers. And the old saying “It’s more expensive to find a customer than to keep one” is truer now more than ever. Yet many organizations fail to invest in understanding what makes their customers want to remain customers.

Because many companies rely on technology to enable large parts of their business, speed of competition has increased, and consumers have choices of where to spend their money.

Chris Reinking

The feature section of this issue of The Jabian Journal aims to get at the heart of groundbreaking customer experience best practices and offers ideas for companies looking to tap into the power of customer loyalty. The authors explain how to build bridges between business units with the customer as the common focus and what really matters when it comes to the voice of the customer.

We also look at security from two different perspectives. In “IoT Devices and Security,” the author explains how to protect yourself from the growing security threats of connected

Brian Betkowski

devices when bad actors hack into them. And in “The Cost of Uncertainty,” the fourth in a nine-part series exploring the Jabian Engagement Framework, the authors explain how security is essential to employee engagement.

In our feature interview, Lars Minns of Mercedes-Benz talks about bringing the company to Atlanta and the challenges of hiring so many new people into an iconic company culture.

He also shares some insight on how focusing on increasing employee value is driving the future of employee engagement. In The Final Word, Mick Larkins of Hi-Rez Studios gives

Nigel Zelcer

us a glimpse into the high-tech world of today’s leading video games and how his company is pioneering the future of eSports.

From customer experience to security, to GDRP and robots, this issue of The Jabian Journal covers a lot of ground. As we celebrate opening our fourth office this year, located in Chicago, we look back at the ground we’ve been able to cover. We’re grateful for the clients who put their trust in us to help them address their most complex challenges—and that is an experience we’ll never take for granted.

We hope you enjoy this issue of The Jabian Journal, and we welcome your feedback.

Thanks, Chris, Brian, and Nigel—The Jabian Founding Partners

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CONTENTS

3 Welcome

8 Contributors

28 Jabian Conversations Lars Minns Head of HR, U.S., Mexico, and Canada

68 The Final Word Mick Larkins Technical Director Hi-Rez Studios

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5/5

C U S T O M E R E X PE RIE N C E F E AT U RE S E C T I O N

P. 4 8

P. 46

P. 42

Managing the Paradox

P. 38

P. 30

Are You My Customer?

Targeting Customer Experience for Unprecedented Growth

Five CX Lessons from the Five Stripes

Creating Products with Customers in Mind

Your Customer [Experience] Is the Star

F E AT U R E S E C T I O N

BY R O B E R T A M B E R G , A M B E R B A I R D , C L AY A . H O L M E S , V I C T O R I A I N M A N , M I C H A E L O J O, P H. D . , LY D I A S LO T T E N , A N D M AT T S Y R E T T

30

What does every company have in common? Customers.

What every company doesn’t have in common is a focus on customer experience. Research tells us very clearly that companies that design their products and services with the customer at the heart of the process are more successful than those that do not. In this section, we explore a variety of customer experience best practices and provide recommendations on how to turn your organization into a customer-focused profit center.

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5

CONTENTS

22

START HERE

10 Can Robots Do It Better?

By Lauren Abraham Mahoney and Lubna Memon Four keys to launching a successful robotic process automation program—from those who have been there.

14 Beyond GDPR

By Adam C. Johnson Four steps for business leaders to begin data privacy compliance.

30

18 The Value of Diversity and Inclusion

By Ariel Lomax, Michael Ojo, Ph.D., Laura Rodney, and Cordia Simon The true value of Diversity and Inclusion initiatives comes from greater employee engagement and a better chance for financial success.

22

46

56

Lost in the Maze of IT Trends?

Targeting Customer Experience for Unprecedented Growth

IoT Devices and Security

By Jacob Horr and Stefan Sokerov The path to innovation starts with an IT strategy.

30 Creating Products with Customers in Mind

By Victoria Inman and Lydia Slotten The most effective product teams partner with customer experience professionals to ensure that the voice of the customer is integrated in each stage of the process.

38 Are You My Customer?

By Amber Baird and Clay A. Holmes The value of using segmentation and personas to identify your true customers and stand out in the marketplace.

By Robert Amberg We all know customer experience is important, but is it really the determining factor for customer retention?

48 Five CX Lessons from the Five Stripes

By Matt Syrett and Clay A. Holmes How did a soccer club’s focus on customer experience help them become national champions?

By Yosef Beck, CISSP How can you protect yourself from bad actors using web-connected Internet of Things devices against you?

60 The Cost of Uncertainty

By Fred Jewell and Tracy Reznik In this fourth piece in a nine-part series, we look at the next section of the Jabian Engagement Framework: how security is essential to employee engagement.

64 Defining Strategy

By Don Turner Gain a broader vision of business strategy to avoid seeing only a portion of the story.

42 Managing the Paradox

By Michael Ojo, Ph.D. How do business leaders balance privacy concerns with the need for consumer data to provide a personalized customer experience?

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CONTRIBUTORS

Robert Amberg

Clay A. Holmes

Fred Jewell

robert.amberg@jabian.com

clay.holmes@jabian.com

fred.jewell@jabian.com

Robert is the chief

Clay is a senior manager

Fred is a senior strategic

marketing officer at

at Jabian experienced in

advisor at Jabian. He

Jabian, with experience

improving organizations’

spends most of his time

running comprehensive

financial margins. He

consulting with his clients

marketing and communications

is passionate about helping clients

on strategy, transformation, culture,

programs across multiple industries.

overcome their most difficult challenges

engagement, communication, change

He has deep expertise helping clients

no matter their form. From day-to-day

management, and organization design.

achieve success in branding, social

operational issues to strategic decision-

Fred is also an executive and team

media, and digital communications.

making, he understands that all change

coach, speaker, and author of the book

has an impact and interconnectivity

We Can’t Do It Alone: Building Influence

Amber Baird

greater than the change itself. With

with Simple Strategies.

amber.baird@jabian.com

this in mind, he helps organizations

Amber is a senior manager

maximize and realize net new

Adam C. Johnson

at Jabian focused on

improvement from their changes.

adam.johnson@jabian.com Adam is a manager at Jabian

understanding and tailoring the customer experience to the entire customer

who specializes in business

Jacob Horr jacob.horr@jabian.com

strategy development and implementation. He

spectrum. She helps clients keep

Jacob is a senior manager

each customer group in mind during

at Jabian with extensive

has broad experience helping retail

solutioning and development,

experience in business

and pharmaceutical clients address

ensuring that the needs of diverse

strategy, IT strategy,

business- and technology-related

customer groups are not left out.

governance, and change management.

opportunities.

He has a passion for articulating Yosef Beck, CISSP

the big picture, communicating

Ariel Lomax

yosef.beck@jabian.com

complex messages through pictures,

ariel.lomax@jabian.com

Yosef, a senior manager

and connecting the dots within

Ariel is a manager at Jabian

at Jabian, is a strategic

organizations to drive change and

with extensive experience

advisor, consultant, and

efficiency. He also leads Jabian’s

in change management.

speaker on cyber, business,

IT Strategy and Planning Offering,

Her work is primarily

and IT security. Yosef is passionate

which focuses on the assessment of

focused on understanding what is

about helping companies understand,

IT organizations’ maturity and future

changing and why, in order to help

prepare, and respond to cyber and

state strategy.

manage and support change adoption— in short, helping clients effectively get

data security events. He has written extensively on cybersecurity and the

Victoria Inman

Internet of Things (IoT) with expertise

victoria.inman@jabian.com

from the current state to the future state.

in strategy, planning, and business and

Victoria is a senior

Lauren Abraham Mahoney

systems analysis.

manager at Jabian

lauren.mahoney@jabian.com

experienced in end-to-end

Lauren is a director and the

product management,

process lead at Jabian with

and has helped her clients define their product strategy, design

extensive experience in creating and implementing

product organization roles, and

strategic business solutions across

launch consumer product to market.

a variety of industries. Her work is

Her industry experience spans

primarily focused on taking a process

Automotive, Hospitality, FinTech,

approach to operational improvements,

Lottery, and Non-Profit.

bridging business and IT, and driving sustainable change—in other words, making things better, making sure work gets done, and making change stick.

8

THE JABIAN JOURNAL

Lubna Memon

Laura Rodney

Stefan Sokerov

lubna.memon@jabian.com

laura.rodney@jabian.com

stefan.sokerov@jabian.com

Lubna is a senior

Laura is a manager at

Stefan is a manager at

manager at Jabian who

Jabian with extensive

Jabian with considerable

is passionate about

experience helping

experience in technology

leading and driving

organizations navigate

strategy and execution. He

strategic results. She helps clients

major change by engaging, training,

is passionate about driving innovation

achieve efficiency and growth

and communicating with their

as fuel for business growth and

by leveraging her experience

employees. She uses her passion and

leveraging his expertise to bring the

in business strategy, business

commitment to change management,

right technology solutions for the best

process improvement, business

along with significant experience

business outcomes.

transformation, program manage-

enabling and supporting clients,

ment, and change management.

to create solutions that are both

Matt Syrett

practical and forward-thinking.

matt.syrett@jabian.com

Michael Ojo, Ph.D.

In her career, Laura has advised

Matt is a manager at Jabian

michael.ojo@jabian.com

clients in a wide array of industries,

with expertise in business

Michael is a manager

including: Government (city/state and

analysis and IT design

at Jabian who holds a

federal), Hospitality, Healthcare, and

Ph.D. in Leadership for

Financial Services.

the Advancement of

and delivery. He has broad experience in product management and process improvement and is

Learning and Service from Cardinal

Cordia Simon

passionate about optimizing customer

Stritch University and MBA and

cordia.simon@jabian.com

experience through strategic process

computer engineering degrees from

Cordia is a consultant

Missouri S&T. He has a wide range

at Jabian with a passion

of industry experiences via his work

for bridging the

in finance transformation solutions

communication gap

and technology design.

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR

and customer experience strategy.

between business and technology end

Michael is passionate about the

users. Her expertise includes serving

Don Turner

evolution and influence of technology

in various capacities as a deployment

don@turnerworld.com

on customer experiences.

and test practitioner, and large-scale

Don is a nationally known

IT systems implementations.

strategy expert. Author of

Tracy Reznik tracy.reznik@jabian.com Tracy is a director at

the VOGIÂŽ methodology, Lydia Slotten lydia.slotten@jabian.com

he has successfully developed strategy for over a hundred

Jabian with extensive

Lydia is a senior

organizations—launching start-ups,

experience in progressive

manager at Jabian who

directing IPOs, turning around troubled

people strategies,

is passionate about

companies, and providing innovative

improving day-to-day

growth. Adding credibility to his

including change management, leadership development, and

customer and employee experiences.

strategic roles, he has been a chief

organizational development at the

As a consultant, she loves helping her

executive officer in six companies.

organizational, team, and individual

clients strategically plan and enhance

levels. She is passionate about

multichannel experience improvement

coaching and mentoring and bringing

initiatives. She is also active in the

out the best in people.

Atlanta nonprofit and arts community, providing pro bono consulting with her colleagues to local causes through Jabian Cares, and serving as Chair of the TAG CRM & CX society board.

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By Lauren Abraham Mahoney and Lubna Memon

10

THE JABIAN JOURNAL

Can Robots Do It Better?

Four keys to launching a successful robotic process automation program—from those who have been there.

Where Are Organizations on Their Journey?

2 7. 6 %

8.6%

Early planning stages

Reviewing results of pilot programs(s)

obotic process automation (RPA) has been a hot topic for companies looking to reduce costs and gain a competitive advantage. As RPA continues to gain mainstream popularity, many companies still don’t know how or where to get started. Last year, APQC conducted a study 1 and found that slightly more than 50 percent of survey participants had started an RPA program.

As consultants—always eager to solve strategic problems—we wanted to dive deeper and look at

18 . 9 %

Not started yet but intend to

24 . 4 %

Piloting a program

20.5%

Evaluating or executing additional programs

barriers to getting started. What differentiated those organizations that had been successful with RPA

Source: A PQC survey “Exploring Process Automation,” 2017.

programs already?

We sat down with senior business and technology leaders from vari-

For those who are interested in

crosses organizational teams and

ous Atlanta-based organizations to

RPA for your organization, we sum-

involves multiple stakeholders. It will

discuss their RPA journey. We shared

marized our key takeaways into four

be important to define and appeal to a

our experiences with RPA and asked

categories that can help organizations

well-understood pain point or value-

thought-provoking questions to facili-

get off the starting block to run a

driver with the business case.

tate discussion and foster information

successful RPA program.

sharing with those around the table.

As the APCQ survey depicts, many of the organizations we convened had

Although cost savings is a leading rationale behind the interest in RPA, it isn’t the only benefit. The ability

A well-rounded business case

yet to start their RPA journey. In this

to prove cost savings from an RPA program can be challenging, especially

forum, we gained a deeper under-

The business case for RPA must

at first, when savings may be only

standing of why many hadn’t been

appeal to and ultimately gain the

incremental until bots (short for

able to start. We also learned about the

buy-in of the business, technology,

robots) are running at scale. Every

achievements and challenges from

and financial decision-makers. This

business case must make a case for

those that had successfully imple-

is particularly important because

return on investment, but it doesn’t

mented RPA solutions.

a successful RPA implementation

have to be limited to cost savings.

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11

Consider incorporating the follow-

achieve value, think outside the cost-

way to raise the capabilities across the

ing benefits we heard in our discussion

reduction box to build a well-rounded

area where it will be applied.

of the value RPA achieves in different

business case.

companies and use cases.

•••

Compliance and consistency: Bots remove human error and always follow the rules as defined.

This yields high value, especially in areas such as finance, where

•••

hiccups or unanticipated business Building a case for how RPA will drive

scenarios requiring human interven-

value is foundational. Having an

tion or new rules.

Having a senior advocate for the program will help maintain a consis-

Data quality and accuracy: RPA can

to see the return on investment. The

tent level of attention and support for

ensure a single record of truth and

up-front work to develop requirements

delivering the program as required—

can accurately copy data from one

and rules and build the bots will be

so it can be implemented at scale and

source to feed another.

iterative. Initial efficiency gains will

realize expected value.

R isk avoidance/reduction: virtually error-proof way, RPA can reduce or eliminate risk in certain areas, making RPA a high-value investment.

be incremental. Because RPA involves a partnership between IT and the business, top-down support is critical to a priority and retains attention at the working team level.

Having leadership oversight and buy-in drives top-down program

can monitor key words across

delivery, establishes ownership

various channels of customer

and supports motivation, reduces

feedback. Analyzing this data can

resistance to change, and facilitates a

drive changes needed to address

willingness to adapt to change. This

issues and improve the customer

support greatly increases the prob-

experience.

ability of program success.

It is also an investment that will create value for an organization in strategic ways. For example, with bots performing manual tasks, employees will have more time for “heads up” activities with a positive impact on customer experience and strategic benefit toward business goals. RPA can raise skill levels and provide human workers more time for high-value activities such as serving the customer, tackling unexpected problems and opportunities, and developing new capabilities for your organization.

As you build your qualitative and quantitative case for how RPA will THE JABIAN JOURNAL

Optimized, steady-state use case

ensure that implementation remains

Customer Engagement: Bots

RPA is an investment in efficiency.

12

road—unexpected system integration

important because it may take time

Automating manual efforts in a

•••

stories about the bumps along the Leadership buy-in and support

advocate at a senior level can also be

compliance is mandated.

•••

In our roundtable discussions, several organizations shared

Anchor on key pain points to communicate a burning platform that will resonate with leadership and gain their buy-in. Tell the story with different layers to appeal to the “what’s in it for me” of your audience.

For example, the CFO will consider the effect on the bottom line, while your operations leadership will focus on improvements to the process itself and changes to how the organization

“The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.”

– Bill Gates

Bill Gates’ quote is paramount when selecting the use case for RPA. You need a strong process and good data for RPA to work well. The exceptions must be known and well defined. These elements will be critical to developing the requirements and rules to operate the bots. Think about these questions to evaluate whether your use case is a good one for RPA. •••

Has the process been optimized?

operates. Beyond the financial and

RPA will provide incremental

operational significance, connect to

gains on an already optimized

leadership at the level of bringing value

process. This capitalizes on the

to employees, their job satisfaction,

work already done and applies

and making an investment in people.

technology as a tool to realize

Think about RPA as a capability—and a

increased value.

AT T HE E ND OF T HE D AY, T HE B E S T P IE C E OF A D V IC E W E H AV E •••

•••

Is the process in steady state? An

Cross-functional RPA teams will

evolving process means develop-

also likely extend to include various

ment changes will be required to

business stakeholders, lines of busi-

operate the robots in the revised

ness, or regions. Like other systems,

process. If you select a use case that

developing RPA will include defining

is already in steady state, you’ll

and documenting processes, require-

limit rework and costly develop-

ments, and rules. Various stakeholders

ment changes.

will likely be engaged to represent the

Does the process have a set process owner? A process without ownership will yield an RPA effort without ownership. Additionally, the process owner will know where exceptions should be programmed and the points at which human intervention are required. This is a critical role both at setup/implementation and for ongoing RPA functionality.

handoffs, data inputs, downstream

functional involvement Successful RPA programs are a great example of business and technology teams working together. Depending on your organization’s structure, different functional teams can take ownership of the RPA program: the business side, the technology side, or a strategic transformation or innovation team.

Our view: Regardless of who owns the RPA program, it will require business sponsorship and collaboration across teams to succeed in the long run. Business sponsorship ensures that the bots are integrated as a tool within the process. As the needs of the process change or systems are updated, the business owners will be aware of potential impacts to the bots.

Business involvement ensures that changes are identified and implemented to keep the bots functioning and optimized.

UP - F R ON T OB S TA C L E S I S T O JU S T GE T S TA R T E D!

data requirements, and reporting that could be involved in the RPA scenario.

Human resources is a stakeholder not to be overlooked. In many organizations, bots must be onboarded through the same process as a new hire to obtain credentials so they have access to data across systems. RPA can serve as a bridge for multiple stakeholders by helping to establish and maintain process standardization.

Business sponsorship with cross-

A B OU T O V E R C OMING

Find the common driver to bolster support from various stakeholders and keep them engaged. Connect on common pain points and opportunities to drive value in a way that integrates them throughout the RPA journey.

Thinking of RPA as a journey is significant. At scale, bots working across the organization will provide greater value than a single application, especially given the required start-up investment. A center of excellence (COE) drives long-term success as the RPA program matures. A COE fosters ongoing cross-functional support and participation, and can break down barriers of implementation across departmental lines. It also provides needed governance.

Establish and maintain best practices and standards as RPA gains

This advice—based on multiple shared experiences—can get you closer to realizing operational and strategic value with RPA. Can robots do it better? Yes, if you build your program with a well-defined value case, support from leadership, an appropriate use case, and engaged business sponsors.

RPA is one stage along the automation journey. As your organization and priorities evolve, you may pursue opportunities in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Define success to align and manage stakeholder expectations, measure the incremental efficiency gains, and keep going to realize value at scale.

Lauren Abraham Mahoney lauren.mahoney@jabian.com Lubna Memon lubna.memon@jabian.com

momentum and is applied to new areas across the organization. This, in part, is what drives the increased value that RPA at scale can achieve.

Source: 1 A PQC survey “Exploring Process Automation,” 2017 S P R I N G 2 019

13

Beyond GDPR Four steps for business leaders to begin data privacy compliance.

By Adam C. Johnson

n May 2018, the European Union released an expansive and comprehensive data privacy law

seemingly left in a bind. They face a

known as the General Data Protection

quandary about what data is subject

Regulation, or GDPR.

to which regulation and when.

Since then, the state of California

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THE JABIAN JOURNAL

Business leaders who operate multinational corporations are

U.S. laws such as the Health

passed a substantively different

Insurance Portability and

privacy act, leaving many business

Accountability Act, known as HIPAA,

leaders confused about conflicting

and the Children’s Online Privacy

regulations, guessing about extrater-

Protection Act, or COPPA, when

ritorial jurisdictions, and uncertain

layered onto state- or country-specific

about whether the United States will

regulations, create a sea of compli-

pass a federal data privacy law that

ance issues to navigate and a jungle

may obviate them all.

of incompatible requirements to

untangle, further challenging

Further, data privacy is a funda-

business leaders can be assured that

business leaders. For such reasons,

mental right that is proliferating.

there are some similarities between

data privacy is seldom a pleasant

Through the GDPR and the California

them that can serve as a starting point

conversation topic.

Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA),

for compliance.

So why should companies

both the EU and the state of California

dedicate precious time, personnel,

assert that consumers have the right

and resources toward data privacy

to data privacy—the ability to control

compliance?

their data with certain reasonable

What data does the company collect?

exceptions. The right to data privacy

Business leaders must know what

is indelible.

data their company collects and from

Beside the legal obligations, it’s in the financial and reputational interests of companies to evaluate and address

GDPR and CCPA are two of the

whom they’re collecting it. The type

privacy concerns today rather than

newest laws that affect many U.S.-

and origin of data, in turn, largely

deal with the blowback of incompli-

based companies. And although the

determines data requirements and is a

ance tomorrow.

laws are different in scope and intent,

best starting point for compliance.

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15

(Fig. 1) DAT A T YP E C OM PA R I S O N GDPR

C C PA

Reference:

Data Type:

Reference:

Data Type:

Article 4, (1)

Identification number

1798.140, A

Personal identifier

Article 4, (1)

Any data relating to an identified or identifiable natural person

1798.140, B

Personal information

—

—

1798.140, C

Protected classifications

—

—

1798.140, D

Commercial information

Article 4, (14)

Biometric data

1798.140, E

Biometric information

Article 4, (1)

Online identifiers of identity

1798.140, F

Internet data

Article 4, (1)

Location data

1798.140, G

Geolocation data

—

—

1798.140, H

Audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar information

—

—

1798.140, I

Professional identifier

—

—

1798.140, J

Educational information

—

—

1798.140, K

Personal preference information (real or inferred)

Article 4, (13)

Genetic data

—

—

Article 4, (15)

Data concerning health

—

—

Article 10

Criminal record data

—

—

Article 9, (1) (2)

Race, political opinion, religion, etc.

—

—

Data type comparison table provides a high-level view of similar data types by regulation.

Always consult suitably qualified legal counsel regarding any specific questions on regulations or legal matter.

Data Privacy Initial Focus Areas

(Fig. 2) R I G HT S COM PA R I S ON GDPR R I G HT S

C C PA R I G H T S

R I G H T S S U M M AR Y

Right to Be Informed

Right to Know

Ch 3, Art 12, 13 & 14

1798.100

Rights for informing consumers about data processing and transparency

Right to Access

Right to Port

Right to Access

Ch 3, Art 15

Ch 3, Art 20

1798.115

Rights allowing consumers to view and download their data Right allowing consumers to request erasure of their data

Right Erase

Right to Deletion

Ch 3, Art 17

1798.105

Right to Restrict

Right to Say No to Sale of Personal Info

(67); Ch 3, Art 4(3) & Art 23

Through opting out

Rights allowing consumers to opt out or restrict the use of their data

1798.120

Explicit Consent

Opt Out

Opt In

Ch 3, Art 7

Say no to sale of personal info

For consumers under age 16

1798.120

1798.120 (c) & (d)

Right to Equal Service & Price

—

1798.125

Right to Rectify Ch 3, Art 16

Rights Related to Automated Decision-making & Profiling

—

Rights allowing consumers to give and withdrawal consent

Right ensuring that consumers receive equal treatment of products, services, and price fairness Right allowing consumers to edit or correct their data

—

Right for consumers to know whether a company uses their data for automated decision-making and profiling

—

Right allowing consumers to object to the use of their data

Ch 3, Art 22

Right to Object Ch 3, Art 21

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THE JABIAN JOURNAL

Joint controllers, third parties, and

level of detail to disclose to consumers.

leadership should determine and

processors are all names for entities a

Too little information is uninformative;

codify which data it can associate with

company shares consumer data with

too much can confuse consumers.

specific consumers—and classify it as

or allows access to. As GDPR stipulates,

personally identifiable information

all parties that process consumer data

municating about data processing

(PII). Each regulation outlines types

must jointly determine and formally

practices with clear and plain

of data, standards, and caveats for PII,

record their responsibilities for data

language. Gone should be the days

but as a general rule, if a business can

compliance practices and make the

of legalese printed in 4-point type

associate data directly to a consumer,

agreements public, possibly in each

and packed into obscure or generic

that data may be subject to data

company’s terms of use agreement.

statements. Business leaders should

Of the data a company collects,

Being transparent means com-

privacy regulations.

also establish a regular cadence

[SE E F I G U R E 1 ]

with privacy teams to reevaluate whether updates to consumer-facing Does the company allow consumers

statements are required, so all

consumer data is to collect the least

control of their data?

policies remain consistent with

amount of data necessary to achieve

Providing consumers “rights” will

actual business practices.

an immediate and intended outcome.

likely be a new requirement for most

This “minimalization” strategy

companies, but one that business

equate to CCPA compliance. Because

may reduce exposure, storage

leaders ought to become increasingly

many companies are obligated to

requirements, and the cost of IT

familiar with. GDPR and CCPA both

comply with both, and because por-

infrastructure. It also forces business

outline rights that empower consum-

tions of each law seemingly conflict,

leaders to think intentionally about

ers with functionality to control the

business leaders are turning to trusted

data usage and solution design prior

use of their data.

legal and business advisors to navigate

One best practice for managing

to collecting it: We collect this data

Even though some of the specified

Finally, GDPR compliance doesn’t

data privacy challenges to take their first steps toward compliance.

from these consumers for that

rights aren’t consistent in name or

outcome. In short, it encourages

function, there are several similarities.

responsible data collection and use.

Companies, however, must balance

Adam C. Johnson

consumers’ rights to control their data

adam.johnson@jabian.com

with the intended user experience. Too much control could be onerous and How does the company store and

detract from their product experience.

process consumer data?

[SEE FIGURE 2]

Knowing the type and origin of data is only half the challenge. The other half is understanding where the company stores it and the implications of each

Is the company transparent about

data set for business operations. This

its practices?

is typically achieved by mapping data

Companies should strive to provide

by database down to the attribute level,

reasonable details about their data

ranking data elements by priority, and

processing practices, allowing

categorizing each with corresponding

consumers to make more informed

business outcomes.

decisions about their personal

When possible, business leaders

information. This is what GDPR calls

should seek to de-identify data

the “right to be informed” and CCPA

through pseudonymization to protect

labels as the “right to know.”

consumer data and reduce exposure

To fulfill this right, business and

in the event of a breach. Companies

legal teams must work together to

should also recognize that data stored

document the items outlined in the

in different countries may be subject to

previous steps, then determine what

data localization laws not specified in GDPR or CCPA. S P R I N G 2 019

17

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THE JABIAN JOURNAL

The Value of Diversity and Inclusion

By Ariel Lomax, Michael Ojo, Ph.D., Laura Rodney, and Cordia Simon

The true value of Diversity and Inclusion initiatives comes from greater employee engagement and a better chance for financial success.

Diversity includes the interrelated

and success. Diversity serves as

dimensions of a person in terms of

a means to achieve a desired

implementing strategic diversity

age, race, ethnicity, religion, ability,

outcome that has been stamped with

initiatives should be palatable to key

nationality, citizenship, socioeco-

credibility and an understanding

decision-makers who have the power

nomic status, and gender. What is

that a variety of experiences contrib-

to mobilize teams and fund projects.

often overlooked when discussing

uted to its success. Its true value

diversity is diversity of thought and

comes from diversity initiatives and

bring value to your organization. Nor

lived experience.

mechanisms that lead to greater

does simply adding a tagline to your

employee engagement and a better

organization’s mission statement.

chance for financial success.

Diversity takes work and buy-in from

Diversity is becoming more and more valued in the world and in the workplace. Diversity has the power

So, what is the cost associated with

to make your organization more

implementing diversity initiatives?

effective, more successful, and more

What is the return on investment?

profitable. It gives your company

With that understanding,

Diversity does not “automagically”

everyone involved and requires a change in the perceptions around it.

In the past, many have viewed

First, the investment needed is

diversity strategies simply as a means

access to a greater range of talent and

not a straightforward cost. Given that

of plugging a hole in a wall rather than

can provide insight into the motivation

businesses commonly implement

the basis for designing a castle.

of your customer or client base.

diversity initiatives, it’s likely easier to

Talking about diversity in the

When considering the purpose

estimate the associated costs than to

of diversity and its ability to drive

workplace is important because it

calculate their possible return. These

competitive advantage, one must view

can create a more enjoyable and inclu-

initiatives are often designed to open

it through the lens of strategy and

sive work environment. Discussions

pipelines for underrepresented talent

equity. Diversity, in and of itself, is not

about diversity in the workplace are

groups, create programs to expand

inherently purposeful or profitable if it

often regarded as checking a box

the professional capacity of that same

is not tied to the company’s vision for

in order to market publicly that an

group, or develop partnerships in

the future and coupled with some form

organization has varying backgrounds

the community.

of a “level playing field” of sorts.

and ethnicities. We should shift

Second, while the gains and direct

Merely having a diverse workforce

this discussion to focus instead on

returns from diversity initiatives

without a clearly defined strategy and

inclusivity and belonging.

can be difficult if not impossible to

“equal opportunity” proves only that

measure on a balance sheet, there’s

an organization can hire a diverse

not carry a value the way one would

little doubt that the rising tide of

group of people.

assess value in natural resources,

diversity will lift all boats. Researchers

precious stones, or hard currency.

have evidence that companies with

recognized authority on inclusive

In many ways, diversity is another

diverse senior leadership teams tend to

leadership, champions the following

thoroughfare between opportunity

be more financially successful.

concerning inclusive teams:

Diversity, in and of itself, does

Nika White Consulting, a

S P R I N G 2 019

19

“Winning teams are built through

Out of the 17 companies that

The peer-to-peer ridesharing company

an equitable approach that gives

were studied, those with the highest

faced massive backlash from the public

people what they need, not by treating

percentage of cultural and ethnic

during 2017 because of insensitive

everyone equally.”1

diversity held the top positions

viewpoints and comments from

concerning overall financial

individuals at the highest levels of

clear strategy, along with diversity

performance. Companies that tend

the company.

and inclusion (D&I), into a company’s

to succeed at leveraging D&I to

strategic initiatives not only proves

differentiate themselves in the market

was known as a major proponent

highly beneficial to the bottom line,

have key D&I initiatives that align with

of diversity across all facets of D&I,

but benefits may also include better

their overall business and financial

including, but not limited to, gender,

employee satisfaction and talent

growth strategies.

race, sexual orientation, ability, etc.

Intentionally incorporating a

acquisition, and prominence in the

Aligning D&I initiatives to financial

Prior to the scandal in 2017, Uber

Uber’s mistake was its overall lack of

and growth strategies promotes

strategy and intentionality toward D&I

a sense of ownership and buy-in from

efforts. The scandal resulted in Uber

conducted by McKinsey & Company

various levels within the organization.

losing profit share to Lyft, its chief

states that more diverse companies

Employees get a clear and tangible

competitor, and a sordid reputation in

are better able to attract top talent;

path forward for D&I initiatives and

the public eye.

improve customer orientation,

have a vested interest in how these

employee satisfaction, and decision-

initiatives correlate to the company’s

equity are a few foundational pillars

making; and secure their licenses to

overall growth and performance.

recommended for a successful D&I

operate. Statistics have consistently

Including D&I initiatives in

implementation. Studies show that

company’s respective market.

A study of 17 leading companies

Strategy, intentionality, and

illustrated a correlation between a

a company’s various growth

a company that intentionally aligns

company’s strategic implementation

strategies does not automatically

its vision of D&I to its strategic goals,

of D&I and an increase in profit and

equate to financial and performance

while creating an equitable space for

market differentiation.

success. Take Uber, for instance.

employees, is more likely to see an

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THE JABIAN JOURNAL

R E S E A R C H E R S H AV E E VIDENCE THAT COMPANIE S WITH DIVERSE SENIOR LE ADERSHIP TE AMS TEND TO BE M O R E F I N A N C I A L LY SUCCE S SFUL .

5 . E D U C A T E Y O U R L E A D E R S . Make sure

uptick in financial performance and

a memo penned by one of its employees

competitive advantage.

regarding his personal thoughts

they understand the current state

around reasons for gender bias in the

of the organization, what needs

that prove the downside of a hap-

workplace. As recently as November

to change, and why. Then help

hazard D&I implementation and the

2018, thousands of Google staffers

them understand what diversity

resulting effect on a company’s market

participated in a global walkout

is and what it isn’t. Get buy-in on

share and public image.

targeted toward bringing awareness

your goals and plan. Then pilot an

to Google’s issues concerning

initiative with them.

There are also real-world examples

Take technology companies for example. The technology sector has

sexual misconduct against women

a long history of gender and racial

in the workplace.

diversity issues, which can be directly

The push toward transparency and

6 . W O R K Y O U R P L A N . Take small, concrete steps toward your goals.

correlated to several of the scandals

exposure of inappropriate behaviors

coming out of this industry. Oftentimes

among some of the most recognized

technology companies have had to pour

brands in the world illustrates an

conversations. Elicit feedback.

millions of dollars into class action

increased awareness of the need for

Track and measure the success of

lawsuits stemming from discrimina-

more targeted D&I efforts. However,

your initiatives both qualitatively

tory actions on the part of employee

implementation of said efforts is often

and quantitatively.

misbehavior. In recent years, Facebook,

easier said than done.

Google, and, as mentioned, Uber, have

While many organizations

7. L I S T E N , R E F L E C T , A N D L E A R N . Have

With the right level of commitment,

been involved in several high-profile

understand why to champion diversity

your efforts to build a diverse, inclusive

scandals that resulted in sullied

and inclusion, very few have been

culture will create an environment

public images.

able to figure out how to make D&I

where all employees feel more valued.

Due to an outcry for diversity from

tangible in the workplace. Bringing

several minority groups working in the

diversity and inclusion to life in an

Ariel Lomax

technology sector, 2014 marked a shift

organization requires an investment

ariel.lomax@jabian.com

in approach to inclusion and diversity

in cultural transformation. To build

among major tech companies. Starting

a more diverse, inclusive culture in

Michael Ojo, Ph.D.

in 2014, major tech giants such as

your organization:

michael.ojo@jabian.com

1. A S S E S S A N D U N D E R S T A N D Y O U R C U R R E N T

Laura Rodney

Apple, Facebook, and Google began releasing annual diversity reports to provide transparency into their efforts

C U L T U R E . Understand not only the

regarding D&I. Google’s 2018 Diversity

demographics of your organization,

Report illustrated that the percentage

but how it behaves. Discuss how

Cordia Simon

of women employees grew by 0.3

conflict is managed, how differ-

cordia.simon@jabian.com

percent (30.6 percent to 30.9 percent)

ences are recognized, and your

and black and Hispanic employees

established norms.

laura.rodney@jabian.com

grew by 0.6 percent (1.9 percent to 2.5 percent) and 0.7 percent (2.9 percent to

2 . C O M M I T T O C H A N G E . Understand what

3.6 percent), respectively, over the past

needs to change and why. Agree

four years.2 However well intentioned,

about what you will act on.

these reports have served as proof that many tech companies are not making

3 . S E T S O M E G O A L S . Define what your

Sources: 1 “Equal or Equitable: Mastering Equity for Successful Organizations,” Nika White Consulting, accessed October 18, 2018, https://

much headway in their initiatives to

ideal culture looks like. Decide what

nikawhite.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/

become more diverse. The resulting

can work for your organization.

Nika_White_Consulting___Mastering_Equity_

effect: a flawed corporate culture that propagates problematic attitudes

4 . CR E AT E A P L A N A ND F OCU S ON BI T E - S I ZE D

in society. In 2017, Google faced

I N I T I A T I V E S . Prioritize. Pick a few

significant public backlash concerning

small initiatives to start out.

for_Successful_Organizations.pdf 2 “Google Diversity Annual Report 2018,” Google LLC, accessed November 20, 2018, https://diversity. google/annual-report/#!#footnote-1 S P R I N G 2 019

21

By Jacob Horr and Stefan Sokerov

Lost in the Maze of IT Trends?

START HERE

The path to innovation starts with an IT strategy.

22

THE JABIAN JOURNAL

THESE ARE JUST SOME RECENT TECHNOLOGY TRENDS:

AUTOMATION The linking of disparate systems and software in such a way that they become self-acting or self-regulating, such as robotic process automation (RPA) or ar tificial intelligence (AI)

ADVANCED ANALYTICS Combination and analysis of large data sets that are too large or complex for traditional data processing to reveal patterns, trends, and associations in order to make better decisions

BLOCKCHAIN Incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions that can be programmed to record not just financial transactions, but virtually everything of value

CLOUD Hardware and software services from a provider on the internet, replacing in-house operations, no matter their size or applications

CYBERSECURITY / DATA PRIVACY The body of technologies, processes, and practices designed to protect networks, computers, programs, and data from attack, damage, or unauthorized access

DEV / OPS

he pace of technological innovation is faster today than ever before. This is apparent when you compare today’s technology to the turn of the

Set of practices that emphasize the collaboration and communication between development, operations, and testing to enable continuous delivery

century, when barely 5 percent of the global population had an internet connection, when floppy disks were still very much alive, when social networking sites like Facebook were just getting their start, and when smartphones were years away from being in everyone’s hands.

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION Tr a n s f o r m a t i o n o f b u s in e s s a n d o r g a ni z a t i o n al activities, processes, competencies, and models to fully leverage the changes and opportunities of a mix of digital technologies

IT innovation today can take many forms.

Recent trends range from increasing business insights in order to grow market share, to driving efficiency and cost savings through automation, to predicting customer needs and improving their

INTERNET OF THINGS The network of physical devices embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and c onne c tivit y, which enable s the s e thing s to connect, collect, and exchange data

experience, to transforming employee engagement and organizational interactions.

While these trends provide new ways to create more effective and profitable organizations, they also create a risk of distraction from other priorities or wasted investments in unneeded or poorly

SCALING AGILE The scaling of Agile principles and practices to the enterprise, while continuing to deliver on the promises of the Agile development method

implemented initiatives.

S P R I N G 2 019

23

AN IT STRATEGY WILL ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

Can our strategy support current and future business needs?

Are we making the right technology investments, and do we measure the value created by our technology investments?

How do we provide a better customer experience to our internal and external customers?

Do we effectively and successfully plan, manage, and deliver IT solutions?

Is our technology environment properly managed, maintained, secured, and able to support the clients, and is it cost effective?

business value and assess the organization’s innovation ability through the creation of an IT strategy and roadmap. Not only will this strategy and roadmap help you answer these important questions, but it will also ensure that you answer others that might not have come to mind and are pertinent to determining which trends are relevant and helpful to you and your business.

A t t h e t ur n o f t h e c e n t ur y, barely 5 percent of the global population had an internet connection.

• What are the business needs and true value we are trying to capture?

• When are we trying to realize benefits?

• Do I have the business alignment and sponsorship to be successful?

• Do we have the technological capacity (capabilities, processes, and infrastructure) to execute these initiatives?

• What impact will this have on my workforce?

As you hear about and review new trends, you may be asking yourself: • Do we need to innovate to better support the business?

If not, start there. The technology trends that will add the most value to

our business? than a fad?

• How much should I invest on technology innovation?

The best way to answer these

through the lens of your IT strategy.

DEFINING AN IT STRATEGY An IT strategy sets the vision for the IT organization and ensures that everyone is moving in the same

questions is to answer an even more

direction. It allows the business to

important one first: “Does our IT

identify and enable IT innovation.

strategy clearly support and enable our business strategy?”

24

THE JABIAN JOURNAL

there to success?

your organization will become clear

• Which trends can deliver value to • Which ones are the real deal rather

• What other barriers or risks are

The following steps will help CIOs and technology leaders determine the

APPROACH OVERVIEW IT strategy and planning is the process for defining an IT vision and roadmap that align to and enable business strategy. There should be a conscious decision to define IT’s vision for enabling the business. The process to define an IT strategy occurs across three steps:

Without an understanding of IT’s current capabilities, it is impossible to evaluate trends and

S t e p 1:

Step2:

IDENTIFY THE BUSINESS STRATEGY AND DEFINE IT’S VISION

ASSESS IT’S CAPABILITIES AND TECHNOLOGY NEEDS

What are the business needs? What is the

What is your ability to meet business

justification for investment in technology

needs? Do you have the technological

and innovation?

capacity to innovate? What gaps exist?

According to the Harvey Nash/KPMG

After understanding the business

CIO Survey 2016,1 59 percent of CIOs

strategy and developing IT guiding

and technology leaders report being

principles, you must get a clear picture

held back from innovation because

of IT’s capabilities, the maturity of the

they lack resources or funding.

IT organization and innovation ability,

This statistic brings to light one of the main risks of not building the

and its technology architecture.

Without an understanding of IT’s

know the organization’s ability to implement innovation initiatives.

IT Capabilities—How? Evaluate IT’s capabilities across

business foundation and justifica-

current capabilities, it is impos-

IT governance and management,

tion for an IT strategy. Without first

sible to evaluate trends and know the

solutions delivery, operations and

understanding the business strategy

organization’s ability to implement

infrastructure, and common services

and overall business direction, it is

innovation initiatives. For example,

to assess the maturity of the IT organi-

difficult to build alignment with the

the capabilities, process maturity,

zation—including IT functions and

business and create a business case

people, and infrastructure required

roles and responsibilities.

for IT spending.

to implement blockchain are much

While not all business leaders may see IT as a strategic partner, IT leaders should ensure that their organization

Throughout this assessment, use

different from those required to build

a maturity model to review the IT

advanced analytics capabilities.

organization’s ability to innovate and

We believe it is important to assess

assess the balance of capabilities and

has a strong understanding of the

the IT organization across three

investments (spending analysis) to

business strategy. This will begin to

dimensions to provide a holistic view

determine the ability to fund technol-

give the organization insight into

of capabilities across IT:

ogy and innovation initiatives.

support the business and, if so, the

Business Processes—Why?

IT Solutions—What?

biggest opportunities for technology

Develop or use an existing business

Develop an application and infra-

and innovation investment.

process framework or capability

structure view of the organization’s

map to review the business with a

technology solutions to assess the

the organization should define an IT

process lens. This process view of the

current state of technology architecture

mission and vision, along with guiding

organization identifies areas that

and determine whether it optimally

principles that align with the business

would benefit from technology and

supports business processes and

strategy, and provide key directional

innovation investment and serves as

provides the foundation to enable

statements for IT to follow.

the justification for IT.

innovation initiatives.

whether IT needs to innovate to better

Once that understanding is built,

S P R I N G 2 019

25

Additionally, you must identify

Identify true business value of

when the business is looking to realize

initiatives. It identifies and docu-

that value. The implementation of

ments the full set of benefits for

most, if not all, innovation initiatives

the business.

will require up-front investment; benefits are often incremental.

An organization also needs to

Prioritize your investments appropriately. It ensures that the

understand how its business will

organization agrees to and delivers

change and what is needed to imple-

on its highest priorities to achieve

ment innovation initiatives. Once

its goals.

again looking at RPA, successful

Step 3: DEVELOP YOUR IT STRATEGY AND ROADMAP How do you prioritize, understand impacts, and measure progress?

Once you understand IT’s current capabilities, you can develop an IT strategic plan and roadmap of initiatives that align IT with the business and address the gaps. During this step, identify potential capability improvement and innovation initiatives, then prioritize them based on an analysis of

implementation requires mature busi-

Ensure that you have the capabilities,

ness process definition, as well as new

resources, and technology to deliver

skills to program and manage bots.

the priorities. A strategy evaluates the

Once you’ve prioritized initiatives

to execute IT initiatives—and it

can use those priorities to define a

identifies gaps.

timeline, ownership, and objectives for each initiative, create a high-level

Support the people side. The strategy

implementation roadmap, and develop

considers the effect of change to roles

an IT strategic plan to summarize the

and responsibilities, organizational

roadmap, vision, guiding principles,

design, leadership development, and

and current-state maturity.

culture. It also ensures that resources

It is important that the business

sessions to identify potential capabil-

IT to gain alignment early on. The

leaders take a step back and evaluate

needs and a communication plan

which trends will bring business value

will help enable buy-in and obtain

before making investments, but it will

business sponsorship.

also build credibility and relationships with the business as they put IT

BENEFITS OF THIS APPROACH

initiatives, assess the business value,

A well-defined and well-executed

and estimate effort and cost for each

approach to an IT strategy will:

initiative. At that point, score and prioritize initiatives by complexity and

Align the IT organization. It instills

business value.

a set of guiding principles that align to

Evaluation of business value and

This approach will not only help IT

evaluation of change management

ity improvement and innovation

the benefits of potential initiatives

are aligned to the right priorities.

walks through this journey with

business value and effort versus cost.

In order to do that, conduct working

organization’s technological capacity

and output from previous phases, you

initiatives in the context of driving the overall business strategy.

END

Jacob Horr jacob.horr@jabian.com Stefan Sokerov stefan.sokerov@jabian.com

the business strategy and provide key directional statements for IT to follow.

should look past the easy-to-see benefits.

For example, when considering robotic

Improve relationships with business

process automation (RPA), cost savings

partners. Tie your IT strategy back to

may jump out as the immediate

the business to provide context and

benefit. But well-implemented RPA

gain alignment between IT spending

can also improve a wide range of

and business capabilities.

areas, including compliance, consistency, accuracy and error reduction,

Ensure organizational alignment

risk avoidance, improved customer

and support. Your strategy will com-

experience, and data security

municate IT’s vision and plan, leading

enhancements. All are powerful

to better buy-in, sponsorship, and

reasons to pursue RPA.

engagement across the organization.

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THE JABIAN JOURNAL

Source: 1 Harvey Nash/KPMG CIO Survey 2016, accessed on the web Nov. 17, 2017: https://www.harveynash. com/group/mediacentre/HarveyNashKPMG_ CIOSurvey2016.pdf

THE DIFFERENCE IS

strategy that works.

I love that my work directly impacts the organization in meaningful ways, and isn’t just put on a shelf.

At Jabian, we advise our clients on effective business strategy, and then help them achieve it.

For more information, visit jabian.com/careers.

THE DIFFERENCE IS

Jabian Conversations

How does adding hundreds of new employees to an iconic brand in a new market impact the culture of the company?

What can the addition of an on-site daycare center do to employee retention? How does one of the most recognized brands in the world continue to innovate and lead its industry?

We posed these questions to Lars Minns, Mercedes-Benz head of HR for the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. Buckle up if you want to keep pace with Mercedes-Benz.

What was your path to Mercedes-Benz?

I got into IT recruiting in the midst of the dot-com era, which, I think, if you’re getting involved in IT, is probably the best time to do so. I worked with a few different IT consulting companies in talent acquisition and then with The Home Depot, where I supported their

LARS MINNS Head of HR, U.S., Mexico, and Canada

IT organization. That was a time when they started to get serious about investing in technology and I was happy to help them grow that function.

And then Mercedes-Benz called.

Well it’s funny, I felt like I was working with a big name brand already, but the more I looked into Mercedes-Benz, the more I became enamored with the company. They had big plans and this was a chance for me to help them at a critical time. In general, Mercedes-Benz hadn’t typically hired a lot of people because as a great place to work, turnover was incredibly low. But with a major expansion planned, we were looking at hiring 300 people in eight months—and if you’re going to do that, you have to be absolutely sure about the people you’re hiring. And it gave me the chance to be the architect of this change.

28

THE JABIAN JOURNAL

WE HAVE SO MUCH DATA FROM THE TIME SOMEONE JOINS UNTIL THEY RETIRE, AND I’M TRYING TO USE IT TO PROVIDE DIFFERENT AND BETTER SERVICE OFFERINGS TO OUR EMPLOYEES.

joins until they retire, and I’m trying to use it to provide different and better service offerings to our employees.

What’s an example of something you’re proud of at Mercedes-Benz?

One thing for sure is our commitment

And now you’re leading HR. How did that happen?

How does adding so many new people in a short amount of time impact your brand?

to working parents. We have an on-site daycare called Little Stars Academy where parents can bring their young children while they are at work. In just

I’m currently the head of HR for the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. It was a transition

When we had to hire all those people,

the few months since it’s been open,

from helping people find a home at our

Mercedes-Benz was opening in Atlanta

we’re at near capacity, and the feedback

company to helping people understand

in 2015. It definitely impacts the culture

we’ve received has been tremendous.

and grow their value. We have a very

of the company. But in our case it

Just taking that stress off of parents

low unemployment environment right

invigorated it. We hired people from

about finding childcare really works

now, which favors employees because

all disciplines of business and

wonders. We want Mercedes-Benz to be

the market for talent is so tight. At

industry, not just automotive people.

at the intersection of career, company,

Mercedes-Benz we want to make sure

It really helped create a balance in

and lifestyle, and this is one way we

we are communicating to them how

our organization. Employees are a lot

help make that a reality.

they grow their value, their skills.

more vocal, a lot more receptive to new

And it goes beyond communication,

ideas. They push new ideas and new

because you have to have the tangible

perspectives, which really invigorates

tools and programs in place to support

the organization. It also creates certain

them, but by helping them build value,

challenges when you mix people who

they become more marketable for

have been with the company for a long

growth within the company or at other

time and new people who want to make

companies should they decide to leave.

an impact. It’s a good problem to have because everyone loves the brand and

You don’t worry about them leaving?

Our philosophy is to develop our

wants it to succeed.

What’s been the best advice you’ve received?

I used to think that the harder I worked and the more time I spent on developing my own talents, the more success I would have. But in reality, I got advice from a former mentor who told me to double down on my level of exposure.

If you run in certain circles, find a way

What is one of the biggest challenges you’re facing now?

out of them from time-to-time and build new relationships. Find ways to be someone else’s helping hand. When

employees to be the best they can possibly be and give them an environ-

Our industry is constantly changing,

I started at a small company more than

ment at Mercedes-Benz where they

and over the next one to three years

20 years ago I never imagined I’d be

can grow and succeed over their

you will see significant change in the

where I am today and I credit that to

careers. We have a lot of positives that

automotive space. One of my challenges

the great relationships I’ve built along

make working for Mercedes-Benz

is to prepare our workforce for those

the way. It’s been an amazing ride.

highly desirable. We are extremely

upcoming changes and make sure we’re

competitive with our total rewards,

ready to lead the industry. One of the

which includes everything from

things I’m trying to pioneer is better

bonuses to work-life balance, support

use of the data we have to help make

programs, etc. And on top of that, we

better decisions for our people. We have

have an immense pride in the brand.

so much data from the time someone S P R I N G 2 019

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1/5

C U S T O M E R E X PE RIE N C E F E AT U RE S E C T I O N

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THE JABIAN JOURNAL

Creating Products with Customers in Mind

By Victoria Inman and Lydia Slotten

The most effective product teams partner with customer experience professionals, ensuring that the voice of the customer is integrated at each stage in the process.

Products are born to address a

the strategy phase, the goal is to

customer need, solve a customer

explore new product or feature ideas.

problem, and create customer delight.

Throughout the product development

Thematically, product innovation

phase, cross-functional teams manage

is all about the customer. Therefore,

product scoping, planning, prioritiza-

to launch, manage, and enhance

tion, build, and preparedness for launch.

products successfully, product teams

The final operations phase enables

must constantly consider their

product delivery and product mainte-

target customers.

nance through product retirement.

We find that the most effective

We view the fourth function,

product teams partner with their

portfolio management, as the wrapper

customer experience (CX) counterparts.

around strategy, development, and

This ensures that best practice CX

operations, or what is commonly

strategies are implemented and that the

referred to as the “product lifecycle.�

voice of the customer (VoC) is integrated

Effective portfolio management

into each stage in the process.

activities occur throughout the entire

At Jabian, we have anchored our

product lifecycle. Those activities

product management methodology

include reporting on and governance

to the four key functions: strategy,

over the entire product catalog.

development, operations, and portfolio management.

The first three functions are phases and are described as follows: During

A strong portfolio management discipline effectively incorporates insights (such as customer, product performance, sales, usage, and

S P R I N G 2 019

31

A “PRODUCT” CAN BE V I R T U A L LY A N Y T H I N G — TA N G I B L E C O N S U M E R G O O D S , A D I G I TA L M O B I L E A P P, A S E R V I C E , O R A BLEND.

Functions

1.

2.

Strategy

Development

•

3.

Operations

PRODUCT MANAGEMENT 4.

Portfolio Management

Get to know your customer CUSTOMER-

Communicate with your customer

FOCUSED S T R AT E G I E S

Pivot quickly to address customer feedback

the marketplace, it’s common to review the potential product’s respective competitive landscape and create a business model canvas. While doing so,

Fig. 1

be sure to include target customers as a key consideration.

Perform market research on your otherwise) throughout the product

customer-focused strategies may

potential competition, while consider-

development lifecycle, from the

look like across the product manage-

ing their target customers and how

initial product design through future

ment functions.

your product may provide a differentiated journey.

enhancements.

As you get deeper into ideation,

When carrying out each of these four functions, we recommend

P R O D U C T S T R AT E G Y :

consider what a very high-level

leveraging the following customer-

Exploring new product ideas

customer journey might look like; hypothesize your target customer

focused strategies: We start by gaining insights—insights

market segments (distinct sets

1. Get to know your customer

into customer needs, market condi-

of customers, defined by various

2. Communicate with your customer

tions, the competitive landscape,

demographics, lines of business, etc.);

3. Pivot quickly to address customer

and more. We use those insights to

and brainstorm what your customer

define product objectives that will be

personas might be. These are the

realized through product innovation.

fictional archetypes of your target B2C

When they set product direction,

customer or B2B buyer, which includes

the product teams must align to the

segment definitions, but also personal

overall business strategy, the market,

traits, values, motivators, etc.

feedback See Figure 1: Product CX strategy checklist.

Finally, before we dive in, let’s pause here to quickly note that a

and customer needs.

Pro tip: We recommend reading

Understand your customers’ desires by listening to your customers as a

“product” can be virtually anything—

Inspired: How to Create Products

source for product ideas. For existing

tangible consumer goods, a digital

Customers Love, by Marty Cagan. His

companies, provide an avenue for

mobile app, a service, or a blend. There

newest edition has been adapted

your customers to give suggestions

are many dimensions for defining what

specifically to talk about technology

on enhancements and new products

a “product” can be. For our purposes,

products. One of our favorite Cagan

through direct, voice-of-the-customer

we’d like to simply refer to “products”

questions: “Is my product compelling

feedback loops.

as something that solves a problem

to our target customer?”

This will allow you to meet real-time demands and understand

and brings value to a customer.

1. Get to know your customer

current gaps within your existing

you’re working on, we have found

From the very beginning, customer

products. For a new company, you can

these customer-focused strategies

awareness is key.

interview target customers about your

Regardless of the kind of product

should be considered. Now let’s explore what applying these 32

THE JABIAN JOURNAL

When exploring the value of

brainstormed product offerings. This

introducing a new product idea into

will provide insight into the gaps that

generally exist in the marketplace and

3. Pivot quickly to address

let you know how receptive your target

customer feedback

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT:

customers would be to the solution you

Once you’ve obtained feedback from

Building product and prepping for

plan to introduce.

customers, it’s important to have

launch

Test the waters. Obtain direct

a framework for maintaining and

customer insight on your infant ideas.

prioritizing feedback. It may not feel

When you’re ready to progress into

There are a variety of ways to do this,

like it, but rejection at this point is

the development phase, scoping and

and at this stage, you want to limit the

great. This is the stage where you want

planning activities begin to effectively

amount of effort you put into testing

to receive major feedback! There is so

build the product and prepare for

whether your idea is worth further

much value in getting input during

product launch.

development. If possible, we recom-

your early stages of innovation, before

mend creating extreme minimum

product development.

viable products (MVPs) to test the appetite for the new product.

1. Get to know your customer

That being said, keep in mind your

Firm up your prelaunch hypothesized

mission, vision, goals, and target

target customer personas and

customers. Be sure to align new

segments. First, create proposed

on or emails about new products

ideas to the values of your company.

“light” personas, expanding from

from a “coming soon” information

You cannot, and should not, say

your original hypotheses. Stress-test

landing page. You can distribute and

“yes” to everything. You cannot

your assumptions on their motivators

collect data from online surveys.

please everyone, but you should be

and differentiators through target

You can perform light AB testing

pleasing somebody.

customer stakeholder interviews.

For example, you can track clicks

on pricing, concepts, and customer

The products you choose to develop

Outline the skeleton of a product-

willingness to hypothetically purchase

further and the customers you choose

level customer journey, and detail it,

a product described by text or mockup

to target (those who seem to have

as well as the variances by persona, as

visuals only.

promising marketplace potential)

you move in development. (For more

should all align to your overarching

information on the stress-testing

company goals.

process, see “Are You My Customer?”

You can hold focus groups with rudimentary, nonfunctioning demonstration models to answer key questions about your product. At

on page 38.)

See Figure 2.

Depending on the kind of product

this stage, it’s crucial to use low-time

Get to know your customers iteratively

you’re offering, you may also need to

and low-effort methods to weed

from product strategy (high-level)

create product personas to represent

through your options and obtain real

through product development (detailed).

the personalities of products that

customer feedback.

You’ll want to have a firm understanding

have communication interfaces with

before you launch in product operations,

customers—from interactive chat bots

2. Communicate with your customer

and later you will revisit these strategy

to AI personal assistants.

Product ideation with selected

and development functions during the

customers through initial focus groups

lifecycle of your product as managed by

more than one highly varied product

or discovery conversations can poten-

portfolio management.

at a time (for example, for a new

Note: If you are conceptualizing

tially serve as some of your initial grassroots marketing, especially for B2B companies. The same goes for any “coming soon” sign-up links.

Fig. 2

At this stage, some companies may choose to start dropping social media hints. For example, a post may mention that you’re “working on a really neat XYZ opportunity with XYZ partner!” Be careful about what

Customer Input and Research

you promise. Don’t commit to your customers that you’re delivering a new product or enhancement that isn’t sure to come.

Customer Segmentation Persona Development and Journey Creation

Because of the level of uncertainty at this point about what product will be released—and what form it will

Product Strategy and Development

take—some companies may choose to keep initial discovery conversations confidential. They’ll perform surveys without revealing their brand and not market at all until they know more.

S P R I N G 2 019

33

company, or new product line release),

final sanity check with your target

audience so they can learn of your

map your hypothesized customers’

customers. You can accomplish this

product and its value.

segments and personas to their

in a variety of ways, including testing

respective products. Work on this in

quality or performance, testing

targeted marketing campaigns,

parallel with the product portfolio

manufactured consumer products, or

leveraging social media, and educating

management function.

customer acceptance testing (CAT) for

the relevant sales force. Failure to build

technology products. For some B2B

excitement and build product aware-

ment, perform product testing along

products, you may actually have to get

ness can result in a “failure to launch.”

the way. Depending on your product

CAT sign-off as part of your contract

type and your industry, the method

arrangements.

During various stages of develop-

Ways to do this include launching

Think about it: If target customers are not aware of your product, they will never have the opportunity to see

for this will vary. We’ve learned that engagement, early and often,

2. Communicate with your customer

its value, and your product will not get

from targeted samples or important

In addition to communication that

traction from the get-go.

customers may expose urgent issues

naturally occurs during customer

just prior to launch or reduce the risk

testing, you should spend time

3. Pivot quickly to address

of surprises just after launch.

strategizing your prelaunch marketing

customer feedback

communications. Get your customers

The further you progress in develop-

the following: same-room focus

in the plane before takeoff, so to speak,

ment, the harder it can be to process

groups, online testers recording their

with “coming soon” communications.

feedback without countering it with

experience as they progress, getting

In the early stages, this can rely

Testing options could include

emotional bias. You may find yourself

reactions to the product packaging

on very subtle social media hints

pretty invested at this point. Major

experience, concierge testing for

and as you progress, fully reveal

feedback can be hard to swallow,

digital products where you do every-

your products with a showcased

especially feedback that would delay

thing manually, showcasing further

release date. You can even get a

a launch.

developed MVPs and product demos

waiting list or contract with clients

at conferences, performing follow-

before you go live. Prepare your

product roadmap is so important. When

up interviews with more detailed

post-go-live launch communication

you make decisions, keep in mind

interview guides, giving first-look

plan, so you’re ready to strike with an

that some feedback can be addressed

tours, providing special tasting events,

end-to-end plan.

through post-launch enhancements.

When introducing new products

or going on pre-sales road shows. The

This is why creating a prioritized

Consider what elements of your

opportunities to test are endless, and

to the market, you must meet your

product, if they’re unchanged, could

the needs vary by product type, but the

target customers where they are.

derail long-term adoption because of,

goal is the same.

Your product, along with your brand

say, negative publicity.

Finally, prior to product launch, we recommend completing one

in general, must be strategically

There’s an art and a science to

positioned to reach your desired

balancing the desire to launch with every single piece of functionality working versus the ability to layer on functionality after an initial release.

Fig. 3

The art and the science depend on your product type and industry.

Keep in mind special legal regulations, your competitive marketplace, and your customers’ expectations at

Customer Journey Experience Touch Points

initial launch.

Based on feedback, you may find yourself adjusting your customer

Voice of the Customer Measures

personas and segments during development. Again, the excuse of “we

Direct Feedback

just haven’t found the right customer” can only be valid for so long. The closer

Transactional Data Themes

you get to launch, the more you should be simply adjusting personas and segment attributes and exploring the

Product Enabling People, Process, Tools

nuances for their varying journeys versus coming up with entirely new customer bases.

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THE JABIAN JOURNAL

See Figure 3.

The customers’ voice, gathered through direct feedback and indirect transactional

Product Lifecycle

measures, provides feedback to CX and product teams to improve the product,

Introduction

Operating the product and feedback to product idea funnel Ready, set, launch! Now that your product has been introduced to the

Maturity

h

Decline

fr es

P R O D U C T O P E R AT I O N S :

Growth

Sales Revenue / Adoption

enabling people, process, and tools.

Re

sh re Ref Re tire

marketplace, it’s time to continue engaging your customers. This can be a make-or-break moment for your

Time

product, so engaging your customers is vital. Ongoing customer feedback helps prioritize product enhancements

Fig. 4

throughout the remainder of the product lifecycle (growth, maturity, reinvestment, and retirement).

See Figure 4.

Once you launch, ensure that you’ve

2. Communicate with your customer

Product lifecycle; the Y-axis represents

operationalized a way to capture the

Congrats! It’s time to implement the

sales/adoption while the X-axis

voice of your customer so you’ll hear

launch marketing and communica-

represents time.

about defects, ideas for enhancements,

tions you’ve already planned. However,

and suggestions for new products (see

keep in mind that customer communi-

the product strategy function).

cation does not stop at product launch.

1. Get to know your customer It’s launch time! But…maybe just a

Most importantly, do something

From enhancements, to sharing events

small launch. Consider using beta

with that captured data. Create an

and sales, to thanking your customers,

releases or piloting with a small

operational feedback loop with

and simply showcasing your brand—

customer set before moving forward

CX and product teams. Determine how

ongoing communications are key to

with a fully public release. This lets you

you will track and use transactional

staying relevant.

leverage the excitement and loyalty of

metrics and the quantitative and

early adopters to smooth out remain-

qualitative feedback you get from

enhancements to the customer early.

ing kinks in your product, before you

survey data.

Follow-on communication should

scale to customers who may not have the same level of patience.

For the product operation function,

even have public-facing roadmaps, like

level. We’ll touch on cross-product

Spotify’s Trello (a web-based Kanban

management in the portfolio manage-

project management) board, which

ment wrapper section.

reveals its new feature pipeline.

IN THE PLANE BEFORE TA K E O F F, S O T O S P E A K , WITH “COMING SOON”

Others do a great job of com-

your persona and journey work. Use

municating the impact and function

your journey framework to categori-

of releases in accessible terms.

cally track feedback against journey

Shootproof, an Atlanta-based

stages. Update your baseline journey

company, clearly has its customers

as needed to account for product

front of mind when releasing new

changes. Plan on revisiting product

features. The company offers photog-

strategy and development steps when

raphers a simple-to-use tool to engage

you need to consider product refreshes.

their clients, originally by simply

This might include revalidating your

offering proofing galleries.

customers, which could reveal shifts •

support adoption. Some companies

we are talking about this at the product

Don’t assume you are done with

G E T YO U R C U S TO M E R S

Communicate major feature

Over time, they expanded their

in your customer base (i.e., changed

product features to invoicing, con-

persona attributes, including their

tracting, online ordering, and more.

demographics, desires, motivators

With each new feature, Shootproof

and expectations), especially for

communicates early when a new

long-term products.

feature is “coming soon,” describes the

C O M M U N I C AT I O N S .

S P R I N G 2 019

35

efforts between products within the portfolio, reviewing new product ideas, and ensuring that resources (financial and human capital) are properly Persona

Summary Attributes

Market Segment

Product 1

A

X

B

X

Product 2

aligned to products. Government

Product 3

efforts exist throughout the product life cycle to ensure that products and

1. Name

Short Description

2. Name

Short Description

C

X

3. Name

Short Description

D

X

portfolios are aligned and moving toward the strategic objectives.

1. Get to know your customer At the portfolio level, it’s important

X

to realize that you may be trying to reach different customer personas or segments for each product. At the same time, you must strive to understand your holistic customer view.

Fig. 5

One way to accomplish this is by mapping your customer segments and personas to each product line. This can value the features will bring,

or those who create a social media post

help you understand what cross-

and provides easy-to-understand

entirely about your product, showing it

portfolio product a customer may be

how-to guides.

in a positive light?

interested in hearing about, and what

Treat your customer relationships

customer groups you should cater a

Funnel up into portfolio manage-

product to.

like any other; nurture these

ment higher level considerations like

relationships through ongoing com-

approaching product roadmap and

munications. Don’t overwhelm your

sunset decisions that need to be made

customers, but keep them up to date on

at the portfolio level.

See Figure 5: Perform product to target customer mapping across product lines.

events, flash sales, giveaways, tips, or anything that would bring them joy.

Continue to represent your brand appropriately along the way, keeping

Wherever possible—and this can

PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT:

be a struggle with legacy systems from

Governing the product catalog

acquired companies, or companies

in mind the customer personas to whom you are trying to speak. What

As mentioned, portfolio management

operating in siloed product arms—you

visuals, messaging, and channels will

is the wrapper around the product life

should create a single view of the

best reach and create positive reactions

cycle. It’s about managing a portfolio

customer across all products. This

from your target customers?

of products through ongoing analysis

helps you understand your customers

of product performance, prioritizing

holistically, across all their touch

3. Pivot quickly to address customer feedback After you launch and throughout the lifetime of your product, check in on

Fig. 6

customer feedback to understand what is going well, what features are not being used, and what is driving

Company Product Catalog Portfolio

frustration. Consider what you can do quickly to solve pressing issues and how you can support an operationally nimble release schedule for providing

Product 1

Product 2

timely product updates.

In this day and age, it’s vital to have a plan for addressing public feedback on social media channels. How will you address concerns, not only by showing empathy, but also by providing

CUSTOMER

Name Phone

customer issue-specific solutions or

Email

making customer-wide changes? How

Products Purchased

will your company promote and thank customers who show appreciation in their comments on relevant posts, 36

THE JABIAN JOURNAL

Product 3

points with your company. It also sets you up to successfully deliver a consistent experience across your product

Example Product Portfolio

brands when you communicate with your customer.

catalog portfolio.

2. Communicate with your customer If you find you’re targeting clearly differentiated personas per product,

Maturity

h

Decline

fr es

of the customer across its product

Growth

Sales Revenue / Adoption

See Figure 6: Ideally, your company has one view

Introduction

Re

sh re Ref Re tire

consider brand alignment. How are you going to represent your products and branding in the marketplace to best hit

Time

your target customers and stay true to the personas you are trying to target?

C O O R D I N AT E S I Z E

Will you be one cohesive company?

CUSTOMER BASE

R E P R E S E N T S R E TA I N E D

Or will you be seen as an umbrella

Fig. 7

company with varying brands, product lines, or sub-companies? How transparent will you be about these performing very well on one product

receive direct feedback, perform

that you can leverage on another

surveys and interviews, conduct

to represent yourself as one company

product? Looking across your portfolio

focus groups, and analyze the story of

with many products, will these be

and considering product relevance

transactional data.

communicated and marketed from one

trends, is it time to introduce a new

website and one social media handle?

product altogether?

product line brand relationships?

For example, if you are you going

(beyond strategic interviews and

Or are you going to position yourself in the marketplace as an umbrella

You must communicate and market to your entire base of customers

See Figure 7:

focus groups), with an intentionally

company, perhaps with its own main

Product lifecycle example of a potential

promoted launch, and by nurturing an

site and handle, but also with indi-

disappearing act; coordinate size

ongoing relationship.

vidual websites and social handles for

represents retained customer base.

Decide up front how you will

Finally, you must pivot quickly to your customer’s reactions, sug-

each product line brand?

Let’s look at an example company’s

gestions, feedback, ideas, and your

position and represent yourself in the

products, in Figure 7, layered onto

analytical findings from your transac-

marketplace, what product persona

the product lifecycle framework we

tional data. You must be nimble about

you’ll use, and how you will commu-

introduced with Figure 4. Most of the

making and announcing changes to

nicate appropriately to your targeted

products from this organization are

ensure that they’re adopted. Show

customers and consumers across

losing relevance with its customers. It’s

appreciation and respond to individual

your portfolio.

important to understand whether its

issues, while planning customer-wide

core business is part of an overarching

improvements as needed.

3. Pivot quickly to address

decline, or whether its products are not

customer feedback

valuable anymore.

What products are doing well versus

It’s important to leverage these

Keeping your customer in mind at every step of the way, by partnering CX strategy with product, will help

others? During the product lifecyle,

customer insights to guide where to

you create relevant and delightful

it may be time to refresh a product

invest. Launching new products may

products.

or consider sunsetting it. Consider

be vital to existence; if this company is

customer feedback—including com-

not careful, it may end here.

paring transactional feedback, such as

Victoria Inman victoria.inman@jabian.com

declining purchasing or use—across your product portfolio.

Also listen to the consistency

From each function of the product

Lydia Slotten

lifecycle, and during portfolio

lydia.slotten@jabian.com

of feedback across your portfolio,

management, we’ve illustrated how

comparing one product to another. Are

important it is to consider the

customers generally frustrated with

customer. You must get to know your

lack of consistency across products?

customer. Research customers exter-

Is a product or product feature

nally, review their data internally, S P R I N G 2 019

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C U S T O M E R E X PE RIE N C E F E AT U RE S E C T I O N

Are You My Customer?

By Amber Baird and Clay A. Holmes

THIS IS NOT THE CUSTOMER.

The need to serve internal or external customers is one of the universal truths of business. Many companies fail to clearly differentiate themselves in terms of competitive market offerings. How can you stand out in this crowded marketplace?

Price differences, marketing cam-

customers’ satisfaction. But you may

paigns, promotions, and company

find that overall, the initiatives were

“buzz” can drive short-term interest.

not as successful in driving customer

However, establishing positive feelings

experience as you had hoped.

among customers is the foundation for

In our experience, this happens

exclusive loyalty in your individual cus-

more than you would expect. We are

tomer base. Delivering an exceptional

eager to get started and see results,

customer experience (CX) is one way

so we don’t take the time to determine

to gain this loyalty. You’ll set yourself

what customers value. In order to

apart from the competition, ensuring

deliver that value and to provide an

that your customers continue to work

exceptional experience, it is vital to

with you and tell others about you.

truly understand your customer.

Like many good business leaders,

Instead of jumping straight into

you probably have a hypothesis of

the CX initiatives, we propose start-

who your customers are. You may

ing with foundational CX activities:

have used techniques to improve

developing personas or segments. This

CX based on those assumptions.

will help you answer the following

Perhaps you brainstormed CX drivers

questions about your customers:

that align with your vision of your customer, and then allocated budget

• What are your key customer types?

and resources to roll out CX initia-

• What are the key traits and drivers

tives. But what if your vision of your customers and assumptions about their defining attributes were not

reasonably exclusive—in other

completely correct?

words, they don’t overlap much?

Good news! Your efforts were not

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THE JABIAN JOURNAL

(attributes) of these customers?

• Are your defined customer types

Are they exhaustive—that is,

necessarily wasted. You likely ended

they include most of the key traits

up increasing some component of your

and drivers?

evidence—surveys and interviews with

between being reactive and pre-

your customers, do you see clearly

customers or employees—to provide

planning, put her in one bucket. This

differentiated approaches you

insight into those attributes. It is not,

will help you stress-test (discussed

must deploy to deliver an improved

however, as easy as simply picking

shortly), and you may find that you

customer experience for each

attributes. There is a process to follow.

need to move her into the other end of

• When you step back and look at

customer type?

Keep a running list of all potential

the range, which only helps solidify

attributes identified and honed

your final outcomes. There will be gray

through the process, regardless of

areas, but in this phase, it helps to be

overwhelmed with the process of

their presence in the final personas

decisive. The goal is to have clearly dif-

performing customer segmentation and

and segments. These will be important

ferentiated customer populations, so

identifying customer personas. That can

when sharing the final personas inter-

you can develop tailored CX initiatives.

lead to the dreaded “analysis paralysis.”

nally. They can also help with future

Sometimes, organizations become

If this paralysis would delay meet-

refinements, and in providing context

ing your deployment timetable, or you

for stakeholders who didn’t participate

are missing data or perspectives on the

in the development process.

customer journey, we propose starting

Whether defining personas or

with a “lite” version of segmenta-

segments, ensure that the customer’s

tion and personas to help you begin

defining attributes are appropriately

the process of understanding your

identified. The attributes are what

customers. These are “lite” alternatives

makes one “customer” (term used

to the full-scope version using the data/

generally and applied to segments,

information that is already available, or

personas, or individuals) different

by performing preliminary studies. The

from another. These differences should

entire point here is to get started and

not be subtle! The differentiation

begin experiencing the process from

should be as binary as possible,

beginning to end instead of getting

meaning the subject falls into one

stuck on the starting blocks. Using a

end of the spectrum or the other.

structured method for segmenting and

As an example, let’s establish a

defining personas can help jump-start

potential attribute of your customers.

an organization’s entry into improved

Our hypothesis is that there is a notable

customer experience. It can also help

difference in how our customers

define content strategies that directly

handle an approach to decision-

appeal to different customer groups.

making. Our spectrum could then be

There are three key goals for either

bookended by “pre-planning” and

the lite or full-scope exercise: knowing

“reactive” (i.e., no planning). As you

your customer, empathizing with your

think through the range, exaggerate

customer, and delighting your customer.

the definitions. Let’s use a customer, Anna, to understand this attribute. If Anna is a “pre-planner,” all her deci-

Know your customer:

sions are made far in advance. If she’s “reactive,” she never has a plan, and

Determine what differentiates your

does everything last-minute (the “all”

customers.

and “never” are used intentionally). As you are gathering data you will most

The first step to develop effective

likely find that customers fall some-

customer personas or segments is

where on the spectrum versus at the

to understand your customers’ key

ends of the range. Challenge yourself

attributes. Once you have identified

and dig in and understand why Anna

the attributes, the personas and

may make a plan or do everything

segments allow you to understand key

last-minute to decide which end of

traits within each customer group.

the spectrum she falls into. Even if

Use quantitative and qualitative

it seems like Anna is split equally

Using a structured method for segmenting and defining personas can help jumpstart an organization’s entry into improved customer experience.

S P R I N G 2 019

39

As you continue identifying attributes, you could find the customer does not look the way you expected.

This is the time to continue to brainstorm potential attributes that separate your customers into distinct groups (including demographic profiles, mindsets, preferences, etc.).

For that matter, even if it seems all of the original attributes are correct, the advice remains. Include those items that may not seem relevant, those that may seem redundant, and those that seem too obvious, to make the list comprehensive. The attributes will be shaped during the stress testing process.

An important “guiding principle” to consider: don’t be too attached to your hypothesized list of attributes, as they will (and should) change.

Reviewing and removing weaker attributes (those that do not truly differentiate the customer types) strengthens those that remain. to work the process to determine

spectrum. This will help you

developing and defining the customer

if it is a viable differentiator. If you

determine if the attributes are

journey, additional attributes will

find an attribute that has only a

indeed different from another lens.

come to light that were not included

few customers in one end of the

If you establish two attributes but

on your list. You will discover them

spectrum, it doesn’t mean that it is

discuss CX initiatives that would

during working sessions with

not a good attribute. Rather, look

be the same for both, then you may

stakeholders, interviews, or through

at the big picture, and you may find

not have a good differentiator. A

a preliminary survey. As you gather

that the attribute really is the only

question to ask yourself is “For

more information, begin the process

defining feature, or most important,

customers that fall into this end

of stress-testing the attributes.

for those customer types.

of the attribute spectrum, what

Throughout the process of

are we going to do to help improve

Evaluate each attribute and determine whether it “holds up.” Because this is a

3. Identify and combine attributes

their customer experience that the others would not find important?”

time-consuming process, it is easy to

that are not truly differentiated.

take the first output as the “correct”

You know you are really into the

answer. However, it can be an energiz-

“stress-test” mode when you take

ing and exciting evolution as customer

two attributes that seem to have

be carried out on a whiteboard. Put the

types become focused and clearly

no relation and find that they are

attribute spectrum on the whiteboard

defined. How do you do it?

indeed connected as it relates to

and write the identifier for the customer

your customers.

data point under the end of the range you are bucketing them in. Be sure to

1. For each attribute, place each customer data point on one end of

4. Create new attributes that organi-

place each customer data point within an attribute.

the spectrum and discuss (based

cally come out of the discussion

on the information you have) if that

to fill gaps. As you discuss, you’ll

customer really belongs there. If

find yourself saying things like

ously defined attribute of approach

not, move them.

“We didn’t talk about this before,

to decision-making. Throughout the

but it seems like this is something

stress-test process, you may find

that some of our customers have in

that there is a correlation between

common.”

your customer, Anna, falling in the

2. Determine whether the attribute remains a viable differentiator of customers, based on the data. If

As an example, take our previ-

“pre-planning” bucket and another

and is true for a significant portion

40

We recommend that this process

5. Discuss the future CX initiatives

attribute: her employment status of

an attribute has all of the customer

you would take if a customer falls

“career-driven.” As you continue to

data points on one end, continue

on either end of the attribute

iterate with the stress-testing and as

THE JABIAN JOURNAL

the attributes mature, you may find that neither the pre-planning nor career status matters consistently as a differentiator as compared to her family relationship status of “single, no children.” What we are now left with is an attribute of “family status” with a range of “single” and “married,” “no children,” and “children.”

This is an example of useful customer typing (specific and unique): • Anna, aged 32 • Single, no children • Technology-savvy • Lives in an urban area • Willing to spend extra for items with cachet • Career-driven, but very tied to her friends and family • Interested in new trends Non-useful customer typing (overly broad and vague): • Female, aged 18–40 • Likes digital goods, but prefers analog • Enjoys television The next step to creating a comprehensive persona is to understand how Anna thinks and acts through empathy.

Delight your customer: Map customer types versus current state and goal experience.

Maintain the customer’s perspective.

One of the most effective uses of

• Organize the website with a clear, user-friendly roadmap.

• Provide a FAQ document that will answer most questions.

One result of highly refined personas or segments is the data and

• Explore using a chatbot for virtual assistance.

insight you gain on each customer type. It can influence your market

Empathize with your customer:

Resulting change:

Now comes the most important

direction and guide how you interact

step: put your findings into action.

with customers. This information can

Once you have determined who your

overcome challenges that limit your

customers are and what drives their

customers’ satisfaction. It can create a

decision-making, you will be in a better

more positive customer experience.

position to determine how to deliver an

Once you understand what Anna

excellent customer experience.

You’re still not done! You must

customer identification is to put yourself

wants, it will be easier to determine

in your customers’ shoes. Visualize what

how to get the most out of each

periodically revisit this exercise to

customers think, feel, and need when

advertisement, event, and marketing

keep the segment and/or personas

they interact with you. As an example,

dollar. Ensure that your marketing

fresh and accurate. Evaluate how they

our colleague Michael Ojo was recently

expenditures and website development

match the evolution of your offerings.

featured in the Fall 2018 issue of the

are geared toward the customers who

Each time we look in the mirror, we

Jabian Journal in an excellent article

bring the most revenue, or who match

are a little bit different. The same is

called “The Value of Compassion.”

your goals for growth.

true of your customers and their needs.

By recognizing this and adapting

The piece focuses on the very topic of customer empathy, which

Example finding:

your approach, you will help build an

was explored in depth. We will sum-

• Anna likes to do internet research,

improved customer experience.

marize his findings with this: When

but will get busy and abandon the

you make decisions that will affect

product if it takes too long to find

Amber Baird

your customers, anchor yourself to one

what she needs.

amber.baird@jabian.com

persona or segment and ask, “What

• If she must call to get the informa-

would Anna do, and what would make

tion she needs, she’s unlikely to

Clay A. Holmes

her happy?”

work with that company.

clay.holmes@jabian.com S P R I N G 2 019

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3/5

C U S T O M E R E X PE RIE N C E F E AT U RE S E C T I O N

Managing the Paradox

By Michael Ojo, Ph.D.

Company leaders must consider a few key issues as they balance privacy concerns with the need for consumer data to provide a personalized customer experience.

As companies in the United States come to terms with their questionable methods of collecting and handling data, they are beginning to confront the paradox created around providing dynamic, personalized user experiences.

Many products and services that require an enormous river of consumer data are quickly being choked by social pressures, consumer behavior, and government regulations, all of which are a response to data privacy concerns.1 In particular, global social networks such as Facebook have moved quickly to comply with the European Union’s regulation around consumer data (General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR), which provides guidelines on the procurement and use of consumer data by companies operating in the EU or processing data from EU consumers (see article on page 14).

That said, can companies continue to provide the user experience—or more broadly, the customer experience—that made their brands unique?

For starters, the personalization/privacy paradox speaks to the contradictory behaviors exhibited by consumers around their desire for tailored services and their increased sensitivity to sharing personal data.

Ideally, as more data is made available and used by companies to tailor experiences, the expectation is for greater user adoption and positive satisfaction from the customer. However, if consumers’ sensitivities around privacy are aroused, they are likely to limit or reduce the exposure of their personal data, thereby reducing adoption rates and exhibiting negative satisfaction.

Personalization

We define personalization as the ability to proactively tailor products and product purchasing experiences to the “tastes of individual consumers based upon their personal and preference information.”2 Personalization gives customers exactly what they want and need without being distracted by irrelevant materials. It requires the customer to share identifiable and behavioral information, like browsing history and location, information they would not otherwise want shared publicly.

Moreover, companies are financially incentivized to find the right level of personalization that appeals to a broader scope of customers than the individual.

Therefore, collecting large amounts of data, allowing companies to infer behavioral patterns, becomes a driving force in the organization.

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Privacy

In general terms, “privacy is the right to be left alone.”3 It includes the right to not have one’s identity engaged in third-party transaction. In a digital sense, it can mean the right to not have your personal data leveraged for business activities. This is especially challenging when most if not all aspects of daily life require an email address, phone number, and some other form of identifiable information.

Consumers profess that privacy is a valuable part of their user experience, but personal data continually flows to the internet, thereby creating a paradox.

Eventually, this paradoxical behavior between personalization and privacy may cause customers to abandon the brand or service as a result of their frustration and confusion over how their data is being used.

A path forward

The common thread emerging from studying the personalization/privacy paradox is trust. Consumers are making important decisions about their data based on the assumption of trust in a business.

As more and more revelations about the mishandling and violation of consumer data come to light, the paradox will only become a bigger problem for businesses seeking to grow their brand and customers seeking a tailored user experience.

Now more than ever, companies need to find ways to reengage consumers and build lasting trust.

Be clear that you’re collecting data

What data are you collecting and how? Transparency is critical for cultivating trust among your customers. They need to know your organization is collecting data about them, and they need assurance that they can opt in or out at any time.

Furthermore, your customers need to be informed about the kinds of data being collected and the manner in which it is being collected. Doing so can empower them to make informed decisions around the treatment of their identity. This may also discourage a company from acting subversively about collecting data.

Be clear about your intentions

What are you going to do with the data? A strong argument could be made that most consumers don’t read the “terms and conditions agreement” before signing up for any online social or commerce platform. And for those very few who do read the terms agreement, there is a good chance it’s done without a complete understanding of the implications, resulting in blind acceptance of the service.

I have read and understand the terms and conditions.

Lie

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THE JABIAN JOURNAL

Decline

Companies owe it to customers who patronize their service to clearly explain how their data will be used. What that means is translating legal jargon in the terms agreement into brief statements or images that make it very obvious what will happen with customer data.

Be purposeful in delivery

What feature are you trying to deliver? So, now that customers know data is being collected from them and you’ve explained your company’s intentions, how will you show your commitment to deliver? Your customers have shared their personal information and their digital identity under the condition that your brand or business will deliver on its promise.

Adhere to your commitment to customers and do not deviate from the plan.

Use their data as intended. Be cautious about retaining data that does not support product delivery.

Implications for customer experience

Fostering a relationship of trust is not an easy feat. Given the climate of account hacking, data privacy regulation, and the expanding Internet of Things economy, there is no avoiding customer sensitivities on privacy.

That said, businesses cannot afford to dismiss customers’ desire for personalized and tailored experiences. Doing so will leave any company trailing behind its competitors and out of favor with consumers.

Innovations in artificial intelligence and distributed ledger technologies, such as blockchain, could be the avenue for seriously managing the paradox. By designing infrastructures for smart computing and decentralized data management, consumers may grow to feel empowered and in control of their digital selves.

However, corporate leaders must make a concerted effort to build trust between the customer and the company. Customer experience is the culmination of interactions between a customer and product, brand, or organization.4 Therefore, the design and alignment of interactions into a robust customer journey must consider engagement opportunities that leave the customer feeling a sense of trust and accountability. Whatever new product or service is going to market, if leveraging customer data is key to providing personalized experiences, building a relationship of trust must be a part of that journey to manage the paradox.

Michael Ojo, Ph.D. michael.ojo@jabian.com

Sources: 1 Tal Z. Zarsky, “Incompatible: The GDPR in the Age of Big Data,” Seton Hall L. Rev. 47 (2016): 995 2 Ramnath K. Chellappa and Raymond G. Sin, “Personalization versus Privacy: An Empirical Examination of the Online Consumer’s Dilemma,” Information Technology and Management 6, no. 2–3 (2005): 181 3 J. Alberto Castañeda and Francisco J. Montoro, “The Effect of Internet General Privacy Concern on Customer Behavior,” Electronic Commerce Research 7, no. 2 (2007): 3 4 Peter C. Verhoef et al., “Customer Experience Creation: Determinants, Dynamics and Management Strategies,” Journal of Retailing 85, no. 1 (2009): 31–41, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2008.11.001

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4/5

C U S T O M E R E X PE RIE N C E F E AT U RE S E C T I O N

By Robert Amberg

The future will be won or lost on customer experience. Companies committed to customer centricity will win long-term.

If you ask people what the single

Targeting Customer Experience for Unprecedented Growth nugget of information. Without it, the company is simply guessing.

A focus on customer experience

So if you book travel for minors often, every time you book, you have to say who you are, who the minors are,

isn’t a new concept, but the way

what payment you want to use, etc. The

companies implement it across

process usually takes more than 15 to

their organizations as a competitive

20 minutes, assuming you can speak

advantage is still being realized.

with an agent immediately, which is

Consider this example from the airline

never certain.

industry: To make a standard reserva-

Now consider the experience at

tion on Delta Air Lines, you can either

Southwest Airlines. You can book by

book online, through an app, or over

phone, or you can book the same travel

the phone.

entirely though the website or through

However, to book a reservation for

the mobile app. If you are a member

most important thing is a CEO can do

an unaccompanied minor, you must

of the Southwest rewards program,

for their business, you’ll usually get

call a special number. The information

your information will be pulled up as

answers such as improving the stock

gathered by the agent is no different

well as the information on the minors,

price, being a good spokesperson for

than the information you would

assuming you agreed to save it. The

the company, being a good leader, and

provide online, yet you must speak to

entire experience takes less than 5

so on.

two different agents. Delta does not

minutes—with no waiting on an agent.

save any of the minor’s information,

Plus, you can make changes without

true first duty—understanding the

your payment information, or the

talking to a human and without a fee.

customer and the customer experi-

destination information, regardless

ence. Everything a CEO can affect in

of whether you are a frequent flyer or

is clearly superior and is one of the

the business comes from that one

rewards member.

reasons the airline is consistently

All that pales in comparison to their

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THE JABIAN JOURNAL

The experience with Southwest

voted tops for customer service.

brand strength, competitive

stores. After launching a pilot pro-

It is also interesting to note that

advantage, recruiting, etc., will all

gram, Kroger implemented a food

Southwest, while branded as a “low

be affected.

delivery service after significantly upgrading its app. Kroger listened to

cost” carrier, isn’t always the lowest price. In fact, on many routes between Delta and Southwest, the latter is more

2

what customers wanted on the app.

Its team added things like automatic coupons and deleted things like

expensive—yet it consistently has The next step is to audit existing

deal alerts, which often resulted

customer journeys. This evaluation

in a bad experience because of

found that by 2020, customer experi-

must include what the customer

inventory issues.

ence will overtake price and product as

experiences as well as the back-end

Kroger also replaced nearly

a key brand differentiator. No matter

business and operational processes

50 percent of the checkout aisles

your industry, you’re likely to face

required to facilitate the journey.

with additional self-checkout

competitors with lower prices, more

Often you will find duplicative

stations capable of handling

product features, or both. However,

processes, or handoffs between

small to medium-sized loads.

the perceived value through customer

departments that could otherwise

Additionally, the stores have piloted

experience can negate both.

be consolidated. The resulting

a self-scanning program that allows

efficiency is both more profitable for

you to bypass the checkout lanes

such as Amazon, Uber, or Apple and

the company and more satisfying

altogether. Simply use one of the

say they’ve managed the customer

for the customer.

provided handheld scanners as you

higher booking capacities.

A recent Walker research study

Many people look at companies

add items to your cart. You can use

experience very well, largely through digital channels, so all hope is lost for older, traditional companies

3

Kroger’s bags or bring your own.

When you’re done shopping, you swipe your card on the scanner to

looking to compete. However, any company can start a focus on customer

The third step is empowering the

pay and walk out. You can see your

experience and become more competi-

organization to change and making

running total expense and it syncs

tive, regardless of its industry or its

customer-centricity central in all

automatically to your app.

digital maturity.

areas of the company. It isn’t easy

The result: Customer shopping

to move an organization formerly

trips and average cost per checkout

studies that increases in customer

focused entirely on financials to one

have gone up.

satisfaction translate to increases in

focused primarily on customers.

customer loyalty. The cost to acquire

Rewards, compensation, job func-

a customer can be seven to 20 times

tions, communications, marketing,

on customer experience. That is

the cost to keep one, so good customer

etc., will all be affected. A successful

where companies will differentiate

satisfaction can drive revenue and

transition depends on the leader-

themselves. Companies committed to

lower customer service expense,

ship to manage expectations and set

customer centricity will win long-

meaning it’s always a good time to

the tone for the new direction.

term, even in the face of lower prices or

We already know through countless

more product features.

start focusing on the customer.

Let’s suppose you’re a CEO and you realize you’re losing competitiveness

The future will be won or lost

4

Creating a customer-centric company starts with truly understanding the customer. It’s an ongoing

to other companies that are more customer-centric. How do you go about

The final step is communicating

experience. The old saying might have

redesigning the customer experience

to the organization and to your

been “The customer is always right,”

journey? What are the building blocks?

customers. You need to create

but the new saying is “The customer

a feedback loop that allows the com-

experience is everything.”

1 It starts with a vision driven from

pany to listen to the customer, to experience the journey with them,

Robert Amberg

and constantly adjust.

robert.amberg@jabian.com

Consider what’s being done by

the top of the organization to be a

Kroger, a large grocery store chain.

more customer-centric company—

Faced with increased competition

and to communicate the value of

from Publix (higher-end stores) and

doing so. Cost-cutting and efficiency

Whole Foods/Amazon (upscale and

might be ancillary benefits, but

delivery), Kroger radically changed

greater customer loyalty, growth,

how customers can shop at its S P R I N G 2 019

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5/5

C U S T O M E R E X PE RIE N C E F E AT U RE S E C T I O N

Five CX Lessons from the Five Stripes

By Matt Syrett and Clay A. Holmes

How a soccer club’s focus on customer experience helped drive them to success.

Atlanta United FC is one of the most successful expansion franchises in American sports. The attendance, growth, and success they have experienced in their first two years are the envy of sports organizations nationwide. The team led the league in attendance in 2017, their inaugural season, and

START WITH A GOAL

has done so again in 2018, drawing 26 percent more spectators than the next closest club.

The team’s 50,000-plus fans per game is the

Start with a goal and put your customer at the core of it. For Atlanta United and owner Arthur Blank,

highest average for any professional sports team

that goal was, “A world-class club. A global force in

in North America that’s not in the NFL. They’ve

soccer. A dynamic, sustainable brand. Stewards of

sold more season tickets than most MLS stadiums

the community. Winners.” Yes, they would need a

have seats. Midway through their 2017 season, the

great team to do so, but their customers, the fans,

team accounted for 25 percent of the entire league’s

remained central to that goal. The organization

merchandise sales on the MLS on-line store.

recognized that both winning and winning with

And they’re good. Really good. After finishing fourth last year, the Five Stripes, as they’re known locally, won the city of Atlanta’s first championship since 1995.

How have they been so successful, deep in the

an appealing brand of soccer were important to their fans.

The team spent the next several years leading up to the first kick—building an experience, a club, and a stadium focused on just that. They made

south where college football reigns? There is a myriad

splashy, strategic international signings, bringing

of explanations, but one principle lies at the core of

on young, offensively gifted players. They inked

them all: an organizational focus and commitment

an offensive-minded head coach to maximize the

to customer experience. Here are five lessons the

team’s potential. Those two tactics alone have

Five Stripes have embodied, and how their focus on

resulted in one of the league’s most potent goal-

customer experience has driven them to success.

scoring attacks.

< P H O T O : Jamie Lamor Thompson / Shutterstock.com

S P R I N G 2 019

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Ownership spared no expense on a $1.2 billion stadium tailored to the fans’ experience. There are few places in the stadium where you can’t see the game. If you leave your seat, the sightlines from the mezzanines around the stadium to the field are largely unobstructed. And if you happen to lose sight of the field, you’ll find the game on a TV nearby, restrooms included.

The results so far? United is a championship favorite, whose average attendance ranks in the top 20 in the world. This success, both on and off the field, has already garnered the attention of clubs worldwide. Several European club executives visited Atlanta to see what’s behind it all, and other international clubs are attempting to poach United’s players and staff.

In retrospect it may seem like common sense: If the team is good, fans will show up. Though true to an extent, this thinking is shortsighted and not the recipe for sustained success. The Five Stripes did not fall victim to the “If you build it, they will come” line of thought that often

ESTABLISH A CUSTOMER-FIRST CULTURE

traps organizations.

Atlanta United recognized that delivering

and achievements enables an organization’s leaders

component of their success and an important step

to make decisions that consider the customers’ best

to accomplish their lofty goal of competing on the

interest. It’s equally important to reduce the degrees

world stage. The five stripe branding in their logo

of separation from leaders to your customers.

embodies this ethos of success and customer focus.

Reducing this distance encourages an emotional

Each stripe represents a pillar of character—unity,

connection with customers, allowing leaders to not

determination, community, excellence, innova-

only preach, but practice a customer-first culture.

tion—and serves as a reference point for the

A customer-first culture starts with leadership,

entire organization. Consider your organization:

then permeates the organization. Atlanta United

What is the winning team you need to accomplish

President Darren Eales eliminated the distance

your goals? What are the key touch points, products,

between his office and customers by spending time

and experiences that will capture your customer?

directly with fans in pubs throughout the city prior

Do key decisions align to customer considerations

to the inaugural season.

and organizational values and objectives? Be

United demonstrated their commitment to

intentional about the organization’s goals for where

a customer-first culture at the club’s inception,

you want to be tomorrow and five, 10, or 15 years

inviting fans to choose the team’s name and colors.

down the road.

This commitment is also reflected in their market-

Establish goals and recognize that your custom-

ing. The slogan now ubiquitous with the club, “Unite

ers are the ultimate driver of success from the onset.

and Conquer,” always depicts fans with the word

The goals and recognition will serve as a valuable

“unite,” embodying one of owner Arthur Blank’s six

reference point as you progress, ensuring that key

core values: “Put people first.”

decisions remain aligned to the goals and customers for the duration of your initiatives.

50

Putting the customer at the center of goal setting

the optimal fan experience would be a critical

THE JABIAN JOURNAL

Counterintuitively, a customer-first culture’s sole focus should not be the customer alone. Regardless

of intention, the culture won’t stick if the people

a mechanism to capture employee feedback? Do you

responsible for a customer’s experience are not

consider all employees partners in the customer

informed, involved, or empowered to provide input.

experience journey? Do their incentives align with

Spoiler alert: Everyone in the organization is

instruction and communication from leadership?

responsible for the customer experience.

A customer’s journey rarely starts and ends

Establish a customer-first culture to delight customers at every point in their journey.

with a single touch point. It includes numerous touch points, spanning organizational functions and groups, and roles and responsibilities. Success depends on these integrated groups, like a soccer team depends on all 11 players on the pitch.

Soccer is unique in that a single individual cannot singlehandedly carry an otherwise lackluster team to the top. It is more dependent on teamwork than other sports and exemplifies the idea of being only as strong as your weakest link.

In a business, a customer may have 99 out of 100 great interactions within their journey. However, if just one results in a poor experience—long concession lines, not enough bathrooms, inaccessible stadium, terrible parking—they will remember the negative experience as much as, if not more than, the good ones. Even if their team wins, they will carry the negative experiences with them.

Communicate the importance of putting the customer first to all levels of the organization.

Make employees stakeholders in the delivery of a delightful customer experience by involving them in voice-of-customer readouts and inviting input on customer experience challenges. Reward them for contributing positively to a customer’s experience.

An engaged workforce will deliver higher levels of customer experience, regardless of role or function.

A security employee changed companies from his previous security agency to the one that would service the new stadium—following United to its

GAIN CUSTOMER INSIGHTS

new home. He was quickly embraced by fans at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium after he was seen

It is well known in the United States that the

celebrating exuberantly with fans following a

popularity of soccer is highest in metropolitan

United goal. In a position normally associated with

areas, particularly in urban centers. Atlanta United

stoicism and detachment, this employee’s passion

plays in an ethnically diverse core, surrounded by a

improved the experience for those around him, and

metropolitan sprawl of transplants. The organiza-

his company rewarded him, saying the supporter’s

tion recognized the appeal their roster and team

section would be his from then on.

would have to fans in the area, especially Latin

Consider the ways you put your customers

Americans and Millennials.

first. Do you lead by example? At what point in the

United’s stars hail predominantly from South

decision tree does the customer enter? Do you have

America, and their coach, an Argentine, coached the S P R I N G 2 019

51

likes of Lionel Messi for the storied FC Barcelona.

Data gathered from activities like conducting

What did United do with this information? They

surveys and focus groups, analyzing market and

seemed to consider the personas of their fans and

demographic information, defining customer

fans in other established soccer cultures to provide

segments and personas, examining web and mobile

authentic, tailored experiences to them.

application behavior, and SWOT analyses will help

Rather than force a manufactured game-day experience, United relied on the fans and their passion to create the experience organically, building

formulate customer needs you can address through the delivery of their experience.

The data should also be treated as an asset with

on a culture already successful in Latin America and

the potential to be leveraged by possible vendors and

Europe, and appealing to their fans’ desire for self-

other third parties looking to market and sell their

expression. United did their part to remove barriers

goods and services to allow for a more cohesive and

that would impede the experience, encouraging

immersive customer experience. An advertisement

the use of drums and fan artwork during pre-game

for baby food while shopping for baby clothes is a

festivities and the match.

friendly reminder, while the same advertisement on

The result? A true spectacle on game days, unique to any sporting event in the city.

United also utilized surveys and focus groups to

an LED board at a United match would be confusing and distracting. If you can create, store, and provide an accurate, insightful representation of

gather input from their earliest supporters on the

your customers, your customers will receive more

team name. Instead of predefining team names for

relevant advertising across the various touch points

selection, they asked questions regarding percep-

of their journey, enhancing their overall experience.

tions of the city of Atlanta and how the team should

How does your organization make decisions? Are

be represented. They also used Likert scale ques-

you gathering insights from a variety of sources?

tions to judge favorability of elements and words

When and how are you capturing customer insights?

associated with the team. These non-prescriptive

How are you leveraging these insights to improve

methods resulted in an organic name, Atlanta

the experience of your customers? The importance

United FC, that President Darren Eales said reflected

of gaining insights on your customers cannot be

the views of the team’s supporters.

overstated. Use these insights to make data-driven

Too often, a decision is made on gut instinct, tribal knowledge, or assumptions from previous

decisions and deliver an experience that exceeds customer expectations.

experience. As valuable as instinct and experience may be, this method of decision-making leads to gaps between the experience delivered and the customer’s actual expectation.

LEAGUE ATTENDANCE LEADER

2017, 2018 26 percent more than next closest club

PERCENT OF LEAGUE ON-LINE MERCHANDISE SALES

25 %

GAME ATTENDANCE AVERAGE

53,000 Highest average for any professional sports team in North America that’s not in the NFL

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THE JABIAN JOURNAL

Midway through their 2017 season, the team accounted for 25 percent of the entire league’s merchandise sales on the MLS on-line store.

INVOLVE THE CUSTOMER EARLY AND OFTEN

If there is a breakdown in customer experience, acknowledge it, address it, then communicate the improvement. The two-way communication lets the customer know you’re listening.

Gather voice-of-the-customer information and communicate changes and successes back to your customers. Remove barriers in feedback loops. Don’t provide a 100-question survey when a few questions will capture what you need. Acknowledge faults and promote your successes and positive changes.

When owner Arthur Blank and President Darren

Customers may not recognize a change, but they’ll

Eales were interviewed prior to the debut of Atlanta

appreciate it once it is communicated.

United, reporters inquired about the team’s name

Continuously involving the customer is just

and colors. What would they be? The two responded

one part of the equation. The other is the perspective

consistently and emphatically: They wanted the

of your organization’s employees. Employees

fans’ input. They involved their customer almost

can provide insights into customers and their

from day one.

experiences as they interact with the customers

It was a simple gesture that established trust

both directly and indirectly, throughout the

amongst fans and created a sense of fan owner-

customer journey. Atlanta United employs a

ship. When customers feel like stakeholders, they

mechanism to capture customer feedback straight

are more likely to be loyal and advocate for your

from their employees.

brand. Additionally, the mentality of obtaining

After each game, members from every aspect of

voice-of-customer data from the start permeates

the game-day staff meet to discuss what went well,

the organization and sets the tone for continuous

what did not, and what needs to be improved for the

improvement and the direct incorporation of

next game, like Agile standups, where blockers and

feedback into initiatives.

challenges are discussed daily.

It is important to hear directly from custom-

In each instance, it’s critical to have the right

ers, inviting their input whenever and wherever

people in the meetings. Involve those who can

possible—through suggestion boxes, dedicated

interact directly with customers and those can

phone lines, surveys, panel discussions, focus

provide guidance and make decisions to relieve

groups, social media engagement, and monitoring

bottlenecks and resolve issues.

online forums, to name a few tactics. However,

When do you engage customers for input? How

the communication between customers and the

do you acknowledge their feedback? Do your treat

organization should not be a one-way street.

your customers as stakeholders? How do you involve

Organizations must communicate back to the

employees in the customer experience improvement

customer, acknowledging receipt, thanking them

process? Engage your customers early and often and

for their feedback, and highlighting the incorpora-

leverage the frontline knowledge of your employees

tion of previous suggestions. Celebrate, promote,

to build customer loyalty and close the gap between

and implement great ideas from your customers.

expectation and delivery.

S P R I N G 2 019

53

BE CONSISTENT

facility in the suburbs. But the arrival of the team bus drew hundreds of fans who greeted the players as they made their way into the stadium. Both players and fans enjoyed the routine so much that the tradition continued at Mercedes-Benz. Sort of.

Instead of commuting from the suburbs, the team now boards the bus at Mercedes-Benz, then drives

Consistency is king in the world of customer

around the block to the front gate, where the fans

experience, and customers now expect it regardless

wait to greet them. United turned what developed

of the brand, the industry, or the medium. It is a

naturally out of necessity into a tradition that

challenge for organizations to maintain consistency

carried over to the new stadium.

across the various channels through which a customer may interact.

The Atlanta United experience spans multiple

experience at Bobby Dodd so memorable for the first

channels. Think of a customer journey on a match

nine games that fans worried the charm would be

day: check the starting 11 on the team website, pick

lost in the new stadium.

out a jersey and scarf, reference the team mobile

Those concerns were quickly alleviated after a

application for parking and stadium informa-

70,000-plus opening day sellout in the Benz, with

tion, watch the game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium,

the same team arrival, the same hammering of the

purchase a jersey from the team store, check Twitter

spike, the same A-T-L Viking clap, the same newly

for in-game insights. Then after the victory, browse

minted traditions that made the experience so

the various social media feeds for highlights and

endearing to fans.

post-game updates.

Creating consistency across the customer jour-

Customers expect a consistent experience with a brand or product, no matter where they are. United

ney is more than simply branding each touch point.

delivered this consistency by transitioning the

Consider the consistency of experiences delivered,

traditions and experiences most critical to the fan

messaging communicated, and emotions evoked as

experience from one stadium to another.

you evaluate the overall customer experience.

The inaugural season approached with

Also consider consistency within messaging.

Customers can actively engage with an organiza-

anticipation, but there was a small problem. The

tionâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;following it on social media, for exampleâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;or

construction of Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the $1.2

engage passively, seeing a mural or billboard while

billion behemoth, was behind schedule. United

on a walk. The challenge for organizations is

would have to open the season in Bobby Dodd

delivering clear, consistent messaging across

Stadium, a relic compared to the glistening metal

these media on both active and passive points

and halo LED displays of Mercedes-Benz.

of engagement.

The news could have discouraged the organiza-

54

The match day rituals, rowdy sold-out crowds of 40,000-plus, and stadium-wide chants made the

Atlanta United has leveraged its bold five-stripe

tion. The infrastructure of Bobby Dodd presented its

color scheme, logo, and mottos to do just that.

challenges. For example, the team was forced to bus

Unitedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s core customers live and spend their time in

to their games at Bobby Dodd from their training

and around the city and generally prefer to engage

THE JABIAN JOURNAL

CONSISTENCY IS KING IN THE WORLD OF CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, AND CUSTOMERS NOW EXPECT IT REGARDLESS OF THE BRAND, THE INDUSTRY, OR THE MEDIUM.

with brands digitally. Their messaging and marketing meet the customers at these touch points.

Throughout the city, you’ll find the familiar black

From the inception of the club, Blank and the team’s leadership wanted to give fans input into naming the team. That act alone established an

and red five stripes on train car wraps, bus stop

emotional connection, conveying their willingness

signs, Beltline murals, highway billboards. “Unite

to trust and listen to their customers.

and Conquer,” the aforementioned slogan, appears

The organization recognized that their fans’

on these media as well. The themes used on static

experience extended well beyond match day. They

media, the passive points of engagement, are used

evoked emotions of trust and inclusiveness with

consistently within United’s digital presence as

social support initiatives, technology design, and fan

well, the active points of engagement.

engagement, uniting fans around a collective pride for

Their Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn profiles all have the same profile picture— the red and black five stripes and the gold “A.” The

the team and the city. This has resulted in one of the strongest supporting fanbases in Major League Soccer.

Put yourself in your customers’ shoes. As they

content of their social media posts is also consistent

move along the journey from touch point to touch

and frequently the same, featuring players, fans,

point, is their experience consistent? Are they inter-

highlights, and soccer updates. United’s own mobile

preting your messaging through passive and active

application loads with the same logo featured in

channels as you intend them to do? Are your points

their digital profile pictures, then opens to the

of engagement fostering an emotional connection?

familiar red, black, and gold color scheme.

Establish consistency in these areas to emphasize

The use of color, branding, and “Unite and Conquer” imagery across media and engagement points emphasizes the boldness, energy, and passion of the organization.

Establishing an emotional connection is a critical

the core values of an experience or product, leaving no doubt how it should be interpreted.

What have we learned from Atlanta United FC? Align initiatives and key decisions to goals established at the start. Create a customer-first culture by empow-

step in establishing trust. Customers who trust

ering employees and leading by example. Leverage

brands or organizations are more like to be loyal and

customer insights to make data-driven decisions.

advocate for it. United sponsored 2018’s Pride Parade

Involve your customers early and often to quickly

and continued to sell Pride-themed United mer-

incorporate feedback into experiences that will exceed

chandise afterward, creating a connection through

expectations. Be consistent and deliver a cohesive and

inclusivity and self-expression at matches that fans

memorable experience to your customers.

and the community could bond over.

Within their mobile application, United created an automated concierge persona called Arthur,

Consider these five lessons as you evaluate your organization’s customer experience capabilities, and you too may experience success like the Five Stripes.

complete with a Bitmoji-esque rendering of team owner Arthur Blank. The fans and organization

Matt Syrett

affectionately refer to him as Arthur and Uncle

matt.syrett@jabian.com

Arthur. This subtle inclusion in the app indirectly brings fans closer to the man at the top and rein-

Clay A. Holmes

forces Blank’s desire to listen and respond.

clay.holmes@jabian.com S P R I N G 2 019

55

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IoT Devices and Security

By Yosef Beck, CISSP

How can you protect yourself from bad actors using web-connected “Internet of Things” devices against you?

et’s start with a funny

connecting a device to the internet.

When you buy a car, you consider

story. A few years ago, I was shopping

Consider the message of a recent pre-

factors such as reliability and safety.

at my local big box hardware store for a

sentation at the 2018 Usenix Security

As the owner, you’re responsible

new whole-house hot water heater. The

conference in Baltimore by Princeton

for the general maintenance of the

sales associate tried to convince me to

University’s Saleh Soltan, Prateek

vehicle—either through scheduled

upgrade to an internet-connected hot

Mittal, and H. Vincent Poor. The

maintenance with a dealer or local

water heater for an extra $50.

researchers showed how an “Internet

mechanic, or by doing the mainte-

of Things” botnet attack on only a

nance yourself.

I asked why I would want it

When you buy a new computer

connected to the internet. Would it

small percentage of high-wattage

send an alert if it started to leak? No.

devices (such as 5,000-watt electric

for your house, you are responsible

The answer? So, I could adjust the

hot water heaters) can cause major

for installing the typical antivirus pro-

temperature of the hot water heater

disruptions to the power grid—the

grams, practicing safe web-browsing

on my phone.

power grid so much of our modern-day

habits, and maintaining software and

lives depend on.

firmware patches.

As a homeowner, I laughed and said thank you, but no thank you. Have

What is an “Internet of Things”

The same types of factors and

you ever changed the temperature of

(IoT) device? Also known as

maintenance apply when you buy

your home’s hot water heater after it

“smart” devices, IoT devices are

an IoT device. As an end consumer,

was installed? I know I never have,

anything that communicates over

you are responsible for doing your

and I certainly don’t need a dedicated

the internet to send or receive data.

research, ensuring that you’re buying

smartphone app to allow me to do so.

IoT devices include wearables such

a safe and reputable brand, and

To be fair, if I owned a rental property

as the Fitbit and Apple Watch; smart

maintaining the device through

that was inconvenient to visit regu-

home electronics such as internet-

software and firmware updates.

larly, I could see an argument for this

connected thermostats and door

remote temperature control.

locks; smart appliances such as

device manufacturers are incentiv-

The problem is twofold. First, IoT

clothes dryers, refrigerators, robotic

ized to get to market. They are not

shuddered at how few people weigh

vacuums, and even internet-connected

incentivized to ensure that their device

the convenience versus the risk of

coffee makers.

is secure. Second, most consumers

As a security practitioner, I

S P R I N G 2 019

57

Evaluate convenience versus risk.

Change default usernames

Update!

Do you need the device to be connected

and passwords.

Set up scheduled reminders (boots

to the internet? What is the risk if it

Start with your router, your Wi-Fi

versus sandals season) to check

gets compromised? Can you use the

printer, your thermostat, etc.

whether device manufacturers have

device without connecting it to the

released updates to software, drivers,

internet? For example, does a hot water

or firmware—and apply any available

heater really need to be connected to

security updates.

the internet?

Assess your home network.

Use a password manager.

Use a virtual private network.

Understand what devices are on your

These tools will help you create unique,

Use a VPN when you’re away from

network and ensure that they are

complex, and (ideally) randomized

the house, especially if you’re com-

legitimate. If your router supports it,

passwords to secure your devices.

municating back to an IoT device at

set up different networks for differ-

home. A VPN will reduce the risk of

ent types of devices. Set up a guest

someone stealing your credentials

network so guests cannot access your

while you’re using public Wi-Fi. VPN

personal computers. Set up a network

software is available for all computers

for only IoT devices so they can access

and smartphones. Do your research

the internet, but not talk directly to

to ensure that you’re using a trusted

your local computers, etc.

VPN solution.

Use encrypted communications.

Add a layer of protection.

Don’t get phished!

Validate that a company’s product

Turn on multi-factor authentication

Learn how to spot phishing emails.

uses a modern, industry-accepted

or two-factor authentication

This is the No. 1 way bad actors gain

encryption standard for all internet

everywhere it’s offered—devices and

access to your network and devices.

communications.

controllers, banks, 401(k) sites, and shopping websites.

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do not understand or have the skill to

denial-of-service attacks against

research and maintain their

major corporations. They use IoT

IoT devices.

devices to gain access to other devices

I know someone who spent a

(e.g., your laptop or tablet) in your

month on the phone with Google

home, or at your office, to steal credit

trying to get details on the encryption

card information, send forged money

used for his new Nest thermostat

wiring instructions, etc.

before he was willing to allow it

The typical consumer considers IoT

access to the internet. While that

devices to be innocent and does not

may be a bit extreme for most

recognize the potential threats and

people, I strongly urge you to do

vulnerabilities. While the common

your research and not be swayed by

individual is not a typical target,

marketing when it comes to security.

hackers choose targets for both ease

Unsecured devices are very easy to compromise. Free websites such as Shodan.io provide a familiar search

of attack and to gain access to specific individuals and corporations.

For example, the CEO of a small

engine interface that will allow you to

widget supplier may not seem like a

find unsecured devicesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;everything

large target. However, a hacker may

from IP-enabled baby cameras, game

choose to target the CEO in order

servers, thermostats, and robotic

to infiltrate a large, multinational

vacuums to home assistants like Alexa

corporation or political organization

and Google Home. It will even identify

that they supply.

critical computer-controlled utility

Security is a complex and multifac-

infrastructure devices for electrical,

eted concept that most people do not

gas, or water supplies.

understand or want to deal with. As a

The majority of these exposed IoT

consumer, or in your business role, you

devices can be hacked. Sure, hackers

must figure out what you are willing

could use these devices to spy on

and able to do given your interests and

you. But hackers are more interested

risk tolerance.

in using the devices to conduct

Consider the major inconveniences that can occur when something bad happens. Security is big business these days. There are lots of tools and credible organizations that can help you manage your risk and exposure.

The list on page 58 is not intended to be fully comprehensive or prescriptive, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a great place to start researching and implementing best practices for you, as a consumer, to protect yourself and your IoT devices.

A quick internet search on any of these items will unearth a trove of educational and instructive materials.

Yosef Beck, CISSP yosef.beck@jabian.com

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The Cost of Uncertainty In this fourth piece in a nine-part series, we look at the next section of the Jabian Engagement Framework: How security is essential to employee engagement.

By Fred Jewell and Tracy Reznik

What happens when we are uncertain about the future? What happens when we feel vulnerable or unsafe? When our future is uncertain, or our security is threatened, we become distracted and have difficulty focusing on the here and now.

Any time we shift our attention to an uncertain future, playing out the “whatifs” and imagining the unfavorable scenarios that could develop, our engagement is affected. In fact, our engagement can decrease to the point of unproductivity and inefficiency.

On the flip side, when our future is predictable and seems like a sure thing, we can shift our focus to growth and accomplishment, to improving relationships, to improving processes and reducing tedium.

Security is the fourth engagement driver we cover in this series on the Jabian Engagement Framework. Security is about certainty, clarity, and safety. Our need for security, like the other engagement drivers, varies by individual. Some people are very comfortable with ambiguity and an unclear future. Others want to know exactly what’s going to happen next in their lives.

Once we get to a comfortable level of security, however, more of whatever it was that made us more secure (e.g., clarity, safety, money) doesn’t increase our security further. Security has a limited upside once we get to “secure enough.” It is up to individuals to determine what “secure enough” means to them. Insecurity, on the other hand, has an unlimited downside. In fact, its downside is perhaps the most distracting and even the most paralyzing of all the engagement drivers in our framework.

Security is covered in the foundational layers of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

First we need food and shelter. Then we need to be healthy and safe. After that, anything that makes life more predictable and certain enables the top layers of Maslow’s hierarchy, which focus on things related to autonomy, growth, and relationships.

Luckily, there are lots of ways we can improve our security. Anything we can do to make our outlook more predictable and comfortable will help. We outline some of those ideas here.

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Clear Purpose and Goals: Understand the ‘Why’ Without clarity around what we’re striving to accomplish in our work and in our life, we lose focus and wallow in the ambiguity that comes with ill-defined purpose and goals.

Leaders who provide their teams with clear purpose in their work—setting clear, achievable goals—are more

THE MORE FREQUENT AND CLEARER WE CAN BE ABOUT OUR INTERNAL COMMUNICATION, THE MORE WE CAN TAKE INSECURITY OFF THE TABLE.

likely to ensure that their people will stay focused on their work and secure in their roles. Similarly, individuals who take the time to plan and manage their time to focus on what’s most important will create for themselves a sense of security that allows them to grow, get things done, and build relationships that enhance their overall engagement.

Role Clarity Lack of clarity about roles and responsibilities will affect security.

Over time, the changing needs of the business or organization will necessarily drive changes to the documented and communicated role descriptions

As a leader, if your people are feeling insecure, assessing how well and how often you’re communicating is a great place to start.

within the organization. The changes often creep into the roles across teams within the larger organization, muddying any clarity that differentiated the functions of each role or team and its contribution to the success of the department or organization.

Without role clarity, work that is critical but less interesting and engaging will always be set aside for more interesting tasks. This leads to conflict between people and teams about accountability and who is responsible for what, creating stress and anxiety.

If people are saying things like “That’s not my job” or “It didn’t get done because I didn’t want to step on any toes,” there is probably a problem with role clarity. We can help everyone feel more secure by stepping back to review the organizational design and role descriptions.

S P R I N G 2 019

61

The stress we feel is natural and

with their manager. Note, however,

Satisfaction with internal communi-

normal, but it still generates insecurity

that the engagement risk with dis-

cation consistently ranks toward the

as we become more adept at new skills.

tributing that decision-making shifts

bottom of virtually every employee

Classroom training and certifications

to fairness, the engagement driver we

engagement survey. This is a mani-

can always help, but simple things

will cover in our next article.

festation of the security engagement

like reading books and articles or

driver. People rank communication low

watching online videos that cover the

Live in the Moment

because they have a sense of insecurity

topics we’re insecure about can help

Mark Twain once said, “I have lived

that results from not being “in the

supply the background knowledge

through some terrible things in my life,

know,” not knowing what’s coming,

and language that allow us to build

many of which actually happened.”

or not understanding where leadership

the skills and confidence we need to

We often make ourselves miserable

is headed.

perform at the next level.

thinking too much about what might

Transparent Communication

happen, and our bodies physically react

What feels like over-communication to executives will still feel like too

Clear Policies

the same just imaging a bad outcome as

little to employees, but the more

Every organization has mavericks who

they would if we actually lived through

frequent and clearer we can be about

are happy to break rules to get things

that negative experience.

our internal communication, the more

done or make their work more engag-

we can take insecurity off the table and

ing, but every organization has a high

ried ourselves sick only to have things

drive engagement. As a leader, if your

number of compliant rule-followers

turn out perfectly fine? One strategy is

people are feeling insecure, assessing

who just want to be told exactly what

to prepare and overprepare (without

how well and how often you’re com-

they must and must not do to stay out

stressing yourself out!). Although that

municating is a great place to start.

of trouble.

approach is simple, preparation is

High-compliance people prefer

But how many times have we wor-

only half the battle; anticipating the

Skill and Knowledge

specific guidelines and prescrip-

reactions and questions to your big

Tremendous insecurity can result

tive policies. Leaders must balance

presentation will make you feel less

when we feel like we don’t have

specificity with flexibility and align

anxious and more secure in the work

the requisite knowledge or skill to

that balance with the desired culture

you present.

perform our roles. Even when our peers

of the organization. Either way, clarity

and bosses think we have the skills

is necessary.

we need, we still often suffer from

For example, organizations often

Another strategy is to develop the skills required to “live in the moment,” focusing on the here and now, not

“impostor syndrome,” the feeling we

choose not to have a prescriptive

worrying too much about things that

get when we feel like we’re having to

work-at-home policy, preferring to

might happen. Practicing meditation,

pretend we know more than we do to

leave the decision on the appropriate-

learning not to catastrophize, and

perform our jobs.

ness of working from home up to each

training ourselves to have a positive and

manager. To address the insecurity

optimistic outlook can do great things to

and strive, we’re stretching to step into

associated with a lack of policy, a

improve our feelings of security.

something we have never done before.

briefly worded policy that says working

In fact, though, anytime we grow

SEE THE SPRING 2015 JABIAN JOURNAL ARTICLE ON PREPARING YOUR EMPLOYEES FOR STRETCH ASSESSMENTS: “CREATING SUPERHEROES IN YOUR ORGANIZATION”.

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from home will be handled on a case-

Trust

by-case basis with the decision lying

Trust is an interpersonal quality

with each manager in the organiza-

that is highly dependent upon

tion. That clarity provides a framework

security; in fact, it’s a combination

for the discussion each employee who

of the relationship, security, and

wants to work from home can have

fairness engagement drivers. Trust

is an outcome of accountability and predictability; you are more likely to trust people when they follow through in their actions and when you can predict what they will say or do. Trust also requires a relationship, or at least a relationship by association (e.g., I trust Susan, and Susan trusts Steve, therefore I trust Steve, even if I don’t have a direct relationship with Steve).

Benefits of Security Providing an environment where your employees and loved ones are secure creates loyalty, which precedes engagement. Employee retention can affect bottom-line numbers and is more likely to be stable if employees understand the “why”; have role clarity; receive frequent, substantive communication; and have the support to gain the skills and knowledge they need to grow. By eliminating the distraction caused by insecurity, we can drive higher engagement through growth, relationships, and well-being, the drivers with unlimited upside for improving engagement.

In our next article, we’ll address fairness, an engagement driver that can distract us from virtually everything else.

Fred Jewell fred.jewell@jabian.com Tracy Reznik tracy.reznik@jabian.com

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63

Defining Strategy Get a broader vision of business strategy to avoid seeing only a portion of the story.

By Don Turner

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“Blind monks examining an elephant,” an 1888 ukiyo-e print by Hanabusa Itchō.

Let’s address several key questions regarding business strategy: • How is strategy defined today?

• Why is strategy difficult to define?

• What is strategic goodness?

• What are the stages of strategic thinking within a company?

• What does strategy involve?

Our objective is to provide an effective definition of business strategy.

elephant is a like a wall. For another, the wriggling of the trunk compels him to declare it is like a snake. You get the idea.

In every case, the blind men are correct in their individual descriptions, but totally wrong in their conclusion as a whole.

Much like the story of the blind men describing that elephant, the “strategic definitions” you receive from executives will likely have as many

Defining strategy: It all depends on your perspective

variations as the number of executives you ask. The marketing executive will describe the strategy in terms of

Ask any executive what strategy is and

markets and pricing. The development

you will definitely get an answer. The

executive will offer you technology

problem is, you will rarely get the same

as the basis for the strategy. The sales

answer. Even if the answer sounds the

executive might propose the strategy

same at the 100,000-foot level, the

in terms of market share and revenue

definitions rapidly diverge as you delve

growth. The CFO will talk about stock

a bit deeper.

price and shareholder value.

In fact, hearing executives define

It is the responsibility of the chief

The General’s Art The word “strategy” comes from the Latin term “stratego,” meaning “the general’s art.” It refers to military conflict before planes, satellites, and instantaneous communication.

Then, the general had to study the landscape where the battle was to take place. The general had to “envision” how the battle would evolve and create appropriate plans involving terrain and resources. It involved anticipation, action, and adaptation over and over throughout the battle. The “science” was in the military methods; the “art” was in seeing future events.

Why we have problems defining strategy

strategy is akin to the story of the

executive officer—who, by definition,

Why is defining strategy so difficult?

blind men describing an elephant, each

should also serve the role of chief

It is a function of several factors:

based on their individual perspective.

strategy officer—to aggregate and

In the story, one blind man feels the

assimilate these different perspectives

Functional perspective. As with the

sharp features of the tusk and says

into the company business strategy.

example of the blind men and the

the elephant is like a spear. Another

How often this actually happens is a

elephant, many executives’ view on

feels the strong flat side and says the

different subject altogether.

strategy is heavily influenced by their S P R I N G 2 019

65

IMPLEMENTABLE

Strategic Goodness

functional perspective. They tend to see through a lens crafted over years and years of looking at business in a SUSTAINABLE

particular way, influenced by the role that they play within the organization.

COMPETITIVE

Experience. Experience also plays a major role in how an executive defines strategy. This includes what strategic methodologies an executive has been

organizations that died because they

something else. In the context of

exposed to in previous organizations.

couldn’t find that one home run and

business strategy, this type of strategic

In some organizations, strategy just

they ignored strategy.

analysis requires four components: market, customers, competitors,

sort of happens. In others, it’s a rigid process with little deviation.

Defining strategic ‘Goodness’

and solution offering (e.g., product, services, technology). Any successful

Training. Finally, the reality is

In defining strategy, another approach

strategy must be defined in terms of

that “strategy” is seldom taught in

is to ask executives to define “good-

these factors.

any formalized manner. Starting

ness” when it comes to business

with virtually every MBA program

strategy. In their response, you will

Implementable. Obviously, the great-

to ongoing executive education

typically hear performance metrics

est strategic direction for a company

programs, strategy is “touched” in

such as:

various classes, but rarely addressed as a “thought process,” much less a formal discipline. In fact, it is simply assumed that when an executive reaches a certain level in the organization, or has been assigned a particular

• Increases revenue and profitability • Increases market share • Successfully moves the company toward a long-range target These are all admirable and

has no value if it cannot be implemented. A strategy may define a clearly attractive marketplace position, but the company may simply be incapable of achieving it for various reasons: capital, human resources (capacity, capability, and/or commitment),

title, he or she already knows how to

certainly desirable results of a good

technological prowess, organizational

“do strategy.”

strategy. But that is all they are: the

processes, time frame, etc. In an

results or effects of a good strategy. We

economic environment with decreas-

return to the question of what makes a

ing availability of capital, the old adage

tant as strategy is to an organization,

good strategy—i.e., the “causes” that

of “play the best you can with the cards

it is often the result of an amalgama-

“effect” those desired results.

you were given” takes on a whole new

Consequently, as critically impor-

meaning. Additionally, for a strategy

tion of functional bias, eclectic thoughts, inconsistent processes, and personalities.

Any survey would reveal a broad range of strategic approaches and, not surprisingly, different levels of strategic success. In other words, when

There are three common characteristics of good strategies: • They are competitive • They are implementable • They are sustainable

to be effectively implemented, it must be capable of being communicated in a manner that allows the organization to understand it, rally behind it, and act on it at all levels.

All three need to be optimized for

Sustainable. In order for a strategy

you’ve seen one business strategy—

the business strategy to be truly effec-

to be sustainable, there are two key

you’ve seen one business strategy.

tive. Though seemingly simple, the

requirements. First, the market must

implications of these three character-

be sustainable for a period of time

istics are specific and profound:

sufficient to make the company suc-

it comes to business strategy, once

Finally, in this day and age of “high-tech home runs” where an

cessful. There are plenty of examples of

organization develops one unique product or service and has a successful

Competitive. For a strategy to be

companies that were successful briefly,

run, strategy has been ignored. There

competitive, it needs to be measured

only to have their marketplace shift.

are valid cases of “no-strategy

against a baseline. In other words,

The key is appropriate marketplace

successes,” but the business high-

saying your company is “competitive”

segmentation. Second, and equally

way is littered with thousands of

implies it is being measured against

important, is the need for effective

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THE JABIAN JOURNAL

Effectiveness

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

STRATEGIC PLANNING

STRATEGIC PLANNING

STRATEGIC VISION

STRATEGIC VISION

STRATEGIC VISION

STRATEGIC THOUGHTS

STRATEGIC THOUGHTS

STRATEGIC THOUGHTS

Business strategy consists of the defined organization vision, processes, and resources that form the basis of

STRATEGIC THOUGHTS

Time/Evolution

successful competition within both current and future marketplaces.

Finally, in actually developing an effective business strategy, the following elements need to be defined and integrated into an ongoing “strategic management process”:

processes and intellectual bandwidth

strategy within a company, this

to constantly examine the strategy

stage is characterized by quantifiable

and make corrections as required.

strategic objectives and goals. There is

Vision. This is the future state of the

Assumptions are a necessary part of

also a process for allocating resources

marketplace, successful strategy based

business. If they gravitate to being

based on strategy.

on the ability to see “over the horizon.”

number one reason for failure among

Strategic management. This is the

Mission. A clear understanding of

historically successful businesses.

stage where successful companies want

how the company will compete in that

to be. Strategy is part of a day-to-day

future marketplace.

sacrosanct, however, they are also the

As one can imagine, there are trade-offs in addressing these strate-

comprehensive management process in

gic elements. That is, a less competitive

which strategic information is identi-

Values. The operating guidelines of the

strategy is easier to implement, but

fied and stored for later processing;

organization.

may not be as sustainable. This “bal-

strategy addresses cultural require-

ance” must be optimized for a truly

ments; resource allocation is directly

Objectives. Major strategic aspirations

effective and successful strategy.

linked to the ROI of objectives and

that create competitiveness.

goals; and the practice of challenging Evolution of strategic thinking

assumptions is institutionalized within

Processes. To continually manage,

the organization.

challenge, and refine the strategy.

In developing a working definition of strategy, we must also consider the

Achieving the fourth stage

various levels of “strategic sophistica-

isn’t easy. It requires an integrated

tion” that can exist in an organization.

program of processes, education, and

We can view this sophistication in

training—particularly in develop-

essentially four “evolutionary stages”

ing executives and managers to be

of strategic thinking:

“strategic thinkers.”

Communications. Internal and external communiqués.

Financial. Performance modeling.

This article has been about

There is a vast gulf in the ability to

“defining” strategy. The next logical

Strategic thoughts. In this stage,

create and deploy successful business

step for the executive is now to learn

there are general impressions about

strategy between those executives

how to “develop” and then eventually

the future of the market and products/

who can execute the “mechanics” of

“manage” strategy.

services. They are not well articulated

strategy versus those who also have

and there are only informal linkages,

the ability to “think strategically.”

multi-dimensional subject that is

at best, to major company initiatives.

That is why great strategies are a

critically important for any successful

blend of science and art, analytics and

organization. It would seem the need

Strategic vision. In this stage, the

insight, right brain and left brain. This

to provide more regimented attention

company has an articulated vision of

is not a trivial distinction.

is more important today than ever before.

the future that addresses markets, products, customers, and competitors.

However, linkages between strategy and major initiatives are still informal.

Business strategy is a complex,

Modern day business strategy definition

Don Turner don@turnerworld.com

So now we return to the question Strategic planning. Traditionally

“What is business strategy?” A simple

thought of as the desired state of

definition is: S P R I N G 2 019

67

The Final Word

Conversations with Business and Technology Leaders

Creating today’s video games requires technical expertise and art direction that rival most Hollywood blockbusters. Your son or daughter (or yourself if you’re like more than 60 percent of us) probably spends more time than you know within the brainchild of Mick Larkins, technical director at Hi-Rez Studios. We caught up with Mick to learn about what it takes to create the hottest technology, the future of eSports, and how you

MICK LARKINS

can make millions playing video games.

Tell me how you got connected to

Speaking of competing, how is Hi-Rez

Hi-Rez Studios.

into eSports?

I’ve been at Hi-Rez since it was founded

We’re in our sixth season of profes-

back in 2005. I now serve as the technical director, but as you can imagine, over the years I’ve worn a lot of hats. I come from a background in computer science and then got my Master of Fine Arts from Clemson, which helped me build the art team and be that connection to the technical side.

What’s made Hi-Rez so successful?

It took us five years to release our first game, Global Agenda, which is a long time for a start-up, but we were really

“ More people watch eSports than the Super Bowl and World Cup. ”

sional play. We host our own global tournament, and at our first one in 2015, the purse was more than $2.6 million. Today it’s quite a bit higher. eSports has started to mature, with other celebrities and athletes getting involved. Shaquille O’Neal owns a team that plays one of our games. The Utah Jazz organization owns a team. More people watch eSports than the Super Bowl and World Cup. Is that the future?

building the studio infrastructure,

We think it is only in its infancy in

proprietary back-end technology, and

terms of maturity. In fact, under a

architecture for what became an indus-

What’s new with your latest game?

try standard of play that we pioneered.

subsidiary company we created called Skillshot, we recently built the first-of-

When we started out, World of Warcraft

Our most recent game is called Realm

its-kind eSports arena in Alpharetta,

was the big online game, but it and

Royale, and with this game we’ve

Georgia complete with streaming,

others like it were on a subscription

introduced cross-play, meaning

analyst desks, stadium seating, etc.

model, which means you had to pay.

someone on a PC can play against

We modeled it after an ESPN studio.

This limited their growth because

someone on an Xbox and so on. This

We’re not only making games, but we’re

players would only subscribe to one or

was previously not available in the

also building what will be the future

two games, and so their market shrunk.

industry and is a significant technology

of eSports.

We pioneered the free-to-play model

lift on the back end, but allows for a

that allows you to purchase things like

much broader audience to enjoy and

character skins (appearances) or dif-

compete. Realm Royale combines the

ferent branded weapons, but nothing

best of first-player perspective and

that impacts game play.

multi-player environments.

68

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