The Romance of Technology

Technology is certainly breaking down the barriers between work and home. It feels like our work life balance has gone to hell in a handcart. Now, it seems it is gate-crashing the bedroom with more and more of us checking email the last thing we do before the head hits the pillow. Can technology ever be romantic? Now, it’s hard to say this with a straight face but this question is being asked with the news that there is dramatic rise in the use of electronic devices in the bedroom. Let’s get one thing straight up front. I’m talking about laptops, tablets and smartphones.  

I’ve always had a kind of romantic view of technology seeing it as liberating humankind from the drudgeries of everyday life, promoting global social cohesion and world peace through international commerce. However, I’ve never really thought of it as a way of being more romantic with my beloved. For the record I never take my devices to bed but maybe I should. A little suggested competition can’t be a bad thing, can it? Maybe under-cover tweeting would be a good thing. Sharing a video on YouTube of a stupid cat doing something daft could be intimate, couldn’t it? After all, they say laughter is at the heart of intimacy. We could instant message each other, saying goodnight with the stroke of a few keys. That would be great, wouldn’t it? I don’t think so. I really don’t want my mind filled with petty office issues last thing. Other than cheese and coffee I can’t think of anything more likely to give me a restless night. [Read more...]

New role, New Business Opportunities and New Texas Experiences

Today, I’m happy to announce my next chapter at BT as president of BT US and Canada (US&C) as well as the global industry verticals – Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) and Pharmaceutical and Chemical.  I am delighted to be a part of this talented organization and the transformation of its operations, performances and customer service. This new role is exciting for me as I look across the strengths of BT’s business in the US&C and these growing industries.  We have a strong business in the US&C for banking, financial trading markets, consumer products and pharmaceuticals.

I joined BT in 2008 as CEO for the Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxemburg) and in 2011 transitioned into president of the EMEA and Latin America region.  In addition to a regional leader, I also became president of the Global Commerce sector which supports companies in industries such as manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and logistics. I’m a Dutch native but have recently moved to Texas for this role and am looking forward to barbeque, American football and hot summers. [Read more...]

Driving Change in Payroll

By Eira Hammond, HR and Payroll Expert, BT

There are not many people outside our own organisation that realise that BT actually ‘do’ payroll around the UK, paying tens of thousands of payslips every month for a number of local authority organisations. So, when I was approached by Frazer Jones, the Global HR Recruitment organisation that places some of BT’s Senior HR Leaders, to be the guest speaker at their inaugural payroll leadership event I was delighted to have the opportunity to spread the word!

The forum provides a valuable networking opportunity and offers a chance to discuss topical Payroll issues, over a round-table arrangement. The forum was host to over 25 Senior Payroll delegates from organisations such as NBC Universal, PRET, Debenhams, Thomson Reuters, and many more. [Read more...]

Flexibility works both ways

Today we hand over to our experts in the security field, with both of the blogs we’re publishing today having been published recently on our Let’s Talk Security blog.

Carl Blackett, ICT Security Architect, Norfolk County Council

There has been a steady increase in the requirement for flexible working patterns within the workplace. Historically some organisations have been unable to allow this flexibility and instead have resorted to offering job-sharing or part-time working as the only options available. [Read more...]

Empowering the worker: the 6Cs of people-centric collaboration

The empowered consumer. The empowered worker. What is it with empowerment and how empowered are we really? Discover the 6 Cs of the empowered worker and how they are related with the digital business and people-centric collaboration.

The term ‘empowered’ is used very often in this digital and social era. McKinsey talked about the empowered consumer in 2009, emphasizing ‘that outreach of consumers to marketers has become dramatically more important than marketers’ outreach to consumers.’

We are all consumers and the effects of empowerment can be seen all around us. Because it’s not just about consumers or marketing. In an integrated age, where different layers of the economy, business, consumer behavior, data, technology and new ways of working get connected into a giant collaboration opportunity, empowering the worker essentially boils down to these 6Cs: [Read more...]

The Value of Winning Hearts and Minds

I attended the SOLACE (Society of Local Government Chief Executives) Scotland annual conference down the River Clyde at Seamill last week, representing BT as a Gold partner along with three of my colleagues. The theme was ‘Public Services of the Future – what next for Local Government?’ — Which is a moot point now that the Scottish Government has decided on the referendum date for independence?

Nicola Sturgeon, the Deputy First Minster, spoke to the assembled CEOs and senior officers about their role in transforming local government, and made great pains to point out that health and local government need to be joined up and work together to introduce and increase efficiency in the public sector. Sharing resources and services is the way to go. And while she did admit it was not her place to tell CEOs how to run their businesses; it was also too easy to defend the status quo. [Read more...]

Can the Baby Take Bigger Steps?

At the second New Ways of Working conference for the Scottish public sector, it was clear to me that the industry has become one of the leaders in adopting new ways of working.

The concepts of home working, flexible working and remote working are business as usual now and common practice. And the conference showcased how some of the latest technology is helping to meet current and future challenges. [Read more...]

Yahoo! Boohoo! No More Home Working.

Who would have thought that a ban on home working would cause such a fuss? CEO Marissa Mayer’s decision to ban Yahoos from home working certainly got a response – everyone from the New York Times, Business Insider, Richard Branson, mommy bloggers and their employees  felt the need to question the wisdom of the move.

Yahoo wants to regain its mojo. Mayer wants more commitment from her team and sees face to face working as an important part of Yahoo’s recovery. She may well be right for Yahoo. However, you have to ask if remote working is really Yahoos problem or are they just bad at managing remote workers? Remote working intensifies issues of trust, delegation, empowerment and freedom. If these are broken then for sure you are going to have face real difficulties managing a remote workforce. [Read more...]

Beyond the age of customer obsession: the age of integration

In an August 2012 report, Forrester wrote ‘the age of customer obsession’ had arrived. Customers expect better customer experiences across all channels and devices they use. Customer-led disruption is here, Forrester stated. Customer-centricity as a way to constantly improve our business requires more than a changing mindset. And the Copernican revolution, putting customers – and as a consequence profit – at the center of what we do, requires more than a ‘customer first approach’. It requires an integrated approach.

In my previous post on the changing role of the CIO, I mentioned the Chief Digital Officer, typically a consequence of the need for integration, beyond the changing customer reality. Another role we see popping up in many businesses is that of the Chief Customer Officer: the person that integrates around the customer. And leading analyst Jeremiah Owyang has been advocating the role of the Corporate Social (Business) Strategist, as it exists in many firms, since several years. [Read more...]

Don’t let the snow stop you getting things done

It’s amazing how bad the traffic gets when the holidays are over.

There’s a brief period around Christmas when the roads are eerily clear, and suddenly — if you’re working — you find yourself turning up everywhere half an hour early. [Read more...]