Evolve Insights

What they don’t teach in business schools

As it appeared in the Daily Nation on September 25th 2018 Lucy Kiruthu After four years in business school, many university graduates get into the job market or into the world of entrepreneurship. As they settle in, they realize that they did not learn enough. There is so much more, some of it basics that they need to learn while on the job. The same is true even for those that have advanced degrees in business. Not everything we need to know about business or what we need to be able to run a business successfully is taught in business schools. In Kenya today, many university students have enrolled for business related degrees. The business schools where they study offer various specializations. Business administration, marketing, finance, human resources, entrepreneurship, procurement and the like are some of the common specializations at undergraduate level. Most students make their choices based on their qualifications or based on limited information…
robert
September 25, 2018
Evolve Insights

Is a don’t care attitude hurting your business?

As it appeared in the Daily Nation on September 4th 2018 Lucy Kiruthu I was visiting an organization for the first time; it was evident that there was something hurting the business. The staff lacked enthusiasm; they seemed overly disinterested in what they were doing. When I sought to find out what was going on from a middle level manager, he simply said, “There is a lot of apathy over here”. Apathy at the workplace is described as a “don’t care attitude” or indifference in the staff. In organizations where there is no intentional effort to build a healthy work culture and an engaged workforce, such an attitude is commonplace and in some cases the leaders are oblivious of its presence. As an outsider, it is easy to identify staff who do not really care. Such staff use phrases such as “I don’t care” “who cares” “why bother” “no one cares” “just going through the motions”…
robert
September 4, 2018
Evolve Insights

Are Customers Forgiving?

As it appeared in the Daily Nation on June 12th , 2018 by Lucy Kiruthu How should we react when a meal is delayed, a flight is cancelled, a package is lost or an email enquiry is not responded to? Should we just ignore the incidence and forgive the business, request for an explanation and improvement of service or just walk away never to return? In some businesses, service blunders are the order of the day and no action seems to be taken to improve the situation. In other businesses, every effort is made to ensure that lapses are prevented and if they happen, corrective action is taken immediately. How customers react to a given situation depends on a number of factors. I believe that one important factor is the level of trust that the customer has on the business. A few days ago, we had just boarded a Southwest flight and were preparing for take-off…
robert
June 14, 2018
Evolve Insights

Making Change Happen

As it appeared in the Daily Nation May 22nd, 2018 by Lucy Kiruthu We live in a changing world. Change is all around us. We change a few things without much hassle but most change is difficult. Many organizations and even individuals have consistently struggled with change. We do not want to change our way of doing things. We are happy with the status quo. As a result, many change initiatives both small and big fail. In my career life both in the corporate world and as a management consultant, I have witnessed many change initiatives. Early in my career, I was involved in quality management systems leading to ISO certification, implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems and introduction of new products. A little later and to this day, I have been involved in guiding company-wide transformation initiatives anchored on customer service excellence. These initiatives are aimed at helping organizations focus more on the customer…
robert
May 22, 2018
Evolve Insights

Are your Customers Happy?

As it appeared in the Daily Nation May 8th, 2018 Over the last two decades, the field of customer experience has attracted massive attention. Millions of dollars have been spent in training and retraining staff on the art and science of customer experience. Organizations have invested heavily on systems that support manage the customer experience such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Interactive Voice Response (IVR), queue management systems etc. Customer contact centres have been set up to help manage all customer interaction channels from a single point. Customer experience managers have been recruited to steer the customer experience agenda. Today, it is evident that many business owners and leaders recognize that happy customers are good for business and that great customer experiences have the power to increase customer retention and drive sales. To gauge their customers’ level of happiness and loyalty, many businesses are continuously collecting feedback from customers. Every so often, we receive a customer…
robert
May 8, 2018
Evolve Insights

What do you Value?

As it appeared in the Daily Nation on April 24th, 2018 What do you value? What does your organization value? We value what we believe is important to us. At the individual level, some of us value our families others value their friends and others their jobs. Organizations on the other hand value different things. At a broad level, some value their shareholders more, others their staff and their customers, while some value all the three in equal measure. In determining what to value, individuals and organizations must choose between alternatives and determine priority levels. What we value as individuals or as organizations is crucial in determining our identity. With time, what we value becomes a key component of who we are. Our values guide our decision-making, our attitudes and our behaviours. In our organizations, the values of the founders and the leadership team whether defined or unspoken play a major role in shaping our culture.…
robert
April 26, 2018
Evolve Insights

My Maiden SGR Ride Was Not Like Yours

My maiden SGR trip came sooner than expected. A client requested that I ride with the team on the SGR last week. In show of solidarity, I obliged. I did so reluctantly because I had always wanted my maiden SGR trip to be part of a well thought out holiday experience. When I tweeted about my upcoming maiden trip, a tweep advised that I carry snacks and water and that I did. I packed some water, juice a bowl of fruits, some nuts and alpen bars but unfortunately forgot to pick up the apples from the fridge (I have since decided to be preparing a travel checklist). I received the tickets in advance from my client and therefore I have no idea how SGR ticketing happens. I assumed that my ID card would be required and therefore placed the tickets in my purse right next to the ID. The Uber ride to the train station was…
robert
April 16, 2018
Evolve Insights

Do businesses really want customers back

As it appeared in the Daily Nation on April 10th, 2018 As customers, we have thousands of interactions in our lifetime. On a daily basis, we interact with businesses of all kinds. These interactions either relate to our work or are personal. We request proposals, make orders, engage service providers, visit restaurants, go to the supermarket, fuel at a petrol station etc. Some of these interactions are exceptional, however, most are ordinary while others are horrible. We go back to some of these businesses, others remain a once off purchase, we walk away never to return. On the other hand, as businesses, we provide products and serve our customers on a daily basis. We do so in a marketplace that is becoming very competitive. Next door, a business provides products or services similar to ours. As a result, our customers have a choice; they can come to us or go next door. When the customer chooses…
robert
April 10, 2018
Evolve Insights

The Changing Consumer Behaviour in Kenya

As it appeared in the Daily Nation on February 27th, 2018 Every day, we choose what to buy, when to buy, where to buy from and how often to buy among other purchase decisions. Over the years, consumers have changed how they make these choices and what informs their decisions. Today, the Kenyan consumers are very enlightened and demanding. More than ever before, they respond to products and services in a different way from their parents or grandparents. Though I am not a consumer psychologist, I believe that the changes in consumer behaviour have resulted from many stimuli. Access to information, availability of options, changes in technology especially the digital revolution, and consumer rights advocacy are some of the stimuli that many of us have witnessed here in Kenya. These days, consumers are more informed when making purchase decisions. Some of us turn to online search engines before buying a product. We compare product specifications and…
robert
February 27, 2018
Evolve Insights

What targets have you set for your team?

As it appeared in the Daily Nation on February 20th, 2018 Many businesses have set very clear revenue and or production targets. These targets are tracked and reported daily. In addition, most sales persons have targets. Every week they submit a report on the status of their sales pipeline. Most call centres also have set clear metrics that are tracked daily. Many other departments such as operations and credit control also set targets. However, most businesses struggle with what to measure and as a result, most have no well-defined targets. Have you set targets for your team? Performance targets are a very powerful management tool used to measure and reward performance. Performance is often measured at the corporate, departmental, team and individual level. In most organizations, targets and key performance measures or indicators are one and the same thing. Some organizations have set very clear targets at all levels. Setting clear targets helps the staff to…
robert
February 20, 2018