Day 19 – 29 January 2014
It is easier to get from where I live to Seaham through the Tyne Tunnel and I pretend to myself that this makes a welcome change from my normal daily commute. I just get stuck in different places. An accident at Moor Farm roundabout didn’t help.
Our offices there are located on the top of the cliffs overlooking the sea and just a stone’s throw from the delightful Nose’s Point but as the rain was lashing against the windscreen I resigned myself to staying indoors. Seaside walks in Seaham for me are a fair weather thing.
Last year we held a series of training workshops based around our approach to the customer. They worked well as they brought people together from the various locations that we have to share their experiences and to develop a common sense of purpose. We have been running a similar series of Customer Services workshops this year to foster better engagement again and to get everyone thinking about what we are trying to achieve and how the customer fits in.
Each of the SMT has been helping to facilitate these sessions and today it was my turn. I started off by telling a story about how wonderful Pam is and this was followed by discussions of our brand, what it means to us and to our customers. We looked at several brand symbols and it was very interesting how little people talked about product. They concentrate much more on feelings, quality, reputation and this lead us very nicely into what our customers feel about us. Eventually we settled on we support, innovate, provide and involve our customers. We identified that to build our brand we need to make our interactions personal and positive whilst involving our customers and taking the time to understand their needs.
The meat in the sandwich was the ICT Strategy however, what it is, why we have it and how we can contribute towards it. With a little coaxing we managed to remember our five themes of: Focus on Durham; Better technology; Better people; Better processes and; Better engagement. We went through each one to develop why they are important and what it means to the people of Durham as well as ourselves. The whole group was engaged and made facilitation very easy.
There is nothing more human than a story.
Back to County Hall in the afternoon for a Resources Management Team meeting.
Learning points for today: I love doing this kind of thing; David Guest appeared at Adam’s sister’s wedding; The symbol that Shell uses in its marketing is a shell; Not everyone likes pictures (is that an unlearning point?) and; When it comes to break-time treats Twix are more popular than Kit Kat (not a very scientific poll).
Today’s enjoyment rating: 10/10 – Had to be.
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 