The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) becomes effective on 25th May 2018. Those who assume that this is all to do with IT and Security are likely to have a rude surprise. Are you ready or is a serious threat hanging over you? St John the Divine prophesied the Four Riders of the Apocalypse: Conquest, War, Famine and…
Outsourcing agreements come to an end, just as do some political treaties. What can those steering the perils of partition learn from each other? There are few experiences as visceral as the turmoil of politics. As a British citizen, I have taken my part and cast my vote on 23rd June, 2016. The comparison of…
Outsource agreements typically have long durations and high switching costs. Some fail; some drive innovation and soar; most get by. What is the role of trust in such a service and what can you do to obtain the best value? Volkswagen is being pilloried world-wide for deliberately deceiving customers and the public in diesel engine…
Service Integration and Management (SIAM), and the closely-related multi-sourcing, are all the rage. What is the essence of integration, what do you get from it and how do you make it work? I am suspicious of fashion, as anyone who has seen my wardrobe will attest. That there is a new management fad promotes interest…
Success in delivering change is dependent upon the ability of project managers and others to wield influence, build support and overcome resistance. Services, projects and companies are social entities supported by human endeavour. Personal agendas and relationships shape their functions. Project managers can engage to advantage, or ignore social influence at their peril. A new…
Weaknesses revealed by incidents of contract management of G4S and Serco have shocked the UK government. At a time that both public and private sectors depend ever more heavily on their service suppliers, what are the lessons to be drawn? In July 2013 serious malpractice was exposed in contracts for the electronic tagging of prisoners…
Summer 2014 has seen the spectacular failure of a number of services. Some important lessons have been drawn from these. What are they and how should they affect services and the way they are run? We all make mistakes. One of the key differentiators for service suppliers is the way that they recover from them.…
The best customer service is distinguished by the passion and energy of the staff delivering it. Whilst all know good service when it is seen, measuring it can be a challenge and managing it well can be harder. What can and should be done to sustain outcomes and optimise value? Building and Buying Well An…
Standardising is so inherently appealing that most people happily accept it as a good thing, until the time comes to make it work. Are you to be like the company with 800 desktop builds for each 1000 staff? What are the costs, benefits, limits and practicalities of standardising service practice? Standardisation can apply to many things:…
Access to essential information and the ability to apply it with full knowledge of its implications are essential to all services. IT Services have long depended on knowledge management. What does one have to do to keep the information flowing? The European Committee for Standardization suggests the definition: “Knowledge is the combination of data and information,…
