February month notes
Sustainable partnerships, inductions, AI and Dave Grohl! An interesting mix!
Evolving partnerships
Next month it will be 1 year since I joined Swiscot to work with Vikas. There’s a whole separate piece I want to do on my learnings from the experience. So for now I want to talk about partnerships in the broader context. A partnership being how we work in collaboration with people. As in business we’re always forging new collaborations. Whether they are formal or informal. These are built on building trust and mutual benefit.
Business partnerships evolve over time. So it's important to take time to review who you are working with. Even more so when you're paying fees to be part of a networking group. Are you getting value from your collaborations? As they should be reciprocal. I’ve already found some avenues are not worth exploring due to the effort to try and make things happen.
Businesses are facing a myriad of challenges. So its important to assess the people and businesses that align with your values. As well as partners that help you to tackle challenges together.
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Digital
I’ve been a little quieter on the digital front this month focussing more on sustainability initiatives to improve our carbon measurement and data collection methods.
Digital inductions
I’m excited to have a new starter joining my team. With a few weeks to go I’m working on an induction plan. My focus is on creating an induction that's both supportive and informative.
When I was at Co-op there was a great joiners Trello board. It contained simple to follow on-boarding activities. For example detailing mandatory training sessions, new starter forms and systems to access.
The role of an induction is overlooked. As its an opportunity to:
Set the tone for what your expectations are
Align on what performance looks like early on while bedding in
Convey your company values
Ensure the new joiner has chance to build strong working relationships
What would you see are key ingredients to a successful induction? Have you experienced a shocking induction that made you change your approach?
AI for e-commerce listings
I read a great article the other week from
about creativity and AI. I have written before about playing around with AI and it feels like most months I’m sharing some interesting example of how I’m using it for efficiency.But I wanted to share a short practical example of how AI helped me save time when running an e-commerce site. Having colour-way options means I needed to set up the hex values for a colour picker. Top discovery was that with DALL-E you can upload an image and ask it tell you the hex value. I saved loads of time trying to work that out from a product image. Plus it meant the colour picker reflected the colour.
Shocking customer service - a lesson in how not to treat your customer
I have to share a short rant about a recent diabolic customer service experience. I’ve been with Sky for the last 5 years and paid for their TV package. In the New Year we looked at our finances to see where we could cut some costs. Sky was one of several outgoings to cut back.
So I contacted Sky customer service to find out how to cancel. As the contract runs till the autumn there was the option to pay an early termination fee. I was then passed onto another call operative to arrange this.
I then spent 15-20 minutes experiencing the worst customer service of my life. This was a first class case study in how not to be customer centric.. Here’s a list of the issues I had trying to cancel my package;
Passed around twice to different operatives
Having to explain repeatedly why I wanted to cancel
Being upsold/tactics to try and make me stay
Systems ‘not working’ so they cant process the early termination
Obstructive behaviour saying I don’t meet requirements to be eligible to terminate
Lack of understanding of current economic climate
Being told that Sky can’t let all its customers cancel due to cost of living pressures!!
Being told that its for Sky to decide if we can cancel!
We are living through a cost of living crisis. Businesses should not obstruct customers who want to cancel . I wasn't even trying to waive paying the fee. When a business is losing customers on price review your value proposition. Do not penalise customers for providing a poor value service.
Sustainability
Circularity in materials roundtable discussion
I had a superb morning visiting Vitafoam in Middleton learning all about CEAMs. The Centre of Expertise in Advanced Materials and Sustainability (CEAMs). The initiative is aimed at connecting business, academia and government bodies to bridge the gap and help overcome problems in sustainable innovation.
It was hugely encouraging. There huge potential for multi-stakeholder collaboration across end-end supply chains. We have a wealth of expertise & sappetite for change across industries. Businesses just need the legislative infrastructure and tax mechanisms to enable the transition to a circular economy.
While its challenging for businesses at the moment I left the event with a renewed hope that change will happen. There is pressure building and an eagerness to show how things can be done differently.
Carbon verification
After a year in role i've build my understanding of carbon measurement. This has given me the confidence to lead on collating and measuring our carbon footprint.
I have to give a massive shout out to the Growth company. The training and support they are offering on carbon measurement is a huge help.
I am now working a specialist carbon consultant there. They are sense checking our data to support independent verification. This will help us to then info our reduction targets.
Better Cotton Initiative
In March the Textiles Services Association is hosting a supplier sustainability showcase. After joining the sustainability committee it became apparent that there was an opportunity to gather industry suppliers together. The event is an opportunity to talk about the range of different initiatives for the laundry industry to move to a net zero future.
I’ve been creating a short summary of what the Better Cotton Initiative is about. When I joined Swiscot a year ago learning about initiatives like BCI gave me hope. If commodities and supply chains can enable and drive systems change to support farming communities to become resilient and thrive then this shows a path to sustainable cotton. We just have to re-design systems to create a better future.
Yard Atelier CIC launch
As part of our engagement with the Growth Company I was invited to attend an exciting launch of the Yard Atelier CIC.
The Yard Atelier CIC; is Manchester's first non-profit fashion Atelier, supporting the next generation of Northwest fashion designers and business owners. At The Yard Atelier their focus is on sustainable working practices, inclusion of the local community and re-establishing the slow fashion industry in the Cheetham Hill district.
It was exciting to see such a buzz about what was happening there. I met an incredible designer called J.O studio (check them out on Instagram) where she was up-cycling used tents and turning them into garments. Its encouraging to see a focus on slow fashion and investing in skills & business development in the region. As fast fashion has stripped the city of the heritage and art of making which we have an incredible talent pool of designers.
Achievements and recommendations
Reading this month
The Storyteller - Dave Grohl (audio book)
My reading in February has been another Spotify audiobook. Anyone else listening to books more now you get an allocation of credits in your subscription? As a Foo Fighter Fan I’ve really enjoyed learning more about Dave’s early career and how he honed his craft literally gigging on the road living in a van.
A superb insight into how Dave’s career started out
Moving reflections of his journey of being a parent
Fascinating stories about various rock idol meetings and collaborations
Achievements
Completed Queen Bee Coaching assignment
Over the last 6 months I have been supporting a coachee on the Queen Bee coaching programme. The voluntary Pankhurst centre programme provides free coaching that enables women from diverse backgrounds to realise their full potential and rise to positions of influence.
After training as a coach at Co-op I’ve really enjoyed using my skills to support someone build their confidence. Most of the time coaching really is being a listening ear. Coaches provide constructive challenges. As well as broadening out the frame of reference to consider alternative perspectives. If you’ve not heard of Queen Bee you can either register as a coach or client.
I can’t recommend the service enough. I was lucky enough to benefit from it back in 2019 so it was a full circle moment to complete my first assignment giving back to such a superb initiative.
Cycle to work
First cycle to work of 2024 completed. I want to cycle to work more this year. I only cycled a couple of times last year in the run-up to the triathlon. My goal is to do more ‘active commuting’ and use my car less. Now the days are lighter, the plan is to cycle to work once a week.
Thanks for stopping by and reading my month notes. I post a summary each month of the key insights across Digital, Sustainability and some personal musings including recommendations of what I’m reading.