#213 - The first Get Out of Wrap TV of 2025

[00:00:21] Hello, welcome. The very first show of 2025, show 90 of Get Out of Wrap TV. I hope you had a lovely break and the year has started well for you. I'm not sure, can we still say Happy New Year? I did read you can say it up to the 15th. So today is the last day, but I do hope things have started well for you.

[00:00:50] Whether you are a regular viewer or brand new today, please do say hello in the comments. Now to start, you will notice a new partner. There they are. It's the lovely The Forum being so helpful to me over the Christmas break, giving me advice, really, really helping me out. Can't thank Bill, Chris, Dave, Penny,

[00:01:20] Ian. There's loads of the guys at The Forum. You know how great they are. So them and Better Outsourcing are my partners for this show. So thank you very, very much. Now then, here we are. We're off and running. Darren, good morning, sir. How are you? Danny is here. Happy New Year all. Yes, Danny. We can still say it today. Darren as well. Happy New Year to you, sir.

[00:01:50] Let me be the first to wish everyone a happy Easter. Can you believe it? Easter eggs in the supermarkets already. Here he is. The aforementioned legend, Pud, the mayor of Diblington. It is Chris Rainsforth. Yo, Chris of The Forum, my new partners. Lawrence, Lawrence, Lawrence Gramlich of Nice. Happy New Year, Mark. Thank you. And Happy New Year to you, too.

[00:02:17] Darren says, Darren Gracie says, Danny Wareham, you forgot Valentine's, lol. Now, just want to put this out there. That is my birthday. So much to Bev's annoyance. She wants my birthday to be on a different day than Valentine's Day. It's very selfish of me. G'day, Luke. Happy New Year, Martin and all. So let's get on with the show. Please do keep your comments coming.

[00:02:43] It's great to see you all. Feels like it's been a while, doesn't it? So it is awesome to see you all. If you are watching and want to say hello in the comments, please do. Everyone, there's a networking tab as well. So this is a great opportunity to grow your network. And I did say that we...

[00:03:08] I've just seen one of Chris's comments. Chris Rainsforth, happy 60th for Valentine's Day, mate. It kind of feels that way. A few years yet, but not too many. This means I've got to pull my finger out for the next decade. Now then, let's kick off a bit of fun. We are all here on LinkedIn. And to show that I'm down with the kids...

[00:03:37] Oh, I should always say this, like health warning. This is where, like me pointing out where the fire exits are. If your comments are not showing, I promise I'm not ignoring you. It is the link between LinkedIn and this platform I use, StreamYard. All you need to do apparently is just refresh. Hit refresh. Don't leave. Come back. And then your comments should show. Morris is here as well. Happy New Year, everyone.

[00:04:06] Morris, industry thought leader and legend. Happy New Year to you too. Okay. We're all here on LinkedIn. Let's be honest. If you're a human being, right, when you're scrolling through LinkedIn, there are going to be things that make you go, oh. So I want to know what are your LinkedIn icks?

[00:04:30] Now, I appreciate when I wrote this that it could be something I do, but I'm thick-skinned. You have to be if you work in contact centers, right? But what are your LinkedIn icks? What are the things that make you go, oh, God, but you can't help looking? It's like rubbernecking, isn't it? LinkedIn rubbernecking. What are the things that people do? Maybe it's a theme.

[00:04:58] Maybe it's a particular type of post. And like I say, I know it goes without saying. There could be things I do that are included in this, and I don't mind. I really, really don't mind because I'm not going to change. But what are the things that you see on LinkedIn that just make you put your head in your hands but, again, you don't do anything about it. You don't change your feed.

[00:05:28] You don't unfollow these people. You still can't help yourself. You still keep watching. So, okay, here we go. Danny Wareham says, messages that follow this approach. I love your work and want to connect to learn together. Connects. Buy my stuff. I know they're quick off the mark, aren't they? It's like you saying bolt sales tactic. Oh, we're connected. Bang.

[00:06:00] Morris Pentel says, moon pig style wisdom posts. Management is like a cheese sandwich. Moonpig.management. Danny Wareham says, Morris Pentel, I feel attacked. Laughing emoji. Danny, yours are definitely not moon pig style. I always learn something from yours. Darren says, made up stories to stimulate conversation. Yes. Very, very true.

[00:06:29] You can see through them a mile away, can't you? Chris Rainsforth says, up at 4 a.m., run, gym, eat, do emails, hustle and grind. Spend 10 minutes with the kids. Go to bed at 6 p.m. Agree? No, I definitely do not. Luke Dobson, I noticed that you said this the other day, actually.

[00:07:00] AI photos with people that have six fingers and with expressions that are over exaggerated. Now, I do have to admit, I use AI to generate the images for the JobSeeker post I do. If you check those photos out, they can't get, as well as fingers, they can't get eyes. The eyes look like they're melting. But yeah, I get that. That's a good one, Luke.

[00:07:28] Darren Gracie says, Chris Rainsforth, lol, you beat me to it. Nathan, Nathan from over in the States, saw you at the Expo, met you in person for the first time. Bible verse in mail, God. I have to say, thankfully, I've not had one of them, but that is a new one. I love that. What else do you see? There must be some things that you just think, oh, no.

[00:07:56] Maybe some of you do some of these things. I think we all show up, and I don't tend to give my personal posts much thought. I think a little bit more about the Get Out of Rap ones and the Team Leader Community ones, but my one is where I just mess about. Do keep these coming. You're linked in Ix. Now, as we get to, we're here at the start of the year, aren't we?

[00:08:26] And there is, oh, hold on. Here we go. Danny Wareham says, it's a very specific one, but posting stuff that has proven to be false. Blue Monday, visual, auditory, kinesthetic learning styles, left brain, right brain. I'm a red, so I'm dominant. Now, I like that, especially, thankfully, I didn't see too many Blue Monday posts yesterday

[00:08:51] because that was one that just kind of does my head in. People might not be feeling too down, and then we start talking about Blue Monday, and it might send them the wrong way. I also can't keep up with, I use a content planner for some of my stuff on the Team Leader Community, and their content planner has the days of the month. And recently, and I think it might have even been yesterday, it was like cheese day.

[00:09:19] Now, I love cheese, but I'm not going to celebrate it. Who comes up with this type of thing? Nathan is in with another one. People that have never had any employees telling others how to manage others. Yeah, very, very true. Danny Wareham, Morris Pentale says, Danny Wareham, this pop science stuff makes me crazy too. I may have been guilty of that, I think, in the past, hands up.

[00:09:47] I've read something that I thought was interesting and talked about it without going too scientific. Apologies. Danny Wareham says, Blue Monday is next week. An article already written for Sunday. Is it next week? Is it? Just following National Hedgehog Day, I think, isn't it? National Bull Day.

[00:10:15] Danny says, Nathan, you should check out Insults from the Bible for Use as Replies. Oh, and Danny has shared a link there to an Instagram reel. I will be checking that out. Yeah, do keep these coming. So, we're at the start of the year. You might be forward planning and thinking what events are worth attending that I want to go to.

[00:10:42] So, I've come up with something to help you out. Here we go. I've had a look at some of the industry events that you might want to start putting into your diary now. You can see my new partners there. You can see my new partners there. They are going to be busy. Their events are always cracking. And you can see kicking off 24th to 28th of March, customer strategy and planning.

[00:11:09] And Chris, I didn't have space to fit it on here. But maybe you want to share in the comments what the theme is of that. Oh, dear. I don't want to go here. But Nathan, next Monday is Red Monday, Trump inauguration. I imagine it will go off a lot calmer than the previous one. And there's something in that, isn't there?

[00:11:34] We're all buckling up over here in the UK for the insanity that is about to ensue. But I don't want to go down. I definitely do not want to go down that tunnel. I hope it all goes off peacefully. Anyway, so, industry events. Let's have a look at this. We've got the forum, customer strategy and planning. The virtual event is over four days, 24th to the 28th of March.

[00:12:00] Then there is, in April, an in-person event in Newcastle. Plus the same day, April the 29th, is the Spring Awards Party. And then they are... Amman Dip is here. Amman, hello. Late to the party. No, it's good to... You're fashionably late, Amman. It's good to see you here. Happy New Year.

[00:12:26] Then there is, again, another forum event. The Best Practice Showcase, June the 12th. June the 16th is the CCMA. For your information, says Nathan Redd is a colour for the Republican Party. Yeah, I'm an avid follower of American politics, Nathan. It was my degree, politics, believe it or not. I'm a loss to the political world.

[00:12:56] And hopefully, again, for the contact centre world. I couldn't have been a politician, though. No chance. Too many skeletons. Although maybe that doesn't matter anymore. So, yeah, June the 16th is the UK Contact Centre Awards from the CCMA. Then we're back to another forum event, which is their Best Practice Showcases, which are great. That is a week in August. The CCMA's National Conference, September the 30th.

[00:13:25] Back to the forum again with Raising Standards in October. Raising Standards in person, which is at the Coventry Building Society Arena, November the 5th. And then we have the Expo, 19th to 20th this year. This will be shared on the Get Out A Wrap page if you wanted a copy. And I've put it in the Team Leader community as well. So we can start getting a bit more organised, can't we?

[00:13:54] That's the theory anyway. And Chris, if you're still with us, can you help me with this one here? March the 24th to 28th, Customer Strategy and Planning. You told me the theme the other day and I can't remember. Okay, so I did say there is a competition. These are much sought after. It is the Contact Centre Rubber Duck. Look at that.

[00:14:24] Look at that. Now, that will be the most sought after thing on your desk ever. So I'm going to give this little fella away. He needs a nice home. All you have to do is comment Duck in the comments to enter the draw. And we'll do the draw at the end of the show. But if you want to win this little fella, I'll post him out to you. Please look after him.

[00:14:54] Or, well, I will post you a brand new one because there's some other accessories as well. Well, so if would you like to win a little Contact Centre Rubber Duck, Neve is here. It is a thing of beauty. Rach is here. Rach, how are you doing? So we have a few people now. Liam Smith is here. Hello, Liam. How are you doing? Commenting Duck.

[00:15:24] Let me add some of your names to my spinning wheel now because we will be doing this shortly. Okay. Let's go. We have Rach. You are in. Liam is in for the draw. Neve is in for the draw. Who else do we have? Does it squeak? Yes.

[00:15:49] Does that seal the deal for you, Nathan? We have Luke. Dobson is in. Morris is in. Darren is in. Chris is in. Okay.

[00:16:15] I will give you a couple more minutes, maybe a minute or so more, and then we are going to do the draw. Oh, I did say he might be coming. Here he is. Hugo's come in. Scott is here with a cracker. Scott Williams. I'll duck out of this one. Having already adopted one recently. Morning, by the way. Good morning, sir. So, Nathan, are you in?

[00:16:44] You haven't said duck, and I am a stickler for the rules, but let me just share this with you. So, Chris says, we're doing our program launch on the 24th of January. All will be revealed then. Join for free and see what we are up to. So, Chris has shared the link there. I highly recommend it. Hold on. Sorry.

[00:17:08] That's my partner in crime telling me what to do. He's just forewarning me that as soon as this show finishes, we are out. Okay. Duck. Only because it squeaks. That sealed the deal for Nathan. So, Nathan, let me add your name. Scott ducked out. I've already done this before. Well, Danny says, I already sponsor a snow leopard.

[00:17:35] Can't take on the awesome additional responsibility of a duck. Yeah, you've got to focus on a snow leopard. And you couldn't have the two together. They are notoriously adversarial, those two, snow leopards and little rubber ducks. Okay. So, should we do the draw now? Yeah. Let's do it. Here we go. So, you can see your names there. And we are going to spin the wheel and we'll see who's won.

[00:18:06] Great. And it's Chris. Chris. We are the winner of the little contact center rubber duck. Well done. Definitely not. You saw that. That was totally random. Okay. Just because the forum are now partners of mine, there is absolutely no setup.

[00:18:36] But congratulations, Chris. I just need your address. I've had it before, but I think the court order prevented me from storing it. So, I will just need your address. If you can WhatsApp me that, that would be great. Pader's here. Pader. Morning old duck, duck, go. You've missed it, mate. You have missed it. David Payne is here. Happy New Year all. Happy New Year to you too. Just on Pete.

[00:19:05] I was lucky enough to work with Pete for five years and we are good friends. This guy is looking for a new role. And you will not get someone better in your contact center. So, if you know of anything, if you see any opportunities, get in touch with Pader. Okay. Let's get on with this. My snow leopard doesn't know he's adopted. He's not finding the right time to tell him yet. Just leave the adoption papers lying around when he's 18.

[00:19:35] Quack, quack. Chris has won the duck. What a day, Chris. Your week has peaked. Lewis is here. Happy New Year all. Late to the party. No problem. Check out Lewis's videos every Wednesday. Aman says, I already have a golden glitter duck with a crown. So, I'll opt out this time. Wow. That's a nice one. Nathan says, the Jeep owners in the UK load their dashboards with ducks.

[00:20:04] I don't think that's a thing over here. They park where they want. That's for sure. It's a Jeep Wrangle thing here. This is what I love. We are learning, Nathan, from your attendance. Excuse me. Best day ever, says Chris. It is. Wait till you get it. Honestly, you'll probably get emotional. Pete says, cheers, mate. Appreciate the shout out. No problem at all.

[00:20:30] So, let's be positive going ahead for the year. And a little feature we are introducing is this. It's a bit futuristic, but with my partners better, we are looking forward to a better 2025.

[00:20:59] So, what is the one thing that you think will have the most positive impact on our industry this year? What do you think is the one thing? What do you think is the one thing that will have? And maybe, Chris, for you, the answer is this. That's going to have a positive impact on the industry. It's a new VT for you, Peter. Yeah, for sure.

[00:21:27] But yeah, a bit futuristic, bit tomorrow's world. So, what is the one thing that you think will have the most positive impact on our industry this year? I'm not going to judge at all. I'm just going to share. So, Danny is kicking us off with the fastest fingers in the West. Danny Wareham says, same as every year, people.

[00:21:55] I think we can all get behind that, can't we? I love it. And Danny, just to expand on that a little bit, is this because we're going to support our people better, that we're going to deliver more training for them? Or is it just because year on year on year, it's the people in our industry that stand up and deliver great services often where they're not fully supported,

[00:22:22] they don't have the best tech, they're not joined up processes, but people again and again show up. I mean, let's be honest. We are all in this industry because of each other, right? I'm sure there are people that are in the industry because they love service rather than self, right? That they want to help other people, which is great. I'm definitely in the camp of I've stayed in this industry because of people, people like you,

[00:22:52] people that we interact with and meet for the first time. Luke. Luke Dobson is always insightful. So, I'm hopeful on this one, Luke. Shifting the effort of customer feedback from the customer to the organization. That is a cracker, Luke. That is a cracker. And Luke has got something interesting going on as well. We have to, I know you wanted to grab some time on me, Luke, so I will get to that. But great comment.

[00:23:22] Peda says, positive impact. People investing in people. Biggest impact, probably negative. AI tech pros who will continue to ignore employee and customer needs. Yeah, let's not even get on to what Meta and Amazon have been up to, which is appalling, to be honest. Rolling back DEI. We have to go against them. That's my rallying call.

[00:23:51] Neve says, if more training and support were to happen, that would be it, I think. Yes. Maybe 2025 can be the year of investing in our people. Nathan says, I think you just said it, training. Roles are getting more advanced and more training is crucial in caps. So, so true, Nathan. Spot on. Roles are getting more advanced.

[00:24:14] We're all talking about how frontline customer-facing team members are going to deal with more complex tasks, more emotive tasks. That's fine, as long as we're still giving them breaks. And crucially, as you say, we are training them. Danny Wareham says, are we going to support our people? I'd like to hope so. The challenge is all the activity and approaches. I'm looking at you, AI.

[00:24:41] That can distract us from investing in the important squishy bits that make everything work, improve customer experience, and keep us all in this industry. What a lovely comment. I do need to just put the duck equals Chris. Otherwise, I will forget. But lovely comment, Danny. Absolutely brilliant. Morris. Morris. Morris Pentel. Joined up processes.

[00:25:09] Every year, it gets easier to connect processes together, making things easier for customers and colleagues, but only if we focus. That's a really good point. That's a really good point. Everything that we thought we were having to do 5, 10, 15, 20 years ago is easier now. That's a hugely sweeping statement, but run with me on this. And you're right.

[00:25:38] It takes focus, doesn't it? David Payne, better leadership training. Love it. Team leaders especially still being promoted and given little support to become effective managers. Now, look, I couldn't agree more, David. This is why I set up the team leader community that addresses that gap.

[00:26:01] It's not ever going to replace companies L&D set up, but the team leader community is to do exactly that. Thank you very much. You rack them up. I'll knock them down. Nathan Muniz says, Nathan, is that right? Muniz? Muniz? Breaks? Coffee is for closers. Lol. So, Chris thinks this year, collaboration.

[00:26:28] The organizations we see having the most impact. And this is great because it's coming from the forum who have years and years of experience of hundreds of members. So, we've got to listen to Chris on this one. Nothing else. So, we don't have to listen to him on anything else. Certainly not football. Collaboration. In the organizations we see having the most impact are those that work together and understand their role in the improvement cycle and the delivery of outcomes.

[00:26:57] So, collaboration is what is going to be the most. If you get onto that, if you follow Chris's advice, you're going to have a hugely positive impact on your contact center this year. Iman? Empowering our people and working together as one big team. Love it. Empowerment and collaboration right there. Morris says, we do need more training, but we need better training demonstrating more understanding of people.

[00:27:26] Very, very true. And the team leader community, of course, is something that is there all year round. It's not training per se, but it is micro learning. And Rach Schaefer agrees. Please, collaboration is, excuse me, collaboration is key. Hang on a second. It's sugar free. It is sugar free.

[00:27:57] Oh, David, your daughter collected rubber ducks. So, duck. Well, we've already done the draw, my friend, I'm afraid. Unless that is a late comment. Message me later. I'm a softie. Message me later and I will get one over to you. Really interesting. Nobody has said AI. Isn't that true? Really, really good point. Lewis says, people first, Lewis Murphy, people first approach to technology.

[00:28:27] Is the technology positively impacting agents and customers, not just a new shiny toy for the business? Yes, there is a shiny syndrome. Niamh says, I think any program that improves morale on the floor. Really good point to bring that up, morale. And relationships between teams is going to positively impact. Those inter-team dynamics are so critical.

[00:28:54] That is a very operationally astute comment, Niamh. I love it. I love it. Okay. Please do keep these coming. Some great comments. And I do hope this is a really positive year for us. And I guess we can make it that way, right? We can make it so. It is down to us to approach the year positively. I think David was spot on there. No one's mentioned AI.

[00:29:23] In fact, Nathan's just said everything was going great until David said the A word. Don't you think? There's a growing divide, certainly playing out on LinkedIn, between kind of AI exponents saying it's going to change our world, maybe some of the CX commentators that are out there, and then operations, the reality.

[00:29:51] It seems that the divide is getting bigger and bigger and bigger. I don't know if you feel the same. It seems like they're talking about a world, an implementation that is years away. It is interesting. It's certainly, potentially, it's exciting. But it doesn't really show up in our day-to-day, does it? Now, Darren Gracie says, David Payne, that was so 2024. LOL.

[00:30:21] AI is a double-edged sword. If utilized properly, then it could have the most positive impact on our industry. But if history is anything to go by, my confidence isn't high. Yeah, it's about take-up, isn't it? You know, people are still operating with Frankenstacks and Excel, and they're still doing a good job. David Payne, Chris says, David, shush. David was making a really good point, though. He was saying, look, no one's mentioned it. You know, that's interesting.

[00:30:52] AI has a place, but Niamh says, AI has a place, but lots of organizations implement it as a box-ticking exercise to appease the board or use it too much to the detriment of customer outcomes. Really, really true. Very true, that, Niamh. Okay, some of you may, if you follow me on LinkedIn, you may see, sorry, let me just, Nathan, AI is only helping in very specific processes. The tidal wave has not arrived.

[00:31:22] No, it's coming. Yes, if you follow me on LinkedIn, you will see I am posting a video every day of my journey to the London Marathon. I have a place in the London Marathon. It's now 103 days away. Not that I'm fearful of it or counting it very, very specifically.

[00:31:46] And I'm following the London Marathon's own 16-week training plan and just posting a video about it every day. In comes Hugo, coming to annoy me. And I'm running this to raise money for ActionAid. ActionAid is a great charity that focuses on women and girls around the world to get them out of poverty and away from violence.

[00:32:13] Not just having four daughters, but also managing the girls' football team for a while, a few years. It's, this is, I've got an affinity with this. And you can see, thanks to some people that have watched the video as well, I'm halfway to my target. The target's 2,000. I am on 1,000 pounds. I'm not sure this is going to work because there's no way you're going to be able to

[00:32:40] capture this, the link. But if you go to JustGiving and look for Martin Teasdale, London 2025, you will find my JustGiving page. If you could give anything, it would be really appreciated. It's a real motivator to know that I can't let anyone down, especially people that have given me their hard-earned money, well, not me, ActionAid, but sponsored me to do this. I will do regular updates. Don't worry.

[00:33:10] I'm not going to hammer you fully. But yes, at the very least, the videos might be interesting if you want to take something like this on yourself. Okay. Let me get rid of that. No one wants to be hammered for sponsor me, sponsor me. Um, I've missed a couple of comments. Oh, what a great quote. We're going to need a bigger boat. We are.

[00:33:38] Uh, Morris says, the worry about AI is how we use it. As long as we don't abuse it, like outbound dialers, emails, cookies, QCRM. Oh dear. Um, oh, Pete, thank you very much. In the comments, Pete has just put my, uh, JustGiving page. Genuinely, I know everyone always says this, but even a pound. Even a pound makes a difference.

[00:34:01] Three pounds, um, provides menstrual, um, supplies for one, one girl in Africa for a month. And it's a key reason they don't go to school, um, because they do not have menstrual supplies. So, just one pound, two pounds, three pounds does make a difference. So, Peter, thank you very much. Now then, it's an old favourite. Um, it is time for...

[00:34:34] It's the read-along. Now, we're getting to the end, um, which is good, because the new one will be coming out soon as well. Now, I would be amazed if anyone can remember where we got to, but I've got some interesting stats for you from the brilliant Contact Babel's Decision Maker Guide of Contact Centre Decision Makers for 2024.

[00:34:59] Uh, if you have done the survey for the new one, the new one's going to be out quite soon, and we will dig into that. Steve Morrell is brilliant at putting this together. He's been on this show, uh, and we are going to do a podcast together. So, we're up to about 250, page 250-ish. Uh, so we, what, no, we, the decision makers, and maybe that includes you, were asked,

[00:35:28] how do you think inbound channels will change in your contact centre in the next 12 months? Green is increase, yellow is no change, red is decrease. And you can see that people believed web chat, um, is going to increase. It will be interesting to see, because these people were asked at the end of 2023 whether there is a follow-up to see how did this actually play out.

[00:35:57] Because, uh, WhatsApp and Messenger, people believed that would increase. Interestingly, only 2% of the decision makers surveyed thought that the telephony, self-service though, oh, that's interesting. Um, that there would be an increase in self-service. But if you look at live agent for telephone, 48% thought there would be a slight decrease.

[00:36:24] 6% thought it would greatly decrease. And I don't believe that has been borne out. But when you, um, look at this, uh, what do you, what do you think? Oh, Morris, thank you very much. I've just given. So, you must not let me down in caps. Respect to your efforts. Thank you very, very much, Morris. I, I appreciate that. I will not let you down. I will not.

[00:36:53] Um, I am not doing it in a dinosaur suit though, which is a question I got, uh, the other day. It's hard enough doing it in running gear. Uh, Rach says, I agree. Um, allegedly, says Nathan, I heard voices increased with Gen Zed or Gen Z over there for you, Nathan. Um, very, it's fascinating, isn't it?

[00:37:18] I know, uh, we did something on one of the previous shows or more recent shows that, uh, it does not matter of the generation. There is still a preference to talk to another human being in the customer services team. Should you have a, uh, complicated, urgent or emotive subject? It's even higher. Uh, and, you know, there is something very, very interesting in that.

[00:37:48] The thing that amazed me with this is letters. How, how are letters still a thing? Um, I do know that some people prefer them. I'm not, um, I'm not poo-pooing that. But what industries still deal in letters? Uh, it can't be many. Um, let's have, oh, Maurice, thank you very much again. Thank you. Um, let's have a look at how this has changed over the years.

[00:38:14] So the net expectations for channel change in the next 12 months. You can see web chat. People have always expected that, uh, increase. Um, WhatsApp and Messenger since 2018 has been on an upward climb in terms of expectation. Telephone self-service up and down. Uh, email has dropped and dropped up until 2019, I guess, pandemic.

[00:38:44] Everyone thought we're going to be emailing more. There seems to be an expectation that there's going to be, that's going to drop. Talking to a live agent from 2011 to 2023 has been a gradual decrease in expectation, but probably not borne out by reality. Um, here we go. Here's the insight. Here it comes from Danny Wareham.

[00:39:11] Studies have consistently shown that there is more variation within generations than there is between generations. Fascinating. I love that. Uh, that is going to be a go-to for me, Danny. Thank you for that. Neve shares, um, letters for legal, especially collections. Yes, very true. I should know that. Back in my youth, I did work in, um, for a bank in one of their, uh, collections contact centers.

[00:39:41] Um, letters, legal industry even have their own postal service in the UK. Uh, I do a quiz with the family. We go to our local pub every Sunday. I might, I might have you as my, uh, phone a friend, Danny. You never know. That might come up. What is it called though? Because that will be a question. I call our PO box the box of bad news. Yeah, there is a bit of dread, isn't there?

[00:40:10] When, uh, letters come through. Uh, Darren Gracie making a good point here. Letters are expensive. They have the highest carbon emission impact on the environment and could very easily be delivered digitally within minutes as opposed to days. Yes, very true. Letters for complaints, says Amman. Um, this is why I should engage my brain before speaking, but it's, um, it's very difficult.

[00:40:35] Luckily, I have you guys to, uh, to improve my knowledge, um, which I'm very grateful for. Or, um, Morris says, understand the habits that are the core of the team culture and focus on building those bonds that are team spirit. Yes, I love that. Um, Rach says, that's why I made it my mission to represent companies and their products with a mission to set up the customer service correctly. Great. Okay. Interestingly, here we go.

[00:41:05] Inbound interactions by channel. Um, we all, it seems some of the decision makers are predicting the end of, um, the telephone, but here you go. Have a look at this. 64% still, uh, of inbound interactions are by the telephone. Oh, there's a delivery. Hang on a second. Have I still got this way? Oh yeah, I have.

[00:41:51] Look, it is Amazon as well. Uh, that won't be for me. I can guarantee it. Um, I'm in a house with four other, uh, people, all girls. So there's a lot of deliveries. Um, actually I do get some, that was a bit unfair of me. Uh, so what do we think? Uh, we always moan at each other about who the deliveries are for. Um, that one probably could be mine.

[00:42:19] Uh, so I hope you're still with me. Uh, what do we think of this? I guess it seems again that there is a, uh, Niamh, that's a cracker. Is it a letter? I hope not. They're never good news. Uh, to Nathan's point, especially if they're brown. Oh dear. Why do they do that? Why do they put bad letters in a, in a brown envelope?

[00:42:47] Um, Danny, you might have the history of that. Um, Morris says to Darren Gracie, you are right. Remember there are large groups that are still not digitally engaged. You can't kill the postal channel for at least another 10 years. I think that's a really good point. Um, uh, a friend of mine was sharing about how their, uh, one of their parents needs to

[00:43:13] get into access, uh, medical services and, uh, potentially a care home. They, they don't have email. They don't have a smartphone. And the company, the organizations that they're trying to deal with will not accept emails from the son. Um, will only speak to, uh, the parent who is not there enough to, enough to do it.

[00:43:40] And, you know, we're making, we're making things harder for people when they're in need, when they're vulnerable. So perhaps vulnerability needs to expand to how we can accommodate people when they are prevented from utilizing some of the channels that we are setting up. Darren, I'm sorry. Seeing you receive a parcel has just given me PTSD. I'm going to get that, um, because every time a car comes up or a van outside, they don't

[00:44:09] even need to ring the doorbell. Hugo goes absolutely bonkers. Um, so it's reassuring in one sense that he will be a good guard dog. Um, but given the, this is a busy house, loads of people are in and out, we get deliveries. He is barking a lot, but I don't want to stop him. Um, Oh, another interesting fact from over the pond. Uh, our bad letters have a green certified sticker.

[00:44:38] Oh, I'm not sure if I'd like that though, Nathan. Um, that would be a double whammy. Oh, I see. It's just that the letter, the envelope can be a different color. Ours are all brown. Nothing good comes in a brown envelope. Um, maybe the national lottery should send you a letter in brown envelope just to surprise you and break that, break that horror of getting them.

[00:45:04] Um, so first show of 2025, thanks to better and my new partners, the forum. There are other spaces up here that I hope to fill, um, soon fingers crossed because it is the partners that allow me to provide this show, the podcast and pretty much everything else that I do.

[00:45:27] If you guys, uh, any of you have been prompted by the chat about developing leaders to find out about the team leader community, please do let me know. Um, Nathan is available, uh, to people in the States as well. So, um, we have leaders in there from across the globe, predominantly the UK, but across the globe. Anyway, that's enough of that. That's enough of trying to sell.

[00:45:56] Thank you very much for joining me again for the very first show of the year. Uh, the show will be back next Tuesday, um, at 10 to 11. Uh, I hope you've enjoyed it. Uh, if you do want a copy of the industry events, uh, just follow the get out a wrap LinkedIn page. It will be on there in the next couple of days and, uh, for anything else, please do get in touch. But again, thank you for giving up your time. Thank you for your insight.

[00:46:25] And it is really good to see you all, uh, again and have a wonderful rest of the day and a wonderful, uh, week. Bye.