Our guests taking their seats at the start of the day. And what a day they were in for! And just like that, it seems, Capacity23 London is finished! The crowds have gone home, the ActiveOps team are getting back to their day jobs, And the BAFTA staff are sweeping up the popcorn we left in the aisles (sorry!) In this blog, I’m sharing my reflections on what was one of the most exciting events that ActiveOps has ever hosted – and which, we hope, our clients found engaging and inspiring.
Ready to embrace the future
Jimmy McLoughlin, our keynote speaker, takes to the stage to give us a glimpse of the future.
Jimmy McLoughlin, our keynote speaker, takes to the stage to give us a glimpse of the future. I think what shone through for me most was how optimistic and excited everyone is for the future. As our keynote speaker, Jimmy McLoughlin OBE, pointed out, despite a world that is getting more tumultuous, a global economy that’s shifting its focus to Asia, and the challenges of workforce health and an ageing population, technology offers opportunities for change and growth. Jimmy highlighted five technologies every service operations leader needs to know, including:
- Quantum computing
- Semiconductor technology
- Engineering Biology
- Data
- AI
Our CEO, Richard Jeffery, echoed that sentiment, saying that the combination of human and artificial intelligence is going to be the next big disruption for service operations. Organisations that can embrace this will be able to navigate any economic, social, and political landscape in a way that maximises business value and ensures a healthy, engaged workforce – wherever and however they work.
Andy Scott from Atos, Dr. Mona Ashok from Henley Business School, Dan Carroll from Xcentuate, and Claire Lund-Conlon from Aviva discuss the future of service operations with Jimmy.
Andy Scott from Atos, Dr. Mona Ashok from Henley Business School, Dan Carroll from Xcentuate, and Claire Lund-Conlon from Aviva discuss the future of service operations with Jimmy. After the keynote, we were treated to a panel discussion chaired by Jimmy, where our panellists discussed how service operations were likely to be impacted by the changing world around us. Andy Scott, Dan Carroll, Dr. Mona Ashok, and Claire Lund-Conlon covered topics including:
- Challenger banks, and how traditional banks can use technology to try and keep pace with the leaner operating models of these newer businesses.
- The shift from not having enough data about your operations to having too much. The challenge going forward is how organisations can make sense of all that data, even across traditional silos.
- Simply not knowing what’s coming in the next five years. This state of continual uncertainty and rapid change requires next-generation operations tools and thinking to navigate successfully.
Decision Intelligence delivers MORE
Capacity23 London was the first time that many of our customers will have heard us talking about Decision Intelligence – and you may have noticed that our newly refreshed website talks about it prominently. In essence, Decision Intelligence uses AI to deliver predictive and prescriptive insights to help service operations make better decisions, faster.
Ultimately, Decision Intelligence enables your operations to do MORE – whatever that looks like for you. The product team held our audience spellbound for over an hour as they showed them the amazing new features available in our software.
The product team held our audience spellbound for over an hour as they showed them the amazing new features available in our software.
The most exciting new capabilities we’ve ever announced
Of course, no Capacity event is complete without the product team showing our customers all the amazing new features that are either available now, coming soon, or being worked on – and this year’s was no exception. This year, the new feature we showed our guests were some of the most exciting we’ve ever showcased, all aimed at helping out customers deliver MORE. There were too many to share here, but my highlights were:
- The ActiveOps Teams App, which allows users to user our software within Microsoft Teams, so they can access the insights they need to do their jobs, in the place where they do most of their work.
- Smart Planning and Smart Case Planning can create plans at the push of a button – even for complex case-based work. During testing, Smart Planning improved planning accuracy even in top-performing teams enough to unlock u to 5% additional capacity.
- The Location Dashboard gives managers much-needed insight into how location affects employee performance. Finally, you can truly gauge the effectiveness of hybrid working, and have data-based discussions to optimise your hybrid model.
We also treated our audience to a glimpse of our Virtual AOM coach. The Virtual AOM Coach is an AI-powered virtual assistant that will transform how service operations make decisions, every minute of every day. It can answer questions about your operations, make recommendations for how to manage any issues that come up, and can even implement those recommendations for you. Coming soon in 2024! The AOM Virtual Coach in action. It’s hard to capture the magic in photos, but the potential of the AOM virtual coach is unlike anything we’ve ever done before.
The AOM Virtual Coach in action. It’s hard to capture the magic in photos, but the potential of the AOM virtual coach is unlike anything we’ve ever done before.
Sharing our customers’ MORE stories
Capacity23 was all about helping our guests discover their MORE. Are you looking for more capacity? More productivity? More control? More predictability? MORE looks different for everyone – and throughout the afternoon our audience heard senior ops leaders who are transforming their businesses. Through a series of fireside chats and MORE stories, those leaders shared best practice, practical advice, and simple yet effective tips based on their experiences.
We heard from Nozizwe Tshabuse, Head of RBB Operations at Nedbank, who used ActiveOps to unlock MORE customer-centricity in her operations, delivering better results for customers and an incredible increase in Nedbank’s NPS score.
We spoke with Steve Hepple and Mark Mazurke from Nationwide Building Society, who unlocked MORE insights into their casework environment by using ActiveOps. With that insight, they were able to make process improvements that gave managers more time to focus on leading their teams, and caseworkers more time to do productive work on cases.
A particular highlight for me was hearing Ben McManus of Fidelity International sharing their MORE story. Fidelity is fully embracing the power of integration, using APIs to pass data from HR systems and its data lake into ActiveOps to unlock insights without increasing the administration burden for teams. It’s such as powerful way to use ActiveOps, and one that so many operations leaders are going to be embracing in the months to come, I think.
We also heard from John Gilbert and David Hand at Atlanta Group, who shared how they’d used ActiveOps to create a completely flexible workforce, unlocking MORE consistency in operations management across their multiple brands.
And, finally, we had a fantastic panel session featuring a number of our ActiveOps Awards finalists, where they shared their insights into how to define, and unlock, your MORE. It was such an inspiring session to watch, and I know our audience came away with plenty of new ideas and enthusiasm after listening to our Ops Game Changers. Our panel of ActiveOps Awards finalists. The changes these individuals are driving in their organisations, and the success they have cultivated, is staggering.
Our panel of ActiveOps Awards finalists. The changes these individuals are driving in their organisations, and the success they have cultivated, is staggering.
The ActiveOps EMEIA Awards Dinner
The day ended with a gala dinner for all the finalists of our ActiveOps Awards. We gave out awards across four categories: Special Recognition, Excellence in Operations, Operations Team of the Year, and Exec of the Year. Competition was fierce this year, and of course all our finalists have done incredible things for their organisations and should be very proud. Congratulations to all our winners, including (among others) Nedbank, Fidelity International, SBV Services, and Nationwide Building Society – and well done!. There’s nothing quite like celebrating the successes of your customers and colleagues in a beautiful venue – I loved it.
What’s next?
Capacity23 is coming to Melbourne on the 25th October, and Nashville on the 2nd November. There’s still time to register for either event if you’re in North America or the APAC region – but spaces are limited, so hurry!.
If you’re interested in learning more about any of our exciting new features, then talk to your ActiveOps Relationship Manager – or, if you’re not a customer, click here to get in touch with us to arrange a chat.
And, of course, you could always register for Capacity24 – I’m already looking forward to it!
