What has been your business/work highlight of 2024 so far?

Who is your business hero and why?

I’m sure I won’t be the only person to say Steve Jobs. His relentless pursuit of innovation, simplicity in product design, and focus on the user experience have changed the way we work with technology today and paved the way to the position Apple has in the market today. But that wasn’t the extent of his work – his role in founding Pixar, which has developed some of the best animations over the years, is also worth remembering.

What’s the biggest business mistake you’ve made and what did you learn from it?

I used to be a Management Consultant, and during that time, I definitely let the work side of my work-life balance get the better of me; it certainly wasn’t balanced! Remembering that there are very few scenarios where the ship is going to go under if you don’t get something done there and then was key. I’ve got a much better balance now, and I always try to remind others to protect their own work-life balance as well.

What’s the most inspirational book you’ve ever read and why?

In addition to my passion for CX, I’m a productivity nerd. One book I’ve been back to time and time again is “Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day” by ex-Googlers Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky. So many great bite-size tips for improving your own personal productivity which I’m always experimenting with.

What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role in 2024?

It isn’t new, but customer service and support leaders are under continued pressure to reduce costs, and that pressure is heightened in 2024 by C-Suite and media expectations that Generative AI can drive significant cuts in headcount. However, our Gartner data shows that most service and support leaders don’t expect to see significant headcount reduction in the next three years as a result of GenAI. Rather, it’s about reframing expectations and showing how GenAI can augment rather than replace service agents.

What technology will have the greatest impact on your business this year and why?

Generative AI is – not surprisingly – the most discussed technology. We see Customer Service and Support leaders under pressure to use it to transform their functions, and at Gartner, we’re looking at how it can help us undertake our research more efficiently. But I don’t think it’s going to have the biggest impact this year because everyone’s still trying to understand its potential and how to manage the risks, and there are lots of prerequisites that we need to address to realise its full potential.

For Customer Service and Support leaders, the technology I see having the greatest impact this year is Customer Journey Analytics & Orchestration platforms (their number two tech investment focus for 2024, according to Gartner research data after GenAI). Leaders have always struggled to understand the customers’ end-to-end journey across channels due to siloed technologies and data. These technologies are finally lowering that barrier, and leaders know that to improve the customer experience, they need to start by better understanding and taking control of their customers’ journeys.