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Air, Food, Water, Internet: Meet Generation Y

Jenny Sweeney — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:42:33 +0000

Imagine managing a stable of workers who knowingly disregard IT policies, who think your company’s social media and mobile device usage polices are stale, and who believe they are not responsible for protecting company information and devices.

It sounds like a network TV sitcom plot, but it’s not. It’s Gen Y, and, according to a recent Cisco survey, it’s a reality.

The future of work, according to Cisco.

For its annual Connected World Technology Report, Cisco surveyed 1,441 college students aged 18-24, and 1,412 employees aged 21-29 in 14 countries. The purpose of the study was to gain insight into the behavior and expectations of the next generation of workers, and how their demands for information access are changing the future of work. The study was conducted between May and June 2011.

Among the more notable findings:

Internet as Basic Human Necessity: One of every three college students and employees surveyed globally (33%) believes the Internet is a fundamental resource for the human race – as important as air, water, food and shelter. About half (49% of college students and 47% of employees) believe it is “pretty close” to that level of importance. Combined, four of every five college students and young employees believe the Internet is vitally important as part of their daily life’s sustenance.
Security? What Security? Seven of 10 employees admitted to knowingly breaking IT policies on a regular basis, and three of five believe they are not responsible for protecting corporate information and devices.
Importance of Mobile Devices: Two-thirds of students (66%) and more than half of employees (58%) cite a mobile device (laptop, smartphone, tablet) as “the most important technology in their lives.”
Mobility is on the Rise: Smartphones are poised to surpass desktops as the most prevalent tool from a global perspective, as 19% of college students consider smartphones as their “most important” device used on a daily basis, compared to 20% for desktops – an indication of the growing trend of smartphone prominence and expected rise in usage by the next generation of college graduates upon entering the workforce. According to Cisco, this finding fuels the debate over telecommuting vs. working in an office.

Although the results are hardly a surprise, it does sound a warning bell for IT and HR. Preparation is essential.

Writes Dave Evans, chief futurist for Cisco: “The lifestyles of ‘prosumers’ — the blending of professionals and consumers in the workplace — their technology expectations, and their behavior toward information access is changing the nature of communications on a global basis.”

In a recent article, Dino Londis of InformationWeek offers a solution:

“So what to do? Part of IT’s responsibility to steward consumerization of IT is to educate the user and HR on the greater risks that come with consumerization. If IT departments are just now coming to grips with consumerization trends, then HR departments are completely in the dark about it.”

What We're Reading: The Mostly Ugly Edition

Jenny Sweeney — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 10:00:06 +0000

This week’s batch of stories deals with the good, the bad and the ugly. The good news is that the decline in tech spending may be history. The bad and the ugly: Google’s customer service. Read on…

The Good: Forrester says the Tech Spending Downturn is Over — Huzzah!

Support requests can be sent only through e-mail, to which Google can take up to 48 hours to respond. Yes, two days.

Computerworld magazine reports that the tech spending downturn is over, according to a report released by Forrester. The research firm predicts that IT spending in the United States will increase by 6.6 percent in 2010, after falling 8.2 percent last year.

Even if Forrester’s predictions are correct, it will not necessarily mean a full recovery, according to Computerworld. Spending for 2010 will still be less than in 2007 and 2008. What’s more, the mag warns of the possibility of a double-dip recession – that is, a growth spurt, followed by another decrease of 3 percent to 4 percent. Cross your fingers.

The Bad and the Ugly: Lessons in Customer Service from Google

The tech media has begun rivaling the tabloids in its ruthlessness. Witness the current crop of articles about Google, whose almost-flawless reputation has taken a beating lately because of its customer service missteps regarding the Nexus One phone.

In an article in Wednesday’s New York Times, writers Jenna Wortham and Miguel Helft report that the people who purchased the new device have no phone number to call for customer support; requests can be sent only through e-mail, to which Google can take up to 48 hours to respond. Yes, two days.

In a piece published by CNN, the roster of customer complaints included “spotty 3G connectivity, a high early termination fee, poor customer support from Google and problems with the touch screen.”

Over at InformationWeek, writer Antone Gonsalves notes that complaints of so-so coverage are usual with any carrier, but “getting the runaround is not.” Nexus One users call T-Mobile, are then told to call the device manufacturer HTC, which then tells them it’s T-Mobile’s issue.

Google has responded with a statement saying it promises to resolve the issues. We hope so, for its customers’ sake.

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Tech Babble Roundup: "The Cloud" is a Lousy Name

Jenny Sweeney — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:27:16 +0000

This week we have one lone term, but it’s loaded: The Cloud.

At the very least, you probably have heard the term dropped at a meeting or two. Or, you may just be chin-deep in the cloud, scrambling to find a way to use it to break your company’s Microsoft-branded shackles.

If you are one of the former, who know it’s there but don’t know much more about it, the top tech publications have your back. Ars Technica and Informationweek recently published (almost) everything you need to know about cloud computing. Here’s a rundown:

Level 1, Working knowledge of computing: If you know of the cloud but nothing more, read Ars Technica’s intro piece. It’s a rich, informative primer that covers everything from the history of client-server computing to the rise in popularity of the grid and “utility computing.”

The article, written by Jon Stokes, also touches upon the unfortunate name that seems to have stuck.

“It doesn’t help that the image conjured by the word is of something vaporous, flimsy and fleeting—,” he writes. “Whatever cloud is, it doesn’t sound like the kind of thing you want to entrust critical business functions to.” This brings us to the next article:

Level 2, C-level exec with computing knowledge but more concerned with selling the idea: The cloud is supposed to revolutionize the way we work. It promises to end to waste and redundancy in the enterprise, lower costs and produce happier workers. But when it comes to what it’s called, the name doesn’t fit the face. (Think of the whole “swine flu” vs. “H1N1” debate.)

Informationweek’s Bob Evans explores this issue in a recent column. In his article, he relays a story told to him by HP CEO Mark Hurd, who was giving a presentation to a group of CEOs about the cloud and was booed. Yes, booed.

To non-technical CEOs, Hurd told Evans, the term cloud computing doesn’t sound very clear. And when you are trying to sell a concept, clarity is paramount.

Evans advocates for a name change, which we back him on. What term would you like to see replace “cloud computing”? Send an e-mail or post your entry in comments.

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The Importance of Follow-up

Jenny Sweeney — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 20:22:08 +0000

Recently, while reviewing the quality assurance surveys we conduct with our customers, I noticed a common thread in the comments: the importance of following up.

Quality customer service isn’t just a nicety or something you’d find in Charleston; it’s critical to the health of a business.

Here’s a sample:

“You were awesome and this follow-up e-mail speaks volumes of how wonderful your service was.”

And another:

“I was absolutely thrilled when I got an e-mail from [the consultant] the next day with tutorials. I thought that was amazing customer service. Customer service is dead these days. Your company renewed my faith in it.”

It’s standard practice here to send customers reinforcement learning tips and e-mails with topics that are related to the software issue that prompted them to call in the first place. Glass-half-empties may say it’s overkill, or that it’s akin to spamming.

With an attitude like that, no wonder customer service is dead.

In this business — outsourced software support — quality customer service isn’t just a nicety or something you’d find in Charleston; it’s critical to the health of a business. Having a measurement method in place is even more important.

A quote from an InformationWeek report that was published in June says it perfectly: “IT service assurance is something you build in to ensure that your organization’s massive IT investment is doing what business leaders want it to do.”

We couldn’t agree more. It’s a fact that if customers are treated poorly, they will hesitate to call back the next time they have an issue. Instead, they’ll ask a colleague for help and waste the time of two employees, devise clumsy workarounds, or do nothing at all. Morale will suffer too.

But if a customer is given the attention they deserve, even if it’s only for 10 minutes, they will emerge with more knowledge and a better attitude. That, in the end, isn’t a luxury; it’s good business.

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The Good Customer Service Game

Jenny Sweeney — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 14:10:16 +0000

Some of our customers are so surprised that our consultants are friendly, they send us letters like this:

“Now I must tell you that I’m not the brightest when it comes to technical-type stuff. I’m sure I asked a lot of ‘silly’ questions, and probably had to ask them more than once. [Your consultant] never made me feel stupid and demonstrated the utmost patience and kindness when dealing with me. I have had to call back on a number of occasions and requested to work directly with him because he was so knowledgeable, helpful, personable, and, oh, did I mention patient?”

While we welcome praise like that, it does make us wonder why dreadful customer service is the accepted standard — at help desks for sure, and in business in general.

It’s a fact that if customers are treated poorly, they will hesitate to call back the next time they have an issue.

In a recent piece in Information Week magazine, staffer Art Wittmann argues for a more customer-friendly future. In IT, Wittman says that interest in end-user satisfaction needs to increase. Help desk techs need to learn soft skills, and how to use them.

Wittmann’s piece was a response to Microsoft’s move to open Apple-like stores in the near future, complete with digital media walls and a space fit for birthday parties (!). It seems Microsoft wants in on the good-customer-service game.

The lesson to be learned from Microsoft’s efforts, Wittmann writes, is that the drive to create customer loyalty is something all enterprise CIOs should have on their minds.

“If you still have pockets of technologists sitting around swilling Red Bull and laughing at ‘lusers,’ wake up and smell the clouds rolling in,” he writes.