“People want egg cups, children’s clothes, and hot tubs”
Insights and highlights from the latest Fluxx Exchange
Our Fluxx Exchange events bring cross-industry leaders together to chew the fat on the most important topics we currently face. The diverse perspectives make for a well-rounded conversation, and since the C19 crisis, it’s been even more valuable to learn from our peers about how businesses are surviving and adapting.
We’ve run two “business recovery’ events (check out this article about the last one), chatted to over 50 leaders and experts from a number of industries, and we’re collating insight and intel that will all feed into a collaborative business recovery guide. Two months into lockdown, we’ve moved from the initial panic into new ways of working. We spoke to business leaders to hear what they’ve learned from this period. Here are some snippets from this morning’s event and you can catch up on the last conversation here.
“Usually we learn vicariously from doing, and from being around our team. Now leaders have to be more creative with how they prioritise (their teams’) learning and development.” Marketing Director, CII
The research from our Great Work from Home Experiment, echoes the sentiment from the group; some individuals are able to self motivate, while others need the structure, support (and permission in some cases), from their organisation to make space for developing their professional skills. This is particularly challenging when coupled with an increased workload, so a top-down approach to learning and development is required.
“We’ve seen a leveling of the playing field” OM Lead, RB
People are the heart of any business, and the crisis has shined a light on employees from all areas of our businesses. Lower paid workers, who might previously have been seen as less skilled, have become the most essential part of the production chain; let’s hope that this renewed appreciation for employees across the board lasts. Equally the shift to remote working levels the playing field for those that will continue to work flexibly moving forward. The tech and team rituals are in place to make for an easier transition in the future.
“Comms have to be relevant, and then when they are not needed, they should just go away” CMO, Ageas
Most business’s crisis management plans were scrapped pretty quickly. Customers need transparent, relevant comms. It’s okay to not always have the answers; ‘we’re working on it’ can, and will suffice. What’s important, is that you treat your customers how you’d like to be treated, and often that means going back to get the brilliant basics right.
“Customer behaviour has shifted massively. People want childrens’ clothes, laptops and hot tubs.” Head of Strategy, The Very Group
Businesses who don’t have an online presence will at least need strong distribution points. Overnight we saw a huge increase in demand for educational, garden and home, and tech products as our homes turned into playgrounds, schools and home offices overnight. Sales of egg cups, teapots and coffee pots have spiked, indicating a massive return to a leisurely sit-down breakfast too… Now, more than ever we need frequent, deep dive consumer research to get ahead of the curve and plan for changes in consumer needs.
We’re gathering on the 3rd June to revisit the topic — join us for ‘Business Recovery: How it’s Evolving’.
Check out our more from Fluxx Studio Notes: Making (Remote) Workshops Work, Don’t leave the future of your business in the hands of C19. We all love a good crisis, right?, Are You Ready to Start Innovating a New World? If you want to learn the expert practitioner’s secrets for sustained, repeatable innovation models, check out The Innovation Starter Kit. Stay tuned with all that’s Fluxx by following us on LinkedIn or signing up to our WTF Newsletter.
