Session Information:

Motivating and Engaging teams in achieving operational excellence while staying focused on what matters to them

This past year has shown us the massive effort required to stay engaged. We have seen it at home and also at work. Staying connected as team members and staying connected to our organizations has been a struggle even at the best of times.

For many it is the connection that is key and what matters. As an individual how do I connect to understand what my organization is doing, what it stands for and do I align with its values? Martin will show you some of the concepts and ideas that have benefited his team and organizations in keeping people engaged and aligned. He will share with you.

Taking a streamlined strategy, aligned to the organization, but team focused
Find the heart of your workforce through identifying your Culture, Employee Experience, and Values
Wrap it with taking your employees, and yourself, on the journey to find purpose.

Session Transcript:

Sure, I'm very excited about our next guest. He's coming today from British Columbia, and we have Martin Lampman with us. Martin's purpose has been elevating people's ability to achieve more through his encouragement, support, and guidance. He has been the customer care industry in the Customer Care Industry for over 20 years in both the public and the private sector across many geographies.

He's a Director of customer support operations at the CLC and he has a thought an industry leader on strategy, employment, Engagement employee Engagement and Operational Efficiency.

Martin, real pleasure to have you with us. We had a very heavy, first session focused on technology. And in your session now, you're gonna, you're gonna have more of an expansive view on how we integrate technology in the way that we do work in our work, in our culture. So we're very much looking forward to that Thank you for sharing your wisdom expertise for global audience today.

Just say Thanks for having me here today to be here and good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening to everybody that's out there. I'm so excited to be here to be able to talk to you a little bit about employee engagement and what it means to them and everything that they do. So I'm hoping you can see my slideshow, alright. So it's interesting. It's been a year and a half since we've been in this pandemic things have really changed. And I think as technology learning is kind of advanced. So, have we, and as individuals, we've advanced, and I think when you look back at the last year, I heard a great quote a while ago, that said that in a year and a half, everybody actually has turned into millennials, your grandmother, Your grandfather, everyone has become a millennial because they become somewhat addicted to their phones and technology.

But today, what I really wanted to talk about was just a journey that I've been on and that have really taken a team on. And all in a lot of organizations I've been with, as we've tried to move and advances individuals', we're trying to stay connected to our people and see them grow as individuals as well. And before the pandemic started interesting, I've done some sociological studies and did some research around.

What the impact was around workplace loneliness and isolation and what we've been seeing is that 40% of the individuals prior to the pandemic will soar suffering from workplace isolation and really having a challenge trying to be connected with people. And what we're seeing also is that 60% of the workforce was really starting to have workplace loneliness that was impacting them and this is prior to the pandemic.

So people say I can't wait to get out of the pandemic I don't want to get out and go back to That. It's been, it's, it's interesting, how workplaces have really driven and really had an impact, particularly around the Millennials, and we see it higher, and leaders, and managers, that they're not staying so connected and integrated with, with people on their teams. So I wanted to understand, really, what was going on with our team as we're venturing out on this work from home space. And we were going, as individuals. I really wanted to expand and look into what was going on. And I started to launch some surveying and some sharing sessions with my team.

And just to understand, and to level set how things were going. So, I did a survey that really pulled into understanding from a collaboration aspect, where are we staying, or we very collaborative And our team, Because we're a customer support center, was, was everybody sharing information. Through the third day, I found that 90% of my people believe that we were a highly collaborative team.

We also found that 85% of our people were agreeing the fact that they had a friend at work and someone that they could talk to whenever they needed to. We also are finding that 80% of the people were staying connected and felt like they had a place to go to if they needed help or support.

And we also found that over 80 or over 90% of our people know who they can turn to for help, and if they have a friend or relative that were close to them.

Why? I wanted to go a little bit further than just internally, because I really wanted to make sure that, that might, the people on the team also had branches of support outside of work. That they had a chance to go where, where they need to.

So what does that all mean? So in a lot of organizations, you get the results, you're like, hey, job done. Let's move on. But really, what I really wanted to do, and what the team wanted to do, was just really understand why, Why? Why were we being so connected? Why were we doing so? Well, as a team, and we didn't able to put our finger on it, we also needed to really seek to understand that. Why, and know the steps.

So, we wanted to take, we also knew that through the years that we have been growing 7 or 8 years. I had been in the organization, we'd really change the makeup and the lookup of our team, because we wanted to get a lot more in tune with technology, but also the younger generation in the world that we worked. And how is that working for them? So, we saw the diversity of our team that was growing.

We also saw through these last years, particularly in the last year people are really starting to expect more from us and we expect more from each other as we've been going through this pandemic. And I think we've been seeing it as well. Even then, we're expecting more from each other.

And all of our needs have changed so quickly and changed. And we've had to adapt so Fastly through this last year and a half and even prior that we needed to make sure that we were doing the same in the way that we work with our people and the way that we're keeping them engaged.

So how did we do this? How did we go down this journey?

Lot of people talk about strategy. What strategy means? I'm sure everyone on this call understands what a strategy is. From an organizational perspective, you know, the, the leaders, the VPs is the C suite. They develop these beautiful strategies, There are roughly 35 to 40 pages long, and people on the frontline just don't read them, they don't have any insight to them. They don't understand them. They don't connect to them and a lot of it is, they just don't really understand what they mean, Nor were they part of the process to create them.

And with, where I wanted to take the team is really on a journey to build them, make them feel part of a process, while still staying aligned with the organization. So what we found through building of the strategy that the buying of the team was so crucial as we went through this process as they were part of it, they were able to give feedback. And insight as we went along was we went through it. Also technology technology. As you heard Josie say earlier, Technology is such a behemoth for us. But it's the piece that underpins everything that we do, as well as the process. And how us as humans interact with that technology, needed to be crucial as we talk to the strategy.

And, also, we needed to look at the strategy, not as a numbers and a revenue and a financial piece of it, but also from a cultural standpoint, how does the culture impact with the strategy and make it work?

Because a lot of people will focus on a strategy, do more business focused, and leave the human element out of it, which is the only which is the key factor to make it happen.

So, what I have done, what the team, and we built, was what we call the strategy on the page, which is really taking a 45 page document and putting into one page that really meant so much to them, but was also crucial in the areas that we wanted to focus on.

So, what we were able to do is we took the, we took the vision of the organization, which is always at the top of it. Because we don't want to deviate from the vision of the organization, and created a strategy statement that we wanted to focus on and go towards. But we also underpinned the whole thing through KPIs that we thought were the key measures of success for us that really showed that our strategy was going to make something.

Secondly, we wanted to really focus on what was the purpose of what we're trying to achieve, and what was the purpose of why we're here, and get four quadrants into that area. And then look at the strategic initiatives, in the areas of focus that we really wanted to focus on to drive this thing. Home at. The heart of what we did was really the values in the culture and really drive what those pieces are, because they're, the heart of, they should be the heart of our strategy, because the heart of our organization, and what we tried to achieve and do every day.

So, we needed to go on a journey to understand what they were within the team and within the organization. We can always talk about, Oh, that the team is so great, they have such a great culture. But when people say that, How do you know, and what does that actually mean to people? Also, when you're looking at it from an employee experience standpoint, what does that mean? People say, I have a great experience working for you, but I have no idea. I just know that we're a bunch of great people, and talk really nice to everyone, but that might not just be it. There must be something more and deeper to understand.

So we wanted to go down this experience road and really understand from experience standpoint what an employee was going through on that journey.

And once we understood that, and we spent the right time and the energy into the journey, we knew that it would pay us dividends in the end.

So, we built a journey map from the employee, when the first A, prior to hiring, even through their recruiting process, the experience that they had, and follow them completely through that year. And then beyond, just to understand their ups and downs, where they thought they were happy, where they felt they were sad through the process. When we did this from a leadership standpoint at first, just to challenge our, our myths and our beliefs as we went through it. So we built a journey map those leaders and then we went out and did interviews with all the people that were one year and less and then we did another subgroup of greater than one year.

What we found out is that we were wrong in a lot of areas.

We had thought that, in starts the process, we thought we're doing really well. But once we did the interviews and talk to people, we found that that was causing a lot of anxiety and a lot of stress through their journey. We also found that it was areas of opportunity for us to do a lot better, and there's we thought we were doing great, we're actually blowing it out of the water, which we did really well.

Part of the solution. So then, what we were able to do is take all that, build, and build a plan to fix a lot of the pieces that were in there.

And we made the employees that we did the interviews with, part of helping to drive that solution, and looking for areas of opportunity in there to drive even better experiences as they went through that.

And then we're able to take that in and articulate that and to statements that showed what people have experienced people have when they work with us, and work with the team. And a couple of examples of what we have for what the experiences that they have. These are statements, so they came up with that said, that for one of them. It's, we're committed to your growth where a talent incubator, it's a great place for you to come and grow and learn and be able to grow in the organization. And we're also a community of culture and really build that within the team. Because we're supportive of each other, we're focused on wellness and the wellness of each other, so it was great to see those statements come out of the team as we went and got and went through that journey.

And today, the team looks at that and says, That's exactly the experience that you have when you're working with this team, which was fantastic.

So, culture.

I've talked a little bit about culture in the beginning. It's always been this this myth that's out there, like, oh my god, the culture, and everybody believes that we should come in and try to change this culture.

Knowing enough sites that I've been in, and with enough teams to change a culture, is incredibly hard, and because the culture exists, it's there. So how do you make it, and how do you nudge it into way into different areas that really start to show the great pieces of your culture? But also on Earth, some of those areas of opportunity that you have?

I always love the quote from Frank from Frankel that said, Our greatest freedom is our freedom to choose our attitude. And culture. A lot of it is based on the attitude that people have when they're in there and how people view each other.

So we really wanted to unearth a lot of that and identify a lot of statements around what we believed our culture is, and what that what it was made up of. We also didn't look internally, because a lot of our exercises can be so internal focus that we forget what's happening in the outside world. But, also, we forget about how we're viewed as a culture and how other teams view us. In the world of perception and reality, we may, we may have this reality feeling that we were a great team, but people's perception of us is completely different.

And we want to make sure that those two planes equal the same as we go down this journey and understand what that looks like.

And then what, from our culture standpoint, where, where we pulled all these interviews and went through all this research. We were able to identify a lot of the areas that we did really well, and that we Excel.

And the old rule is, when you know that you're good at something, promote it. So, we want to make sure that those things that we did well, and we're, we're, we're being well communicated across all of our teams, but also across the organization. We created videos, we created presentations that really focused on what we did well, and plus, we talked about it a lot, as we've met with different parts of the organization and teams outside of it.

And throughout this process, I've talked a little about the survey in the beginning. We also continue to do surveys along the way, so we can continue to do the health checks on how our culture is doing, and how people are feeling through the process and hold sessions with teams and help focus groups harder in today's world. But actually a lot easier as you use things like fun retro boards, where you can bring people into groups, and it's amazing how people are more engaged, especially those that are shy and don't want to speak up, talk a lot more and speak up more when you're in this virtual world.

So, from our culture, a couple of the examples of what we are able to come up with That really kind of solidified what type of culture that we have, and that that the individuals that we have within the team. And we know that from the two that were the examples that you see, they're engaged and genuine were taught to in the, I think there was four statements that we came up with for our culture. Those are two of the top statements, and to the top pieces that came out of it.

So, finally, values from the values journey is very interesting. Organizations have values. They always quote there for values that are very strong to them as organization. But as an employee, just like when we're talking about strategy, when we're talking about culture from an employee standpoint on, the frontline for them to connect to those values, is very difficult. They don't really understand them. and a lot of times, they might not even know what their own values are. So, how, if, not, knowing your own values, how do I connect to an organization's values?

So we needed to take our team on a journey to help them understand, first off, what their values were. Because there are core to everybody, their core to who you are, and what you do every day, and the decisions that you make.

A lot of them happen within the values That you choose where you want to go. So we really want to take time as individuals, to understand what their values are, and really get into it, and have a conversation about what values meant for them. And then also highlight some of the areas as a group share of where all values were.

So, from a team standpoint, what we want to do is take those values as individuals, and how do they represent us as a team? So, not everybody's values are the same, but as a team, what do we believe our team values were? And how did those look, as people from, externally looked at us?

But also, internally, as we looked at ourselves, then, those, then, we took the next step of our, of our evolution and understood. So, we know our individual values, They aligned to our team values, and we could have a conversation about that, but do they align to the organizational values? A lot of people don't really understand the connection of one of the values as an organization. We have a social responsibility, which is going to be changing in the future, but one of the ones we have a social responsibility People trying to connect to social responsibility might not understand even what that means.

Somebody who says, you know, one of my values is community, I go to the food bank on weekends, I help support my local, my local community, that way.

When you have the conversation, ones are like, well, that's social responsibility, in essence. Because what you're doing is reflecting the communities that you live in, but also the betterment of the area that you live.

Then people all of a sudden, the light bulb goes off and says, Now, I understand how my connection happens. Where, before, they don't really understand.

And when it comes to the core part of the values, that we were able to then align them to show that your value is actually aligned to the team values, and really aligned to the overall organization and as one or more in sync than what we think we are.

Someone asked me once, Well, what if my values don't align with the organization? My response was, that's a very difficult decision for you to make.

It's hard to work at a place that your values do not even align close to an organization, because you really, That's an internal conversation to really have, And, how do you work there.

A couple of the ones that they come up with, I've shown their top two, again, connection, and compassion are two of the top ones that came up with values. They also came up with great statements That actually supported their values. one of the team member, Stephen, as his name, He came up with a great statement that said, We're a family, that is fearless respectful. And diverse, which was just phenomenal. And then the Compassion one, as well, we care about our people and strive to be our best selves. There are just such fantastic statements. And when you sit down with the team and read them and go through them, it really hits close to home, and they feel really connected to what we're doing, what we're trying to do.

So the journey to purpose. A lot of people, a lot of organizations now are making moves towards purpose. And it had its its momentum awhile back and then kind of faded a little bit. But through the last while, the year and a half, you've really started to see a lot of organizations talk about how their purpose has grown and what they're doing to help support different communities and different different environmental or sociological things that are in the world today.

And, I think where we look at today is, as humans and as society, what we're starting to see is a lot of movement to make the world a better place. And that is really starting to impact our work, where we're doing, and what our work, and what our people are doing.

And, I really wanted to start our team on that journey, for purpose, and what it is.

And the reason that we want to do things, the, the interesting part, is, as humans, we're crazy people. We're always trying to get something new, the new, Shiny Gadget, the new piece.

Because we know that once we get that something new, we're going to be happy, and once we get that, do we find in the end that we're not all that happy? Because we're trying to chase that next new thing.

When you look at purpose, as you heard in the intro, that, Jose, that at the beginning, part of where it really strikes home, is that when you lead with what your purposes versus what your title is, then you know kind of what the essence of what you're trying to do, and really trying to drive forward.

So what we really wanted to do is to try to find out, what, what does that next step that we want to take? We know that our people expected more of us. We also know that the world is changing, and as society, we are changing, and we needed to adapt and change with it. We're also starting to see a lot more of the workforce. in a recent study, 42% of the workforce wants to work for an organization. That makes a positive effect on the world. We're also seeing that from an old Millennial standpoint. because now I believe millennials are starting to outrank a lot more of the Gen x-ers in workforces, which is amazing. They're starting to see, we're starting to see that, that that group of people want to see and work for organizations that have a higher impact. A positive impact on the on the on places that they work in communities.

We're also finding, as you saw during the pandemic, people are starting to spend two out of three consumers would spend more or spend the same amount of money to work for services or brands that have a positive impact.

Positive social impact, So, we're starting to see a lot of undergrowth happen. You all heard the statement of, Let's buy local, keep it local. So, a lot of people started doing that. So, it started to pull back, didn't really hit Amazon to buy, their shares are doing quite fine, so let's not be too concerned. But anyway, we're starting to see a lot more movements like that.

We talk about companies with purpose. A lot of companies have really started to make changes, and tried to move more towards that purpose standpoint. Starbucks, you've all you've heard what there is. They're trying to make the change and the image and helped to nurture the human spirit, I think it's one cup, and 1 1, 1, community, one cup at the time. I think that's the way the statement goes, but they're really starting to make a positive impact in the places that they work in. The places are the places that they have stores and supporting the economies. Walgreens has done massive changes within their part of it, I think there were the one of the first ones, to stop selling like alcohol and cigarettes cigarettes for sure.

Because they know that they're in the world of trying to provide better health for their customers, and why sell cigarettes if you're trying to make better health for your customers.

Carrie ... was one that I got on in the last year and a half, quite asper inspirational for the work that they do for the type of product that they sell. They're really leaning towards greener technology. They sell shoes but they've been able to change a lot of the fabric. And what they used within choose to be more friendly and more sustainable up to the world, she has made out of bamboo fiber, core consoles. A lot of their, their soul pieces as well, instead of rubber, they're using a type of oil derived from plants. So they're making positive impacts. And for every shoe that you buy, they plant trees within the rainforest. And then they have different promotions for different things they're trying to make from a, from an environmental standpoint.

Jamie, Oliver, who I just love, I mean, some of the pieces that he's done for, just as a chef. But he's changed a lot more and focus towards kids and healthy eating within schools. I think he's trying to have child obesity by 20 30 within the UK. And he's done a lot towards sustainability when it comes to buying foods and meats that are sustainable and raised in a sustainable way. And also, a lot of support for local artisans and what they're doing.

So just phenomenal, the work that he's done, in order to change this from his perspective and get people influence them.

He got, I'm not sure how many people know this. But he goes a lot around.

It's a great book, but it's a great read around purpose, trying to find the way to live a long and happy life within the Japanese lifestyle. So there's some really great parts within Nikki got interesting side note, if you ever go to Amazon to look for books about purpose, you'll find over, like 150,000 books around purpose. So everyone's got a book about it, but. But ..., it's great because it really focuses on four quadrants when you're when you're talking about purpose in four, I'll get into a little bit later when we're talking about it. But it's really focused on what you love and what makes you happy. And within each, he talks a lot about the flow state and what the flow state is, is really getting into that zone. I don't know, probably a lot of you have that. You've gotten, you've done something that, you really enjoy it. So for me, it's like playing guitar or you're when you're out fishing or your biking or whatever it is when you get into that flow state, it's just time passes. And you don't even you don't even know the time that's gone by. You're so invested in you so much. Love what you're doing. You've really found what is truly true to you, but also part of what your purpose is.

because you just loved it so much, and become connected to it.

So, he got really focuses a lot on that. And really, it's about what gets you up and gets you going in the morning and makes your day start and, really get you excited to get going.

In the courage, to be happy, it talks a lot.

When I, when I was looking through it, the interesting part that I pulled out of courage to be happy that really aligns well, purpose is people who want to make change always go towards they call it the victim complex. Or, you know, if things are not going well it's always the poor me It's always that bad person that did it to me. And there's always this dichotomy of I tried to do something more. But there's always so many forces and headwinds that are against me.

And within the book, it talks about also, what should you do now, is the third point within the triangle. So, it's fine, all this is happening. But the end of the day, what are you gonna do about it? And within purpose, that's the same piece. It's, it's all these things are happening within the world. We could talk about all societies going, this way, or, This is happening that way. But, at the end of the day, what are we going to do about it? And how are we going to make the next change? And how are people going to be motivated behind that, to make that change, To make it happen?

So I really wanted to start the team, on the journey to find purpose.

And again, you could read all the books you want, you can look at all the things that you that you can.

I actually pulled this part from a session that Atom let say did in a, in a ted talk, because it's just it's for teams as an organization. We're moving towards more of a purposeful action. I worked for an organization where over half of the revenues that we generate, because we're part of the work, part of the government over half of the revenue that we generate. Go to support communities, health care schools, which is such a great organization to work for, to know. That's where your revenues and dollars are going for, and we're trying to find better ways to connect the purpose of what we do and why we do it.

So really, I wanna get the team to connect, because, like, strategy, like values, they won't see that connection. There'll be like, I don't understand how that works. And really, it comes down to really understanding, from a purpose standpoint, what is my purpose, and what do I try to do?

So in the Adam, let's say, peace, he talks about five things that you can really focus on. The five questions you can ask yourself: The first one is, who are you? So really, what is your name, and who are so I'm, and the second part is, what do you do? So, what is the best thing that you do today?

That you can get paid for tomorrow to continue to do, What could you show and teach someone else that they'll be able to learn from?

The other part is, Who do you do it for? So, I might do. So, I'm a leader, works in the organization, and I support a lot of people. So, who do I do it for? I do it for everyone else within the organization to make sure that they're living a happy life, and doing the best to mentor and coach them along the way.

The other part is, what do they need from or want from you?

They want support, They want to be able to guide. They want to be able to learn through their journey. They also want to know whether the next step is in the customer. Support World. If you're in a, not a lot of people live their Life dream, to be a Frontline rep, they want to make their next step in the journey, and they want to be able to advance their career. And that's what I'm here for it. And that's what my leaders are here, for, how do we take it and make that next step for you, And the last part, is, how do they change from it.

So if we're able to, if you're able to do all these pieces, how do they change in the end, and what makes it different for them?

And really, the best part that I really like about Adam's view on this and what really when I went through the team, what they really liked about it is that five of the questions, two of them are focused on you. The other three are focused on, on the outside, on someone else. So a purpose isn't truly focused on just what you are, it's more focused on what you do for others and how you take that next step.

You're just, they say it in the beginning, my purpose, and really, I encourage, support and guide others to elevate their ability to achieve more.

I'm really focused on how, do, how, how I can make a positive change on people, not only from an organizational standpoint, but also from my family standpoint. And how do I do the best to help me motivate my kids? And how do I work closely? Or how do I support my, my brothers and my sisters and my uncles to make them a better life and do the best I can for them along the way?

And I think one of the big pieces, This is what my leader taught me years ago, was, how do you take, that's your statement. But being able to have guiding principles along the way, that really help kind of lead and put you in the direction that you are to help really reinforce, repurpose, is a key piece and mind where eagerness and appreciation, because those are the two things you can never go wrong with eagerness and you can never go wrong with appreciation for what people do every day.

An interesting part when it comes to purpose one of the bookstores in the US Escapes me right now, but when they hired people into their organization, they had, you're giving your title, which is your work title.

But there are also They're also tasked with coming up with their purpose and their second title was their purpose statement of what they wanted to be and what they were, so it really helped to drive home that whole fact around purpose and what they were trying to achieve So in the end, you try to polish pieces together. Martin, you've gone over a lot. So, what does all this mean to us? And I think when you, when you put all the pieces together, it really starts to show the harmony with them all. We talked about experience, and being able to journey map them. We've talked about strategy, how core strategy was to the overall part of what you're trying to achieve. We also talked about culture, and the influence of that, and the values that are. Kind of the core of what we're doing, and how we're trying to do it. And I think when you get to the purpose part of it, which I ended on, it's really that, that atmosphere, that circles around that really helps keep everything together and keeps everything emotion as you're continuing to try to go forward.

So, I guess a couple of the things I'd say in closing this off is mixed from a strategic standpoint and strategy, make strategy, an inclusive process. I talked a lot about how people come into it. We brought them in and make them part of the overall process. As we go through every year, we review it to make sure that we're staying on course, every quarter. I'll send updates on how we're progressing against that, and how we're focused on the things that they want us to focus on and really shoot for.

When it comes to culture, find out what your culture is. Really be open and honest, and be vulnerable as you go to the culture process. A lot of some people don't like to investigate what the cultures because they don't want to unearth the nasty stuff, but you need to, you need to unearth that to make sure you can fix it and move it into a direction that you want it to me or positive the other people that join your organization.

From the experience, make experience matter. From the journey mapping was such a great process that we went through when we looked at experience. To understand what our people went through, How they venture, when they came in the organization, the adventure they went on, and how we can get them promoted out into the organization.

We find that, of all the people, that we bring in this, last year, we brought in 40 people into our team. 36 of them were promoted into the organization, in different roles, in the Finance, and IT, into a lot of our product teams were all promoted off, which was such a great piece for us. It's, it's it's really tough when you got to train them all the time. But at the end of the day, what we're doing is we're helping to start an underground movement, to making sure that from a player standpoint, or a customer standpoint, we're building that underpinning, part of understanding the customer impact on the business in the organization. And, really, helping to influence the organization of where it goes.

Finally, or not, finally, but another part of your values. Help people find there's, um, and also, find your own, if you haven't taken the time to identify, your values are, take the time to find them. It's not a very tough exercise. The, the, the exercise I lead the team on, took us roughly 20 minutes. And you can, people can find their top three values, and under 20 minutes, if he could do the process quickly, and it really helps to show some light on what really motivates them, and, really, where their directions go, and how they go there.

And I think, finally, it start a journey to purpose on purpose. Don't do it half. go all in. And what we're going to see is, the world is going to continue on this change of where it's trying to go environmental, I mean, you've heard it in the G seven summits that are going on right now.

Via mental impacts and social impacts are massive right now, and it's hard as individuals. We get lost in the world and I think that the more we spend time to unearth identify what our purposes and what we're trying to achieve, we can then take that and really help benefit society, and do some better things for the the world as we go forward.

And that was it.

And I did it in 31 minutes. I was, I didn't think I'd make it. There was a quite, quite, quite a journey on purpose and culture. Terrific, Martin. We had several questions that have come up during, during the segment.

And, of course, you know, we have gone from technology implementation to culture.

So, one of the questions is, how does culture and the discussion that you have had such a meaningful discussion on purpose and culture, alignment and values?

How does that help or hinder your implementation of new technologies in the workplace, because the reality is that these new technologies can be exciting for some. It can be downright scary for others. What are your thoughts about the role of culture purpose in, in this fast-paced environment, especially? especially when we talk about new technology in the workplace?

Yeah. That's a great question.

We've, we've found that, from technology standpoint, absolutely, it's been difficult. We implement some of them because the culture doesn't, doesn't absorb them or reject some quickly. Kinda like the other pieces I've talked about, the more we've made them part of the process. If that's an option, the more app they are to accept it and bring that in.

The other part is, in the world of change is, how do you get more people to be advocates of the change that you're making versus the dissatisfying to the change.
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When making a part of the process, they're able to carry that excitement with them. And be able to be champions for you in the organization and really help more people adapt to it. But also be there for, as I talked about in the beginning, when we talked about the people and having a level support for them, they're gonna look to their peers more for support. And sometimes, they will, their managers, leaders and stuff, they might just grumble at them because they're listening to me employees. But if they have peers that they can go to and discuss this with and be advocates for them, then let them have that spot and let them have that space to do it. And when it comes to space, people need space and time to really absorb everything. So, give them that time and space, and though it will pay dividends in the end.

That's, that's great perspective and I think one of the things that you mention also during your, your talk thou of that, this area is, this is how you talk about your strategy. I think you, you discuss the one Page Strategist statement and simplify it.

Is that your perception also, that sometimes technology is kind of built into the, is brought into the workplace.

But, it's not very well articulated how the technology fits into the strategy and how, you know, it's not really well communicated to those people in the organization. How it fits into the strategic picture. I don't wanna lead you into that direction. I'm just curious, Check for understanding here that you think that is a that's an important aspect of it, or maybe not.

Yeah, a lot of people don't understand the why behind it, so we're going to go and launch this new piece of technology? Whether it's a new phone system, or whether It's a new CRM, And people are like, Well, I don't understand what. I have is working fine for me.

But they don't understand the connection of what it's going to mean for them in the end, but also what it means for everyone else. And from a strategy standpoint, what you're trying to do is help your team connect the dots, because otherwise, they don't understand what's going on. And when I talked about the strategy, the strategic initiatives that you're focused on, part of that, is the technology improvements. And when you're communicating that well, of what that initiative means and where you're going with it, then people will will jump right in and be more of us a supporter of it than a dissatisfying once. They understand the why, and I think that's really, it, gets down to the heart of that, is just getting into that why? We're making the change, and give them space to have the conversation about why they don't like it, or what what? What does it mean?

Excellent. William Fuller. Coming from Boring Oregon today. There's nothing boring about the city, by the way, I just love the name. So, Williams, a great contributor to our discussions here for, for, many, many months already. And the tremendous experience in the industry.

And his question is, related to understanding employee values and organizational values they should optimally be aligned.

But his question is that what do you do when the organization does not act in accordance with its stated values when there is a misalignment of the stated values and the actual behaviors that you've seen the organization? What is your perspective, As you're trying to build the culture, when you come across, you know?

issues like that.

Millimeter, hm.

I'll give you a couple of examples. It's a great question, by the way. So I'll give you the first example.

one of them is my daughter's soccer team, which is not part of work. But the daughter, my daughter's soccer team that she's part of one of their values is inclusive and a lot of the steps that they do as teams because they have the main team, and they have a reserve team on their soccer or, as I said, your football team.

But when they, when they do things, they're doing more for the people that are part of the core and not so much for their reserve team and when they're doing special things like that, it's not very inclusive environment.

And so, what that led to, was a conversation with myself and their board talk about, they state these values but here are examples of where they're not being represented in a way.

And I think people just believe that they're happening, but they don't actually take the time to step back and see, are they actually happening. And sometimes it takes someone like me or another individuals to bring them to light to have the conversation.

And I transverse I transpose that into the organizational world. In organizations sometimes they believe that they're representing them. When really the evidence shows that they're not, It's that whole plane of perception and reality. My perception is, is that my my values are being lived as an organization, but in reality they're not, and they're running on two separate planes.

And you need to bring the leadership to what reality is, not just what they're stepping back, what their perception is, of what's going on.

And really have the conversation around it.

Yeah, very well, next question comes from trash. Come Ash. Visa moody, He's in India today. And Trash is asking, is mentioning that many organizations, they do a great job and onboarding people, and talking about culture.

And the, and not such a great job talking about culture and, and living those values when they're letting people go and the and the and what is the importance of keeping your culture and values. During good times and during bad times, if you can talk a little bit about that.

Yeah. So culture and values during the good times, It really helps to unite a force. And it actually happens on both sides. In the good times it really shows. And it really helps to, what I've seen is really sparks innovation and really sparks people to branch out and want to do more in the good times. And they're really apt to jump in and be supportive of each other, because they have the flex and the space to do so.

What we saw in this last year, is, we saw some real hard times, and when we saw hard times in the world, for people that weren't working, we saw hard times in the organization, Because what you're doing, you're getting twice the amount of volume, and twice the amount of stress. Piled on top of you that, you are having to do, plus your whole world changed, because you're working at home when you used to be working in an office.

Where that really started to come true. And the bad time in that tough time was that when I talked about the connection, the compassion, the team, really stepped up and use those as their anchors to stay more connected to each other.

We also use that in a lot of the communication that we have with people, with our teams, and with individuals, to really say, You know, there's a great group of people here willing to support you at anytime. I echoed our compassion and our, all, our stuff all the time. As we're going through. And, I think, during the hard times.

Even more so, do you have to communicate?

What has made you great, and what will continue to make you even better as you go down this road.

People will lose sight of it and the more you take to bring them back in an anchor and back to the core of what you are, then there, there's less chance that they'll stray down other past and start to build that underlying, in the undergrowth of no heart, or despair gets you to call it. You're just doing your best to keep people anchor to what makes you successful is literally been the core of what who you are.

For sure, for sure.

How do you, how do you increase courage in organizations Martin? Because a number of the things and questions that have emerged from the audience here, has to do with the fact that people don't speak up.

They, they, they, they, they are quiet, you know, and there is no about things that may bother them, and The, and there's no good bad on that, So, it's very contextual, for sure, but, but the question is, how do you increase courage in organizations? This is on the item that comes off and on when you're managing change, and implementing change. and, on both sides, Not, not just, to say that, you know, we need to create this inclusive environment, but, also housing. How do people find the courage to speak up? How do you see that, that blend of the two sites?

It's a very interesting question. Says courage, I always go back to the Wizard of Oz. But, I think, I think when we're talking about courage, here's one of the main parts that comes to having the courage, is the fear. And there's this fear behind us that, I don't wanna speak up, because I don't want to be made, Look fun.

Made fun of, I don't want us, I have this fear, or this courage to go do something, because when I do something and it fails, people will view it completely in a wrong way. And not make it a proper environment for me.

And probably, I'll be, I think they called it red circled for the rest of my life. Because of something I did.

And what, what I've really worked with the team about, and what really seen a lot of success is, one, Giving people the space to try new things and attempt new things, whether they're small process changes, or even, I had 1, 1 girl. My team launched a new technical piece with our, with our CRM, which was a huge undertaking for her to take, but she was a champion of it and it was the first time she'd gone through something like that.

And I think through that, the journey that you let people do, and giving them the space, to do that.

It's a great opportunity to help people learn.

And I think where people will get more and more courage is that they get a chance to try things build up that kind of build up that kind of rigor for them, but also that backbone, so, to speak, That, they're willing to take the next step, to take a risk, again.

And, when they have the free space to do it, and that you're there, and supportive of them, they're willing to do it, And they're willing to speak up about it, and talk it through.

And, I think where you have people who go through, and take on challenges, and then, fail, have them talk about it.

Have them talk about the experience that they had, and talk about, not just with you, but with a larger group, and communicate that. And, it's not a bad thing to have, And I think the more that you talk about it, the more it becomes the normal for people, and it becomes part of the learning process that everyone's going through.

I always, I de bug one individual, my team. Because when they went live something, it didn't go well. And I said I was so happy for you. Or like you're just a demented person. I'm like, No, I'm really am. I truly am happy that you went through a process and failed through it, because I want you to experience what that's like. When you have that happen, you can talk about it, and you can share that with other people. And you also learn from it.

You can't learn if everything you do, goes perfectly, because everything, then, your mind is planned to go what exact way. And the minute that it fails, then, you don't know what to do.

And failure teaches you ways to overcome it, overcome things, and it teaches you adversity. And it teaches you ways to be resilient when when the tough times happen, and change happens.

Excellent. Martin. one final question here for a wrap up. In this journey of some organizations are going through right now, with digital transformation, I often say there is a majority of digital transformation is, by the way, fail miserably, and the different numbers, 70%, 80%, 90% plus, and where. And, of course, you know, should be around for awhile. And you pay attention. You realize that, there's no such thing as digital transformation without business transformation. And, there's no such thing as business transformation without cultural transformation.

So, if you're, if you're going to transform something, you need to understand what those new behaviors will look like, and how you're gonna role model and play, and really behave accordingly.

So, the question is for, for organizations and professionals in this journey of digital, business and cultural transformation, what is the biggest advice you have for them, on that journey, that they have to get this ride, or at least, you know, keep this in mind?

Ah!

So, I think some, some more of my advice comes from those. That is, number one is, trust your people. Your people will do amazing things for you if you give them the time to do it, and you give them that space to learn about it. And trust that they're doing things in the best interests of everyone. I truly believe, in my heart, that people aren't like truly malicious, and want to hurt things, and do the wrong thing, that they really want to truly do the right thing. Because success is everybody's game.

And I think the more that you take the time to trust them and give them the space to do it, they're going to surprise you and amaze you and even those that you haven't again on my Plane of Perception and Reality. Even those that you may perceive to be not the right people. Or, might be, of people that you don't relate well with.

one day, they are going to amaze you some days that sometimes it takes a long time but one day they will and you'll go, that's why that's why you're here. And so, give them the, the, the, the trust that they're going to do it. And the other part is give them the space to go on the journey with you.

Once you have the time, the trust, and the space that they can learn, and they can evolve, again, they'll, they'll just be such strong advocates for you.

It will grow a culture of acceptance, It'll grow a culture of learning, and you'll have more of a team getting to the end than just yourself.

I always said that the best team is the one that carries you to the finish line. It's not the one that you have to put it on your back and kick Paul, kicking and screaming all the way.

Martin? Thank you so much. Great wisdom. Great insights. On behalf of our global audience, thank you for taking the time and sharing your expertise from British Columbia to the world. We very much appreciate that.

Thank you so much. It's great to be here.

Ladies and gentlemen, that's Martin Lampman, Director of Customer Support Operations at BC. LLC sharing his insights on digital, business and cultural transformation journey that we're all being part of willingly or Unwillingly these days. So wonderful insights, so appreciate that. We are going to be taking a pause now, and starting back up at the top of the hour, and at the top of the hour, I'm going to bring you a Global Expert.

Who, who is an advisor for several technology companies, on RPA, on, intelligent automation matters. And that he always brings tremendous color for our conversations, for his presentation. On, on the good, the bad, and the ugly, when it comes to digital transformations. When income. When it comes to exponential technology development and implementation. So I will see you, with Mark MacGregor at the top of the hour. Thank you.