Interactions Beat Transactions
The Value Of Maximising Interaction Opportunity
Throughout my career as a Health Therapist and then in the Retail Industry, the key metrics all revolved around Transactions. Usually looking at how many Transactions, the average spend per Transaction, the number of units brought per Transaction, and so on. These would tell us how many people were buying from us and how much they spent during their visits. This was helpful to guide us to where we could improve our marketing and customer experience. As leaders, daily and weekly decisions are based on these tangible metrics which become a part of the vernacular. Every industry has their version of this.
Yet, in 20 years of management, there was very little training or discussion around Interactions. The emphasis tends to be reactionary where we deal with whatever is upon us at the time. When reviews of staff needed to be done, we briefly learnt (or reminded ourselves) about reviews. By the time we did our last one for the year were done, we were just getting good at it! Or, if we needed to improve our product knowledge in an area we would have a meeting and study it. As my mum would say, we operated in a 'flavour-of-the-month' mentality where we react to the needs at the time, prioritise it, then move onto the next urgent need as soon as possible. This is the problem with Transactional Thinking - it is reactive and focuses on maximising the customer's spend rather than maximising the customer's loyalty.
If we take a Middle Manager, their customers would include their Director, their team members, their key external stakeholders, and end users. All are customers. If this Middle Manager is supported to maximise the hundreds of interactions they have with all of the above, then I am convinced that the top line and the bottom line of the P&L would take care of themselves.
The former Xerox Corp Palto Alto Research Center director John Seely Brown, and coauthor of The Social Life of Information has researched company trends in this area. His research says that "companies continue to invest 95% of their spending on business processes, with only 5% going towards supporting ways to mine a corporation's human capital". Tangibles always win. Intangibles, like communication, self-management, and relationship-management tend to be left to the individual to figure out as they go. I would like to call out this outdated habit.
Brown talks about the importance of Human Capital when building successful business units.
Before buying that shiny new platform subscription or software upgrade, or the latest smartphone, can we think about the value better interactions would bring our business?
What is the value of every leader in your business being able to...
Observe deficiencies?
Have succinct private and helpful conversations to bridge the capability gap?
Mentor high standard behaviours that everyone will follow?
Confidently and courageously slow a conversation with an angry and aggrieved client?
Keep a highly pressurised workforce motivated, engaged, and relaxed?
When these things get in the way of our work running smoothly, we sometimes call this stuff 'life'. We use them as an excuse as to why we cannot achieve or progress. However, those that invest in improving Interactions instead of constantly reverting back to maximising transactions will come out of 2020 in better shape. I am certain of it.
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