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Next in Queue
By Rob DwyerBusiness
Next in Queue episodes
- Beautiful You’re Hired featuring Tim Glowa
Very few interviews will ever resemble the one Winston Zeddmore went through in the 1984 classic, Ghostbusters. Hired on the spot as the 4th Ghostbuster, Zeddmore, played by Ernie Hudson, was desperate and so were the Ghostbusters. Annie Potts, playing Janine Melnitz, performed perhaps the strangest and shortest first interview ever. Within a minute, Zeddmore was hired by Dan Aykroyd’s Ray Stantz with a simple introduction. He ended up being an ideal addition to the team.
For those who are hiring and those looking to get hired, they know it won’t happen like this. It’s harder to find a job today and it’s increasingly challenging to find, hire, and retain the right people for your organization. I dig into the state of HR today with Tim Glowa, the CEO of HRbrain.ai, to understand these challenges and how companies and job seekers can overcome them.We discuss:
• The evolution of HR Post-Pandemic• Challenges in Job Applications and Recruitment• The critical nature of company culture• Employee development and career advancement• The role of technology in job matching• Understanding employee turnover• Finding the right fit for both job seekers and employersConnect with Tim on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/timglowa/HRbrain – https://hrbrain.ai/
Music courtesy of Big Red Horse – https://bigredhorseband.com/
Brought to you by Happitu – https://happitu.com/
47 min - Barbacoa de Cabeza featuring Justin Robbins
Rock Hudson gives Elizabeth Taylor a foodie lesson in 1956’s Giant about the origin of barbeque. Barbacoa de Cabeza isn’t a dish that most would immediately think of as “barbeque” today, but the cooking technique is certainly replicated for many kinds of common barbeque. Spanish explorers learned that technique on the island of Hispaniola and brought it with them to mainland America. Today, whether you prefer Kansas City, Texas, Carolina, or Memphis barbeque, they all have one thing in common – cooking meat “low and slow” over and indirect flame.
During one of the first conversations I had with Justin Robbins in person, we talked about barbeque, bourbon, and CX. In this episode, I pick Justin’s “cabeza” about all those things and more!
We discuss:
• Change Management• Voice of Customer programs• Delivering unapologetically unique experiences• Understanding customer feedback• What barbeque can teach us about Customer Experience• Reflective and Predictive measuresConnect with Justin on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmrobbins/Metric Sherpa – https://metricsherpa.com/
Justin’s article on Change Management – https://www.icmi.com/resources/2024/the-broken-approach-to-contact-center-management
Music courtesy of Big Red Horse – https://bigredhorseband.com/
Brought to you by Happitu – https://happitu.com/
1 hr 7 min - Would You Like to Play a Game featuring Joshua Wathen
For many, the 1983 film, WarGames, was an introduction into the world of hacking. Mathew Broderick hacks into a military central computer to play a game not realizing the explosive consequences. The Cold War era fear of launching a nuclear arsenal to begin World War III was purposeful hyperbole at the time. But the supercomputer named WOPR that talked in natural language and learned as it went doesn’t seem so hyperbolic today.
Hacking into government computer systems, or any system for that matter, happens with regularity these days and AI has only enhanced the ease of gaining access. Just about every system that controls anything of consequence is under constant threat, says Joshua Wathen. As the COO of Triad InfoSec, he’s the perfect guest to discuss the current state of cybersecurity and what businesses should be doing to protect themselves and their customers.
We discuss:
• Understanding cybersecurity threats• The Dark Web• The rise of AI in cybersecurity threats• Implementation challenges• Why vendor security is critical• The role of leadership in cybersecurityConnect with Joshua on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-wathen/Triad Infosec – https://www.triadinfosec.io/
Music courtesy of Big Red Horse – https://bigredhorseband.com/
Brought to you by Happitu – https://happitu.com/
38 min - Run Forest Run featuring Conor Pendergrast
When Jenny tells Forest Gump to run, well, that’s what he does. But he didn’t just run. He became an All-American kick returner for Bear Bryant’s University of Alabama football team. Later in this 1994 film, Forest runs across the country at least 4 times, inspiring a following that runs with him over the course of over 3 years, 2 months, 14 days, and 16 hours. But despite his love of running, even Forest got burnt out.
Doing the same thing for years can wear on a person. Conor Pendergrast started running years ago. But his diversification into becoming a triathlete gave him new insights into the importance of diversification, community, gamification, and more. He joins the show to explore lessons that apply to athletics as well as work.We discuss:
• The importance of community• A key component to achieving goals• The critical nature of recovery• The advantages and limits of gamification• The role of culture in successConnect with Conor on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/conorpendergrast/Conor’s Newsletter – https://www.customersuccess.cx/newsletter
Music courtesy of Big Red Horse – https://bigredhorseband.com/
Brought to you by Happitu – https://happitu.com/
56 min - Automation featuring Chafik Abdellaoui
The 2019 film, Automation, is bad. It has a poorly written screenplay and awful acting. The worst part of the movie is probably the special effects. For a movie about automation, you’d think they would have used better tools. They could have used Autodesk’s Design and Make Platform to put out something more than a guy in a robot suit but instead, we got practical effects that are rather embarrassing. The Next in Queue TL;DR review: Not enough automation in Automation.
Perhaps Chafik Abdellaoui’s team at Autodesk has already reached out to the filmmakers – you’ll have to ask him. I asked him about the future of contact centers and I can sum up his response in two words: more automation.We discuss:
• The longstanding place of automation in contact centers• How AI and LLMs are changing the landscape of customer service• How data integrity impacts the usage of bots• Why automation may not reduce the need for human agents• How accountability impacts the deployment of AI solutionsConnect with Chafik on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/chafikabdellaoui/Music courtesy of Big Red Horse – https://bigredhorseband.com/
Brought to you by Happitu – https://happitu.com/
49 min - The Sword of Azeroth featuring Tony Won
The Big Bang Theory touched on all kinds of nerd culture, including Role Playing Games, known as RPGs. RPGs can be tabletop games like Dungeons and Dragons or Massively Multiplayer Online games known as MMOs or specifically, MMORPGs. Many RPGs share some specific basics – you create a character that has a specific role, backstory, and specific attributes or skills. Those attributes can be enhanced during gameplay through experience and achievements. In some cases, you can attain specific items like the Sword of Azeroth which grants you a new title. These games also typically involve more complex character development than what is found in other types of games.
Tony Won imagined using many of the mechanics of RPGs in agent development. Then he rolled the dice and implemented it within his company, Player Support.We discuss:
• The challenges of evolving a solopreneur model into a business with employees• Challenges of dealing with foreign bureaucracies• How cultural differences can impact business operations• How he’s using an RPG framework to inspire employees• Keys to managing a startup in any countryConnect with Tony on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonywon1980/Player Support – www.playersupport.com
Music courtesy of Big Red Horse – https://bigredhorseband.com/
Brought to you by Happitu – https://happitu.com/
40 min - How Can I Help featuring Dr. Rachel HittThe medical drama, New Amsterdam, features Dr. Max Goodwin as the new Medical Director for one America’s oldest public hospitals. Max strives to do something that seems oddly revolutionary – put patients first. Among his first acts to impact patient experience are to eliminate the Emergency Department waiting room and to bring healthy food into the hospital. Throughout the series, he attempts radical changes to help patients have better experiences in the hospital and better health outcomes.But improving patient experience doesn’t have to start with firing entire departments or upending every single process in a hospital. In fact, it begins with simply with how patients are treated by healthcare professionals. Communication and empathy are building blocks to a better patient experience, says Dr. Rachel Hitt. And as the Medical Director of Patient Experience for the Tufts Medical Integrated Network, she’s championing a different approach to patient relationships.We discuss:• Why the relationship with patients is crucial in medicine• How business practices often create barriers in healthcare• How technology can both help and hinder patient interactions• The essential skill to delivering difficult news• How active listening can improve patient outcomesConnect with Rachel on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-hitt/Music courtesy of Big Red Horse – https://bigredhorseband.com/Brought to you by Happitu – https://happitu.com/39 min
- Dirty Little Secret featuring Casey Denby
The video for the 2005 hit, “Dirty Little Secret” by the All-American Rejects featured a montage of people holding up post cards sharing their own “dirty little secrets.” Secrets seem to be part of the human condition, and they’re not limited to individuals. Industries, companies, and functions within companies all have their own dirty little secrets. Sometimes, those secrets are simply a result of a problem without a solution.
One function of companies that has long held a dirty little secret is corporate training. It was a problem without a solution. But recently, a solution has emerged and Casey Denby is here to bring the secret out into the open and talk about how to solve the problem with technology.We discuss:
• The dirty little secret of training programs• The most important component of skill development• The reason contact center retention rates are so bad right after training• The key component to confidenceConnect with Casey on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/caseydenby/
Zenarate – https://www.zenarate.com/
Music courtesy of Big Red Horse – https://bigredhorseband.com/
Brought to you by Happitu – https://happitu.com/
57 min - These Go to Eleven featuring Jarad Haggard
While 1984’s This Is Spinal Tap was the genesis of the “mockumentary” genre, it hit so close to home that many viewers (even to this day) believe that Spinal Tap is a real band. The movie shows multiple event mishaps, including cancelled shows, improperly sized props, equipment malfunctions, and even a misbilling as a puppet show.
Working as and with musicians (especially those in the rock/metal/punk genres) has a way of leading to outrageous stories for all involved. Jarad Haggard has a few of those stories, having both been in bands and been the guy promoting concerts and handling band bookings for local venues. Today, he’s a Customer Success Manager for Thoropass. He joins the show to talk about the intersection of Customer Success and Events Management among other things.
We discuss:
• Jarad’s Early CS Lessons in a Retail Environment• How Events Management and Customer Success Overlap• Dealing with Challenging Customers• How Creativity Can Enhance Customer Relationships• Local Community EngagementConnect with Jarad on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jarad-haggard-89465658/
Thoropass – https://thoropass.com/
Music courtesy of Big Red Horse – https://bigredhorseband.com/
Brought to you by Happitu – https://happitu.com/
50 min - Different Strokes for Different Folks featuring Bunyamin Cankirli
While it was Muhammad Ali who first used the phrase “different strokes for different folks” when referring to his fighting style, it was Sly and the Family Stone who embodied how we think of it today. While they weren’t the first group to feature both black and white musicians, or male and female musicians, or be a vocal group, or be a rock band, or have a horn section and gospel backing vocals, they were the first to do ALL of these things at the same time. And their 1968 #1 hit Everyday People was a plea for us all to recognize and accept each other’s differences.
As business becomes increasingly global, acknowledging and embracing cultural relativity leads to stronger teams and better performance, says Bunyamin Cankirli. Today, he’s a Sr. Solutions Architect with Concentrix, a global BPO. In his decade with Concentrix, he’s experienced so many different folks and learned how to use different strokes of communication to drive team success.We discuss:
• Cultural Biases• High- and Low-Context communications• Teamwork and Organizational Goals• Cultural Awareness and Leadership• Lessons from Sports and Coaching• Starting with Customer Experience• Creating a Winning CultureConnect with Bunyamin on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/bunyamincankirli/
Music courtesy of Big Red Horse – https://bigredhorseband.com/
Brought to you by Happitu – https://happitu.com/
59 min
About Next in Queue
From the publisher's feed
Hosted by Rob Dwyer, Next in Queue features Customer Experience, Contact Center, Customer Support, Customer Success, Training, Leadership, and Technology experts and practitioners from around the…
globe. From CEOs to the frontlines, there are lessons and insights in every episode.