Service work runs on people, not production lines.
The Service Excellence Network is a new, free network sharing best practice for organisations that run on people: banks and insurers, healthcare, life sciences, shared services and IT. Members share what actually works, and what doesn’t, in customer experience, people and leadership, operations, technology, strategy and change. Events start in Ireland and New England.
Free
for individual members
6
practice areas
5
sector groups
Why service organisations need their own playbook
Most management and improvement methods were built for factories. They assume the work is visible, repeatable and stays in the building. In service and knowledge work, none of that holds, which is why borrowed methods so often stall.
The work is social
Service and knowledge-work organisations run on educated, independent-minded people who have to align their expertise with the organisation’s goals while pursuing their own. Performance depends on how well that alignment is managed.
The system is complex
Complicated systems follow cause and effect and can be engineered. Complex ones are networks of people and organisations that keep adapting to the world around them. They can’t be re-engineered, but they can be nudged, with structures that encourage more of what works and less of what doesn’t.
The scaffolding is thin
When people leave the building, the production process leaves with them. Each morning they reassemble into a slightly different network. That weak scaffolding is the biggest obstacle to turning mission and strategy into consistent results.
What members do together
Many people have solved part of a problem inside their own organisation. Comparing notes with peers in other sectors is often how the rest of the solution turns up.
- Find an expert. Members list what they know. Search by skill, practice area or sector and ask for help, and earn network credits when you help others.
- Share best practice. Across six practice areas: customer and service experience; people, leadership and culture; operations and process; technology, AI and automation; strategy, performance and execution; and change and transformation.
- Join a sector group. Financial services, healthcare, life sciences, shared services and BPO, and IT services, each with its own forum and roundtables.
- Bring a live problem. Post a challenge in the forum and get responses from people who have faced it.
- Learn on site. Join webinars, site visits and meetings, starting in Ireland and New England.
- Contribute. Host a session, lead a sector group or local chapter, or write for Insights.
Open anywhere, starting on two shores
Ireland and New England share the same mix of financial services, healthcare, life sciences, shared services and technology, and the same problems. That’s where the first events and chapters will run.
Membership is open to practitioners anywhere. When enough members gather in a new area, they can start a local chapter of their own.
Insights
Minimising High-Growth Complexity
This article explores the proliferation of organisational complexity, particularly under high-growth conditions, and how it can be counteracted. It examines the challenges posed by…
Cultivating a Culture of Simplicity & Learning
In today’s ever-changing and competitive business landscape, organisations are constantly seeking ways to enhance their performance, adaptability, and competitive edge. Two key strategies that…
Navigating Complexity: Our Approach to Achieving High Performance
In today’s dynamic and competitive business landscape, organisations face a constant struggle to maintain and enhance their performance. Operating within complex environments, businesses must…
Membership is free.
Join now as a founding member and help shape what the network focuses on in its first year. It takes a few seconds, or talk to us about bringing your organisation in.