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Q&A With James Bolle; What ReThink Productivity Do With Data
23rd July 2024
Our Head of Insight Development, James Bolle, has been in his role for more than six months now. In January, we sat down with James to find out more about his background.
As a “six month review”, we’ve chatted with James again to look back on the work that’s been carried out during this time, and discuss what else ReThink does with our client data.
How have you been spending your time?
It’s been a fascinating six months – and the time really has flown by.
My original intention was to split my time equally between completing analysis projects, supporting and upskilling the team to deliver analysis projects, and thinking about future data and insights products. Overall, this is probably how I have spent my time, but recently there has been a lot more focus on the latter.
I’ve been thinking about how our clients want to access and consume productivity data and our benchmarking tools are beginning to take shape. We have a basic version of “ReBenchmark” in testing with some clients and I’m excited to get their feedback, react and (fingers crossed) have something to share with everyone later in the year.
How do ReThink use data?
I’m sure you’ve heard the analogy about data being the new oil. The most common interpretation of this saying is that data is valuable and this is true – data can be incredibly valuable.
However, like oil, data is considerably more useful if you refine it from its raw form into something that can be used for a specific purpose. This is how we use data at ReThink; data is never the end goal in itself, we refine it, contextualise it and bring it to life in order that we can surface insights, create better decisions and discover opportunities for positive change. It’s sparking this change that is truly motivating.
Have there been any surprises?
There have been lots of surprises. Two in particular are;
- Just how much data ReThink has collected in its history and,
- How much extra potential is available if we combine our data with the clients’ own operational data, creating even more insights
Firstly, looking across our databases right now, I can see literally millions of records. There are all kinds of secrets that may be revealed by analysing this data intelligently.
Secondly, while we already do a great job of bringing data to life, I’ve been talking with clients about connecting the data collected by ReThink with data from different sources – footfall, sales, scheduling, customer experience, colleague feedback, even the weather – to get even more insights. Imagine being able to link your productivity with any number of external variables and the difference you might be able to make to your business as a result. Very exciting!
Any interesting projects to talk about?
When I started at ReThink, I read Sue and Simon’s book, Every Second Counts. A key point in the first chapter is that productivity is, in essence, delivering what your customers want as efficiently as possible. The clear implication of this is, if you don’t know what your customers value most in their interactions with your brand, it’s difficult to figure out where to focus your productivity efforts – there’s no point being ultra-efficient delivering something no-one wants!
In relation to this, a very interesting project has been the opportunity to work on some customer experience consulting with a client. We have helped map and analyse a customer journey, determining what additional data is needed for effective decision-making and identifying some clear opportunities for improvement. Having worked in customer experience for ten years earlier in my career, this is an area that I know a lot about and it’s been brilliant to dust off these skills. The client has been great to work with and it’s been very rewarding to help make a difference to their business and their customers.
Have there been any highlights?
One thing that has always given me huge satisfaction is “turning on a light so that others can find their way” – that feeling that you’ve helped someone see a situation in a new light or make the right decision. My role has thrown up so many opportunities to turn on lights for others that it’s difficult to pick just one.
So I’ll pick one of the team social events instead; the opportunity to play on the pitch at Leyton Orient Football Club in May.
It was a gorgeous day, and getting together with colleagues, clients and friends to experience what it’s like to play football in a professional stadium will stay with me forever. And I’d just like to state – for the record – that I was nursing an injury and will definitely finish my chances next time if we get an opportunity to do it again!
Want to hear more from James?
If you want to hear more from James, why not take a look at his interview with Rushan Arshad in which they discuss Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, data and Artificial Intelligence? Or listen to the podcast, Cultivating a Data-Driven Culture with James Bolle (listen below).
Want to find out more about how ReThink can improve your business productivity using insightful data? Get in contact with us today.