We have recently started a new campaign at Awards International called “We connect people”. The idea is to collect and share the stories that have been created at our events. We find that these are a great way to meet acquaintances, colleagues or even friends.
One person that has been with us from the very beginning of our CX Awards is our Chairman – Ian Golding.
Ian is a highly influential freelance Customer Experience consultant. He advises leading companies on Customer Experience strategy, measurement, improvement and employee advocacy techniques and solutions. He is also an internationally renowned speaker and blogger on the subject of customer experience. He is the Chairman of the judging panel at the UK Customer Experience Awards and the Gulf Customer Experience Awards.
We wanted to hear what Ian has to say when it comes to connecting people at Awards International’s events. So we asked him what the first event he ever participated in was:
“I entered the first-ever UK CX Awards in 2010! I cannot remember what the category was called, but the ‘project’ that I submitted was for a mechanism called ‘Customer 1st Aid’ – a mechanism I created for my company at the time that enabled all 10,000 employees to help identify and resolve issues that were damaging to the customer experience. I am pleased to say…… we won!”
And when it comes to being a Chairman of the Awards, we wanted to know what Ian’s impressions were:
“Having been an entrant, finalist, winner, judge and now chair, the awards have been a significant part of my working life over the last ten years. I am a huge believer in the need to earn authority in the field of customer experience and to get recognition for the great work being done to put people (employees and customers) at the very forefront of decision making. The Awards – UK CX Awards, International CX Awards, Employee Experience Awards, Gulf CX Awards, Complaint Handling Awards – all of them in fact!! – have done an amazing job of raising the profile of customer experience around the world and for those working in the CX profession. It is an enormous honour to chair the awards and to continue inspiring others to get the credit their hard work deserves.”
If anyone knows how to network at our events, it’s definitely Ian!
“The Awards are a wonderful way to come together with like-minded professionals. As an entrant, it is wonderful to stand alongside fellow practitioners, sharing stories and celebrating successes. As a judge, the camaraderie that is built as a result of sitting alongside fellow practitioners on a judging panel is also a pretty unique and incredibly rewarding experience. To top it all off, the awards ceremony itself is an amazing way of the CX community coming together to celebrate what is being achieved around the world.”
And what about those connections, Ian?
“For me, every awards event I attend is an opportunity to meet people I only know by their photo on LinkedIn, as well as an opportunity to catch up with friends and colleagues I rarely get the opportunity to meet. I cannot pick or choose one particular connection I see as being the MOST important.”
Finally, we asked Ian what he’s going to do next. We know that times are hard, but we are sure Ian has an idea of how to work in these circumstances:
“In the current situation, too much is unknown – but I very much look forward to attending both the UK CX Awards and the International CX Awards later this year!!!”
We are happy we’ve got a chance to speak about Ian’s experience at our events. And we would very much like to talk about yours!
So, if you have been a part of any of our events and if you have made connections there, contact us and we will tell that story together.
We believe that if you have something important to say – say it loud!