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Following our ‘What does it mean to be honest and fair with customers’ panel on November 7th, we wanted to share the key themes that emerged during the event.

Gillian Guy, Chief Executive, Citizens Advice “The power balance between the customer or citizen and the business really needs to be redressed”

During a wide-ranging discussion, it was clear that both panellist and participants alike felt fairness and honesty with customers is a choice a business can, and should, make. A key part of this is whose interests and needs decision-makers take into account, and with what priority and level of commitment.

The debate highlighted that when business structures and goals focus on short-term revenue targets it often results in decisions at odds with the customer, citizen or public good. In some sectors, particularly where choice is limited (by provider availability, such as with utilities), or where a monopoly exists (such as with transport options and digital services), opacity and customer dissatisfaction are common.

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Written by Charles Wookey

Last month, the IPPR Commission on Economic Justice released its ‘Prosperity and Justice: A Plan for a New Economy’ report, outlining a 10-part proposal that would “hard-wire” justice into the economic system, rather than treating it as “an afterthought”. Such a fundamental structural shift would be on the scale of the post-war Labour government, and the Thatcherite marketisation of the 1980s. The Commission admits as much and argues that the scale of the economy’s problems makes such a shift necessary.

The Commission’s diagnosis of the state of the economy is compelling: the fact that wages are no longer mapped against economic growth, and the lack of investment both from investors and within business, particularly in skills and training, is evidence of the prevailing short-termist approach. It offers a well-researched and comprehensive set of prescriptions. I just had a slight unease about the framing of the argument in terms of “the economy” as an isolated system.

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Ahead of Blueprint’s ‘What does it mean to be honest and fair with customers?’ panel event on November 7th, here’s our take on what honesty and fairness with customers looks like and the barriers and behaviours that lead businesses to fall short. We welcome your views and invite you to share any questions or topics you would like to see discussed at the event. You can download the full paper ‘What does it mean to be honest and fair with customers?’ here. 

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Written by Loughlin Hickey

There is a growing consciousness in business of the need for a higher duty of care towards society. The latest examples present common themes but suggest different approaches to making it a reality.

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Written by Soulla Kyriacou, COO at A Blueprint for Better Business

I was recently asked to speak about Blueprint at a diversity and inclusion conference in Liverpool – in preparing for this I reflected on what it is that Blueprint brings to this topic.

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Blueprint was pleased to be invited to present a paper at the Common Good Conference, June 21-23, 2018 at the University of St. Thomas Minneapolis. In this paper Charles Wookey, Helen Alford and Loughlin Hickey share the origins of A Blueprint for Better Business, the ongoing work towards advancing the common good through purpose-led business and early learnings from our work with some major companies.

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Following Blueprint’s ‘Becoming a Purpose-led Employer’ panel on June 11^th, we wanted to share five of the themes that emerged during the event.

Chaired by Andrew Hill, Management Editor of the FT, panelists include Kate Glazebrook, CEO and co-founder of Applied, the Behavioural Insights Team’s first tech venture, Maaike de Bie, General Counsel of Royal Mail, and Jason Stockwood, Simply Business Group CEO, previously MD of Match.com. The discussion focused on how businesses, from start-ups to large established companies, can best address the varying challenges of being a responsible & responsive employer.

This is just the first in our first in our ‘Principles of Purpose’ event series – our next will explore what it means to be honest and fair with customers. If you’re interested in attending future Blueprint events, please sign up to our mailing list.

In case you missed it, here’s Blueprint’s perspective on what it means to be a responsible and responsive employer and why it matters.

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Ahead of Blueprint’s ‘Becoming a Purpose-led Employer’ panel event on June 11^th, here’s our take on what it means to be a responsible and responsive employer and why it matters. We welcome your views and invite you to share any questions or topics you would like to see discussed at the event. You can download the full paper ‘What does it mean to be a responsible and responsive employer?’ here. 

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