Connecting People at Connected Britain 2023

A great 2 days at Connected Britain 2023. It’s been a few years since I attended and it was really interesting to see how the event has changed and how it reflects the changing market and the industry.

Last time I was here it was extremely network and technology focused. Whilst there is still a lot of that it was great to hear discussions on investor perspectives, M&A and consolidation and the experience of the consumer and how the industry needs to build for the future in terms of experiences and expectations.

There was even a session on people, a rare thing at a tech conference! I was lucky enough to be part of this panel with Karen Blake, COO of Tech Talent and Sarah Golley, Founder and Director of Borderless Performance.

True digital businesses will only be successful when investment in people and people experiences are valued as much as investment in the network. My view is that this also includes investment in systems, processes and data which ultimately enable people to be effective in their roles and for customers to have exceptional experiences.

We discussed the changing landscape of the digital workplace and what this means for our people and organisations.

It’s so important that organisations actively consider what it means to be a digital business. The world of work is changing, not only with remote/hybrid working but also with more sophisticated technology, access to data, automation and AI. This, coupled with increasing expectations of and competition for customers and talent means that organisations not recognising, discussing and actioning on this will face challenges.

We talk a lot about connectivity in our industry but do we ever think about how well our people are connected. The better connected we are the less friction there is as work flows through an organisation.

Karen’s views on the importance of diversity and inclusion and the value in the differing perspectives of diverse teams was so interesting as we think about how businesses can ensure they are building not only the teams of the future but also developing relevant products, services and experiences.

Sarah led a great conversation and also sparked valuable discussion on how we create the time and space for development of ‘not soft skills but human skills’ such as emotional intelligence and active listening and environments of trust and psychological safety.

Some great audience questions and conversation on digital culture and how this can be led from the top and also from within. Plus, how cultural initiatives don’t have to be a huge exercise in wordsmithing and frameworks. It’s just as valuable to recognise the need, make a start and evolve.

The one takeaway was to think about how people are connected and always consider different perspectives and hopefully we achieved that!

Other highlights of the conference for me were the future focussed sessions on the industry and the reminders of why we do what we do. The long term benefits in being a connected nation, unlocking the economic potential of rural communities and the possibilities that future uses of our networks will enable for all of us.