5 Ways to Sustain a Culture of Innovation

sustain innovation

Liberty Global’s entrepreneurial energy has shaped its unique culture and incredible growth journey. Amy demonstrates innovation in action with five investments Liberty Global is making to nurture and sustain its innovation culture.

I joined Liberty Global as an intern when the internet was little more than theoretical. Over my 30-year career with one extremely innovative company, I’ve witnessed transformation unlike any other. We are now a world leader in converged broadband, video, and mobile communications services – connecting 85 million subscribers across Europe and the United Kingdom.

Today, as the company’s Chief People Officer, culture is a critical part of my domain – more specifically, understanding how we can nurture and sustain a culture of innovation. Innovation is in our cultural DNA, but when size and time (and shareholder expectations) take hold, it can be easy to lose sight of your entrepreneurial spirit. The good news is, culture, like our industry, can be transformed. Here are five investments Liberty Global is making to sustain our culture of innovation.

Here are five investments Liberty Global is making to sustain our culture of innovation.

 

01

Rethinking our talent pipeline

Building a powerful bench and investing in talent development is certainly not innovative thinking. What is novel, however, is the concept of “career.” Monolithic career paths are morphing into a lattice of non-linear job opportunities, with employees seeking new skills and experiences. This evolution makes sense when you consider the pace of innovation. Many jobs we will see ten years from now haven’t even been invented yet. Employees must continuously reinvent themselves to stay relevant in the future workforce, and employers must be equally innovative in their development processes and programs.

At Liberty Global, we have what we call a “talent ecosystem,” which is a systematic approach to managing an internal marketplace of vacancies, rotational roles, top talent, and unique development offerings. We invest across the pipeline, from college graduates to emerging leaders. This includes a strong emphasis on global mobility and formalized job swap programs across our business portfolio. We’ve seen individuals enter the company through our graduate program, progress across various functions/regions, and ultimately be named to executive positions. This investment proves to be symbiotic in maintaining our culture of innovation. We invest in diverse career paths, and our people stay invested with us.

02

Supporting agile organizational models

Increasingly, we are seeing organizations deploy agile organizational models as a way of driving an innovative culture. Agile methodologies involve new principles and practices that are a radical alternative to hierarchical teams. This new way of working segments projects into several phases with teams working collaboratively and iteratively to reach a collective outcome. Agile team members are empowered to deliver, and leaders are focused on removing barriers to success. The benefits of agile work models are many, including increased innovation, collaboration across diverse teams, clear goals, and fast problem solving.

One size, of course, does not fit all. At Liberty Global, we customize organizational models by business and function. Increasingly, our fixed-mobile converged businesses in Europe are all employing some variation of agile work. Regardless of the approach, we emphasize common values such as agility and limitless thinking. This helps create a united, innovative culture across the entire business.

03

Accelerating our DE&I agenda

Few would deny the importance of having a diverse and inclusive organization. Companies with inclusive cultures and policies see up to 60% greater creativity, innovation, and openness than their less-inclusive counterparts. When you dive deeper into diversity strategies, however, you often find little effort happening below the surface. The fact is, most businesses (including Liberty Global) have a lot of work to do in this area. It starts with being consciously inclusive – being aware that our differences are what make a company stronger. Like career progression, diversity characteristics should be viewed holistically. Also remember that this is about two-way communications. You may be great at communicating about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I), but are you listening?

We have a diverse workforce at Liberty Global, but we are doubling down on our DE&I commitments. We have active involvement at all levels of the organization, from our CEO to grassroots employee resource groups. We are taking a data-driven approach to define actions, and track and measure our progress. We are focused on systemic changes to behaviors, decision making, and ways of working. And we are listening. We recently published our first in a series of docufilms where we amplified our own employees’ stories of discrimination and microaggression. It was extremely powerful – and humbling – to hear their personal journeys. On the heels of the film’s rollout, we launched a new kind of survey we call Vibe where people chose images that best described their feelings and thoughts about DE&I. It was such an engaging way of gathering data that will then inform the next actions we take to build an innovative culture.

04

Modernizing the employee experience

Workforce wellness and engagement efforts surfaced in the 1990s, but it took a pandemic to truly revolutionize the future of work. Employee expectations are changing, placing more value on flexibility, digitization, personalization, and wellbeing. Around the world, companies are grappling with how to preserve their cultures and identities that have been developed in the traditional face-to-face office setting, while retaining the flexibility remote working has brought forward. The importance of technology cannot be overstated. Failure to modernize the employee experience not only threatens retention and recruitment efforts, it also can stifle innovation.

At Liberty Global, we value the flexibility and collaboration benefits of a hybrid working model. CONNECTION is our calling card, and never has connection been more important. We invested heavily in collaboration tools like Microsoft 365, and are taking a broad look at technology platforms across all our work/life touchpoints. This includes product ideation tools that allow virtual, cross-functional input; Workday and LinkedIn learning for real-time development opportunities; free access to the Calm app for on-demand wellness resources, and customization of online benefit tools to personalize and simplify administrative interactions. Beyond technology investments, we’ve hired full-time headcount dedicated to culture, engagement, and employee communications. These teams prioritize our people as much as a sales team prioritizes the customer. I’m excited to see what the future holds in this space – and where we can be innovative across the board.

 

05

Serving the greater good

Growth, in solidarity, is no longer an adequate measure of success. Growth, with impact, is what matters – especially to employees. Research from Nielsen found that 67% of people prefer to work for socially-inclined companies. Insights shared by Harvard Business School report that 90% of employees who work at companies with a strong sense of purpose say they’re more inspired, motivated, and loyal. Further explored in Forbes, Corporate and Social Responsibility efforts are found to create significant value, increase innovation, and benefit the bottom line.

Our employees take immense pride in serving the greater good. These efforts, in turn, prompt creative solutions to real-world challenges. For example, in the UK, our Virgin Media 02 business is tackling data poverty in mobile networks to find a long-term solution to digital inequity. In Belgium, our Telenet venture is scaling up its basic internet program for vulnerable families that was initially launched in response to the pandemic. At COP26, we announced, in partnership with Formula E, a pollution monitor for schools to educate children about the importance of air quality – showcasing that connectivity and innovative technologies are paving the way to a more sustainable future. Tomorrow’s employees will increasingly seek purpose, and we are extremely proud of the contributions they’re making on our behalf.

 

Tomorrow’s Success

Just like our industry, traditional thinking on culture, careers, and work is transforming. Tomorrow’s success will not simply be delivering the next Gig speed. Rather, it will require leaning into your key differentiator – your people – attracting the best talent, building the most effective teams, and fostering a truly inclusive, innovative culture that promotes diversity and opportunity. By the way, this is extremely complex. And just when you think you’ve figured it out…it’s time to reinvent yourself.

Best of luck in your never-ending transformation.

This article was originally published in The Cable Center’s 2022 First Annual Intrapreneurship & Innovation Report.


amy blair

liberty globalSenior Vice President & Chief People Officer for Liberty Global, Amy Blair is responsible for leading the company’s HR function, including its global People Strategy. A member of the Executive Leadership team, she oversees critical global people, transformation, and change activities.

Amy is passionate about intrapreneurship and has a rich legacy of engagement with The Cable Center, serving on its Board of Directors.

Explore More

Scott McArthur

Scott McArthur

Chief Revenue Officer

Statflo

As CRO, Scott leads the company’s Sales, Partnerships and Customer divisions. With over 15 years of experience across consumer retail and technology sectors, Scott’s focus has always been to improve the customer experience through profitable interactions. Prior to joining Statflo, he managed Sales and Marketing teams at Telus, one of Canada’s largest Telecommunications companies, responsible for bringing innovative solutions to the frontline teams in the SMB and Consumer segments. During his career, he has built high performing teams and developed programs that drive engagement and revenue growth.

Camilla Formica

Camilla Formica

Chief Program Officer

Syndeo Institute at The Cable Center

Camilla Formica leads experiential programs and thought leadership to empower and embolden industry innovators. In collaboration with The Cable Center team, she delivers on the organization’s mandate to support leaders defining a new era for the industry.

Camilla’s career spans more than 30 years with deep experience cultivating strategic partnerships and creating programs that provide people with the skills and confidence to increase their impact. Previously, she served as Chief Revenue Officer and minority owner at NCTI and drove sales efforts at International Fiber Communications as Corporate Vice President, Sales. She also held leadership roles at Metromedia/WorldCom and ICG. She began her career at Metromedia Communications in Southern California.

Celebrated by the industry for her leadership and mentorship, Camilla was named to the 56th Class of Cable TV Pioneers and was recognized by The WICT Network-Rocky Mountain as Mentor of the Year in May of 2022. She supports women leaders as vice president of that organization and has led and served on NTCA and PACE advisory councils. A breast cancer survivor, Camilla is a Model of Courage for the Ford Warriors in Pink ambassadorship program. She remains a minority owner of NCTI and serves on the company’s board.

Mark Snow

Mark Snow

SVP, Consumer Marketing & Insights

CTAM

Mark has been a marketer in the communications and broadband industry for 22 years with experience in marketing strategy, consumer insights, analytics, digital marketing and traditional media marketing. Mark is currently Senior Vice President & General Manager of Consumer Marketing & Insights for CTAM, the Cable Industry’s marketing association. In this role, he leads the MSO Marketing Cooperative, a consortium of the largest cable companies in the United States, Canada, and Europe, with a team focused on consumer marketing, analytics and consumer research. The team leads a number of councils focused on industry best practices and manages the National Mover Marketing Program for its U.S. members.

Prior to CTAM, Mark was VP of Marketing Strategy & Analytics for Swire, a Los Angeles-based boutique advertising agency. Before Swire, Mark was with Cox Communications for eight years, where he held roles of increasing responsibility in marketing. Before joining the Cable Industry, Mark spent seven years in the wireless industry with GTE Wireless, now a part of Verizon.

Mark holds a B.A. degree cum laude in Music History, Theory and Composition from the College of Charleston and an M.B.A. with honors from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University.

Charles Patti

Charles Patti

Senior Fellow & Cox Chair

Syndeo Institute at The Cable Center

Charles (Chuck) is the James M. Cox Professor of Customer Experience Management and Senior Fellow at The Cable Center and a Professor Emeritus at the University of Denver and Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. Professor Patti has deep international experience through consulting and academic appointments throughout Europe, Australia, and Southeast Asia, with extensive experience in building, delivering, and evaluating curriculum in a wide range of settings, including doctoral seminars, MBA and other specialized postgraduate courses, undergraduate programs, and professional and corporate learning. He has special expertise in case method learning and has coordinated several case learning workshops, including a Harvard Business School case workshop. He was an early adopter of online teaching and learning technologies and developed several firsts in learning technology, including the first video case, the C-DIE format (interactive case learning), the online MBA (Otis Elevator Company), and most recently, the Virtual Grocery Environment for interactive learning.

Much of his teaching draws from his business and consulting experience, which includes clients in the higher education sector (The Cultural Precinct, University Libraries, Bureau of Publications, Athletic Departments, Colleges of Business, Law, and Arts, and the Australian Vice Chancellors’ Committee) and in the business sector (American Newspaper Publishers Association, American Telephone Advertising, Inc., Chubb Electronic Security, Gannett, Inc., McDonald’s Corp., New Zealand Telecom, and Sunsuper, Pty. Ltd.) He has built and delivered major learning programs with consulting clients that have included Aetna Insurance, British American Tobacco, Otis Elevator, Queensland State Department of Development, Siemens, Texas Instruments, and Philip Morris. His research covers marketing communication and CE management and his work includes journal articles, book chapters, and eight books on various aspects of marketing. Recently, Dr. Patti has been conducting research on the Customer Experience (CE) Maturity Curve, CE ROI, and CE metrics. He is a past winner of the Marketing Educator of the Year Award and is recipient of the James Hershner Free Enterprise Award.

Dr. Patti holds a A.B. (history and literature), an M.S. (advertising) and a Ph.D., all from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana.

Rodrigo Duclos

Rodrigo Duclos

Chief Digital Officer

Claro Brasil

Rodrigo Modesto Duclos is graduated in Electric Engineering and holds an MBA in Strategy and Marketing where he developed a structural analysis of the Brazilian Cable industry in 1999.

Rodrigo began his career in NET Sul, a cable start-up back in 1994 and worked for different companies in the telecom industry (Claro, Promon, LogicaCMG). Since the early days he has been involved with many innovative projects in telecommunications such as the introduction of broadband in Brazil (Cable Modems), Mobile pre-paid services, SMS, Ring-tones, MMS, Mobile Internet (GPRS/Edge, WAP), Digital TV (DVB), VOD and IP Video among others.

Currently Rodrigo is leading the digital transformation projects in Claro Brasil Group (NET, Embratel and Claro) as the Chief Digital Officer.

Bob Bartelt

Bob Bartelt

Director of Customer Experience Operations

Midco

Bob Bartelt joined Midco in 2014, and in 2018 became Director of Customer Experience Operations. In this role, Bob leads the day-to-day operations of all customer support groups ensuring that Midco is providing a world-class experience at every customer touchpoint. Bob came to Midco with 10 years of industry experience as an operations manager and site leader for a business process outsourcing company.

He holds a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in business management and currently serves as the Board President for his local youth hockey organization. Bob is also a 2016 graduate of the Leadership Fargo Moorhead West Fargo class through the FMWF Chamber of Commerce and was named to Prairie Business magazines “40 under 40” list in 2019.

Diane Christman

Diane Christman

President and CEO

Syndeo Institute at The Cable Center

Diane Christman leads The Cable Center’s work to build on the activation of Vision 2025, the expansion of the Intrapreneurship Academy, and the investment in creating a vibrant community for resource and idea sharing through thought leadership. She will advance the Vision 2025 strategic planning initiative implementation in collaboration with The Cable Center team and board after co-leading the effort in 2020 and 2021.

Diane brings 30 years of experience building partnerships that drive growth and create value. She is respected for her diplomatic style and global perspective, valued by an industry inventing the future of high-quality video content and Gigabit-speed connectivity for residential and business customers in U.S. and international markets. Diane joined The Cable Center in 2006 as vice president, marketing and development. She was promoted to senior vice president, programs and development in 2009 and senior vice president, development and chief program officer in 2019. She became president and CEO in January of 2022.

Since she joined The Cable Center, Diane has been responsible for creation of The Center’s $10 million Chairman’s Fund endowment campaign (approaching completion); partnerships supporting The Cable Center’s Mavericks Lecture Series, Cable Mavericks Masters Forum, and Cable Center Customer Centric Consortium (C5) initiatives; increasingly successful Cable Hall of Fame events; and organizational re-branding.

Simón Tadeo

Simón Tadeo

Customer Experience Director

Telecom Argentina

Simón Tadeo is the Customer Experience Director at Telecom, the leading telecommunications company in Argentina. Telecom main brands are Personal (Mobile), Fibertel (Broadband), Arnet (ADSL Broadband) and Cablevisión (TV). For corporate customers Telecom main brands are Fibercorp & Telecom Negocios.

Simón began his career at Cablevision in 1998 and has held various positions, including Client Retention Coordinator, Business Analyst, Head of Administration & Control and Sales Integration Manager. In 2008, after the merger between Cablevision and Multicanal, Simón assumed responsibility for the creation and integration of the new business processes.

From November 2009, Simón led the Open Project—a three-year business transformation project that deployed a new CRM, billing system, workforce management, mobile, & BI systems in Cablevisión, Fibertel and Fibercorp. For the next three years, Simón focused on improving customer experience for Cablevisión – Fibertel, fostering Innovation across the company and leading a cross company Project Management Team. From June 2016 until January 2018, Simón was responsible for the leadership of the Sales & Customer Care management teams, which included accountability for sales and churn, contact centers, digital channels, retail stores, business processes and customer insights.

In February 2018, following the merger of Telecom and Cablevision, Simón was appointed the Customer Experience Director of the newly-formed company, Telecom Argentina.

Simón holds a degree in Business Administration from the UCA (University Católica Argentina) and studies in Marketing at UCES (University of Business and Social Sciences).

Maureen Moore

Maureen Moore

Chief Customer Experience Officer

GCI

In her current position, Maureen is responsible for the overall customer experience strategy of GCI. With more than 20 years of telecom experience, she previously served as Vice President of Consumer Services, with marketing and operations responsibility for GCI’s consumer products, including wireless, Internet, cable TV, and wireline services. She also served on the Alaska Broadband Task Force from 2011-2014 which produced a plan for accelerating the deployment and adoption of broadband technology across Alaska. She graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in Business Administration, double majoring in Finance and Management. Maureen is currently based out of Anchorage, Alaska.

Kimberly Gibson

Kimberly Gibson

Sr. Director Customer Operations

Cable ONE/Sparklight

Kimberly Gibson is the Senior Director of Customer Operations. As a key member of the Customer Operations Team, she is responsible for aligning strategy with company goals and objectives, testing and implementation of solutions and best practices to improve the customer experience across Cable ONE/Sparklight’s 42 systems and three inbound call centers. Kim has responsibilities for over 300 Cable ONE/Sparklight associates.

She joined Cable ONE/Sparklight in 2004 as Office Manager of Cable ONE/Sparklight’s technical Solution Center. In 2005, she was promoted to General Manager, assuming full responsibility for the day-to-day activities of the 150-seat center currently averaging 88,000 calls a month. Kim was promoted in August 2005 to the General Manager of Cable ONE/Sparklight’s national inbound Customer Care call center and was responsible for all aspects of the center’s daily operation, including but not limited to, strategy planning, leadership coaching and metric achievement. In January 2008, Kim was promoted to Director of Virtual Operations responsible for the operations of the Virtual Call centers in Cable ONE/Sparklight’s local markets.

Prior to joining the Cable ONE/Sparklight leadership team, Kim gained vast experience in the communications industry where she began her career with Qwest Communications in 1991. After advancing to a Network Operations Supervisor position in 1997, her quality focus resulted in a promotion to Network Operations Manager for Qwest’s Arizona dispatch centers.

Kimberly graduated from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff with a B.S. in Hospitality Management and earned an MBA in Technology Management from the University of Phoenix.

Suzanne Foy

Suzanne Foy

VP, Customer Care Partner Management Strategy and Cox Business Support

Cox Communications

Suzanne leads Cox customer care outsource partner management, strategy, program management and Cox business customer support. Previous roles include customer support, billing and payment experiences across call center and online channels, customer-focused process standardization, user-focused knowledge management, communications and agent education.

Eric Burton

Eric Burton

Vice President, Tools, Technology, and Quality

Comcast

Eric Burton is Vice President, Tools, Technology, and Quality overseeing desktop tools, customer facing support tools and content, ITGs and troubleshooting solutions, quality, performance management, and coaching. He plays an important role in developing Customer Service strategy at Comcast, working closely with his peers across the Divisions, National COEs, and Headquarters. Eric is squarely focused on Comcast’s goal to make the customer experience the best product, through ensuring that employees and customers have the best possible tools, and that quality and coaching programs reinforce and support that goal. Eric is focused on identifying winning behaviors that will help build a culture of Ownership at all levels of the organization.

Prior to joining Comcast, Eric was Group Vice President, Care Shared Services at Time Warner Cable. In that role, Eric was responsible for outsourced operations, alternative care channels, reporting and analytics, care technology, quality and customer perspective, and voice operations. Eric also held a variety of executive Operations and Technology leadership positions at Time Warner Cable, and having worked his way up through the ranks has extensive front-line leadership experience as well.

Eric holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management, is a graduate of the Tuck School of Business Executive Program, and completed the CTAM Management Program at the Harvard Business School.

He resides in his native Southern California with his wife and two daughters and enjoys time with family, trail running, mountain-biking, and generally being outdoors as much as possible.

Wyatt Barnett

Wyatt Barnett

Senior Director, Industry and Association Affairs

NCTA - The Internet & Television Association

Wyatt Barnett serves as Senior Director, Technology Enablement in NCTA’s Creative Services department. He helps the association with creative technical solutions while concurrently serving as lead curator and tour guide for NCTA’s recently renovated Public Advocacy Space.

Wyatt has worked at NCTA in a variety of technology roles since joining the association in 2000. He worked on the team that crafted the annual trade show – The Cable Show and later INTX – for over a decade, successfully delivering and scaling industry exhibits and stage presentations for high-profile audiences.

Rob Stoddard

Robert (Rob) Stoddard

Retired

NCTA - The Internet & Television Association

Following a career in journalism and government, Rob Stoddard worked for more than three decades in senior positions in communications, public relations, and public affairs serving the cable industry.

Rob’s early career found him working as a news assistant at the Washington, DC, bureau of ABC Radio, followed by stints as a news director and correspondent for radio stations in Keene, NH and Springfield, MA. He went on to work as a desk editor and regional executive for United Press International in Boston, before joining the staff of U.S. Senator Nancy Landon Kassebaum (R-KS) as Press Secretary in Washington, DC. His cable career began as Washington Bureau Chief for Cable TV Business Magazine and other telecommunications and defense industry trade publications of Denver-based Cardiff Publishing Company. From there he moved on to lead public relations and corporate communications for the Cable Telecommunications Association (CATA), Continental Cablevision, MediaOne, and AT&T Broadband, then the largest cable multiple system operator in the United States. Rob’s career was capped by a 20-year run with what was then the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) as Senior Vice President for Communications & Public Affairs. After the association changed its name to NCTA – The Internet & Television Association, Rob became Senior Vice President for Industry & Association Affairs, retiring in January 2022.

Rob is a member of the Cable Television Pioneers as well as the Virginia Cable Hall of Fame. He’s been recognized with major diversity awards from the National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) and the Washington, DC / Baltimore Chapter of The WICT Network. He also has been inducted into the PRNews Hall of Fame. He proudly represented NCTA as a member of the industry Customer Care Committee (now C5) for nearly 20 years, from its inception at NCTA through the stewardship of CTAM and finally its permanent home at The Cable Center. In recognition of his meritorious service to The Cable Center and C5, Rob was conferred as a C5 Emeritus in 2022.

Gibbs Jones

Gibbs Jones

C5 Emeritus
Owner (Spartanburg)

ARCpoint Labs

Gibbs is a customer experience executive with over 25 years of customer experience leadership and expertise in the design, optimization and implementation of customer contact operations. Gibbs has combined skill in the human and technology side of customer contact operations, including the procurement and installation of ACD equipment, workforce management and CRM systems. He has directed the start-up of multiple customer contact operations, with industry expertise in consumer electronics, communications, retail, manufacturing, financial services, banking, and direct sales.

Gibbs has over ten years experience in the Cable Industry. Most recently Gibbs was the Senior Vice President of Customer Experience for Suddenlink Communications. Gibbs worked with Suddenlink’s six regional senior vice presidents and the managers of its customer-contact call centers in Arizona, Missouri, North Carolina, Texas and West Virginia to measure and improve Customer Satisfaction through transactional and relationship Net Promoter Programs and JD Power Research Studies.

Gibbs was also responsible for the company’s social media strategy where he made sure Suddenlink was active in the major social networking channels and found new ways to improve customer loyalty in this space.

Currently Gibbs owns two ARCpoint Labs locations. ARCpoint is a leader in the B to C and B to B drug and alcohol testing industry. Additionally, Gibbs has a consulting practice that helps companies improve their customer experience.

Gibbs is a Certified Net Promoter® Associate and has been a speaker at various conferences and is frequently called upon to discuss considerations related to measuring and improving the customer experience, exceptional contact center management, and optimizing the employee experience.

 

Skip to content