Finally Being Able to Answer: "So, what the heck do you do?"

Thanksgiving, the holiday where we get together with family and pretend we like melted marshmallows on top of sweet potato mush. (I'm a green bean casserole kind of guy.) I was very fortunate to spend last Thursday with my closest family and friends. Having worked in the technology space my entire career - after I finished doing tech support on a laptop and two smartphones - the inevitable dinner table question arose: "So, what the heck do you actually do?" I've been asked this many times, but this time it was my 91-year-old grandmother. This is the same woman who minutes earlier used my iPhone as a coaster for her water glass. (True story.)

I've been at Pegasystems for thirteen years and over that time I've realized something important: our strength is that we are capable of doing lots, the trouble being that sometimes it's difficult to explain exactly what that means. Here's how I now explain to my grandmother and everyone else what the heck I do...

Because of our technology, citizens of New Jersey no longer have to needlessly spend a night in prison. That's what I do.

Some history...

You see, companies all over the world have two problems: they need to provide great experiences to their customers all while running their businesses sensibly. Over the past several decades, technology has come along that has promised to make that easier - to make our lives better. In many ways it did, but what ultimately happened? It created poor customer experiences. I asked my grandmother if she'd ever called up her bank to ask a question and instead ended up in an endless loop talking to machine. "I hate that stupid woman", she exclaimed. She was of course referring to the computerized IVR voice. Sure, the IVR helped organizations meet certain business goals - call times went down because people hung up the phone. Positive experiences and Net Promotor Scores however, fell.

As companies added more and more technology ever more rapidly, they began losing site of what was important: their customers. Not only that, they also ended up with a pile of expensive, aging technology. Customers finally woke up and demanded better. In 2016 Pega conducted a study and interviewed more than 1,000 companies. We asked how well they thought they knew their customers. Sadly, only 64% of respondents said they know their customers well. If that wasn't frightening enough, when we asked their customers if they thought that the organizations they do business with understand them, only 24% agreed! We have a problem here a lot larger than a healthy root vegetable inexplicably smothered with sugary, melted slime! And let's not forget the employees of these companies. They are no longer willing to tolerate fighting with technology to get their jobs done, especially the latest generation who truly understand technology's capabilities. That's not why they were hired. They'll quickly move on.

"But, it seems like people love technology.", she said. "You all have been on those things (phones) all day." She was right, of course technological advancements will continue - at alarming rates. But human nature is what it is. People will always want to be nurtured, listened to, understood. This means that the technology needs to just work - it needs to be seamless, invisible. This technology needs to foster great experiences and relationships - human nature demands it. Obviously, people are willing to use technology, as my grandmother rightly observed, but they still demand to be treated like human beings. "Digital Transformation" doesn't mean "Digital-Only". Look at the study below from Bain. As much as we may not want to admit it, the call center isn't going anywhere. This study shows that, in the insurance business, customers who interact in multiple channels, especially ones that include human interaction, are much more satisfied than customers who interact via digital channels only.

"Digital Transformation" doesn't mean "Digital-Only".

What's old is new again

And, as much as we're all into our technology, people are also gravitating once again to low-tech things that evoke emotion. My 10-year-old, guitar-playing son (her great-grandson) is really into vinyl records. We were walking through a yard sale recently and he forced us to buy an old typewriter - that we now proudly display in my office. He loves downloading Nintendo's most popular games...from the 1980s. (He's really good at Super Mario 3, for the record). Nintendo is playing along (pun intended) and is re-releasing their classic console. "My point, grandma, is that people do love technology, but that technology needs to make them feel something."

"Thanks for the history lesson, but what do you do?"

You know that OnStar button in your car? If you're in a wreck and need medical attention, our software makes millions of decisions every hour to ensure that you're taken care of. That's what I do.

I empower people. If you're a customer, I help you get the answers you need, quickly, without feeling like you're simply a line item on a profit and loss sheet. If you're an employee, I make sure that you can get your job done without frustration. If you're a software developer, I make sure that you're working on the next great thing instead of simply maintaining the status quo. That's what I do. If you've ever opened a bank account, filed an insurance claim, driven on city roads, flown through a busy airport, you've interacted with Pega software.

We are changing people's lives because we think software can be more human.

I recalled to her the story of when I recently sat with a phone rep in a call center, listening as she spoke with customers while using our software. At the end of several calls I asked her what she liked about our products, what we could do better. She said to me:

"In my 10 years here, this is the first time that I can remember being able to actually listen to my customer and be empathetic, instead of fighting with software. The technology just works."

That's what I do.

"Summarize this all for me..."

No matter where technology goes in years to come, people will always crave empathy and human interaction. The technology simply needs to be invisible - do its job. At Pega, we will never stop innovating, but human nature doesn't evolve at the speed of technological change. Technology must empower people, not the other way around.

Human nature doesn't evolve at the speed of technological change. People will always crave empathy and human interaction.

Those organizations that view technology as an empowering force to better humanity will succeed. "But I keep hearing that things like robots are going to take over the world, take people's jobs.", my grandmother said. I told her that I believe that robots and advanced technologies are going to prevent people from having to perform repetitive, painstaking, monotonous jobs. Technology combined with human compassion and empathy is the ultimate goal.

When AIG's policy holders need to get back on their feet after a loss, our software helps them do this quickly and accurately across 100 countries, 90 products, and in 40 languages. That's what I do.

I help create the technology that will assist humans and make their lives better - because people matter. "Grandma, did that explain it?", I asked. "I think I finally understand what the heck you do.", she responded. As she placed her water glass down on my iPhone.