Career History & CV for Nik Sargent

I love simplicity; I hate inefficiency. So, I'm always looking for an even better way of doing things... a natural innovator and problem solver, I suppose.

I've always been passionate about user and customer experience, communications technology, visualisation and improving business processes; and these are my specialist areas of problem solving.

My experience is in interaction and interface design, process improvement, web and information systems, communications architectures and transformation, cost reduction gained from 20 years working in customer service, service automation, contact centres and telecommunications technology. It all fits under Enterprise Architecture. 

TOGAF® is a registered trademark of The Open GroupBiography

I've always been fanatical about exceptional customer service. For over 20 years I've been involved in helping organisations improve their communications, interactions and processes. I'm passionate about user and customer experience and improving business performance with “better ways of doing things”, particularly with the right technologies. 

I have keen interests in Interaction Design, Usability and Lean Six Sigma - the point where people, processes and technology meet.

If it wasn't early dabbling with flashing LEDs and microphones, then I certainly gained my fondness for computer technology as a young child the day I was given a Sinclair ZX81 for Christmas. By Hogmanay I'd programmed snowflakes to fall and Happy New Year to scroll across the screen. And ever since I've never stopped asking "How do we use this stuff to make things better and easier?"

A few years ago I explained to one of England's Magistrates Courts how they could offer better service and collect court payments automatically over the phone. They took some persuading. And the solution was so effective - cutting costs by 95% - that three years later it was adopted nationally.

More recently I devised the communications technology blueprint for an International Company to adopt "flexible working" - enabling them to improve building occupancy, efficiency, agility and save £millions in under-utilised property. And to save energy and carbon.

I'm thankful to have had exposure to many sides of business; so,  I'll analyse Customer Journeys, IT strategy, operations, processes, people & behaviours, integration of systems and technology roadmaps to figure out how organsiations can modernise, streamline and raise their game. I'll apply creativity, vision and ingenuity. Then I can help with the adoption of the technology to improve workflows, customer contact/experience and even employee work flexibility. 

In one recent engagement I was looking at a single user-interface issue on a contact centre agent desktop application. Small Details. In another, I was studying the complete duplication of effort an outsourcer was being paid for, due to a lack of system integration. Big Picture. 

All this entails working alongside clients from the "top" to the "bottom" of the organisation, which is what I love to do, whether it's presenting strategic ideas to the board, shadowing a contact centre agent or studying a customer completing a task. 

I've illustrated some of my domains of expertise in the diagram below. 

Recently I gave an illustrated talk to a group of 4-year olds about the amazing world of bumblebees. 

That plays to one of my natural strengths: the ability to analyse and communicate complex concepts to all stakeholders, in a way that is compelling and easy to understand. Indeed, bridging the gap between Business and IT is a natural place for me. I am TOGAF 9 Certified. 

I have been a Governor for Cambridgeshire’s £125 million NHS Mental Health Trust. I'm a professional level photographer and digital artist. And I also study and research Bumblebees. 

Core Competencies

• Experienced in a broad range of technical and creative skills
• A natural and empathic leader who understands team dynamics, mentoring and coaching
• A thought-leader, able to inspire others to think and behave in whole new ways.
• Combines creativity, artistic ability, science and problem solving
• A professional and committed approach to work
• Constantly pursuing the "wow" factor that makes organisations stand out
• Always striving for improvements in approach and processes - and never accepts things are done because "that's the way they always have been".
• An innovator - never short on ideas - always thinking of better ways - thinks creatively every time 
• Comfortable speaking and presenting to large/senior audiences, with credibility.
• Captivating and Imaginative presentation style based on storytelling and strong visual imagery.
• Exposure and business skills in a range of areas, such as consultancy, pre-sales, technical support, technical design, usability design, team leadership, product management, marketing, innovation, Six Sigma.
• Creative skills in writing, graphic design, web design and programming, photography (pro level), music composition, recording and production, video, computing.

Download My Full CV

Nik Sargent's CV (PDF from Google Docs)