Going for Gold: What the Commonwealth Games Can Teach Businesses About Community, Teamwork and Diversity

The Commonwealth Games has grown into one of the world's largest multi-sport events, bringing together more than seventy nations and territories from all over the globe. Just as every athlete competes in the event that best suits their strengths, every customer enquiry deserves to be handled by the solution best equipped to deliver the right outcome.

In 1930, around 400 athletes from eleven nations gathered in Hamilton, Canada. Known then as the British Empire Games, it was a relatively small competition with a simple purpose. At a time when the world was changing rapidly, sport was seen as a way of bringing people together. The aim was to build alliances, encourage understanding and strengthen relationships between nations through the shared love of sport and competition.

Nearly 100 years later, that original vision still feels remarkably relevant. Hosted in Glasgow this year, the BBC explores what it is like to be part of Scotlands team.

It has evolved to embrace greater diversity, champion inclusion and creating opportunities for athletes who might never have had the chance to compete on such a prestigious stage. Long before many other international competitions, the Games recognised the importance of providing equal opportunities for men and women, and remains one of the few major sporting events where para sport sits fully alongside the main programme, not as an afterthought but as an integral part of the competition.

Of course, there are medals to be won and records to be broken. Every athlete arrives hoping to stand on the podium, hear their national anthem and see years of dedication rewarded. However, some of the most memorable scenes happen away from the medal ceremonies. A runner helping a competitor across the finish line, teams celebrating one another's success regardless of nationality, volunteers giving up countless hours simply because they believe in the event and coaches who have spent years working behind the scenes sharing celebrations with an athlete who has finally achieved their dream.

It's easy to focus on the individual because they're the one standing in front of the cameras but the reality is very different. Every medal represents thousands of hours of work by an entire team. Behind every swimmer is a coach analysing technique or behind every gymnast is a physiotherapist helping them recover from injury. Nutritionists, psychologists, strength and conditioning specialists, analysts and family members all have a part to play. Success is rarely built by one person but when you bring together people with different skills, experiences and perspectives, all working towards the same goal, magic can happen.

I'm struck by how closely that mirrors the organisations we have worked with over the past twenty years. The businesses that consistently deliver outstanding customer experiences rarely have one outstanding individual carrying the entire organisation. They don't rely on one department to solve every problem or one technology to transform the way they support customers. Instead, they build teams where everyone understands their role, values the contribution of others and knows that the best results come from working together.

Over the years, I've watched organisations embrace each new development with optimism. Every generation of technology arrives with the promise of transforming customer service, whether that's making support more accessible, reducing pressure on busy teams or improving the overall customer experience. Each innovation has earned its place, but none has removed the need for the others. Technology has undoubtedly transformed the way organisations communicate with customers, but there has never been a single solution capable of delivering exceptional service on its own.

Exceptional customer service is created by building the right team, understanding where each person or tool adds the greatest value and making sure every customer is supported by the right resource at the right moment.

That's where the conversation around AI Agents for customer service, chatbots and Live Chat becomes far more interesting, because the real opportunity is in understanding how they work together.

Passing the Baton

One of the most fascinating events at the Commonwealth Games is the relay. On paper, one would assume success should simply come down to having the four fastest runner however in reality, that's not enough. Races are often won and lost in the changeover. Success depends on far more than individual performance. While every runner knows when to accelerate, they also know when to trust the teammate beside them and, perhaps most importantly, when to pass the baton.

The most successful relay teams make every baton change look effortless, with each runner building on the work of the last. Customer engagement isn't so different.

Every interaction is unique. Some customers arrive with a simple question and want a quick answer before getting on with their day. Others need guidance through a structured process, whether that's applying for a service, reporting an issue or finding the right department. Then there are those conversations that don't fit neatly into a predefined journey at all. They may involve several questions, changing circumstances or situations where reassurance is just as important as the information being provided.

This is where a balanced customer engagement strategy comes into its own. Rather than asking which technology is best, organisations should be asking which technology is best suited to each stage of the customer's journey.

A rule-based conversational chatbot, for example, is exceptionally good at guiding customers through structured, repeatable processes. Whether it's reporting an issue, booking an appointment or collecting information before an advisor becomes involved, chatbots provide consistency and accuracy.

AI Agents for customer support bring something different as they excel where conversations are less predictable, allowing customers to ask questions naturally, explore different topics and receive responses that adapt to the direction of the conversation. Rather than following a fixed path, AI Agents provide the flexibility that many modern customer interactions demand.

There are, however, moments when no technology can replace the value of a human interaction. A customer who is distressed, dealing with a sensitive issue or facing an unusual set of circumstances often needs empathy and experience as much as they need information. That's where Live Chat examples continue to prove themselves, giving advisors the opportunity to focus on the conversations where they can make the greatest difference.

The greatest value comes from bringing these technologies together. A customer might begin by following structured chatbot journey to complete part of a process, move to speaking to an AI Agent, then be seamlessly transferred to a Live Chat advisor when the conversation calls for human expertise. Like a well-executed baton change, the handover should feel effortless. The customer shouldn't have to repeat themselves or start again. They should simply feel that their enquiry is progressing smoothly, with every stage handled by the right resource within the team.

Measuring Success

Every athlete who competes at the Commonwealth Games understands that success isn't measured only on the day of the event. The same principle applies to customer engagement.

Organisations often focus on introducing new technology, but the real value comes from understanding how that technology is performing and where improvements can be made.

• Are customers finding the information they need quickly?
• Are enquiries being resolved at the first point of contact?
• Are advisors spending their time helping customers with complex issues, or are they still answering the same routine questions day after day?

These are the questions that reveal whether a customer engagement strategy is delivering meaningful results. Looking at response times or the number of conversations handled only tells part of the story. Customer satisfaction, first contact resolution and the ease with which customers move between different channels are equally important. A fast response means very little if the customer still has to repeat their enquiry three times before receiving the help they need.

Perhaps one of the greatest lessons the Commonwealth Games offers is that success is never static. Athletes don't win a medal and assume they'll achieve the same result four years later. Training methods evolve, new competitors emerge and expectations continue to rise. Those who remain successful are the ones who continue learning, adapting and looking for ways to improve.

Businesses face a similar challenge.

Customer expectations have changed dramatically over the past decade, and they'll continue to evolve in the future. Artificial intelligence will become more capable, customers will expect greater personalisation and new communication channels will emerge. Organisations don't need to predict every change, but they do need to build a customer engagement strategy that is flexible enough to evolve alongside them.

That doesn't mean replacing everything every time a new technology appears. Quite the opposite. The strongest organisations build on what already works, introducing new capabilities where they add value and ensuring every part of the customer journey continues to complement the next.

Looking Ahead

For more than twenty years, we've worked alongside organisations that care deeply about the service they provide to their customers. Web chat software for customer support transformed the way organisations spoke to customers online. Rule-based chatbots helped automate routine enquiries and create structured customer journeys. Today, when businesses add AI Chatbot to website, they open up entirely new possibilities for natural, conversational interactions.

Each of those developments has earned its place, but none has replaced the need for the others.

Much of what we've developed hasn't started in a boardroom or an R&D meeting. It has come from conversations with the people using our platform every day. Customer service advisors have told us where repetitive tasks slow them down. Team leaders have shared the reporting they need to manage busy departments more effectively. Digital transformation teams have challenged us to integrate with new systems, improve accessibility and support increasingly complex customer journeys.

Those conversations have shaped the platform we offer today, and they'll continue to shape the platform we build tomorrow.

Technology will continue to evolve, just as customer expectations will continue to change. That's why choosing a customer engagement platform is about finding a partner that will continue to invest, innovate and evolve alongside your organisation, listening to your feedback and helping you meet the challenges that come next.

After all, the Commonwealth Games has remained relevant for almost a century because it has never lost sight of its purpose, even as the world around it has changed. We believe customer engagement should be no different.