There is no longer room for debate that employee experience (EX) is closely linked to gains or losses in CX. Customer insights and feedback software and solutions provide the fuel to allow this EX/CX integration to be successful. Many technology companies in the CX sector have long recognized this dynamic, developing a broader view than just EX/CX and breaking down silos between the two areas.
Concentrix, a leading global provider of CX services and technologies, provides solutions that empower the necessary link between CX and EX. Dash Research interviewed Liz Meiners, associate director of product development for voice of the customer (VoC) for Dash’s upcoming report focused on customer insights and feedback. According to Meiners, the most successful CX rollouts have been those where intent is woven through the organization and is part of an ongoing solution. Employees need information and empowerment, and to be given the ability to go beyond just issuing an apology and to take action to “fix things that need fixing.” Making sure all levels within an organization have access to customer feedback is imperative, with increased engagement with the feedback data reaping positive results.
Meiner shares, “Agents who are actively monitoring their VoC data get better scores. They have more focus and will perform better on the job.” Concentrix has seen decreases in escalation calls, as well as increases in customer satisfaction scores by helping companies tie together their EX and CX efforts. A Concentrix case study in the government sector describes how customer feedback uncovered frontline behaviors that were negatively impacting the CX. Insights were used to deploy updates to employee training curriculum, resulting in a 5% decrease in escalation calls and an 8-point lift in customer satisfaction (CSAT). Additionally, text analytics showed a certain frustration customers had with a “dead air” policy in the client’s chat channel. Immediate modifications were deployed and the company experienced a 10-point gain in issue resolution within one week. Customer feedback can be worked into personalized scorecards, guided coaching workflows, and improvement storyboards to bring to life how customer efforts are tied to company results.
SMG offers a unique software with a service solution (SwaS). In a discussion with Chris Bosco, vice president of solution engineering at SMG, Bosco said that SMG works to take a consultative approach with customers, often enhancing smaller employee teams so that a company can more fully leverage the technologies available. Part of this process is helping companies understand the link between CX and EX.
Bosco shared that SMG has its roots in research that demonstrated the service-profit chain, or the belief that satisfied employees create loyal customers that drive sustainable growth. Bosco echoed the sentiment that the most successful CX programs are those with a leading CX vision and strategy that is built into the company culture. This includes employees having the right skills and tools to do their jobs, as well as being recognized as important stakeholders with valued opinions. SMG has an always-on voice of the employee program that helps unearth problems, find suggestions, and offer compliments 24/7. This can be used by frontline employees, in real time.
Integrating feedback data into training is another area where EX benefits from customers insights and feedback. An SMG collaboration with Boots demonstrated the value of leveraging customer feedback to improve and expand an already successful training program. Boots used analysis to determine that the top key drivers of Boots’ current HUG3 training program (Hello, Understanding of Needs, and Go the Extra Mile) were still applicable, even during the pandemic, and were very important factors in improving overall satisfaction. Boots was able to push reports that would help store-level users track measures key to those HUG3 points and also rolled out the HUG3 training program to all store colleagues, but this time with an increased focus on how the training connected overall satisfaction to company goals. This helped employees see the tie-in between their individual efforts and the company’s success. Boots saw a 31% increase in customer spending when all three parts of HUG3 were done and a 2-point increase in overall satisfaction scores following the HUG3 training.
Statistics show that the link between EX and CX can result in improvements that can affect a company’s bottom line, as well as its operational efficiencies:
- Employees who feel their voice is heard are 4.6x more likely to feel empowered to perform their best work (Source: Forbes)
- 17% of engaged teams are more productive than those that are not (Source: Gallup)
- There is a 21% boost in profits when teams are highly engaged (Source: Forbes)
- 70% of company leaders say that improvements in EX can lead to gains in CX, driving revenue gains (Source: Salesforce)
Customer insight and feedback solutions are important tools in any company’s arsenal that is looking to link or meld their CX and EX efforts, and the evolution of the CX/EX relationship is a strong driver in adopting these technology types.
Author Information
As a detail-oriented researcher, Sherril is expert at discovering, gathering and compiling industry and market data to create clear, actionable market and competitive intelligence. With deep experience in market analysis and segmentation she is a consummate collaborator with strong communication skills adept at supporting and forming relationships with cross-functional teams in all levels of organizations.
She brings more than 20 years of experience in technology research and marketing; prior to her current role, she was a Research Analyst at Omdia, authoring market and ecosystem reports on Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and User Interface technologies. Sherril was previously Manager of Market Research at Intrado Life and Safety, providing competitive analysis and intelligence, business development support, and analyst relations.
Sherril holds a Master of Business Administration in Marketing from University of Colorado, Boulder and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Rutgers University.
