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New Research from 1E, eGain and KMWorld, MoEngage, Talkdesk, and Insightly

Topics Include Productivity Surveillance, Knowledge Management, Brand Messaging, Insurers, and Marketing Automation

1E: IT Managers Say “No” to Surveillance Tech Monitoring Employee Productivity

A majority of IT managers do not favor the use of productivity surveillance technology, and believe that tools for monitoring employee productivity and tracking remote activity are better left behind, according to the findings of the Employee Surveillance Survey from 1E, the New York City-based digital employee experience (DEX) provider.

Although most of the employees surveyed were already working for companies that use productivity surveillance technology, 73% of IT managers revealed they would not be comfortable instructing their staff to deploy technology that is used to monitor the digital and physical actions and communications of employees—especially if the company is not being fully transparent. And when such tools are in use, 28% of IT managers indicate an uptick in employees quitting, while 27% experience difficulty hiring new employees.

“Even before conducting this survey, we understood that workplace surveillance is a controversial topic among employees and leaders alike. However, research—both ours and previous—shows that this tactic does far more harm to culture and reputation than good,” says Mark Banfield, CEO of 1E. “In today’s environment, employees require a certain level of trust from their employers. Deploying these surveillance tools negates confidence in leadership and puts IT managers in an unfair position, all for productivity theater. There are better ways to spark productivity that should be explored before turning to surveillance tools.”

One important finding is that companies hiding surveillance technology lose out on top talent, with 52% of IT workers acknowledging they would turn down an otherwise desirable position if they knew the company monitored the productivity of its workers.

The study also shows that productivity surveillance technology puts IT managers in a tough spot, forcing them to decide about the morality of monitoring the work of colleagues. And once surveillance technology is deployed, IT workers have a strong desire to defy company policy and instead inform colleagues—72% say they would even help coworkers find workarounds.

Finally, the findings indicate that IT workers see surveillance tools as “Big Brother.” At least 27% would raise concerns with leadership before complying with a request to deploy such technology and monitor their colleagues, while 5% would refuse outright.

eGain and KMWorld: Knowledge Management Remains Untapped Across the Enterprise

A new survey from eGain in partnership with KMWorld shows that enterprise firms continue to underutilize the system of governing data and information known as knowledge management (KM). Even contact centers, the IT helpdesk, and HR, long considered as sweet spots for KM, have yet to fully embrace the technology, findings from the survey indicate. KM is also not being leveraged in other departments, including sales, legal, and field service.

The study also indicates that enterprise users have yet to deploy the differentiating and game-changing capabilities in KM, such as conversational and process guidance. Moreover, knowledge continues to be siloed in most organizations, with 36% of respondents having three or more KM tools in use, 12% with two or three tools, and 31% with no clear idea of the number of KM tools that they have. In fact, more than 70% of respondents for the study either have no plans or do not know if there is a plan to consolidate knowledge silos into one hub of trusted knowledge and know-how.

Related Article: eGain Announces Integration of Knowledge Hub with Microsoft Teams

Given that silos continue to be the biggest obstacle to a unified CX and employee experience (EX), the gap presents an opportunity for forward-thinking organizations to get ahead of their competition by implementing such a solution, the findings note.

A reassuring point made by the report, however, relates to budget. Nearly 90% of respondents for the study say their KM budget for 2023 will increase or at least remain unchanged—a wise move, both organizations say, in line with the transformational impact that modern knowledge can have on the bottom line.

Sunnyvale, California-based eGain is the provider of a knowledge platform for customer engagement. KMWorld, headquartered in New Jersey, is a publisher, conference organizer, and information provider in the knowledge management market. The results of the survey are in the new eGain report, The State of Knowledge Management in 2023: Untapped Potential for Business Value.

MoEngage: Consumers Desire Frequent and Personalized Brand Messaging

Consumers expect and wish to hear from their favorite brands in highly personalized interactions, but more than a third will stop shopping at a brand if they are sent irrelevant messaging, reveals the new MoEngage report, The Personalization Pulse Check Report 2023. Among the 2,000 North American shoppers who were polled, 41% say they wish to hear from brands on a weekly basis.

The report also shows that consumers would like to hear more than previously believed from brands. Yet 58% are frustrated with generic or inconsistent messaging, and nearly a third will choose one brand over another if brand communications are unrelated to their shopping behavior. More than half of consumers desire a curated shopping experience, and almost the same portion of shoppers will interact more than three times with a brand before buying from it. Two-thirds of all consumers are comfortable about sharing with brands their personal data, including name, location, and email.

“Finding the solution to winning customer loyalty can be daunting for brand marketers,” says Raviteja Dodda, CEO of MoEngage. “Consumers are making it clear what they want and expect from brands. It’s up to brand marketers to deliver that experience to keep them coming back.” The provider of a customer engagement platform, MoEngage is headquartered in San Francisco.

Talkdesk: Insurers Regard CX as a Top Business Priority

Despite an uncertain economy, rising costs, and competitive pricing pressures, a majority of insurance organizations view investing in CX as a strategic priority, reveals a new report from Talkdesk, the provider of a cloud-based call center solution. In its report, Building Loyalty in Insurance Through Elevated Customer Experiences, San Francisco-based Talkdesk offers insight into the biggest drivers of CX friction today, their impact on customer loyalty, and how insurers plan to leverage technology in addressing issues with both CX and EX.

The report found that insurers recognize the direct link between customer and employee experience, with 88% of respondents saying CX is a growing strategic priority. More than 9 in 10 insurance CX professionals say delivering superior CX is a key driver of customer loyalty. Accomplishing this starts with giving associates the right tools to better resolve customer issues. By not doing so, respondents say companies will experience a decrease in worker retention and the quality of customer support.

Simplifying the customer journey is a key improvement area, as 59% of insurance CX professionals say CX friction prevents customers from renewing policies. Insurers must remove friction from the moment customers navigate to or access customer service, during the interaction, and in the conversations following the initial touchpoint.

The report also says that AI presents a unique opportunity for insurers to enhance CX. For the next two years, insurers will take a proactive approach to launching new technologies that allow them to improve service accessibility, consistency, and overall quality. Automation will be a key investment area to improve data collection and analysis, while empowering agents with knowledge and guidance to navigate CX complexities. And self-service tools will become more widely available, allowing customers to resolve issues more easily. Overall, insurers will be looking to AI to help resolve friction by making it easier to understand and predict issues.

Insightly: Leaders Hope to Optimize Marketing Automation Strategy

Business leaders say a primary goal this year is to optimize their overall marketing automation strategies to improve the customer journey and increase revenue, according to findings from a new survey by Insightly, the provider of a customer relationship management (CRM) and sales pipeline management tool based in San Francisco.

However, while 87% of those surveyed say they now have some or all of their customer journeys fully automated, only 27% agree that their marketing tools are optimized to better engage with customers. This means there is still room for improvement, notes the survey.

Related Article: Insightly Leadership Team Offers CX Advice for Businesses to Succeed in 2022

The findings also show that email marketing is still king, with 62% of respondents saying they use it in their marketing automation platform. The areas that utilize marketing automation the most include email marketing, social media, content management, paid ads, and landing pages. 

Among respondents, 70% say they are increasing their marketing automation spend this year, notes another finding. The rest of the survey’s results are contained in the report, The 2023 State of Marketing Automation.

Author Information

Alex is responsible for writing about trends and changes that are impacting the customer experience market. He had served as Principal Editor at Village Intelligence, a Los Angeles-based consultancy on technology impacting healthcare and healthcare-related industries. Alex was also Associate Director for Content Management at Omdia and Informa Tech, where he produced white papers, executive summaries, market insights, blogs, and other key content assets. His areas of coverage spanned the sectors grouped under the technology vertical, including semiconductors, smart technologies, enterprise & IT, media, displays, mobile, power, healthcare, China research, industrial and IoT, automotive, and transformative technologies.

At IHS Markit, he was Managing Editor of the company’s flagship IHS Quarterly, covering aerospace & defense, economics & country risk, chemicals, oil & gas, and other IHS verticals. He was Principal Editor of analyst output at iSuppli Corp. and Managing Editor of Market Watch, a fortnightly newsletter highlighting significant analyst report findings for pitching to the media. He started his career in writing as an Editor-Reporter for The Associated Press.

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