Customer Experience and Employee Experience in ‘Delivering Excellence’

This informal CPD article ‘Customer Experience and Employee Experience in ‘Delivering Excellence’, was provided by Daman Dev Sood, an International Resilience Trainer & Consultant.

Delivering Excellence can be defined as ‘Providing exceptional and high-quality products, services, or experiences to customers, clients, or stakeholders (internal as well as external).’ It is a business approach that focuses on meeting and exceeding customer expectations by consistently delivering outstanding results.

I recently came across an article from McKinsey.¹ It says GCCs (Global Capability Centers) could cut their attrition rates by half.

“the best way to resolve the issue is by improving employee experience (EX), which strengthens employee loyalty and, as a result, resilience and continuity. Executives should treat EX as seriously as CX (customer experience) by being more scientific and more tailored in their approach”, it says, and recommends the following 5 steps:

1.      Use personas and journeys to customize EX

2.      Reimagine the role of manager to emphasize coaching and mentorship

3.      Find new ways to embed culture and values for a hybrid work environment

4.      Redesign the office for collaboration and connection

5.      Rethink the traditional workday

In this article I will focus on three aspects of Delivering Excellence. This first step is knowing (better – understanding) your customers. For which developing Customer Personas and Customer Mapping Journeys are important. The concepts are applicable internally also i.e., developing Employee Personas and Employee Mapping Journey.

Employee Personas: are fictional representations of different employee segments within your organization. They help you understand the needs, preferences, and pain points, family background, past employment history of various employee groups. In order to create employee personas, gather data from your employees, such as surveys, interviews, and observations.

Identify common characteristics, goals, and challenges. Create distinct personas based on these insights. Employee personas help HR and management teams tailor communication, benefits, training, and support to meet the specific needs of different employee groups. They can guide the development of a more personalized Employee Experience.

Employee Journey Maps: are visual representations of the various stages and touchpoints an employee encounters during their tenure at the company, from targeting and recruitment to onboarding, daily work, and potential exit. In order to create an employee journey map, document the employee's interactions, emotions, and experiences, aspirations and expectations at each stage of their employment. This involves identifying key touchpoints, pain points, and areas for improvement.

Employee journey maps help HR and management teams identify areas where they can enhance the Employee Experience. By understanding the employee's perspective, organizations can make improvements in recruitment, onboarding, training, and ongoing support. Developing Employee Personas and Employee Journey Maps can lead to several benefits, including improved engagement, reduced turnover, and a more positive workplace culture. Just like Customer Personas and Customer Journey Maps, they provide a valuable framework for enhancing the experience and satisfaction of a crucial group of stakeholders within your organization.

Customer Personas: are detailed, semi-fictional representations of your ideal customers. They are based on market research, customer data (geography, likes/dislikes, past history, social and financial status), and insights and help you understand your target audience better. In order to create customer personas, gather data about your customers, including demographics, behaviours, goals, and pain points.

Identify common traits and preferences among your customer base. Create distinct personas based on these findings. Customer personas guide marketing, product development, and customer support efforts. They help you tailor your messaging, product features, and services to meet the specific needs and desires of different customer segments.

Customer Journey Mapping: is a visual representation of the entire end-to-end customer experience with your company. It illustrates the customer's interactions, emotions, and experiences from initial awareness through purchase, post-purchase, and potential loyalty or churn. In order to create a customer journey map, identify the various touchpoints a customer encounters when engaging with your brand. At each touchpoint, document what the customer is doing, feeling, and thinking. Include pain points and areas for improvement.

Customer identification and identification of their needs & expectations are two crucial steps in delighting customers. Customer journey maps help to do this. Through these maps, organizations understand the customer's perspective and pinpoint areas where they can enhance the Customer Experience. By visualizing the customer's interactions and emotions, businesses can make targeted improvements to marketing, sales, and customer support processes.

Developing Customer Personas and Customer Journey Maps can lead to several benefits, including increased customer satisfaction, loyalty, and revenue. These tools provide a structured framework for understanding your customers and ensuring that your products, services, and marketing efforts are aligned with their needs and expectations.

CX and EX Experience

The following section attempts to draw parallels with CX (customer experience) and EX (employee experience). The aspects are in bold, the first sentence is for CX and the second one for the EX.

1. Definition:

• The overall impression and perception customers have about your company based on their interactions with you, and your products and services (CX).
• The overall impression and perception employees have about your company based on their interactions, work environment, and company culture (EX). 

2. Focus:

• Customers and their needs and expectations (CX).
• Employees and their needs and well-being, expectations (including families) (EX). 

3. Stakeholders/Interested Parties: 

• External stakeholders (e.g., customers, prospects, partners, regulators, investors, shareholders, general public, vendors) (CX).
• Internal stakeholders (e.g., employees, management, HR) (EX).

4. Goal/ Objective:

• Increase customer satisfaction, loyalty, advocacy, top-and-bottom line (CX).
• Increase employee engagement, satisfaction, retention, top-and-bottom line (EX). 

5. Metrics:

• Net Promoter Score (NPS), Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT), Customer Effort Score (CES), repeat business, referrals and others (CX).
• Net Promoter Score (NPS), Employee Satisfaction Score, Employee Engagement Index, employee referrals and others (EX).

6. Touchpoints:

• Sales, marketing, customer support, customer surveys, customer conferences, complaint-feedback management process, and product usage (CX).
• Job advertisement, recruitment, daily work activities, communication, team collaboration, townhalls, performance feedback, suggestion schemes and employee surveys (EX).

7. Impact:

• Positive CX can lead to increased revenue and customer retention. Negative CX can result in lost customers and damage to the brand's reputation (CX).
• Positive EX can lead to improved productivity, reduced churn, and a positive company culture. Negative EX can lead to decreased morale, higher churn, and decreased performance (EX). 

8. Elements:

• Product quality, customer service, ease of use, and the overall perception of the brand (CX).
• Workplace culture, job satisfaction, career development opportunities, and the overall work environment (EX).

9. Improvement:

• Enhancing processes and systems to better serve the customers, develop culture of Delivering Excellence (CX).
• Creating a supportive, inclusive, and enjoyable work environment for employees, develop a culture of Delivering Excellence (EX).

10. Management:

• Customer service and product/ service development(primarily), marketing, and sales teams (CX).
• HR (primarily), leadership, and management teams (EX).

11. Feedback mechanism:

• Complaint-feedback process, surveys, reviews, and customer service interactions (CX).
• Surveys, one-on-one meetings, suggestion schemes, and performance evaluations (EX).

12. Time Horizon:

• Immediate customer needs: short term (CX).
• Delivering Excellence: long term (journey of transformation) (EX).

13. Challenges:

• Meeting diverse customer expectations, handling complaints, maintaining consistency across touchpoints, continued focus, time-money-effort (CX).
• Balancing the needs and expectations of diverse employees (including families), fostering a positive culture, managing work-life balance, time-money-effort (EX).

14. Alignment:

• CX needs to align with the company's values, mission, and brand promise (CX).
• EX should align with the company's values, mission, and the desired workplace culture (EX).

In summary, while CX focuses on the customer's experience and their interactions with a company, EX focuses on the experience and well-being of the employees within the organization. Both are essential for business success, as happy employees are more likely to provide exceptional customer experiences, and satisfied customers are more likely to remain loyal and support the company. This is how a company can master Delivering Excellence for its customers (internal as well as external).

We hope this article was helpful. For more information from Daman Dev Sood, please visit their CPD Member Directory page. Alternatively, you can go to the CPD Industry Hubs for more articles, courses and events relevant to your Continuing Professional Development requirements.

References:

https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/employee-experience-still-matters-talent-retention-at-gccs