Over the last couple of decades, there has been a lot of research on what customer experience is and what goes into creating a stellar experience for the consumers. The research across the world has provided us with many insights on how companies can improve their customers’ experience in relation to their services and products. One of the key factors which has come out of such research is the quality of the engagement through various means by the employees of the company.
So how can a company expect to create a fabulous experience for their customers when its employees — who are designing and delivering products and services for the customers — are themselves not satisfied with their work experience?
In nutshell, your average customer experience can never be greater than the average experience of your employees. Hence, in my opinion:
CX ≤ EX
According to a study published by Accenture, the companies which get EX right are 21% more profitable than those with a poor employee experience. There are similar studies pointing towards similar results by Bain and other consulting and research firms.
I have been working in this field for over a decade, and have been associated with B2B consulting firms largely in customer facing roles (product, account management and solutioning). In my experience, getting EX right has been a differentiator and competitive advantage for several of the firms where EX was given importance and worked upon. In a B2B setup, there is a direct impact on CX when an employee talking to the customer or solutioning for the customer is not engaged or satisfied with his experience at the company.
Having established that EX is of paramount importance to drive CX and business at large, we should define what EX is. Usually HRs around the world try to limit its definition through following:
- Money
- Other Perks
- Professional Growth
- Work life balance
- Flexibility
While all of the above are very important, I feel that they are the “hygiene” of the employee experience; they are the bare minimum. Today’s employees want more. In my experience, what has driven me to go the extra mile for my customers and create a superb experience for them can be explained through the following traits of an employee-centred company:
- They make you understand how your work is helping customers and your company achieve their business objectives. Nothing motivated me more than a feeling that I am doing important work.
- They make you feel valued at the workplace through different means
- They provide you personalized attention towards your growth aspirations and align your work to help you reach your goals.
- They are invested in your future and train you to create value for their customers and for yourself.
All of the above if achieved will not only lead to a happy workforce but supper happy customers and the synergies between the two will propel growth for an organization. However, it is much easier said than done. What lies ahead is a big task for the leadership and HRs in the organizations to create an individualized employee experience solution which can cater to the needs of the post pandemic world.
