This question never goes away. It is a very good one too. Since the introduction of the book The Customer Experience Revolution I have been asked how many companies really understand customer experience (CX) the way the best in CX do? The numbers, worldwide for all businesses, put into that book on customer experience, were directly from JD Power. While I have been waiting for the data to change, it has not. It is still 5%-25%-70%.
Just 5% of the companies around the world are customer experience leaders. They include Amazon, Apple, Square, USAA and more.
The next 12% are companies that want to be customer experience leaders. These businesses are open to actively learning and applying CX best practices and innovating customer experiences. The next 13% give mere “lip service” to the idea they care about customers. Many of these companies run ad campaigns with the word experience in it since they look at CX as a marketing and PR issue.
That leaves 70% of companies. These are companies that do not understand customer experience. They believe it is a fad and will not make a difference to their businesses. Many 70 percenters hold onto their beliefs even as they are losing market share, revenue and customers to “experience makers.” The 70 percenters are frequently marginalized or put out of business. My list of CX losers is too long.
Many of the customer experience maker companies not only show up on independent customer experience indexes at the top, they earn high ratings on indexes that measure the best places to work. The best in employee experience (EX). Including Traders Joe’s, Intuit (TurboTax), Kaiser Permanente, Kimpton Hotels and USAA.
Many factors go into what makes an organization a great place to work. I have trained many companies and taught many classes about customer experience. One predictor of the best outcomes in improving and innovating customer experience is the same predictor of a great place to work. It is teamwork. From customer-facing employees to those who never come into contact with customers, they are all important for a great customer experience. They are all important for teamwork and experience continuity for customers and employees. “Over 69% of engaged employees indicate a good understanding of customer needs, compared to just 17% of disengaged employees,” according to Qualtrics June 2019 data. Meanwhile recent IBM findings about the financial impact of a positive employee experiences indicate that organizations scoring in the top 25% of employee experience earn twice the return on sales compared to businesses in the bottom quartile.
How can a business evaluate the state of its employee’s engagement, and what can it do to improve engagement likely lifting the percent of employee advocates, customer advocates and sales?
Broken team or peak performance?
To answer this and get some insights about employee experience and effective team development, I contacted Adam Rudder, Organizational Culture and Employee Engagement Expert at Improv4Companies.
I asked Adam’s advice on how to evaluate if a team is operating at peak performance. “I like to ask the following questions: Do you have high turnover? How engaged is your workforce? Does your team look happy to show up each day? (Is it a place your people want to be? -JB) How invested are your employees? How productive is your team? Chances are, if any of these aren’t “positive” responses, then there is something broken.
Adam describes a broken team as lacking cohesion. “I can generally spot dysfunctional teams because of the way its members show up to the workplace. They lack efficiency. Roles might not be clearly defined (and if they are, the boundaries may not be effectively enforced). There might be poor communication between the management and the rest of the employees (or between departments).” Additionally, Adam sees that employees will often not enjoy being at work and definitely don’t feel they have a seat at the table. “You can even tell this is the case from the body language. Most of all, this will also be reflected in the bottom line.”
Characteristics of the best teams
What about characteristics of the best teams? “In the business world, I would say the best teams are highly engaged, productive, communicate well, and share clearly defined roles and responsibilities. This starts with leadership. Funny enough, I recently hosted a virtual summit on company culture and how to improve the employee experience. During this, I interviewed twenty-six of the leading experts on the topic, and you would be surprised by how many of these thought leaders mentioned “engagement” and “connection” as key elements for success.” It was clear to Adam that those teams that had engaged and connected employees were more productive and happier, and the company’s bottom line reflected this. Moreover, “It also directly impacted employee retention. Those organizations that have highly engaged cultures have decreased turnover and also attract top talent.”
According to Adam, this engagement and connection creates an environment where employees actually want to be. “Think about it from a practical sense: if you go to an office where you don’t enjoy being, you are disinterested, less motivated, and probably count the minutes until you can go home for the day. That’s not an atmosphere that people thrive in. BUT, when you enjoy coming to work and interacting with your co-workers, it has the opposite effect. When employees feel safe to share and communicate it can generate new ideas, solve problems quicker, and spark tremendous innovation. When employees feel connected, they tend to also feel more alignment with the company and more invested in its success.”
Adam’s short list of the signs of a highly engaged employee culture
1) Alignment between the organization (values, mission, leadership) and its employees,
2) Inclusivity, and
3) Clear and effective communication where everyone feels safe, seen and heard.
4) A culture that puts its team members in positions to succeed and where employees feel valued and connected are also good indicators of a successful team.
These characteristics will lead to a highly engaged workforce and will be reflected in improved customer experience and the bottom line.
What about the how part?
What is an effective way to actually help people at companies feel more engaged and connected? Adam’s answer “Play. Those who play together, stay together. So many companies don’t understand the power of play and its role in its success. Play is the source of creativity, innovation, inspiration. It helps build trust and camaraderie. Plato once said that you learn more in an hour of playing with someone than in a lifetime of conversation.”
Adam’s insights are really about changing the experience. “Think about who your friends are. They are likely the ones who you enjoy being around the most. Who you laugh with. Who do you have the most common with? Who you share a sense of purpose and excitement with. In other words, they are the ones you play with. If you take play out of your friendships, what do you have left? A very boring and stale relationship. Who would continue to hang out with a friend who they didn’t enjoy being around? Yet it’s lacking in so many corporate environments. And when play is taken out, so is the fun. So is the magic. If you want to supercharge your organization, add play into it. Watch, how your culture changes. Watch the impact it has across the board. It’s powerful, and dare I say, vital.”
Play, as Adam describes, is a best practice for improving employee engagement, customer experience and advocacy for both. Creating employee experiences that people will want to have will help make the business better and different for those who work there, increase employee advocacy outside the company and bottom-line results.
Is seems like a good time to get the answer to: How many companies really understand employee experience (EX) the way the best in EX do? Another question that will likely never go away.
Jeofrey Bean is the principal of Del Mar Research where he does on-site company CX training and speaking. He’s an author (Customer Experience Revolution, Customer Experience Rules!) and an instructor at UC San Diego Extension.
Adam Rudder is the founder of Improv4Companies, where he helps teams create winning cultures and improve their employee experience through laughter and play. He is also the Host of The Play To Win Summit: How To Create A Winning Company Culture That Increases Productivity, Engagement & Profits.
Find out more at the Employee Experience to Customer Experience Workshop here Aug 22 2019 at the Walmart Labs.