The customer experience is often at the forefront of a business’s strategy, and for good reason. Even if you believe the customer isn’t always right, they’re clearly essential to success. No customers, no business, right?
The best brands know that a great experience — from product design to customer journey to digital and in-person interactions — is what customers either remember or try to forget. Brands deliver great experiences in part by genuinely paying close attention to every detail along the way. They listen to what their customers crave and provide experiences that surprise and delight.
Truly incredible brands also realize a key ingredient of customer experience is not consumer-facing. Rather, it’s inward-looking. As businesses tap the power of the digital transformation to create amazing new customer experiences, remember the people who got you there: your workforce. I believe the employee experience is the ultimate driver of the customer experience. Brands that focus their time, attention and resources on improving the employee experience know that a better customer experience is inevitable.
So, my mantra has long been that people build brands, and brands build businesses. By starting from an employee-centric approach to business, you’ll be that much closer to delivering something compelling to your customers. Here are three easy ways to start making your employees your best customer advocates.
1. Real relationships matter.
With so many digital tools to stay connected without the need for actual interaction, it can be easy to forget the importance of the human heart. Technology is having a transformative effect on our world, but we should never forget about the employees behind the keyboard who are actually doing the work.
I frequently and regularly check in with my colleagues. I ensure that I touch base with all my direct reports and key stakeholders on a weekly basis. I find Fridays are a good time to catch people to check in. Try to get to know them by engaging with them: What are do they care about outside of the office? What could we be doing better at the office? This shared experience of a real, human conversation is going to be far more revealing and effective than an email or text exchange. I find it's the best way to truly keep your finger on the pulse of the company and gain the most insight into their actual work experiences. The candor alone is valuable to the business, and the lasting friendships are truly priceless.
2. Actions speak louder than words.
If creating a phenomenal employee experience is a starting point for a great customer experience, then conversing with your employees is just the beginning. Having these conversations is essential, but you must take action in order for employees to truly believe in what they are doing. There are so many ways to take stock of your employee satisfaction and turn that into action through digital tools.
You’re probably already doing something like this with your customers. It’s time to consider ways to turn employee feedback into similarly actionable results. Helping your people win and succeed is inevitably going to help your business do the same. If you say you are going to do something, then do it, as trust comes in on foot but leaves in a Ferrari (or a Tesla may be more apt nowadays).
3. Technology remains essential.
Until now I've focused on how to build experiences with your employees in a manner that is screens down and in the real world. But that doesn’t mean technology is suddenly a no-go when it comes to nurturing incredible employee experiences. The lives we lead are forever intertwined with technology, blurring the lines that have traditionally separated work from personal time. If that means an expectation of employee flexibility at the cost of 24/7 availability, let’s at least provide best-in-class digital tools to make it as compelling and engaging as possible. We all know just how fast technology evolves.
As employers trying to attract and retain the very best and brightest, we must offer the very best in all regards. We live in a world where cloud-based applications and services can unleash employee potential instead of dragging it down, so it's key to be sure that is exactly what we are always striving to do.
As 2019 begins, it’s a good time to take a step back and think about your employee experience. If you aren’t 100% confident that your employees are having the best brand experience possible, it’s a good time to evaluate and start taking these essential steps to bring the employee experience to the forefront of your brand. Your customers will thank you for it.
