“The customer always comes first,” right?
Maybe … maybe not.
In today’s post-pandemic environment, a shift has been occurring. Now, it’s not just the customer that comes first. It’s the employee, too.
But, how can both the customer and the employee claim first place?
What if employees and customers were thought of as stakeholders? Wouldn’t companies be equally concerned about both the employee experience and the customer experience in that case?
Brands obsess over designing the optimal customer experience (CX). But it’s time to focus attention and resources on creating the optimal employee experience (EX), too.
Contented, loyal employees strengthen a company’s brand, working to become outstanding ambassadors for the organization. A disgruntled employee’s experience can result in low productivity, poor morale, and ultimately affect your bottom line.
It might seem counterintuitive, but there are several reasons why the employee and customer experience deserve equal attention.
Let’s begin!
Culture
Employees know what they do and don’t want in a job environment. So much so, that there’s even been a rise in the popularity of worker’s unions.
With this in mind, employers need to commit to expressing and executing clear, purpose-driven opportunities allowing employees to realize meaningful work beyond the bore of daily tasks.
Most companies already emphasize the human touch in CX. But it’s equally important to intentionally promote a human-centric attitude when designing the company’s EX, too.
That’s why it’s essential to design a company culture that celebrates both your employees and your customers.
By integrating solutions, such as employee and customer recognition and aligning your company with your customers’ and employees’ values, you can create a positive, thriving work environment.
Ease
A memorable customer experience is characterized by seamless, user-friendly moments for the consumer. And because of previous CX interactions that fall in the “stellar” category, many consumers have come to expect that same outcome when interacting with all product and service industries.
These well thought out systems and procedures for the consumer create a virtual, hassle-free experience.
Similarly, when businesses work to streamline processes, it results in less stress for their employees and increased job satisfaction. This commitment to efficiency is an obvious priority for CX, but is often lacking in the approach to employee experiences. Stress on the job leads to frustration and burnout for workers.
So why the disconnect?
The Harvard Business Review shared in a recent article that in Fortune 500 companies employees spend almost four hours each week “reorienting themselves after switching back and forth between apps (or about 9% of their entire workweek).”
When workers spend untold hours going between dozens of apps simply to perform routine tasks, it creates frustration and stress, and requires constant refocus.
Forbes also said there was “a Fortune 500 consumer goods company that required employees to switch between 22 different applications roughly 350 times to execute one supply chain transaction.”
That’s a recipe for employee burnout.
Business leaders must design streamlined systems in place of bone-crushing processes that wear down and undermine their valuable employees.
From offering security and site visibility that keep employees safe to offering a suite of tools that help employees perform their jobs more efficiently, creating a sense of ease is an absolute must.
Sustainability
Employees would most likely put the word “restructure” at the top of their most hated list.
Why?
Restructure = Insecurity
Not only does the restructuring process strike fear in the hearts of employees, it inevitably leads to disruptive change in the organizational structure of a company.
With change occurring so often under “reconstruction mania”, an organization is unlikely to remain focused on company priorities. Organizations require stability to maintain and constantly work toward improvement in both their customer and employee experience.
Entertain, for a minute, the scenario where the c-suite is replaced with new corporate leaders. There’s a restructure to improve profit margins, reimagine marketing, reconfigure organizational structures, and soothe investors fears.
What must be held as non-negotiable, however, is the company’s commitment to human-centric practices. When employees see themselves as simply “worker-bees”, it can be catastrophic to morale and work productivity.
Bottom line? Each time new processes and systems are put into place, it’s critical that the commitment to sustaining people-centric values, both for customers and employees, is clearly communicated and fiercely maintained.
Final say
Is it impossible to hold fast to the idea that employee and customer experiences are equally valuable?
No.
Focusing on business outcomes while also caring well for both employees and customers isn’t a pipe dream. It’s a strategy for success.
The ultimate CX and EX is based on the company’s understanding of who their customers and employees are along with their varying needs.
By implementing strategies that view customers and employees equally, you can create a healthy, thriving environment for all of your stakeholders — now, and in the future.
Are you ready to see both your customers and your employees thrive?
Oh, by the way, check out the agile feedback solution for complex organizations.
Now, go forth and nurture.
To your success!
About The Author
Vikas Kalwani is a product-led growth marketer and B2B Marketing Specialist skilled in SEO, Content Marketing, and Social Media Marketing. He manages partnerships at uSERP and is a mentor at 500 Global and Techstars.
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