Employee Experience is a new Customer Experience

I learned from my mentor once, you cannot pour from an empty cup. Just as one has to take self-care before taking care of family and friends, one need to take care of the team before they can take care of the customers.

We all have heard that happy customers are the lifeline of any business but it is more accurate to say that happy employees create happy customers (that are the lifeline of any business) and that both good customer and employee experience leads to the best outcome. In my point of view, there is always two dimensions of Experience – Employee Experience (EX) and Customer Experience (CX) which makes up to total experience

Total Experience = EX + CX

Many research work has revealed that companies with good employee engagement scores achieve higher financial performance, customer loyalty and talent retention compared to companies with average employee engagement scores . But this is not a discovery in recent times. If one recalls Tata group’s longest serving Chairman, JRD Tata also chose to take an unconventional approach for his times. He said that “You have to lead people with affection”. My belief strengthens as I see better customer experience by elevating employee experience.

Today, more and more companies are using a “Total Experience” approach to win customers and retain Employees

Key challenges brands face when trying to provide Total Experience

CX is not just act or a project but involves whole ecosystem of the customer journey. From the first experience, customers have with your brand, to the time they pay you and need help with their queries—it’s all encompassed under the large umbrella of customer experience, hence it is imperative that every department in the organisation is aligned towards meeting the CX agenda. In my view, misalignment of CX goals is a one of the biggest challenges brands are facing. Prioritising CX initiatives will help brands develop a customer first culture and mindset

Another big challenge is addressing Employee Experience (EX) and the Employee Voice. When companies focus on creating employee focused culture and providing a great employee experience, it affects every aspect of the business, including the customer service employees deliverables. In today’s time when employees spend more waking hours with their work colleagues than they do with their families it is imperative for leaders to have this at top of their minds.

When employees feel happy, thoroughly engage in their work, and find deeper satisfaction in how their roles contribute to a greater purpose in the organisation, they go beyond the call of duty to carry that feeling to customers

How will aligning EX with CX help your business

Employee engagement is not just about offering higher salary or more time off or parties or free lunches. It’s about helping employees to find their purpose. A critical aspect of this pride comes from knowing they can deliver an experience that not only meets but exceeds customer expectations

Just by simply having a strong EX program that drives employee engagement and a CX program that drives customer centricity can lead to greater business outcomes. Combining & aligning the two takes it to the next level.

I will conclude by saying that in an ever changing environment, it is no longer, customer experience , that dictates the success or failure of a organisation—but the increasing importance of the employee experience

“EX” or Employee Experience, is as important as “CX” and hence engaged employees will always keep customers happy

Employee experience is a new customer experience!

Authored by

Shweta Srivastava, Director – CS & Customer Experience, Tata CLiQ