Your Customer Experience team is underperforming. How can you turn things around?

Promotion of Professional Development should be at the fore front of any CX teams. CX leaders should Invest in the professional growth of their team members by providing opportunities for skill and career advancement. This could include workshops, seminars, certifications, or access to online courses that enhance their expertise in customer experience. Deciding on the frequency is also important.

Completely agree. I think it should always start with a review of all things, including the team's skill and knowledge, but also the current processes in place to understand whether they remain appropriate. Some of these may not have changed for years, and I think it is important to remain open about improving those too.

L'évaluation des compétences et des connaissances de l'équipe est une étape fondamentale. Il est crucial d'analyser les interactions avec les clients et de prioriser le coaching ainsi que des sessions de débriefing régulières pour cerner les points d'amélioration. Bien que les outils technologiques soient utiles, l'accent doit être mis sur le développement des compétences humaines, qui constituent le cœur du processus.

Assessing your team's current skills and knowledge is crucial for identifying strengths and weaknesses. Through surveys, interviews, and observations, you gain insights into their understanding of products, services, processes, and customer expectations. This evaluation informs targeted training, coaching, or support, optimizing team performance and ensuring alignment with organizational goals.

One way to identify trends of gaps in training is to ensure that the tools provided to support your team’s knowledge provide access reporting, and that the use of those tools is supported and encouraged. When evaluating knowledge and skills performance, evaluating the team’s use of the tools provided is a good starting point. Are the support articles being read? Have the videos been watched?

When a team underperforms, it's largely due to the lack of direction or clarity that's offered to them in terms of responsibilities and vision that's charted out. Lot of times, it's observed that overlapping goals create an atmosphere that makes it difficult for the team to perform. Ensure that your team has well-defined, specific and measurable performance goals. These should align with the overall objectives of the CX unit and the organization. Implement a system for tracking progress toward goals and provide regular updates to team members. This keeps everyone accountable and motivated.

Frequently when CX teams are viewed as underperforming it's b/c they are striving for some "CX-y" goal, like NPS or CSAT...which, at least directly, brings no value...check that...tangible business value. What is the CX team doing to create actual action out of the insights it creates and how does that action drive the desired tangible business result (increased revenue/reduced cost etc.)? If that team introspection reveals an overreliance on stats, and scorecards and journey maps and all the other CX crutches out there...it's time to bring more of that inside-out of process & execution to the forefront

Implementation of a continuous improvement culture is vital. CX leaders need to instill a mindset of continuous improvement within the team. Encourage them to consistently seek ways to enhance processes, workflows, and customer interactions. Recognizing and rewarding individuals who contribute to the ongoing refinement of customer experience strategies helps to boost morale. This however should be inline with the overall company objectives and goals to prevent overlapping and in turn creates confusion.

Creating or amplifying the connection between the work the team is doing and the broader corporate strategy is always important but especially when morale is low. Each project/study should have clear goals associated but CX team members must also, and possibly more importantly, understand that the insights surfaced in their work often go beyond meeting a single goal. CX insights become shared knowledge that can be built on by the organization. Building empathy to incite action goes far beyond the barriers of a single project or study.

Establishing a culture of continuous improvement is essential. CX leaders should foster an environment where the team is committed to ongoing refinement. It's crucial to motivate them to regularly identify and implement improvements in processes, workflows, and interactions with customers. Acknowledging and rewarding those team members who actively contribute to refining customer experience strategies can significantly uplift team spirit. However, it's imperative that these efforts align seamlessly with the company's overarching objectives and goals to avoid redundancy and potential confusion.

Nothing drives motivation than encouraging and empowering your team to take decisions based on their past expertise and experiences in defining what's best for a customer. Define the scope of decision-making authority for each team member. Empower them to make decisions within their expertise to resolve customer issues promptly. Provide training on effective decision-making processes and problem-solving techniques. Ensure that team members understand the organization's values and priorities. Foster a culture of trust and autonomy within the team, where team members feel confident in their ability to make decisions without constant oversight.

To turn our CX team around, I introduced a bold empowerment strategy. We started with 'CX Innovation Days'—quarterly events where team members lead projects on improving customer interactions, without waiting for higher-up approvals. This autonomy to experiment fosters creativity and quick problem-solving. We also implemented an 'Idea Box' portal, encouraging continuous input on enhancing our processes and offerings. Recognizing and acting on these suggestions has boosted morale and accountability, making every team member feel like a valued contributor to our customer's journey. This shift towards empowerment proves when team members feel trusted and valued, they drive remarkable improvements.

He visto mayores resultados para lograr el empoderamiento de los equipos cuando se brinda confianza al momento que una iniciativa liderada por ellos no funciona, porque el equipo tiende a cohibirse lo que impide que continúen generando iniciativas y más aún, que sean lideradas por ellos. En la vida corporativa solemos no mirar bien el error, pero el ver al error como el escalón para el éxito me ha ayudado a motivar y empoderar a los equipos.

É importante investir em treinamentos que promovam a autonomia, encorajar a tomada de decisões informadas e criar um ambiente que valorize a responsabilidade individual. Esse enfoque visa fortalecer a capacidade da equipe de responder eficazmente às demandas dos clientes.

Empowering your team to make customer-centric decisions fosters a culture of trust, innovation, and accountability. Granting autonomy and encouraging input not only enhances the customer experience but also makes team members feel valued and engaged. This approach not only improves problem-solving but also contributes to a more dynamic and responsive organization.

Employee experience goes hand in hand with customer experience, It is crucial for your CX employees, especially frontliners, to feel valued & heard. They’re not mere executors, but essential contributors to your CX vision. Regardless of how exceptional your CX strategy may be, it will falter if your CX employees do not feel involved. Celebrate their milestones,consider incentivizing their efforts in customer acquisition and satisfaction, listen to their feedback regarding any shortcomings & provide them with trainings and constructive feedback. They act as your ears & eyes, providing valuable insights on how customers perceive your brand. With them feeling recognized and having sense of ownership,it will surely reflect on their performance.

Based on my experience, when a CX team is underperforming, the root causes often lie in a lack of both know-how and the right mindset. While operations teams receive extensive training, sensitizing them to genuine interactions with consumers can be challenging. To address this, I implement role-playing exercises using real-life cases. This strategy aims to infuse empathy into the team's daily work, promoting a sense of ownership and resulting in improving issue resolution and customer satisfaction. Additionally we need to take care of climate, culture and have clear expectations aligned with the team, measuring performance and reinforcing great aptitude and customer delighting.

Don't waste time on documenting and giving feedbacks every now and then. If there is a lack of clarity, there's nothing feedback can do to fix the issue at hand. Once you have the basics charted out, then, offer specific, actionable feedback to help team members improve their skills and performance. Focus on both strengths and areas for improvement. Assign experienced team members or mentors to help junior team members grow and develop their skills. Ensure your team has access to the necessary tools, technology and resources to perform their jobs effectively.

Feedback is essential. It is there for the good and the bad. If you see something the team is doing great, talk about it. If you see an area of opportunity to improve, talk about it. Keeping lines of communication open and transparent will help when you finally hit a rough patch. It will assist you in finding out the 'why' when something goes downhill because the team will feel comfortable providing you with feedback, just as you feel comfortable providing it to them.

Continued support and feedback are vital for team growth and improvement. Regular training, coaching, and mentoring opportunities ensure ongoing skill enhancement. Monitoring performance, collecting data, and seeking feedback enable timely evaluations, addressing strengths and weaknesses. This approach fosters a culture of continuous improvement, providing team members with the guidance and encouragement needed to achieve their goals and contribute effectively to the organization.

Start by defining what it is you call underperforming, how they underperform, and what lies in their way. Don't immediately assume the problem is with them. Very often, the issue is above: lack of trust, empowerement, collaboration, budget, support, etc. Identify the reasons why they've missed their goals and talk to them to understand what's wrong before jumping into conclusions and making changes.

What Julien says below is absolutely spot on. The customer facing team and their performance, in part, is a manifestation of what everyone else in the brand delivers. It's not a 'handoff' game, it's a game of synergy and alignment. So dig into those metrics and understand where they come from and define what performance measures align best to the customer facing channel, but not forgetting that so very many things upstream and downstream impact retail performance. The other bit here.... come from a place of curiosity, always. Seek to understand first. Front lines are where the best lessons get learned!

#CX #Underperformingteam Simple Hacks 1. Learn the client 2. Turn the CX 3. Earn the performance If the team is underperforming, it is crucial to know the identity of the client and their employee skill levels at various stages. The client should not be seen as just a database, but rather as a portfolio that requires effective management skills. The clients are not just numbers or data, they can speak alot about us as they can see, listen and feel. In order to provide excellent customer experience (CX), it is essential to understand and know your customer beforehand.

Para garantizar una excelente gestión CX,comencemos desde lo más fundamental:las personas que colaboran,dirigen y contribuyen a que esto suceda;es crucial que vivan una experiencia laboral positiva.Nadie disfruta estar en un entorno laboral poco armonioso y negativo. Los colaboradores merecen ser valorados tanto como los directores y dueños de las empresas,el trato hacia el equipo debe ser caracterizado por el respeto y el profesionalismo,fomentando una comunicación efectiva y un interés genuino por el bienestar del equipo. Desde mi experiencia, he observado que la productividad de los equipos tiende a disminuir en entornos desfavorables; por lo tanto,es fundamental identificar las razones y poner en marcha prácticas de Employee Experience.

When your Customer Experience team hits a rough patch, it's crucial to address not just the external factors but also the internal dynamics. Often, organizations are so fixated on CX improvements that they overlook Employee Experience (EX). The equation is simple: Happy staff equals happy customers. Sharing goals with your team is essential, but it's equally vital to ensure their well-being. Stress, mental health concerns, and monotony can impede performance. Striking a balance between EX and CX is the key to unlocking optimum team performance and customer satisfaction.