Digitally Irresistible

A Veteran in Customer Experience Innovation   We welcome Mark Honeycutt to this week's episode of the Digitally Irresistible podcast. Mark has enjoyed a distinguished career, marked by significant contributions to the fields of technology, retail, and service. With over 25 years of experience, he has built a solid reputation for creating exceptional customer experiences at iconic brands such as Amazon and Microsoft. Mark has been involved in three major waves of customer care evolution. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, he was at the forefront of leveraging third-party companies, known as business process outsourcing (BPO) providers, to deliver customer experience solutions. Following this, he played a pivotal role during the offshoring wave, where customer care operations were relocated to different parts of the world to optimize costs and efficiency.   In this episode, we delve into Mark's expertise and explore the best practices for integrating automation in customer support to enhance the overall customer experience. Join us as we uncover the dynamics of this third wave with one of its most seasoned pioneers.     Embracing the Third Wave of Customer Care and the Impact of Generative AI and Conversational Technologies   Mark identifies the current era as the "third wave" of customer care,  driven by advancements in generative AI and enhanced conversational capabilities. This wave marks a significant shift toward a “tech first” engagement approach, revolutionizing how companies interact with their customers. As technology continues to evolve, it brings both opportunities and challenges, requiring a strategic balance between automation and human touch.   Despite these technological advancements, one fundamental aspect remains constant: customer expectations. Customers still prioritize having their issues resolved quickly and efficiently while being treated with respect. This unchanging need underscores the importance of designing customer care solutions that meet these timeless expectations, regardless of the technological tools employed.   Leveraging Technology for Better Customer Engagement   The introduction of generative AI and advanced workflows enables two primary approaches: bots and agent assistance. Bots aim to handle customer engagements entirely through automation, providing swift and consistent responses. On the other hand, agent assistance focuses on reducing the cognitive load on human agents, improving their efficiency and compliance during customer interactions. This hybrid approach augments operational efficiency and ensures complex issues are seamlessly transitioned to human agents when necessary.   Rethinking customer engagement with a technology-first approach involves meticulous planning and workflow design. Key considerations include determining when to involve human agents and which technologies to implement. Companies must strike a balance between automation and human intervention, minimizing customer friction while maximizing the benefits of both bots and human agents. Measuring customer satisfaction across these different touchpoints is crucial to refining and optimizing the customer experience.   While technology will play a more direct role in customer interactions, human agents will continue to be an integral part of the equation. Augmented by AI, agents will be better equipped to handle complex issues, offering a higher quality of service. The integration of AI in every customer contact is imminent, making it essential for companies to plan and implement these technologies thoughtfully.   Characterized by the integration of generative AI and advanced conversational AI technologies , the third wave of customer care presents exciting opportunities for enhancing customer engagement. By thoughtfully implementing these technologies and maintaining a focus on core customer expectations, companies can navigate this transformation effectively.     Aligning Metrics and Strengthening Customer Satisfaction With Technology-First Approaches   One of the key themes Mark emphasizes is the importance of maintaining consistency in metrics between technology solutions and agent-assisted support. While the terminology may differ, the core objectives remain the same: ensuring a seamless workflow and unified measurement system across both types of interactions.   Issue resolution from the customer's perspective is paramount. A common mistake some companies make is relying too heavily on customer behavior metrics as their primary customer satisfaction (CSAT) measure, which can leave blind spots. Instead, a straightforward approach should be maintained: whether the care is provided through a bot or a live agent, the primary goal is to resolve the customer's issue quickly and efficiently.   Key Metrics for Agent Assist Tools   When implementing AI-driven support systems, several metrics are crucial for assessing their impact on agent performance and overall operational efficiency:   ·       Speed to Proficiency: This metric measures the speed at which new agents reach a competent level of performance. By tracking how quickly agents become proficient, organizations can determine the effectiveness of their training programs and the support provided by AI tools. ·       Average Handle Time (AHT): AHT is a standard metric in customer service, representing the average duration an agent spends on a single interaction. AI-driven assist tools aim to reduce AHT by providing agents with timely information and suggested responses, thus enabling quicker resolution of customer queries. ·      Dispersion of Handle Time: Another essential aspect to monitor is the dispersion of handle time, which refers to the variation in handle times among agents. Reducing this dispersion indicates that the performance gap between the best and worst-performing agents is narrowing, suggesting that AI tools are helping to standardize and elevate agent performance across the board.   With a technology-first approach, additional metrics need to be incorporated to reflect the nuances of automated interactions. These metrics, while using new terms, mirror traditional agent-assisted measures:   ·      Containment Rates: Equivalent to first contact resolution (FCR), indicating the percentage of engagements fully handled by bots without requiring agent intervention. ·       Fallout Rates: Similar to call abandon rates, reflecting instances where customers drop out of the workflow. ·      Time in the Bot: Corresponds to the level-of-effort metric, measuring the duration and ease of customer interactions with the bot.   While concurrency is less critical in pure automation scenarios, it also remains an essential metric for agent-assisted interactions. Tools such as agent scripting technology and nudging cues play a significant role in helping agents manage multiple engagements simultaneously, thereby enhancing efficiency and customer experience.   By closely monitoring these metrics, organizations can gauge the effectiveness of these tools and make data-driven decisions to further optimize their customer service strategies.   Balancing Voice and Text in Multi-Channel Customer Engagement   A significant aspect of modern customer care is the shift toward multi-channel and omnichannel engagement. Customer interactions now span multiple channels, such as chat, voice calls, SMS, or email. Effective customer service strategies must seamlessly integrate these channels to ensure a cohesive experience.   Customer Preference and Flexibility   A key aspect of successful customer engagement is allowing customers to choose their preferred communication channel. While companies can guide customers toward certain channels, it is essential to meet customers where they are most comfortable. Flexibility in engagement methods fosters a positive customer experience and reinforces the customer's sense of control and satisfaction.   Integrating Voice and Text in Automation Strategies   Despite the rise of digital communication channels, voice remains the predominant medium for customer contact. However, implementing voice automation comes with unique challenges compared to text-based solutions. Voice interactions can be complicated by factors such as dialect variations, background noise, and line quality issues. These challenges require sophisticated technology and careful planning to ensure that voice delivers a reliable and effective customer experience.   This is why it is crucial to include both voice and text options. For instance, a customer might start with a phone call and receive follow-up communications via SMS or email. Ensuring that both voice and text interactions are effectively managed and integrated into the overall customer service strategy is essential for a holistic approach to customer engagement.   Navigating the Challenges of Integrating Technology in Customer Service Operations   Mark identifies a significant challenge in the current wave of customer care: the need to effectively integrate advanced technologies with traditional customer service operations. Operations leaders are experts in managing customer experiences and executing call center operations. They excel in engaging with agents to deliver outstanding customer service. The rapid advancement of technology, exemplified by innovations like ChatGPT, has introduced new complexities that require a strong collaboration with the technology side.   Understanding and Addressing Technology Deficits   Operations leaders know what they want to achieve and have a clear vision of how to implement these changes within their business. In-house technology teams are typically overwhelmed with existing projects and demands, ranging from outdated code and security requirements to compliance with federal regulations. These constraints create a tech deficit, where the timelines for implementing new technologies are tight and often challenging to meet.   Collaboration for Successful Integration   Successful integration of new technologies into customer service operations necessitates close collaboration between operations and technology teams. This collaboration involves:   ·       Clear Communication: Ensuring that both sides understand the goals and requirements of new technologies. ·       Prioritization: Aligning technology projects with business priorities to manage the tech deficit effectively. ·       Resource Management: Allocating the necessary resources to address both existing tech demands and the implementation of new solutions. ·       Continuous Learning: Encouraging ongoing education and adaptation to keep pace with technological advancements.   Fostering strong collaboration and addressing the tech deficit allows companies to effectively integrate advanced solutions into their customer care operations. This approach ensures that technological advancements enhance the delivery of exceptional customer experiences.     A Three-Step Approach to Implementing Automation in CX   Step 1: Analytics The first step in implementing automation in customer service is a thorough analysis of current operations. This involves understanding what has traditionally been done by human agents and identifying the major contact drivers.   Mark emphasizes the need to dissect and analyze high-level workflows that agents typically handle. The analytics phase requires breaking down these workflows into detailed steps to identify various elements that need to be automated. This foundational step sets the stage for effective automation by ensuring that all critical aspects of customer interactions are accounted for.   Step 2: Development and Testing Once the analytics phase is complete, the next step involves developing and testing the automation solutions. This phase is critical as it transforms the insights gained from analytics into actionable plans and functional systems.   In the development stage, teams create a detailed roadmap and development plan. This includes designing the automation workflows and programming the necessary components. Thorough testing follows, ensuring that the automated systems function correctly and meet the desired objectives before they are publicly deployed.   Step 3: Post-Deployment Measurement and Efficiency The final step in the automation implementation process is post-deployment measurement and evaluation. This phase focuses on assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of the deployed automation solutions.   Once the workflows and automation are live, measure their performance against predefined metrics. This includes evaluating customer fallout rates, understanding why customers abandon bots, and deciding whether to enhance the existing workflows or move on to new contact drivers. The goal is to ensure that the automation achieves its intended outcomes and continuously improves over time.   A key consideration in this process is maintaining consistent metrics across both automated and agent-assisted interactions. Using the same customer satisfaction and success measurements for both automation and human agents helps gain true insights into the effectiveness of the customer service operations.     Practical Examples of Leveraging Automation for Cost-Effective Issue Resolution   Utilizing Interaction Analytics for Quality Assurance and Customer Insights   Mark shares a practical example of how customer care leaders can effectively deploy automation to drive cost-effective issue resolution, emphasizing the importance of interaction analytics. In one of his larger operations, Mark leveraged this for both quality assurance (QA) and voice of the customer (VoC) insights. With a large offshore population, one of the significant challenges was language skills and understandability. By implementing interaction analytics, the company could evaluate tens of thousands of contacts daily and identify representative insights and coaching opportunities in near real-time.   Furthermore, interaction analytics helped in understanding customer reactions to controversial company policies. Instead of relying on filtered reports, agents could directly listen to customer comments, providing unvarnished insights that informed policy adjustments and improved customer relations.   Interaction analytics play a pivotal role in capturing and analyzing customer interactions. These analytics help in understanding customer sentiments, identifying common issues, and ensuring that both self-service support solutions and live agent interactions meet the desired service standards.     Using Metadata to Reduce Churn and Prevent Fraud   Mark provides another example in the context of membership or subscription services, highlighting the proactive capabilities of automation. One of the biggest indicators of churn is customer engagement with the service. By analyzing metadata on service usage, companies can create nudges to encourage engagement before a customer decides to cancel their subscription.   Mark explains that if usage data indicates a customer is not engaging with the service, automated nudges, such as order status updates, can be sent to re-engage them. This proactive approach can significantly reduce churn and improve retention.    In product-based services, automation extends beyond simple order status updates. Mark illustrates how bots manage complex scenarios like late or lost shipments. A bot informs customers about their order status and, if an issue arises, handles it seamlessly.   For example, if a product is delayed, especially with expedited shipping, the bot offers concessions, refunds, or replacements based on predefined policies. This comprehensive workflow ensures customer satisfaction even in problematic situations.   Metadata is also used to identify potential risks, such as unexpected locations for customer calls, by analyzing call data and comparing it to expected patterns. In financial services, for instance, automation leverages metadata to enhance security and fraud detection. Automation flags these issues for further investigation, providing a more secure experience for customers.   Steps for Brands to Start or Expand Automation in Customer Support   A well-thought-out approach can save significant time and effort in the long run. Critical considerations during the planning phase include:   1.    Transparency: Decide whether to inform customers that they are interacting with a bot. 2.    Engagement Duration: Determine how long customers should interact with the bot before being transferred to a human agent.   Once the resource needs are identified, brands must decide how to allocate them effectively. Mark suggests three primary options:   1.    Reallocate Existing Resources: Shift staff from lower-priority projects to focus on automation. 2.    Request Incremental Resources: Advocate for additional resources to support the automation efforts. 3.    Utilize Third-Party Solutions: Engage BPOs, IT, or consulting organizations to advance the automation roadmap.   Mark shares a real-world example from his experience with a large seasonal business, which required doubling the staff during peak times. The challenge was the lack of a training environment, which was crucial for preparing seasonal staff. The company built this environment using the six most common transactions. This approach allowed the seasonal staff to practice without the anxiety of live customer interactions, resulting in a 30% improvement in velocity to proficiency.   Starting or expanding the use of automation in customer support involves strategic planning, resource allocation, and leveraging third-party solutions when necessary. Taking a planful approach and addressing key considerations upfront allows brands to integrate automation effectively, leading to improved customer experiences and operational efficiencies.   What Mark Does for Fun   Mark is a dedicated college football and Major League Baseball fan. In the fall, you can find him tailgating at Husky Stadium in Seattle with his family. He also loves traveling in his RV, combining his passion for sports with the freedom of the open road. Mark also works out to stay energized and focused.   To learn more about Mark, connect with him on LinkedIn. Watch the video here. Read the blog post here.   

Unveiling iQor India's Strategic Leadership in CX Innovation    In this episode of the Digitally Irresistible podcast, we are joined by Maneet Sehgal and Manish Parikh, leaders at iQor India who bring a wealth of expertise in operations and financial services.  With over two decades of experience, including 15 years at iQor, Maneet has overseen significant advancements in iQor's business process outsourcing (BPO) operations and possesses a strong background in technology. Manish's robust background in financial services spans 16 years at iQor, and he has played an essential role in implementing commercial strategies across global markets for iQor's clients.  Maneet's journey from the technology sector to becoming the senior director and country lead for iQor India reflects her deep-rooted commitment to innovation and strategic leadership. Similarly, Manish's extensive experience in financial services helps contribute to iQor's diverse service offerings and global client engagements. Together, they offer profound insights into iQor India's strategic initiatives, its pivotal role in the BPO industry, and its commitment to delivering unparalleled customer experience (CX) solutions worldwide.   Join us as we explore their accomplishments and their vision for iQor India's future growth as well as its impact on the evolving landscape of CX.  A Pillar in the BPO Industry    As a pioneer in the BPO industry, India has set the stage for global outsourcing, with iQor standing at the forefront and developing partnerships with an impressive client roster for various industries. Established in Noida, iQor India's journey spans 20 years of continuous evolution and growth, marked by iQor's commitment to delivering exceptional customer service and operational excellence.     iQor India's service portfolio is expansive and diverse, catering to a wide array of clients across industries, including retail, travel and hospitality, and technology, among others. Our services range from traditional customer care and onboarding to advanced back office functions like revenue management and dispute resolution. From foundational customer care solutions to cutting-edge digital offerings such as chat services, iQor India's tenured staff exemplifies versatility and innovation in meeting modern business challenges.   Moreover, the implementation of specialized back office support services like cash management, application chargebacks, and a range of other finance and accounting processes underscores iQor's strategic commitment to improving efficiency and optimizing client operations. This comprehensive suite of services positions iQor India as a strategic partner for global enterprises seeking to streamline operations and elevate customer experience standards.  [iQor's cash application specialists identified areas of improvement for a telecom client, including streamlining time-consuming tasks and centralizing operations, resulting in the elimination of $30 million lockbox unallocated payments, a 99.9% reduction.]   Growing to Meet Increasing Demand for CX Excellence   With over two decades of performance-driven managed services in Noida, iQor India has established itself as a cornerstone of the company's global operations. Less than three hours away from India's capital of New Delhi, Noida is a convenient and bustling hub of talent and technology. The strategic placement of iQor India in Noida within the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) benefits from the government's ongoing infrastructure growth and ensures seamless collaboration with our other locations. This synergy allows us to offer a wide range of services, including non-voice and back office solutions, and provide our clients with unmatched customer experiences.  After achieving notable success in serving clients worldwide, iQor India is focused on expanding its operations ambitiously and continuously driving delightful customer experiences. Currently, iQor is making significant investments in its Noida location to strengthen its operational capabilities. By Q3 2024, iQor India will double its office space, reflecting its commitment to accommodating growing client demands and expanding its service offerings.  Maneet shares exciting plans for the facility, highlighting its campus-style design and corporate office environment. Situated amidst modern amenities such as food courts and gymnasiums, the new office promises to foster a vibrant and productive workplace for employees while boosting operational efficiency to better serve our global clientele across multiple industries.   iQor India collaborates closely with other iQor locations worldwide, ensuring seamless integration and augmented service capabilities globally. iQor India services some of iQor's key clients across global facilities — such as Trinidad, Colombia, the Philippines, and the U.S. — and plays a critical role the in delivery of iQor's shared services. iQor India hosts one of the largest teams handling iQor's global finance operations and is a significant hub for technology services. In a material way, iQor India serves iQor as “its own customer” internally.   “At iQor India, we have a talent pool of close to 1,500 brilliant iQorians. One of the key factors that has contributed to India's success is the availability of a large pool of highly educated and technically skilled workers.” - Maneet Sehgal iQor India's Strategic Advantages and Future Outlook in the Global BPO Landscape  iQor India's success story is underpinned by several critical factors that have contributed to its prominence in the global BPO landscape. A highly skilled and educated workforce has been instrumental, leveraging India's robust education system to provide specialized services across various domains. The country's competitive labor costs further strengthen its attractiveness as a strategic outsourcing destination, offering significant cost advantages to clients worldwide.   Moreover, iQor India benefits from supportive governmental policies and a stable political environment, fostering a conducive business climate. Tax incentives and infrastructure developments have further bolstered its operational efficiency and scalability, enabling iQor India to consistently meet and exceed client expectations. Operations in iQor India enjoy maximum uptime with minimal weather-related events, ensuring consistent service delivery and operational stability. As the world becomes more connected, the demand for world-class CX services is expected to increase. India is well positioned to meet this demand with its skilled workforce, cost competitiveness, and English language proficiency.  Looking ahead, iQor India is poised for continued growth and innovation in the global CX arena. As businesses increasingly prioritize seamless customer interactions and personalized services, iQor India stands at the forefront, leveraging its longstanding expertise to deliver exceptional CX solutions. iQor's commitment to expanding its service offerings and increasing operational capabilities reflects its proactive approach to meeting evolving market demands.    Stay tuned as we continue to report on iQor India's ongoing evolution and its pivotal role in shaping the future of CX solutions globally!  To learn more about Maneet and Manish, connect with them on LinkedIn.  Watch the video here.  Read the blog post here.    Visit iQor's capabilities page here.   

Unveiling Accelerated Business Success by Unlocking AI Potential   We welcome Joe Buggy to this week's episode of the Digitally Irresistible podcast. As an innovative executive leader with a rich background in operations, business development, and finance, with specialization in the BPO sector, Joe is renowned for his strategic insights.   Growing up as the son of an Air Force family with Irish-Italian heritage, Joe developed a keen eye for detail and a knack for problem solving. His passion for optimizing processes and delivering results, fueled by his experiences working alongside industry-leading professionals, has shaped his career trajectory.   Leveraging his deep expertise in trust and safety and content management, Joe has led the charge on multiple transformative endeavors for business process outsourcing (BPO) companies, propelling growth and performance within these customer-centric enterprises. In this episode, we delve into the world of data annotation and labeling and its impact on the business world.   Exploring Content Management and Data Annotation   To provide context, we first explore the realm of content management—a cornerstone of brand representation and engagement in the digital age. Joe explains how content management encompasses everything from digital presence to product portrayal, emphasizing its pivotal role in shaping brand perception and customer experience.   Transitioning to the core of our discussion, Joe breaks down the concepts of data annotation and labeling, which are critical aspects of content management since they ensure a brand's content is accurately described in its systems.  He explains that labeling involves assigning simple tags to unstructured data, such as images or text, to facilitate understanding of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms. Joe gives an example of a cat image, where the label "cat" informs the system about the content, demonstrating that this process extends to all forms of data. Annotation, however, adds layers of context, enabling more nuanced interpretation and data utilization for sentiments, uses, or directions.   If we consider four primary data types—numerical/alphanumeric text, images, audio, and video—the complexity and unstructured nature increase as we move from numeric to alphanumeric to image, audio, and video data. This escalation underscores the crucial need for labeling and annotation to provide context for AI models. For example, in image recognition, labeling each image with metadata such as "flower species" enables AI to accurately classify different types of flowers. Similarly, in audio transcription, labeling with timestamps and the speaker identities ensures precise transcription of conversations.   In video analysis, annotations like "suspicious behavior" help AI detect and respond to specific events. Overall, labeling and annotation are essential for transforming raw data into structured information that AI can effectively understand and utilize across various applications.     The Intersection of Annotation, Industry Applications, and Deliberate Partnerships in AI Development   In our deep dive into the realm of AI development, Joe further illuminates the pivotal role of annotation and labeling. He explains how these foundational processes serve as the bedrock for training AI models, elevating their accuracy and contextual understanding to unprecedented levels. Joe underscores the importance of structured data in this process, emphasizing how it enables AI algorithms to glean meaningful insights and make more accurate predictions that drive successful outcomes for brands.   As we cross the landscape of data annotation and labeling, Joe provides a panoramic view of their diverse applications spanning numerous sectors. From the dynamic realms of health care, where AI powers telemedicine and aids in drug development, to the bustling domains of retail , where every retailer strives for a seamless omnichannel customer experience (CX) Joe explains how AI-driven solutions create transformative changes. In health care, AI models assist in diagnosing medical problems and understanding drug interactions by relying on meticulously labeled data. Similarly, in retail, AI improves customer experiences by allowing users to virtually try on clothing or eyeglasses tailored to their body style or face shape. These algorithms continuously learn from user preferences, suggesting products that align with individual tastes, akin to the automotive industry's use of AI for autonomous vehicles and predictive maintenance. Across digitally native industries, travel services, consumer products, and gaming, AI's integration optimizes operations, predicts market trends, and fosters brand acceptance through data-driven insights and personalized recommendations.   Given the scale and complexity inherent in data annotation, Joe describes the importance of forging partnerships with BPO organizations. Joe highlights how these collaborations empower brands to navigate the intricate landscape of AI development with confidence and agility. By tapping into BPOs' depth of knowledge in annotating and labeling data—whether through bounding box, semantic annotation, video annotation , or cuboids—brands can ensure high-quality data preparation crucial for computer vision, natural language processing, and audio processing applications.   BPOs excel by identifying and hiring top talent and training them rigorously in specialized systems and processes. Moreover, these partnerships enable continuous improvement through robust quality monitoring, feedback mechanisms, and coaching to drive new goals and introduce optimized processes. Through strategic collaborations, Joe envisions a future where innovation knows no bounds and the transformative potential of AI is fully unleashed to shape a brighter tomorrow. With support from BPOs, organizations can confidently build and execute their AI strategies with the scalability, quality, and security needed for success.   Navigating Security, Privacy, and Brand Considerations in AI Initiatives   In our exploration of AI initiatives, Joe delves into the critical aspects of data security and privacy. Addressing pertinent concerns surrounding the handling of consumer and proprietary data, Joe emphasizes the need for robust measures to safeguard sensitive information and the importance of implementing stringent protocols and cutting-edge technologies to ensure compliance with regulatory standards and instill trust among stakeholders. By prioritizing security and privacy in AI-driven initiatives, organizations can mitigate risks and uphold the integrity of their data assets, paving the way for sustainable growth and innovation in the digital landscape .   With significant experience in navigating the complexities of AI implementation, Joe's valuable insights highlight key considerations that can shape the success of brands seeking to harness the full potential of AI. He points out the significance of aligning AI strategies with organizational goals and values , ensuring a cohesive approach toward driving business objectives. Identifying gaps in expertise and resources and forming tactical partnerships with trusted providers can help augment a company's capabilities and ensure seamless execution of services. Adopting a holistic approach and leveraging the expertise of external partners enables brands to unlock the full potential of AI technology, driving innovation and sustainable business growth in today's competitive landscape.   "Identify where [your brand's] gaps are and if those gaps include meeting the speed, the scale, the different data types, and the security at a level of accuracy and consistency that the organization requires, I would look to partner with a trustworthy organization to address those gaps." - Joe Buggy   What Joe Likes to Do for Fun   When not working, Joe enjoys outdoor cooking and golf, highlighting the importance of work-life balance and sharing cherished moments with friends and family.   To learn more about Joe, connect with him on LinkedIn. Watch the video here. Read the blog post here.  

The Vital Role of Leadership in Customer Satisfaction   We welcome Daniel Burks to this week's episode of the Digitally Irresistible podcast. As a retail management professional with over two decades of experience in elevating customer experience and service excellence, Daniel brings a perspective on leadership that blends both intellectual and heartfelt elements to create exemplary leaders.   As a U.S. Army veteran, Daniel recognizes the importance of acknowledging a team member's achievements, a practice that fosters a collaborative environment where every member feels valued and driven to pursue collective objectives. His leadership experience, whether in military operations, call center settings, or remote teams, has culminated in five key leadership pillars designed to develop leaders who successfully manage teams equipped to deliver top-tier customer experiences. [RC1]     Tune in as Daniel explains these pillars, which he deems as essential for building an environment rich in communication, high morale, and meaningful recognition.     The Influence of Personal Background on Professional Leadership   Raised by Great Depression-era grandparents, Daniel says they significantly shaped his professional and personal life by instilling in him a sense of simplicity and kindness, which he has carried into his leadership style. This foundation of straightforward, compassionate interactions has been a guiding principle in his life and career, particularly in how he approaches leadership and customer service in large organizations. He credits these values for teaching him how to treat people and manage customer interactions effectively.   Prior to entering retail in 1999, Daniel served in the U.S. Army, where he noted the importance of recognizing his fellow soldiers' achievements without delay. He learned a simple strategy for offering recognition successfully.   1. Recognize in a timely manner. The sooner you acknowledge someone, the more impactful and meaningful your interaction will be.   2. Recognize specifically and publicly. When pointing out a noteworthy moment in an individual's performance, mention exactly what someone achieved in front of their peers so they have the opportunity to shine. This also inspires others to adopt good habits.   Drawing on the influence from his grandparents and his military experience, Daniel carried these lessons of discipline and empathy into his future leadership roles.   The Impact of Mentorship and the Pursuit of Leadership Excellence in Retail CX   From his early days in the retail industry, Daniel's journey was greatly influenced by the exceptional leaders and mentors he had the privilege to work under. These mentors were pivotal in recognizing his potential. They invested time to help Daniel refine his skills by providing honest feedback when needed, which was aimed at guiding him toward success and personal and professional development. This foundational support fostered Daniel's growth and instilled in him the value of continuous learning and self-improvement.   As Daniel progressed in retail CX, he observed that his true passion lay in more than managing teams or processes efficiently—he enjoyed lighting the spark of leadership in others. The joy and fulfillment he found in seeing managers, especially those early in their roles or those facing challenges, develop and succeed under his guidance became his driving force. He devoted himself to empowering these managers, helping them bridge knowledge gaps and improve their ability to lead effectively.   Daniel believes this commitment to nurturing leadership skills among managers is crucial in any business environment. Such devotion significantly impacts how teams perform and, more importantly, how customers experience services. By focusing on developing strong, capable leaders, Daniel has contributed to creating cultures where continuous improvement is valued and customer service excellence is a natural outcome. This approach enriches team dynamics and elevates the overall customer experience, making it a strategic priority for any organization aiming for long-term success.   The Evolution From Manager to CX Leader   Throughout his career, Daniel experienced a pivotal shift from managing teams directly to leading managers. This transition involved moving away from day-to-day operations to focusing on developing leadership skills in others. It was in this phase that Daniel discovered his true passion for developing effective leaders—boosting their ability to build and inspire their teams.   He sheds light on a common challenge in the professional sphere: understanding the nuanced differences between managing and leading. According to Daniel, management primarily involves overseeing processes and achieving key performance indicators (KPIs) expected by an organization. Leadership, however, is fundamentally about guiding and nurturing people, requiring a different set of skills and approaches.   Daniel believes that some organizations tend to promote individuals based on their current job performance, assuming these skills will naturally extend to managing teams. This practice can lead to what he describes as "promoting to failure." In many cases, while new managers excelled in their previous roles, some struggle as managers because they are unprepared for the demands of leadership that often require them to motivate and develop their teams rather than focus solely on their tasks.   A particular issue Daniel identifies is that many managers do not fully understand what "winning" looks like beyond their personal accomplishments. Without a clear definition of success from a leadership perspective, managers may end up either adhering rigidly to existing protocols—which may not always be effective—or overextending themselves by attempting to perform multiple roles within the team.   Daniel suggests managers take the time to reflect on their new roles and what these roles entail. Understanding and articulating what success looks like in their managerial capacity, both for themselves and for their teams, is essential. Translating organizational goals into a clear and inspiring vision for team members connects management and true leadership.     Unpacking the Five Key Pillars of Leadership   After exploring the common challenges that new managers often encounter, Daniel Burks developed a structured approach to overcome them and drive leadership effectiveness. He has distilled his extensive experience into five key pillars of leadership, each designed to address specific aspects of leadership and team development.   These pillars serve as a fundamental framework for managers at all levels to cultivate the skills necessary for leading with confidence and integrity. 1. Defining and Communicating Expectations: Clear communication is crucial in leadership. Daniel stresses the importance of defining what success looks like and ensuring that these expectations are communicated clearly to the team. This clarity helps in setting a clear direction and creates accountability among team members.   2. Distinguishing Management from Leadership: Daniel makes an important distinction between managing processes and leading people. He explains that while management involves overseeing and optimizing processes, leadership requires connecting with people at a human level, inspiring and motivating them toward achieving shared goals.   3. Performance Management: Effective performance management is about recognizing good performance and addressing areas where team members can improve. Daniel advocates for immediate and constructive feedback, which helps individuals realign with the team's goals and ensures consistent performance.   4. Training and Development: Continuous learning and development, like iQor's active learning approach for frontline agents, are key to maintaining a competitive edge. Daniel encourages creating a culture where team members feel comfortable admitting their shortcomings and seeking help, which fosters a supportive learning environment.   5. Morale and Recognition: Recognizing and celebrating achievements within the team can significantly boost morale and encourage a culture of performance excellence. Daniel highlights the importance of timely and specific recognition that makes team members feel valued for their contributions, a practice that harkens back to his time in the U.S. Army.     Harnessing Technology to Transform Customer Experience Having transitioned from an IT director to a leader in CX, Daniel brings a unique perspective on the transformative power of technology in the customer service industry. For many years, Daniel attended tech-heavy conferences and witnessed the evolving role of technology in CX. He noticed that while his organization was employing advanced tech stacks, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, the full potential of these technologies was not always clear to his team.   To address this, Daniel clearly articulated the purpose and benefits of technological advancements. He describes technology as an "accelerator," a tool that boosts the capabilities of employees rather than replacing them. By doing so, he ensures that team members see technology as an ally in their efforts to deliver superior customer service.   Moreover, Daniel points out the critical need for leaders to stay abreast of technological trends and their implications for the brand. He spends a significant portion of his time educating himself and his team about the latest developments, ensuring that everyone understands how these innovations can affect their ability to deliver excellent customer experience. This enables his team to maximize technology's potential to make their jobs more efficient and strengthen the overall customer experience.   A commitment to clear communication and technological empowerment is reflective of Daniel's broader leadership strategy, encapsulated in his five key pillars of leadership. Each pillar, ranging from defining clear expectations to nurturing morale and recognition, is imperative in a culture where technology and human ingenuity combine to foster outstanding customer experience.     What Daniel Likes to Do for Fun   Daniel is currently on a journey to grow pumpkins on his property that he plans to sell in the fall of 2024. He is dedicated to cultivating a successful pumpkin patch, studying germination, growth time, seasonal calendars, and planting zones to provide sufficient care.   To learn more about Daniel, connect with him on LinkedIn.   Watch the video here. Read the blog post here. 

Creating Onboarding Experiences That Empower New Hires   In this episode of iQor's CX Labs Digitally Irresistible podcast, John Mercer, director of continuous improvement at iQor, delves into iQor's Qoncierge program, which is dedicated to welcoming newly hired frontline employees. In this role, he supports the Qoncierge team to make sure they have the training and tools to guide new employees so they are prepared to deliver consistently remarkable CX for our clients' customers.   Since his arrival at iQor in 2014 as an operations director in the telecommunications space, John has gained extensive experience that has equipped him with a deep understanding of operational efficiency and employee experiences, both of which help to establish a culture driven to facilitate irresistible CX.   Read on to discover how iQor's Qoncierge program champions engagement and training for new frontline employees from the outset, building a confident and prepared workforce ready to create excellent customer experiences.   The Role of iQor's Qoncierge Program   The Qoncierge program is designed to offer a seamless and supportive experience for new frontline hires from their first day at iQor until their graduation from training. A Qoncierge serves as an employee's initial contact, providing a welcoming introduction to iQor's company culture and expectations. This role assists in establishing strong employer-employee relationships early on, which are vital for long-term employee retention and satisfaction.   The Qoncierge's role is critical—each one provides a white-glove experience that extends throughout onboarding and training for the employee's first 90 days. From the initial welcome and site tour to icebreaker games and weekly meetings, the Qoncierge's tailored support helps to alleviate the common anxieties associated with starting a new job, allowing new employees to focus on their growth and learning with confidence.   Bridging Connections for Consistent Frontline Employee Support   Onboarding is the fundamental first step in an employee's journey and sets the tone for their career path and potential success. A vital component of effective onboarding and training programs is the continuity of support. John sheds light on the Qoncierge's role beyond welcoming new employees—it's about being a steadfast presence throughout the initial training phases.   As a representative of the organization's commitment to its employees, the Qoncierge navigates new hires through company procedures, addresses their concerns, and integrates them into their roles efficiently. By connecting new employees and various operational departments, the Qoncierge is instrumental in helping new hires overcome potential obstacles, thereby enabling a seamless transition from trainee to full-fledged iQorian.    Acting as a liaison, the Qoncierge ensures that frontline employees understand their role within iQor and have a clear roadmap for the expectations set forth, along with the resources available to support their development in the organization. This meticulous attention to detail fosters an inclusive and attentive atmosphere from Day One.     The Qoncierge Program's Impact on Employee Retention and Satisfaction   One of the standout aspects of the Qoncierge program is its proven effect on improving employee retention rates and overall satisfaction. The program helps new hires integrate smoothly into iQor and fosters a sense of belonging and commitment. Both continuously touching base and engaging new employees drive employee satisfaction and longevity with iQor.     Creating Brand Ambassadors for Client Success From Day One   A positive initial impression of a new workplace can significantly influence an employee's enthusiasm and commitment to their role, which, in turn, affects how they interact with customers. The Qoncierge team helps facilitate new employees' early impressions, setting the stage for developing a workforce that is both skilled and motivated to deliver excellent CX.   John explains that when employees are well trained, engaged, and satisfied, they become brand ambassadors who champion excellent customer service, further solidifying the Qoncierge's positive influence on new employees. Committed and well-supported employees become the voice of the products and services they represent, which is the ultimate goal for clients who entrust their operations to iQor.    Our clients expect that the employees we hire will represent their products and services at the highest standard of service delivery when engaging with customers. The Qoncierge program fulfills this expectation by ensuring that every new hire receives a comprehensive and enriching training experience. This program is a cornerstone of iQor's organizational development strategy to provide exceptional CX by ensuring that our employees are well prepared and well supported.   Through this program, we ensure that our new hires transition smoothly into competent professionals who elevate our clients' brands and contribute positively to their reputation. This alignment of employee training and excellence in service delivery stems from our commitment to partnering with each client to meet and exceed their CX objectives.    iQor's Symphony [AI]TM ecosystem further drives these experiences by redefining the employee lifecycle, seamlessly blending automation and human capabilities. This innovative approach—spanning talent acquisition, training and development, and performance excellence—underscores iQor's commitment to nurturing a highly efficient, compliant, and satisfied workforce. Our decades of accumulated process knowledge inform our best practices and methodologies, enabling us to optimize every employee's capabilities from their first day with iQor.     Communication and Feedback Drive Employee Growth and CX Success   John's approach to guiding the Qoncierge program involves frequent training sessions for the Qoncierge team, along with quarterly town halls to share best practices and unify the teams across all sites and lines of business. These meetings are vital for building trust and strengthening culture and morale. They serve as a forum for Qoncierges to voice their challenges, share successes, and collectively brainstorm ways to continually have a positive impact on new employees. This collaborative approach ensures that the entire team stays aligned and motivated, driving continuous improvement in how we onboard and train our frontline workforce.    John also utilizes weekly satisfaction surveys and has recently introduced an employee lifecycle survey. The weekly surveys aim to capture satisfaction scores at the program level, contributing to a continuous feedback loop that identifies strengths and areas of improvement. Furthermore, a comprehensive employee lifecycle survey marks satisfaction milestones from recruitment to 60 days into production, providing actionable data to refine the onboarding process.   This feedback is invaluable for the Qoncierge team because it addresses specific areas for growth and develops strategies to further optimize the effectiveness of the program, which establishes the foundation of smile-worthy CX. This scheduled communication ensures that iQor remains responsive to the needs and expectations of its employees, leading to a dedicated and motivated workforce.   John's insights underscore the critical role of programs like the Qoncierge in building a supportive and engaging work environment. These initiatives are about more than making a good first impression for new hires—they are about laying the foundation for sustained employee involvement and satisfaction that benefits the employees and our clients. Our ongoing commitment to the Qoncierge program empowers us to develop a more productive workplace that is also enjoyable for our frontline workforce.    The measure of the Qoncierge program's success is clear through industry-leading retention rates and heightened employee satisfaction, which make iQor a Great Place to Work®. By investing in the nurturing and development of our employees from the outset, we're cultivating a community of engaged advocates who are ready to provide best-in-class customer experiences.   To talk with John about iQor's Qoncierge program, connect with him on LinkedIn. To learn more about iQor's amazing culture, visit iQor.com/how-we-work.   Watch the video here. Read the full blog post here. 

Building and Sustaining Memberships Through Excellent CX   This week we welcome Jennifer Blevins to the Digitally Irresistible podcast. Jennifer is the senior vice president of member engagement and relationship management at Wespay, a payments association that guides its members with insights on best practices, business solutions , strategy, compliance, and other critical payments factors. With over two decades of experience in treasury management, sales, product development, and more, Jennifer shares her journey and insights into the transformative power of treating membership-as-a-service with a commitment to excellence.   Prior to joining Wespay, Jennifer was a member for more than eight years, actively participating in the member advisory council and utilizing Wespay's resources to enhance her expertise in treasury management. This firsthand experience as a member equipped her with a deep understanding of member needs, which now translates into her work at Wespay, where she champions member engagement and delivers exceptional experiences.   Tune in as we discuss how listening to members, leveraging their feedback, and maintaining a commitment to continuous improvement are crucial to creating a service that meets and exceeds expectations to building a thriving membership service.   Membership-as-a-Service Is All About the Experience   Jennifer joined Wespay after working for Umpqua Bank as a regional sales manager. She credits her strong background and experience in treasury management and product marketing at smaller financial institutions for paving the way to her current role at Wespay, whose membership-as-a-service is its product. This also enabled a smooth transition into her new role.   Jennifer says Wespay stands out from other payments associations because it provides comprehensive support to its members, including banks and credit unions, for education, audits, and risk assessments. She explains that in membership-as-a-service, the membership itself is the product. Unlike traditional product sales, where the relationship transitions from a transaction to customer service, membership-as-a-service begins and continues as a service relationship in perpetuity.   This is achieved by providing members the ongoing resources, support, and experiences that empower them to achieve their goals.   Immediate Support Creates Exceptional Customer Experiences In the pursuit of delivering unparalleled customer experiences, Wespay has innovated a unique touchpoint for its members: the payments hotline. A source of pride for the organization, this service epitomizes Wespay's dedication to offering timely and expert support, ensuring that members have access to the assistance they need when they need it.   The payments hotline is designed with intentionality at its core, serving as a direct line for members to engage with Wespay's team of subject matter experts. Whether the inquiry involves automated clearing house (ACH), check processing, risk management, faster payments, or fraud prevention, the hotline ensures that members can obtain insights and resolutions without delay.   Wespay's team members are deeply versed in the nuances of payment systems and the myriad challenges that financial institutions may encounter. This expertise ensures that the guidance provided is also tailored to address the specific needs and contexts of each member. By offering a mix of traditional and digital communication channels—phone calls, emails, and chat—Wespay caters to the diverse preferences of its members, ensuring ease of access to its support services.    Wespay's Commitment to Empowerment Through Education At the heart of Wespay's mission is a commitment to education, a cornerstone that Jennifer, with her extensive experience both as a member and a leader within the organization, holds in high regard. Her experiences and reflections highlight the benefits of this focus on education, illustrating how Wespay's commitment to learning contributes to the personal and professional success of its members. As a member, she was grateful for Wespay's educational resources, which helped her earn certifications when she wanted to become an ACH check professional.   The education committee at Wespay is one of several platforms through which the organization engages its members in ongoing education and development. Whether through classes, webinars, or symposiums, the quality and substance of these educational sessions stand out. This committee, alongside others such as the member advisory council, the rules committee, and a symposium workforce committee, plays a critical role in driving the educational agenda for its members.   These groups thrive on the influx of fresh perspectives and the active participation of members who are keen to contribute and learn. This dynamic interplay of teaching and learning reflects Wespay's deep understanding of the needs of its community and a commitment to meeting those needs through comprehensive, high-quality educational content.     Through these educational endeavors, Wespay reinforces its position as a leader in the payments association space and exemplifies how education can be a powerful tool for innovation and growth. The organization's emphasis on education is about building on a longstanding foundation of trust, enhancing member engagement, and, most importantly, empowering individuals and institutions to achieve their professional goals.     The Importance of Listening and Responding to Member Feedback  A critical element of building a successful membership-as-a-service program is actively listening to member feedback. Members are a goldmine of information, offering valuable insights into what's working well and what areas need improvement. As Jennifer mentions, neglecting member feedback is a missed opportunity.   Wespay demonstrates its commitment to member feedback through several practices:   ·      Biannual surveys. These surveys provide members a platform to share their experiences and suggest improvements. Asking questions such as “What are we doing that you like?” and "What could we be doing better?” allows members to share their ideas so that Wespay can consider adding any missing pieces to their CX strategy. ·       Open communication channels. Wespay encourages open communication with its members. Whether through phone calls, emails, or in-person interactions, members feel comfortable voicing their opinions. Jennifer affirms the importance of letting members express themselves without interruption so employees can gain insight into the issue and devise ideas on how to fix it. ·       Actionable feedback. Wespay doesn't just collect feedback—they act on it. They prioritize suggestions and implement changes that enhance the member experience. When changes are made, Wespay communicates these updates, demonstrating to members that their voices are heard and valued.   Jennifer expresses a fundamental aspect of managing a membership organization: treating membership as an ongoing service that requires constant nurturing, enhancement, and adaptation. This approach focuses on perpetual improvement to meet and exceed member expectations. Jennifer stresses the necessity of this mindset, emphasizing the importance of actively soliciting and thoughtfully considering member feedback as a cornerstone of this process.   Engaging Members for Fresh Perspectives Wespay's commitment to fostering a dynamic and evolving member experience is vividly illustrated through its approach to managing various committees and councils, including the member advisory council, rules committee, education committee, and a symposium workforce committee. Jennifer emphasizes the importance of infusing these councils with new members over time to prevent stagnation and ensure that the organization benefits from fresh perspectives and innovative ideas.   The infusion of new voices into these committees is more than avoiding a static state—it is fundamentally about enhancing the quality and relevance of the initiatives undertaken by Wespay. Jennifer recounts her experiences on the member advisory council, noting how different interpretations and viewpoints on previously discussed ideas can suddenly make them resonate more powerfully with the membership at large. This phenomenon underscores the value of diversity in thought and experience within advisory groups, as it can lead to more impactful and resonant outcomes for the organization and its members.   Moreover, the eagerness of members to join and contribute to these councils speaks volumes about Wespay's success in creating a positive member experience. The active desire of members to be involved demonstrates their commitment to the organization and also reflects a high level of satisfaction and engagement with the services and support provided by Wespay. This engagement is a crucial component of Wespay's strategy to continuously improve and adapt its offerings to meet the evolving needs of its members in the dynamic landscape of the financial services industry.   Putting Feedback Into Action for Improved CX The process of soliciting feedback, according to Jennifer, is about listening to every piece of feedback verbatim and identifying trends and commonalities within the feedback that might indicate areas that require taking action for improvement. This strategic approach allows Wespay to prioritize changes that have the most significant impact on the member experience, ensuring resources are allocated efficiently and effectively.   Jennifer points out the crucial step of communicating back to the members that their feedback has been received and, in some cases, acted upon. This communication is vital in reinforcing the members' value to the organization, demonstrating that their input directly influences the evolution of the service offerings. Such acknowledgments, whether through messages stating "We've heard you" or announcements of changes or educational events, serve to close the feedback loop, fostering a sense of community and partnership between the organization and its members.   This practice illustrates how a culture of listening, adaptation, and recognition can optimize member satisfaction and loyalty. By embedding these principles into the fabric of its operations, Wespay showcases a model of membership-as-a-service that is responsive and member-centric while continually evolving to meet the needs of its community.   What Jennifer Does for Fun Jennifer's favorite way to unwind and recharge involves quality time with Laverne, her cherished English bulldog. Jennifer also loves to travel, especially on a cruise, and makes it a point to go on one or two trips each year. This blend of adventure and relaxation is the balance Jennifer finds between her professional life and personal time.   To learn more about Jennifer's role at Wespay, connect with her on LinkedIn.   Watch the video here. Read the blog post here. 

     Welcome to the latest episode of iQor's CX Labs Digitally Irresistible podcast where we delve into the world of organizational development with Mark Monaghan, vice president of organizational development at iQor. Mark shares insights on the components of organizational development, as well as heartwarming examples of employees whose careers have been positively impacted by iQor's leadership training and development programs.  Investing in employee growth and development through training and mentoring transforms the employee experience, driving a rewarding workplace culture, ongoing employee career growth, and excellent customer experiences.  Tune in to learn how iQor elevates employee training and mentoring to improve performance and customer satisfaction by cultivating the next generation of leaders to create smile-worthy CX.    Career Advancement Through Organizational Development   Mark Monaghan's career in human resources began about 25 years ago as chief HR officer for another company. He joined iQor about 12 years ago as vice president of corporate training, working with his team to help develop frontline leaders through initiatives such as iQor's PeaQ Performance Qoaching and sQholars programs. When the department evolved into the Global Learning and Development Department a few years ago, Mark became vice president of organizational development with a focus on career pathing and learning to boost performance and leadership opportunities for iQor's global workforce. He and his team spearheaded more coaching and mentoring opportunities for future leaders through additional learning initiatives such as the iLead Program with a leadership competency model focused on tasks and responsibilities connected to individual roles.   The Building Blocks of Development  The heart of iQor's organizational development strategy lies in its leadership competency model, which categorizes employees based on their leadership roles and provides specific competencies aligned to each level, from leading oneself to leading a team to leading a department to leading a vision. Each category has five Lominger Competencies aligned to it. For instance, leading a team involves developing direct reports as one of the competencies. The organizational development department has mapped learning to each competency.  This model forms the backbone of various programs and workshops orchestrated to support employee growth and development. One of the flagship initiatives is the sQholars Program, which aims to groom entry-level employees for higher leadership roles within iQor.  This program has been instrumental in nurturing talent like Cheyenne, a success story from the financial services vertical. Starting as a sQholar in 2019, Cheyenne progressed from agent to assistant manager in the operations department by embracing iQor's servant leadership model.    Another successful financial services sQholar is Michelle, who strengthened her communications and coaching skills to become an assistant manager in operations thanks to the guidance and support she received.     Another notable initiative, the LevelUp Program, prepares supervisors for higher managerial positions and equips them with skills and competencies to thrive in leadership roles.   Interactive LevelUp training sessions empower employees to engage effectively and learn proactively. LevelUp participant Jovi's promotion to assistant manager stands as a testament to the department's commitment to nurturing internal talent and preparing them for leadership roles.   The PeaQ Performance Qoaching Workshop focuses on empowering supervisors to identify critical behaviors and coach their teams effectively, contributing to overall performance improvement. These programs, along with others like learning compliance and employee evaluation support, are all part of the larger global learning department and reflect iQor's commitment to nurturing and developing its talent pool.    No matter which program employees participate in, iQor's commitment to award-winning training and organizational development has built career paths that have supported the journeys of many iQor employees from agents to senior managers and senior vice presidents.    A Client-Centric Approach   Key to the success of organizational development at iQor is a client-centric approach, which prioritizes collaboration with clients to gain valuable insights and feedback. By understanding clients' specific needs and challenges, organizational development can tailor programs to align with the client's values while upholding iQor's organizational values.  The transparent and collaborative partnership between iQor and its clients fosters customization, ensuring that learning programs meet the unique needs of clients while enhancing the skills and capabilities of employees. This collaborative approach exemplifies iQor's commitment to delivering irresistible customer experiences through empowered and skilled employees.  Customization Is the Future of Organizational Development   Looking ahead, the future of organizational development at iQor is poised for innovation and growth. Mark expresses excitement about securely leveraging AI to enhance coaching and mentorship programs, envisioning a personalized learning experience that meets employees at their individual needs.  This forward-thinking approach aligns with the evolving nature of organizational development, emphasizing adaptability and individualized support. The integration of AI to support coaching and employee development reflects iQor's commitment to staying at the forefront of cutting-edge technologies and methodologies. By harnessing AI's capabilities, the organizational development department aims to further enhance the effectiveness and impact of its initiatives, contributing to employee growth.      Growing Leaders From Within  The organizational development department at iQor stands as a beacon of transformation and growth, driving the career trajectories of employees through innovative programs, collaborative partnerships with clients, and a forward-looking approach to employee development and engagement. It empowers employees to deliver exceptional customer experiences, setting a high standard for excellence and making iQor a Great Place to Work®.   The stories of Cheyenne, Michelle, Jovi, and many others exemplify the profound impact of a supportive culture, showcasing the potential for individual growth and advancement. As iQor looks to the future, a commitment to personalized, AI-enhanced programs signals a promising direction for employee development and empowerment. With a focus on continuous learning, collaboration, and adaptability, organizational development at iQor shapes the careers of employees and makes iQor a leader in talent development and customer experience delivery that creates smiles.  To chat with Mark about iQor's organizational development initiatives, connect with him on LinkedIn.    Watch the video here. Read the blog post here.

iQor's Active Learning Approach in Business Process Outsourcing Creates Irresistible Employee and Customer Experiences   On this episode of iQor's CX Labs Digitally Irresistible podcast, iQor Senior Manager of the Active Learning Classroom Tarisse Grant-Shelton explores the evolution of training and development at iQor, a business process outsourcing (BPO) company with more than 25 years of experience in customer service. She delves into training best practices that impact the onboarding of frontline employees and the positive results clients enjoy with active learning. Get ready to discover firsthand how iQor is revolutionizing training practices to deliver top-notch customer experiences.   iQor's active learning approach engages employees in the learning process through experiential and differentiated learning methodologies, instilling confidence and competence for performance excellence.   Read on to learn more about how iQor elevates employee training  through active learning that improves performance and customer satisfaction in a CX landscape that creates smiles.     The Evolution of Training at iQor iQor has redefined its training processes in business process outsourcing CX from traditional, passive learning to active learning that enables trainers to adopt a facilitative role and empower frontline employees with a structured approach to practice their new skills in a safe learning environment. Active learning research shows that individuals who take charge of their learning tend to understand and retain knowledge better, demonstrating higher proficiency when transitioning to service delivery roles.   For the past two decades, Tarisse has played an integral role in this evolution, working in every facet of training at iQor. This experience has prepared her for her current role helping trainers become the best versions of themselves.   She supports trainers with the knowledge they need to succeed in active learning classroom environments, blending experiential and differentiated learning to prepare agents with the confidence and skills they need to provide exceptional customer service. She also helps trainers develop surveys, boost Net Promoter Scores (NPS), and master coaching and development techniques.   The 3-Part Active Learning Workshop for Trainers iQor's active learning workshop plays a pivotal role in transforming the training experience for frontline employees by equipping trainers with the skills they need to excel as facilitators. The workshop consists of a primer, three-day workshop, and practicum.   Part 1: The Primer The primer allows trainers to work offline to grasp active learning concepts and foundational knowledge before the workshop begins, optimizing their time in the classroom for interactive discussions and activities.   Part 2: The 3-Day Workshop During the three-day workshop, facilitators create a dynamic environment where the trainers learn from each other and engage in practical scenarios. Trainees receive ongoing coaching (from facilitators and their peers) personalized to their needs throughout each experience to further their development. The scenarios are recorded so trainees can view themselves on camera to self-identify areas for improvement as well. The workshop is a safe place for trainees to test their newly acquired skills and learn from their mistakes.   Part 3: The Practicum The practicum phase is a practical application of the learned skills, ensuring that the knowledge gained is promptly applied in real-world scenarios, thus preventing the information from going into "cold storage." The practicum lasts about 6-12 weeks, enabling trainees to practice their knowledge in the field and build an extensive portfolio and an in-depth understanding of best practices, ultimately leading to their certification as active learning trainers.   Check out Tarisse in Episode 2 of our Digitally Irresistible podcast: Train the Trainer Certification That Creates Irresistible People   Positive Results for Positive Experiences One of the key metrics used to measure the success of active learning training at iQor is the Net Promoter Score. NPS helps gauge employee satisfaction levels with their trainer facilitators and the impact of the training programs on their performance. NPS scores have shown significant progress, reflecting the positive impact of active learning on frontline employees and how prepared and supported they feel before entering the production floor. Trainers and learners have expressed their appreciation for the hands-on approach and the preparedness it instills, leading to enhanced confidence and readiness for nesting and service delivery.   Frontline employees that have experienced our active learning classrooms share resoundingly positive feedback.   “I love that we get to do things that are hands on.” “I love that we're able to apply what we're learning.” “I feel more prepared for nesting than with a more passive learning approach.”   A Game-Changer for CX Success Active learning training environments offer numerous benefits that elevate the employee and customer experience. By involving employees in the learning process, these training methodologies ensure employees are well-prepared to handle real-world challenges upon transitioning to the production floor.   The emphasis on experiential learning facilitated by skilled trainers cultivates a workforce that is well-versed in their knowledge and adept at applying their skills. These positive outcomes are reflected in high levels of employee engagement and improved NPS scores. Embracing this approach contributes to an empowered and confident workforce within a culture of continuous learning, ultimately driving irresistible customer experiences that create smiles.    iQor's Symphony [AI]TM ecosystem further drives these experiences by redefining the employee lifecycle, seamlessly blending automation and human capabilities. This innovative approach—spanning talent acquisition, training and development, and performance excellence—underscores iQor's commitment to nurturing a highly efficient, compliant, and satisfied workforce. Active learning is one piece of the puzzle to optimize the employee experience and achieve consistently exceptional CX.   To chat with Tarisse about iQor's active learning approach, connect with her on LinkedIn.   Watch the video here. Read the blog post here. Visit iQor's award-winning training solutions page here. 

In this special edition of iQor's Digitally Irresistible podcast, guest host Maribel De Leon chats with customer service expert and best-selling author Shep Hyken, chief amazement officer at Shepherd Presentations. Through his deep understanding of customer behavior and customer service, Shep shares his observations on artificial intelligence (AI), employee engagement, social media, and the dynamics of customer expectations.   Join us as we explore ways brands can navigate the changing customer service and employee landscape in the age of AI.   AI Evolution in Customer Experience   The growth of AI in CX has reshaped customer interaction channels, emphasizing a shift from purely traditional communication methods like voice to omnichannel digital interfaces, including chatbots and AI-powered self-service options. While AI has advanced significantly over the years, with generative AI and conversational AI boosting customer engagement, customers still prefer human interactions.   According to Shep's surveys, customer service by phone is still consumers' Number One preference. Last year 69% of survey respondents preferred voice over self-service; this year that figure is up to 70%. Despite this trend, Shep forecasts that more customers will adopt AI and the self-service experience over the next two years as continued improvements make them more indistinguishable from voice.  This overwhelming preference for voice, however, demands a balanced approach that provides customers a choice between AI-driven experiences and human support – integrating AI to complement, not replace, human interactions in CX. Giving customers the option of using one channel or both, depending on their needs or the stage of their journey, contributes to exceptional CX and brand loyalty.   AI and the Employee Experience  AI can also elevate the employee experience for frontline customer service agents. Seamless and intuitive access to information that supports empathetic, human-centric interactions elevates their performance for improved employee and customer experiences.    As Shep explains, the synergy between AI and human agents reflects a pivotal transformation in the CX landscape, focusing on efficient resolutions and holistic customer care. Additionally, harnessing AI in training, coaching, and prompt-response systems accelerates data-driven personalized assistance for agents to elevate their performance.  iQor's Symphony [AI]™ ecosystem supports exceptional employee experiences by seamlessly blending automation and human capabilities. Spanning talent acquisition, training and development, and performance excellence and compliance, iQor applies AI to help nurture a highly efficient and effective workforce.  Changing Mindsets and Opportunities   Shep emphasizes the importance of recognizing the return on investment CX technologies offer, valuing customer experience as a competitive differentiator. Discerning customers expect more personalized customer service and compare their experiences to the best service they've encountered, irrespective of the industry.   Shep recommends analyzing the service offerings from iconic brands, learning what they're doing that's amazing, and incorporating it into what you do for your customers to create a better experience. In the words of Bonnie Raitt's song, give them “something to talk about.”  “Customers are getting smarter every day – we need to learn from them and have them talk to us in a positive way.” – Shep Hyken   With social media serving as a “spectator sport” displaying both positive and negative customer feedback for all to see, brands must actively monitor and engage with customers on social platforms and address their comments either publicly when positive or privately when negative.  Shep finds that customers often turn to social media as a last resort, particularly when other channels haven't offered them satisfactory resolutions to their concerns. With this in mind, companies must regularly monitor their social channels to stay attuned to customer sentiment, mitigate reputational risks, and enhance customer satisfaction. Partnering with a BPO for social media monitoring support is a great way to provide stellar and responsive customer service via social platforms at scale.  Future Trends in AI and Customer Experience  Shep predicts a growing inclination toward self-service customer support experiences driven by AI. He also notes the potential for AI and machine learning to improve employee performance through upskilling, optimization, and data-driven interventions that boost retention.   By balancing AI-driven efficiencies with human interactions, CX innovators can light the path forward for irresistible customer experiences that drive lasting loyalty and brand success.  To learn more about Shep, connect with him on LinkedIn and visit his website at hyken.com.  Watch the video here. Read the blog post here

A Transformative Approach to Value-Centric Leadership   On this episode of iQor's Digitally Irresistible podcast, we welcome Sean Ilenrey. Sean is an award-winning tech executive, published author, and keynote speaker whose achievements have inspired his drive to help other professionals achieve their own definition of personal success. In his groundbreaking book, “You Don't Owe Happiness,” he teaches six key principles of value-centric leadership. He finds that when frontline teams feel valued and valuable, they achieve high levels of employee satisfaction leading to optimal customer service delivery.   Tune in as Sean unpacks his six key principles of value-centric leadership from his book to create smiles for employees, leaders, and customers.     Sean's Path to Leadership Inspiration  life experiences have played a significant role in defining his outlook and his expertise. In high school, he dropped out of school, faced homelessness and difficulty focusing due to the circumstances going on in his life. Fast forward and 10 years later he is a vice president in a customer service role. These life experiences drive his inspirational approach to leadership—a culmination of lessons that taught him it's okay to want to take care of other people and help them find happiness at work, but the focus should be on ensuring teams feel valued and valuable.   Sean's [BB1]   customer experience career spans industries ranging from retail to technical support. He has built teams domestically and internationally and supports leadership development that fosters engagement and value.     Six Values That Define Game-Changing Leadership   In his book, Sean elaborates on six key principles that underpin value-centric[BB2]  leadership , providing insights for leaders and organizations striving to optimize employee satisfaction and deliver exceptional customer service.   1. Listening and Responding to Employee Feedback Sean emphasizes the importance of actively engaging with employee feedback. It's not enough for employees' voices to be heard; their feedback should drive actionable outcomes. He shares an example of implementing an anonymous daily or weekly survey, followed by personalized video responses from leadership. This not only fosters a culture of transparency but also ensures that employees feel heard and valued.   2. Authentic Rewards and Recognition Rather than following a traditional, generic recognition approach, Sean advocates for authentic rewards and recognition. He stresses the need for organizations to acknowledge intangible contributions and exceptional efforts beyond standard KPIs. Additionally, the frequency of recognition plays a vital role in reinforcing a culture of gratitude and motivation within the organization.   3. Compensation and Growth Opportunities Compensation and continuous growth opportunities are essential components of value-centric leadership. Sean highlights the significance of aligning compensation with market standards to ensure employees feel appreciated and fairly rewarded for their contributions. Moreover, he introduces the concept of micro-promotions, providing employees with opportunities to advance within their current roles while feeling recognized for their progression.   4. Showing Their Work Matters to the Organization Connecting employees with the organization's larger mission and vision is crucial. Sean shares a personal anecdote about attending a town hall that provided him with clarity on how his individual efforts contributed to the broader organizational goals. It's essential for leaders to contextualize employees' roles within the bigger picture, allowing them to understand their impact and value.   5. Championing Your Employees' Success Incorporating mentorship and sponsorship into the organizational culture is vital for championing employees' success. Sean stresses the importance of leaders advocating for their teams and actively promoting their accomplishments both within and outside the department. This fosters a sense of recognition and pride among employees, ultimately contributing to a positive and empowering work environment.   6. Practical Fiscal Responsibility Finally, Sean emphasizes the critical role of practical fiscal responsibility in value-centric leadership. Maintaining financial stability within the organization reassures employees about their job security, instilling a sense of trust and confidence. Leaders who effectively manage resources, control costs, and prioritize fiscal responsibility provide their teams with a stable and secure work environment.   The Principles of "You Don't Owe Happiness" The title of Sean's book, "You Don't Owe Happiness," encapsulates the essence of value-centric leadership. Sean draws parallels between employee happiness and the stock price of a company, noting that genuine employee satisfaction is an outcome of feeling valued and valuable within the organization. The principles outlined here align with his book's core message, reinforcing the idea that leaders owe their employees value, not just fleeting happiness.   Leading With Value Sean's strategies for implementing value-centric leadership within organizations provide a roadmap for creating a culture that prioritizes employee satisfaction and excellence in customer service delivery. Sean's journey from adversity to success, coupled with his impactful leadership principles, serves as a guiding light for leaders aspiring to build thriving and value-centric workplaces.   His real-world perspective on leading with empathy, authenticity, and strategic foresight to empower teams and drive organizational success provides valuable insights for leadership that creates irresistible workplaces.   What Sean Does for Fun In his free time, Sean values experiences and time spent with his family. He and his wife of 16 years enjoy fun experiences checking out restaurants and exploring new places to learn about different cultures and be in the moment. He also relishes time spent playing video games with his three sons, ranging in age from teenager to four-years-old.   To learn more about Sean's approach to value-centric leadership from his book “You Don't Owe Happiness,” visit his website at www.seanilenrey.com and connect with him on LinkedIn.   Watch the video here. Read the blog post here.  

A Former Frontline Agent's Career Journey Contributes to a Powerful Active Learning Approach at iQor   In this episode of iQor's CX Labs Digitally Irresistible podcast, Jason Miles, director of active learning design and development at iQor, sheds light on the transformative impact of active learning in training and development. Jason's active learning methodologies draw from his wealth of experience in the BPO industry and his in-depth knowledge of learning and development thought leadership. His journey began as a frontline agent which evolved into his career in training, facilitation, and instructional design, ultimately leading to his current role at iQor as director of active learning design and development. In this episode, we dive deeper into the concept of active learning, its role in successfully training employees at iQor, and the remarkable results it has produced, including improved performance and customer satisfaction. Jason also previews upcoming active learning programs at iQor, shaping the CX landscape,  driving success for the brands we support, and creating smiles for their customers.  What is Active Learning? Active learning is an instructional design approach that actively engages individuals in their own learning process. Shifting away from traditional training methods in which learners passively receive knowledge, active learning involves a variety of activities to encourage engagement, understanding, and retention. Jason explains how active learning strategies encourage employee participation, practice, and a real application of knowledge to foster a deeper understanding of the subject matter. Instead of listening to an instructor at the front of the room presenting PowerPoint slides, learners in active learning settings enjoy opportunities to engage with one another and discuss and apply the concepts they've learned. A large part of this process includes interactive tasks, reflection, and feedback to continually improve the experience. Active Learning Strategies at iQor At iQor, active learning forms the foundation of our employee training and development experiences. This pedagogical approach stems from active learning research showing that adults (and anyone really!) learn most effectively when engaged in meaningful tasks. All aspects of the learning experience and its outcomes improve when learners receive the right resources to advance their understanding along with opportunities to practice, fail, learn, and improve in a supportive setting.  This trial-and-error process enables employees to learn from experience. iQor also provides ample opportunities for questions and feedback from experts and peers, an experience that breaks with the norm and has proven essential in creating meaningful and productive traning experiences .  In addition, iQor's active learning approach emphasizes the importance of incorporating time for reflection, which is often overlooked in traditional training programs. By thinking about what they're learning and assessing what they did well and what they can improve, trainees further advance their understanding and performance. “Reflection is actually one of the most important things that we're adding, because very rarely do you get an opportunity in training to think about what you're learning, and that's where the actual learning happens.” - iQor Director of Active Learning Design and Development Jason Miles Active Learning Creates Success and Smiles The success story of active learning at iQor is exemplified in the transformative results it has produced. Jason's team led a redesign of training for a major retail customer, incorporating active learning techniques.  The impact was staggering, with zero attrition, 100% certification, and remarkable performance post-training. The group produced consistent improvements in key performance indicators (KPIs), including a surge in customer satisfaction scores (CSAT), net promoter scores (NPS), and first-call resolution rates.  The tangible impact of active learning on business outcomes underscores its vital role in driving employee performance and elevating customer experiences. Expanding Active Learning Initiatives Building on the success of active learning with training facilitators, iQor is poised to expand its active learning initiatives. In a forward-looking move, iQor plans to roll out a broader active learning design and development program to train new content developers and instructional designers in the art of crafting training content aligned with active learning principles. By fostering a culture of continuous learning and skill development, iQor is paving the way for sustained performance excellence. Active Learning as a Catalyst for Organizational Growth and Excellence The insights Jason brought to our conversation offer a compelling narrative of the power of active learning in transforming employee training and its undeniable impact on business success. Through a commitment to active learning, iQor exemplifies how innovative training methodologies can drive tangible results, boost employee engagement, and deliver irresistible customer experiences that create smiles.  Through our Symphony [AI]TM ecosystem, iQor further drives excellent employee experiences by redefining the employee lifecycle, seamlessly blending automation and human capabilities. This innovative approach—spanning talent acquisition, training and development, and performance excellence—underscores iQor's commitment to nurturing a highly efficient, compliant, and satisfied workforce.  As organizations navigate an evolving landscape and AI innovations, embracing active learning can be the key to unlocking the full potential of their workforce and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Watch the video here. Read the blog post here. 

Accelerating Talent Acquisition in the Digital Frontier Through Outstanding Leadership  Welcome to a new episode of CX Labs, our installment of the Digitally Irresistible podcast that brings you the latest CX practices, industry developments, and technology insights to inspire new heights of customer service success.    In this episode, we feature Jan Rae Aguilos, a sourcing manager for iQor Philippines. Jan shares how iQor's streamlined recruitment approach blends intelligent automation, digital technology, and human expertise to match candidates to job positions where they can excel.   Under Jan's outstanding leadership, iQor's recruitment process leverages social media channels and chatbots to provide the quick, convenient application and interview processes today's job seekers crave. This results in empowered employees who deliver customer service with a smile and create unparalleled advantage for iQor's clients.   Read on for an inside glimpse into iQor's digital recruiting assistant, Qori, and the friendly and personalized touch Jan and his team bring to the hiring journey.  Irresistible Benefits and Unlimited Career Opportunities in iQor Philippines   After eight years as a marketing professional, Jan shifted his career trajectory to join iQor at our site in Iloilo City in the Philippines.    As a sourcing manager, Jan identifies hiring needs, develops effective recruitment strategies, and implements recruitment campaigns that inform his community about iQor's career opportunities.   Jan explains how iQor's professional development and career growth potential provide an irresistible incentive to build his future with iQor. His teammates also inspire him to share these benefits with others through exceptional leadership and talent acquisition strategies that appeal to top-notch candidates.   The Fusion of Automation, Digital Technology, and Human Expertise   Jan's talent acquisition approach utilizes both intelligent automation and human insight to reach more potential applicants and expedite the hiring process. According to Jan, convenience is critical for effective recruitment. Jan's approach meets candidates in the digital spaces they already use daily with user-friendly social media application and interview options.   Introducing Qori, iQor's Digital Recruiting Assistant  When job seekers begin the application process on their social media channel of choice, they are assisted by Qori, iQor's digital recruiting chatbot. Qori provides applicants information about required materials and helps them know what to expect from the process.  Qori also plays a pivotal role in capturing relevant information from the candidates, effectively reducing the application time with AI capabilities tailored to the recruitment process. Once the initial interaction with Qori is complete, iQor's friendly human recruiters step in to process the application, ensuring a swift and efficient experience for all applicants.   Powering Unparalleled Workforce Management With Symphony [AI]™  iQor is committed to leveraging AI throughout our business operations to streamline processes for employees, clients, and job candidates alike. Our Symphony [AI] ecosystem drives continuous optimization of the entire employee lifecycle through the power of generative AI in combination with human expertise.   Qori is the first touchpoint for prospective employees in a holistic AI ecosystem that supports the entire employee lifecycle from recruitment through training and nesting to the production floor. Our unique combination of cutting-edge CX technology and skilled teams powers our industry-leading workforce management solutions, enabling us to provide the best people and processes to achieve our clients' CX goals.  Jan says that applicant feedback about Qori has been overwhelmingly positive, with the swiftness of the process being a standout feature. While many job seekers wait weeks or longer to receive updates about their application status, Qori notifies applicants within hours.   Recruiters have also expressed their satisfaction with the assistance Qori provides, as it amplifies their abilities and enables them to process candidates more efficiently. This harmonious blend of digital augmentation and human talent creates an environment that benefits prospective job candidates, recruiters, and the businesses iQor supports with our BPO solutions.  Face-to-Face Interactions With Video Interviews  Zoom interviews are another part of iQor's multichannel talent acquisition strategy. Jan explains that prospective candidates can expect a modern and easily accessible hiring process when using our Zoom recruiting channel to participate in virtual hiring sessions. iQor's interviewers are on standby to provide immediate feedback through on-camera conversations with applicants.  iQor values a warm and friendly welcome between current and prospective team members, highlighting the importance of the human touch as a leading priority from the first interview and throughout all customer communication. Jan's top suggestion for applicants preparing to interview with iQor? A smile that places warmth and openness at the heart of every interaction.    Building Expert Teams With Tech Excellence   The integration of digital technology and expert human teams facilitates a personable application and interview process for prospective iQorians. As iQor continues to set new benchmarks in tech-powered hiring practices, we ensure that the driving force behind our business operations is people whose unique expertise is strengthened by digital recruiting solutions like Qori.    Jan's leadership is a vital part of iQor's commitment to providing a forward-thinking and supportive environment that prioritizes both digital innovation and genuine human interaction.  To learn more about Jan, visit him on LinkedIn.   Watch the video here. Read the blog post here.   

Unpacking Irresistible Customer Experiences in the Catalog and E-Commerce Industry  This week we welcome Dave Richter to the Digitally Irresistible podcast.  Dave is the vice president of operations at Silver Star Brands, a brand management company in the catalog and e-commerce industry that places exceptional customer experiences at the heart of their customer service strategy.   Dave's genuine love of people and extensive background in sales and customer service contribute to his outstanding leadership in the world of direct-to-consumer catalog sales for the six unique brands he manages under the Silver Star umbrella.   In this episode, Dave reveals Silver Star's purposeful approach to CX that builds lasting customer loyalty through personalized customer journeys that create smiles. You'll also discover the visionary partnership with iQor that supports Silver Star through flexible seasonal ramps and highly skilled agents. Join the discussion to unlock valuable insights for delivering irresistible CX in the catalog and e-commerce marketplace.   Understanding the Customer Is Paramount for Catalog CX   Dave's journey to CX leadership begins with his personal love for building connections with other people. He developed this quality over a lifetime of playing team sports, particularly tennis, which he played throughout college. Dave credits these experiences with building his skill sets in discipline, teamwork, and working hard to bring out the best in other people.  According to Dave, these qualities have been indispensable throughout his years of experience in sales and customer service. He advises anyone interested in the customer service industry to cultivate a solution-oriented mindset that strives to supply meaningful help to others. When this mindset is a personal value, it can also be a powerful success indicator for effective customer service.   As an experienced operations leader at Silver Star Brands, Dave highlights the need to ask vital questions such as, "Why are we doing things that way?" and "Is there a better way we could be doing this?" when optimizing customer service operations.   This is the approach that underlies Silver Star's reputation for exceptional catalog customer service. Under Dave's leadership, the brand's operations team invests in a 360° approach to CX that delivers personalized service at every stage of the customer journey.   Silver Star Achieves Seasonal Staffing Success in Partnership With iQor   This holistic approach can be challenging in an industry defined by seasonal changes that require flexible staffing solutions. Dave shares how a partnership with iQor is vital to managing seasonal ramp-ups while sustaining high standards for customer service quality.   With multiple locations and a combination of work-at-home and on-site sales and service delivery, iQor enables Silver Star to maintain business continuity and ensure consistent service delivery during peak periods.  iQor employs a dynamic and adaptable seasonal staffing strategy, seamlessly adjusting workforce levels to accommodate fluctuating demands for catalogs during steady state and peak periods such as holiday seasons, promotional campaigns, and coupon drops.   This flexible approach ensures best-in-class operational efficiency by scaling up or down in real-time, effectively meeting Silver Star's evolving requirements while supporting high service standards.   The partnership is a testament to iQor's custom BPO solutions that contribute to Silver Star's continued success in an ever-evolving direct-to-consumer catalog marketplace.      The Impact of Technology and Human Performance on Catalog Customer Experience   Drawing from a rich well of insights developed over his 20-year career in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) and e-commerce sector, Dave shares observations on the evolution of CX, particularly with the advent of social media and new communication channels.   Despite the proliferation of "shiny new tools," Dave stresses that understanding the customer remains paramount. While technological advancements are valuable, they should always serve the primary goal of streamlining the customer experience.  Dave emphasizes the importance of viewing CX holistically, from the first touchpoint to the final delivery of products, with the perpetual aim for repeat purchases. This encompasses accurate order fulfillment, transparent status updates, empathetic revenue recovery, and seamless customer support through various channels.   Here are three ways Dave uses a combination of digital and human solutions to create seamless customer experiences.  Leveraging data analytics to create personalized customer journeys.  Dave says the personalization of customer service through the leveraging of customer personas is a leading priority for optimal customer service operations.   By utilizing data effectively and empowering frontline teams with insights into different customer personas, agents can tailor their service delivery to meet individual customer needs and preferences.   We leverage our in-house interaction analytics platform, VALDI, to maximize the value of every customer interaction. Armed with these valuable insights, catalog brands like Silver Star Brands can unlock actionable strategies that optimize coaching, guide script improvements, and increase customer satisfaction.  Optimizing channels to meet customer needs and preferences.  One factor Dave highlights is the demographic Silver Star primarily serves: individuals aged 50 and above. Despite the advancements in digital channels, the traditional voice channel remains important to their customer base.   While other industries may draw significant benefit by prioritizing digital channels, effective voice support is the best choice for the direct-to-consumer brands Dave manages. This underscores the significance of an intelligent channel optimization strategy that meets customers where they're most comfortable, aligning closely with their preferences to ensure a positive experience.  Embracing AI's potential to reshape the landscape of catalog CX.  Looking ahead, Dave hints at the potential integration of new AI tools and technologies to further elevate CX. This future-focused approach exemplifies the company's commitment to continuous improvement and innovation in their customer service strategies.  iQor's years of experience leading the charge in digital transformation and industry-leading innovations offers Silver Star and our other catalog clients a comprehensive digital strategy that harnesses AI across our operations.   Harmonizing agent performance with Symphony [AI]™.  Our agents are augmented by Symphony [AI]™, iQor's generative AI solution that harmonizes the employee experience to drive unparalleled performance. This next-generation ecosystem harmonizes the employee lifecycle from recruitment through training and nesting to the production floor.   With Symphony [AI] and other advanced strategies, such as active learning, we deploy personalized training and coaching strategies that help our agents excel at meeting our client's goals.   For catalogs like Silver Star, AI equips agents to excel at revenue generation through advanced upselling and cross-selling techniques. We impart our agents with the skills and support to balance KPI targets with empathy for the customer when delivering revenue recovery services. The result is customer service agents who are empowered to do what's right for Silver Star Brand customers and for the business.   A Visionary Partnership Forging the Future of Direct-to-Consumer Catalog CX  By focusing on the entire customer journey and partnering with iQor's BPO solutions, Dave has created a coherent, consistent, and enjoyable experience for Silver Star Brand customers.  Dave's vision sets the tone for what technology and human expertise can accomplish at Silver Star Brands. Under our continued partnership, iQor is poised to support Silver Star's sales and customer service delivery, resulting in irresistible CX in the modern catalog and e-commerce landscape.  The Fun Question  Beyond his professional talents, Dave is also a skilled musician and vocalist. He considers himself fortunate that he has had opportunities to nurture this lifelong passion and perform across the Midwest for over 20 years.  You can learn more about Dave's inspiring leadership on his LinkedIn. To learn more about Silver Star, check out their flagship brand at https://www.mileskimball.com/.    Watch the video here. Read the blog post here.    

A Partnership Approach to Industry-Leading CX   This week we welcome Andy Traba and PJ Singh to the Digitally Irresistible podcast.   Andy and PJ both hold key leadership roles that have helped forge a triumphant business partnership between iQor and NICE CXone, a comprehensive end-to-end customer experience technology provider that specializes in digital-first solutions.   Andy, NICE CXone's vice president of product marketing, contributes an impressive 20 years of CX expertise. He proudly labels himself as a "mutt" who leads his team with a diverse repertoire of skills and insight spanning product marketing, data science, and behavioral science.   Throughout his 16-year journey with iQor, PJ has also held an array of roles and currently serves as chief digital officer. He is the visionary spearheading iQor's digital transformation and artificial intelligence strategy. Under PJ's leadership, iQor's international team of experts in core infrastructure, application development, data science, and beyond are leveraging digital solutions that augment human service delivery.   For example, Symphony [AI]™ is iQor's next-generation solution that elevates the employee experience. Our Symphony [AI] ecosystem optimizes every stage of the employee lifecycle from recruitment through training and nesting to the production floor.   The result is harmonious performance powered by generative AI, active learning training strategies, and other innovations developed under PJ's leadership and informed by iQor's years of accumulated process knowledge.   [CTA: Active Learning White Paper]   In this episode, we explore the powerful business partnership that combines iQor's world-class, single-source customer service strategies with NICE CXone's cutting-edge CX technology. This joint venture amplifies our delivery of human and operational excellence for the next level of business process outsourcing services.   Join us as we examine the innovative features of NICE CXone, discuss the advantages of the partnership for iQor's clients, and plan the future of our collaboration. Get ready for an enlightening dialogue about the fusion of technology and human ingenuity that creates irresistible customer experiences.   NICE CXone's 3-Step Roadmap for Mastering CX Technology   NICE CXone is a highly regarded, cloud-based CX technology company known for its innovative features and industry-leading capabilities. Andy highlights three game-changing aspects that set the business apart from its competitors.   1.   Interaction-centric CX platform. The importance of the customer experience has increased significantly, leading companies to invest heavily in technology to ensure optimal customer interactions. NICE CXone, an interaction-centric platform, offers a wide range of features and capabilities that assist businesses in providing exceptional customer experiences.   By integrating robust customer experience capabilities into their current systems, companies can optimize their customer interactions. This comprehensive approach allows organizations to seamlessly manage customer interactions across multiple channels and provide personalized and holistic customer experiences.   2.   Convergence of best-of-breed applications into a single platform. NICE CXone is a powerhouse of innovation, combining years of expertise and top-notch applications into one platform. Now, users can effortlessly navigate a broad range of capabilities within a single, user-friendly interface.   3.   Purpose-built AI everywhere in Enlighten. NICE CXone harnesses the power of customer data to create the world's only purpose-built AI for customer experience. This artificial intelligence, called Enlighten, is designed to function across the entire platform and optimize each application to make every customer interaction a smarter experience.   How NICE CXone and iQor Harness a Holistic and Collaborative Approach to AI   PJ delves into iQor's rich history of delivering best-in-class CX services and the company's commitment to embracing the ever-evolving CX technology landscape.   Before the partnership began, iQor identified the need for a holistic ecosystem that addresses all aspects of CX including workforce management, intelligent self-service, RPA, data analytics, and omnichannel service support. NICE CXone's comprehensive approach to CX and their relentless digital innovation drove iQor's decision to commit to a business partnership.    NICE CXone's transformative capabilities have helped iQor optimize our service offerings, create positive customer experiences, and provide valuable BPO solutions to clients by augmenting human performance with AI and meeting the customer wherever they want support.   Unlocking Business Process Optimization With the Winning Combination of CX Technology and Human Expertise   Both PJ and Andy emphasize the importance of striking the right balance between technology and human ingenuity for effective CX delivery.   Andy explains that customer interactions are complex and open-ended. When interactions expand from single-channel voice support to omnichannel support that includes non-voice chatbots, SMS, social media, and other touchpoints, the overall volume of interactions to analyze for actionable insights increases, as does the difficulty level for businesses to accurately decode the information.   It takes the optimal combination of AI—including machine learning and natural language processing—and human insights to unlock the data's full potential.    According to Andy, as much as 85% of the customer experience with a brand occurs during customer service interactions. This directly correlates to customer satisfaction that results in lasting brand loyalty.   This is why the ability to consistently and accurately leverage customer insights represents a high value proposition for businesses. iQor's strategic outsourcing solutions maximize these customer insights to drive continuous service improvements and generate strong returns for our clients.   [CTA: Machine Learning Webinar]   Creating Shared Advantages Through a Shared Commitment to Unleashing AI's Full Potential   NICE CXone's products complement iQor's proprietary interaction analytics platform, VALDI, which uses AI to mine voice and non-voice customer interactions to monitor compliance, gauge customer sentiment, guide script improvements, and more.   Another of iQor's in-house tools is sQan, our coaching optimization platform. sQan increases the value of interaction insights by evaluating every session for coaching opportunities and recommending proactive strategies for frontline supervisors to support their teams.   AI That Augments Irresistible Human Ingenuity to Provide Optimal CX   While AI plays a critical role in automating routine tasks and extracting valuable insights from large volumes of data, the human touch remains essential for customer service that builds genuine, heartfelt connections between brands and their customers.   The partnership between iQor and NICE CXone serves to augment human capabilities with AI, not replace them. The augmentation paradigm offers agents real-time guidance and actionable insights to help them navigate complex interactions, improve performance, and guide more satisfying customer journeys with the empathy and service quality customers crave.   The Road Ahead: An Enduring Partnership Leading to a Sustained Legacy of Operational Excellence   As Andy and PJ anticipate the future, they pledge to continue investing in the partnership and pushing the envelope for what iQor and NICE CXone can achieve together.   Andy explains that NICE CXone is dedicated to maintaining its position as the top digital CX platform through ongoing innovation and investment in its technological offerings. Similarly, iQor's commitment is to continue to deliver best-in-class support with configurable and flexible BPO solutions that create smiles for our clients and their customers.   NICE CXone's interaction-centric platform, enhanced by AI, empowers iQor to provide efficient and intelligent management of customer interactions. Andy describes iQor as a design partner whose ongoing collaboration with NICE CXone will continue to influence the future direction of their product portfolio.   Fortified with this partnership approach, iQor and NICE CXone are poised to continue their investment in digital and strategic CX innovations that sustain mutual reputations for CX excellence and keep clients and customers smiling.   The Fun Question   In addition to keeping up to date with the latest in AI, Andy can be found cheering on his twin children at their various sports games. Andy's passion for data science and sports merge in a hobby he undertakes with old college friends. Using an algorithm to predict NFL game outcomes, Andy and his team enjoy competing in the Westgate SuperContest, which they won in early 2018.    PJ also enjoys supporting his two children at swim meets, soccer games, basketball games, or whatever new activity their hearts desire.   You can learn more about these inspiring CX thought leaders by checking out Andy's LinkedIn and PJ's LinkedIn. Discover more about NICE CXone on their website at nice.com.   Watch the video here. Read the blog post here.    

This week we welcome Denise Gabel to the Digitally Irresistible podcast.   Denise is an international bestselling author, professional speaker, and mentor on the power of change. She is now recognized as the world's first can-do-ologist who has made it her life's work to inspire others to embrace a can-do mindset.   On this episode, we discuss how Denise's can-do mindset helps teams, coaches, and business leaders create a profound impact on their organization by impacting its people. Read on for strategies on mastering stressful situations by “channeling your cheetah” for unparalleled performance enablement in the workplace and beyond.   Leadership Experience Inspired by a Passion to Help Others Embrace Joy and Possibilities   Denise's instinctive talent developing roadmaps to success surfaced in high school. At the time, she and her family lived in a small town. She introduced the idea of moving to a bigger city with more opportunity to her mom, who agreed that this would open new doors for the family.   For Denise, this experience was a revelation about the power of change to unlock new possibilities.  Denise has a wealth of experience in business leadership. During her tenure as chief innovation officer of the Filene Research Institute, she led the prestigious i3 Program throughout the United States and Canada. She also served as chief operating officer at the Northwest Credit Union Association.   Her bestselling book “The Can-Do Mindset: How to Make Things Happen ... With Enthusiasm” is an international bestseller and reflects her unshakeable passion for helping others achieve personal and professional growth.      According to Denise, the key is a can-do mindset, which she defines as a choice to focus on joy and possibilities in life. According to academic research from Stanford, a growth mindset positively impacts people's lives and health in powerful ways. The can-do mindset is central to Denise's strategy for helping people and businesses free themselves from a fixed mindset and drive irresistible progress along their journey.    The Can-Do Mindset Supercharges Employee Performance to Achieve the Impossible   Denise put her can-do mindset to work for a US-based credit union with incredible results. The company set out to revise a complex lending system that serves members in the community. They established ambitious—maybe even impossible—goals while leveraging Denise's can-do mindset strategy in their operations.  Before the can-do mindset model was adopted, the project would have taken 18 months to complete. What was the impact on the duration after building a can-do foundation in the individuals, teams, and organization as a whole? 18 days from project beginning to project completion.   That's right: the can-do mindset reduced the project timeline by an astonishing 97%.  The time reduction resulting from maximized employee performance cascaded into significant cost savings for the business. The company also generated $4 million in loans in the first month, proving that the can-do mindset can make the seemingly impossible possible.    The can-do mindset inspired employee engagement at unprecedented levels, generating success for the business and moving the bar for performance standards. They were able to achieve this because the company's supervisors effectively coached team members to adopt a can-do attitude in their work.  Denise explains that when it comes to the can-do mindset:  85% is acquired through social learning.  15% is acquired through structured training.  In other words: the monkey see, monkey do model of behavior is a powerful tool. When coaches and supervisors show employees what the can-do mindset looks like, it establishes clear expectations for team members to emulate that behavior.   While corporate training is important for optimizing employee performance, leadership teams who model the can-do mindset for the workers they supervise are the principal actors in shaping an irresistible can-do culture in the workplace.   Channel Your Cheetah: A Four-Step Strategy for Thriving Through Difficulty    Difficult experiences are universal. This is why Denise advises developing effective coping mechanisms for stressful situations, especially workplace stress. She says everyone has the can-do mindset within them, even if it's buried. Her four-step process helps bring it to the surface to empower people for success in both personal and professional contexts.   By imitating the speed and reflexes of the cheetah—which far outpaces any other land animal with a three-second zero to 60 mph acceleration rate—anyone can learn to quickly adjust to difficulty.   Feel it.   The first step is to name what you're feeling and give yourself permission to feel it. Whether it's embarrassment, guilt, frustration, or another uncomfortable feeling or combination of feelings, acknowledge it.  Shift to neutral.   Even cheetahs can't be in motion all the time. Neutral is a place where you feel safe. Begin taking time to collect your thoughts, regain your composure, and center yourself.   This can be as simple as taking a few deep breaths at your desk and pausing notifications for five minutes. In other cases, you may need to take a walk, talk to someone you trust, meditate, or otherwise gain more distance from the situation.   Ask yourself: what can I do?   Depending on the situation, a cheetah on the savannah might roll over and relax, remain alert and watchful of its surroundings, or take off sprinting after an opportunity.   At this stage, you decide what your best course of action is. No one has an unlimited budget of time, energy, or other resources. Look at the possibilities, and make a realistic estimate of your capacity before deciding your next move.   Go again.   Put your decision into action. This is the moment you take off like a cheetah and show the world how fast and how far you can go when all your energy is channeled into progress.   You can return to this simple but effective strategy whenever difficulty arises. Channeling your cheetah is an actionable process for driving your personal and professional growth with a can-do attitude despite challenging circumstances.   Attract High-Demand Talent to Your Business by Building a Can-Do Company Culture  Employees with a can-do attitude present a high value proposition for businesses. High performers with great talent have the potential to make great contributions, express ideas, and provide a fresh set of eyes.   Team members and leaders should strive for a culture of collaboration and open communication that builds upon the company's mission. According to Denise, employees should embrace the can-do message to confidently speak up as valuable members of the company to share ideas with leadership which could help improve something in the business.  The can-do mindset creates a ripple effect of growth from the organization as a whole to the teams to the individuals. Businesses that position the can-do mindset as a core value of the organization succeed in attracting talented people who are enthusiastic about pushing the envelope of their performance potential.  Talent recruitment is just the first step of the journey. A can-do core value can also boost retention by empowering employees to thrive with the company through personalized coaching and proactive strategies.   To achieve this, businesses can leverage a range of digital solutions such as machine learning, predictive analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) to complement the skilled human teams who cultivate exceptional employee experiences.   How iQor Leverages a Can-Do Mindset With AI Solutions That Empower Agents  At iQor, our can-do strategy utilizes Symphony [AI]™ to optimize the employee lifecycle from recruitment to onboarding, training, nesting, and deployment to the production floor. Our IT experts train this generative AI ecosystem on our proprietary large language models (LLMs) and accumulated process knowledge from years of experience in the BPO industry.   Symphony [AI] boosts performance, builds confidence, and supports workplace wellness, reinforcing a can-do mindset for agents and supervisors by providing access to the tools they need to succeed. Our supervisors and coaches supplement our digital solutions by modeling the can-do mindset for their teams, creating smiles for all stakeholders from agent to end customer to client.   A can-do culture that values progress, support, and positive outcomes for the more than 40,000 employees we employ globally is in iQor's DNA as stated in our core values.   Denise says that it all comes down to culture. With a can-do mindset guiding a culture of innovation, change, and growth, businesses can unlock unparalleled levels of success for the organization and its invaluable can-doer employees.    The Fun Question  Denise loves expressing her creativity through shopping and decorating. She is a naturally curious person who thrives when interacting with people and experiencing new possibilities.   Her two rescue cats, Gizmo and Henry, are a constant source of joy and help inspire her can-do mindset in all areas of her life.   To learn more about Denise, visit her on LinkedIn and her website at https://can-do-ology.com/.  Watch the video here. Read the blog post here.    

The Expert Tech Leadership Driving Digital Transformation for the Age of AI   Welcome to the debut episode of CX Labs, a new installment of the Digitally Irresistible podcast where we cover the latest CX practices, including performance optimization, technology trends, employee experience, industry developments, and success factors to inspire great CX for your brand.   Our first guest is iQor's Chief Digital Officer PJ Singh. PJ leads a team of technology professionals whose focus is harnessing technology, automation, and human expertise in the delivery of excellent CX for the brands that entrust us to service their customers. . PJ leads a team of technology professionals whose focus is harnessing technology, automation, and human expertise in the delivery of excellent CX for the brands that entrust us to service their customers.    On this episode, PJ shares insights on Symphony [AI]™, iQor's generative AI ecosystem designed to create a holistic employee experience by leveraging intelligent insights at every stage of the employee lifecycle. Read on to learn how PJ and his team harness generative AI in the BPO industry to optimize the entire employee lifecycle to deliver winning CX.   Why iQor Is at the Forefront of Generative AI in the BPO Industry   At iQor, we recognize the transformative capacity of generative AI impacting every industry, including BPOs. Leveraging its capabilities is a top priority. According to PJ, a strong investment in AI takes a lot of engineering. Under his leadership, the company's internal data experts are committed to high-capacity AI development across all CX processes.    While AI technology is always evolving, iQor has longstanding investments in its potential to optimize customer service. For example, our proprietary speech analytics engine, VALDI, leverages AI to translate interaction signals into insights like customer sentiment and key topics. We have years of experience deploying commercial models to monitor for compliance defects in work-at-home (WAH) environments, using AI to improve security protocols with zero trust architecture that safeguards data from threats.     We identify pockets of potential attrition using our machine learning models to understand how we can better retain employees. Our predictive analytics capabilities increase retention by as much as 300% by deploying intervention strategies to support at-risk employees. At iQor, we possess a huge wealth of knowledge, engineering capacity, and the drive to continuously improve all our processes with AI, positioning us to succeed as a leader in AI innovations for BPOs. The Science Behind iQor's Symphony [AI]   PJ explains that Symphony [AI] is an ecosystem of proprietary tools, and commercial technologies designed to optimize the employee lifecycle and unify iQor's dedication to exceptional customer service. Harnessing the latest in AI capabilities and guided by human insight, Symphony [AI] synchronizes the relationship between agent, customer, and client by delivering seamless, smile-worthy experiences.  To this end, our data scientists utilize enormous amounts of data from iQor's accumulated process knowledge as a BPO provider with decades of experience. This information trains our proprietary large language models (LLMs) to deliver outcomes that meet our high standards for CX.  Irresistible Innovations Powered by Decades of Accumulated Process Knowledge   iQor's accumulated process knowledge is the ongoing aggregation of decades of combined experience, insights, and methodologies our customer service experts bring to the table every day. This combination unlocks expert innovations and unique organizational insights for maximizing performance potential at scale. Our accumulated process knowledge forms an invaluable data lake of information to train our LLMs for industry-leading customer service.    PJ offers a simple explanation for the complex LLMs that power Symphony [AI]. Like ChatGPT and other AI familiar to broader audiences, Symphony [AI] is trained on billions and billions of rows of data to understand and make logical sense of information. A well-trained LLM is able to respond to input using natural language, the same way a well-informed human being would respond.    Symphony [AI] uses this input to develop advanced conversational models and provide dynamic chat interactions, performance enablement technology, and automation opportunities that boost KPIs, improve employee retention, and more to shape the bright new future of customer service with AI.     Elevating the Employee Lifecycle With Intelligent Insights    PJ explains that iQor's goal is to supercharge the employee lifecycle with Symphony [AI] by optimizing talent acquisition, accelerating the training process, and evaluating performance indicators to support employees throughout their employee journey. Here's how Symphony [AI] cultivates exceptional experiences at every stage of the employee lifecycle.    Recruiting: Symphony [AI] begins impacting the employee experience before new agents are even hired. Frontline agents present a high value proposition for contact centers which is why we leverage Symphony [AI] to identify and shortlist candidates who meet the requirements. This creates a seamless hiring and onboarding process from the first interaction.   Training: Symphony [AI] enables employee training programs that improve knowledge and skill retention. We optimize training techniques with top instructional strategies in active learning and personalized career pathing to enable every agent to perform with excellence. This personalized ecosystem guides frontline workers through the training process and increases their familiarity with the systems and processes they will use after training. frontline workers through the training process and increases their familiarity with the systems and processes they will use after training.   Continuous Coaching: When agents reach the production floor, they still access that AI partner on their desktop to facilitate conversations and increase time to proficiency. As agents gain tenure with the company, Symphony [AI] provides insights to guide performance optimization, monitor compliance, and maximize employee well-being. The result is satisfied employees who perform at optimal levels and create smiles for customers.   How Harmonious Employee Experiences Create Happy Customers  When customers contact customer service, they want to explain their reason for seeking support and reach a resolution as quickly as possible. The more proficient an agent is, the higher the chance that the customer will be satisfied with the support they experience.    Achieving consistent customer satisfaction is always our goal. Understanding the customer's needs and supporting those needs according to existing systems, processes, and policies is not always straightforward—which is exactly why Symphony [AI]'s ecosystem is a strategic enabler for optimizing agent potential and ensuring best-in-class customer care. With the power of AI augmenting our agents' capabilities, iQor is unlocking the complexity of customer interactions and providing swift, effective resolutions for customers. Symphony [AI]'s impact on the employee lifecycle creates a ripple effect of satisfaction from frontline workers to our clients' end customer that keeps our clients smiling.     To learn more about Symphony [AI] and iQor's digital capabilities, visit iQor.com/symphony-ai.  To learn more about PJ, visit him on LinkedIn.   Watch the video here. Read the blog post here.   

BPO Leadership Excellence in the Philippines   This week, we welcome Liz Cabrera to the Digitally Irresistible podcast. Liz is a human resources manager supporting close to 2,000 employees in one of iQor's sites in the Philippines.   Liz describes human resources as a multifaceted arena spanning hiring, employee relations, compliance, compensation and benefits, and more. As an HR professional, Liz oversees every stage of the employee life cycle to support her site's iQorians, create career pathing opportunities, and facilitate irresistible employee experiences. To Liz, HR means more than the job description. It means investing in employees, the company's most valuable asset.   On this episode, Liz shares how she found her way to HR management at iQor, what she has learned along the way, and how these valuable lessons are reflected in her day-to-day experiences. Liz's dedication to her team in the Philippines and willingness to embrace unexpected opportunities have defined her outstanding leadership career with iQor.   The Winding Road to Human Resources Management Liz's journey to human resources management in the contact center industry has had its share of twists and turns. Before joining iQor, Liz had experience working in the banking industry in tech support. The customer interactions she managed helped lay a foundation that would inspire her interest in the BPO industry.   Liz quickly learned the importance of active listening. The best way to provide effective resolutions is to listen to what customers are saying, communicate with empathy, and then focus on the resolution. Whether interacting with customers, peers, or leadership, the ability to support other people with authenticity has been a cornerstone of Liz's work ethic.   In an unexpected unfolding of events, Liz accepted a position with iQor that gave her the opportunity to become an HR specialist. She worked hard to master the skills she needed to live up to the role, setting a standard of continuous improvement for herself that culminated in other leadership opportunities. She supported her team as a subject matter expert (SME) and gained experience as a team lead and trainer for other potential SMEs.   When there was an opening for an HR generalist position, Liz's leadership team encouraged her to pursue the role. Initially, she was reluctant to apply. Her leadership team's support and confidence in her abilities inspired her to apply, resulting in her being awarded the position.   Ever since, Liz has continued to expand her repertoire as a human resources expert, fulfilling iQor's commitment to best-in-class employee teams who contribute to exceptional CX.   Empowering Employees to Be More With iQor   When meeting employee candidates, Liz describes life at iQor as something that makes you better. iQor invests in career pathing to guide professional development and personal growth of employees throughout their lifecycle with the company. Thanks to the critical work of HR managers like Liz, iQor is committed to providing meaningful opportunities and support that make a difference in the lives of iQorians. That's why 83% of employees in iQor Philippines say that it is a great place to work.   At iQor, we know that employee experiences keep the wheels of exceptional CX turning. Liz's role gives her the opportunity to recognize the potential of our current and prospective employees to enact ways of helping people succeed. This help goes beyond career development. As an HR manager, Liz is an essential part of giving back to the community through the support she provides for iQorians.   Liz says her role with iQor has helped her learn to interact with people more effectively and bolstered her life outside of work. Her leadership serves as an inspiration to others. In turn, Liz says she is inspired by the thousands of employees her work supports to continue making a real impact in the lives of others.   What Liz Does for Fun   When Liz isn't working, she enjoys traveling and spending time at the beach to swim or free dive.   Watch the video here. Read the blog post here.    

Transforming CX with Customer Journeys That Inspire Loyalty    This week we welcome Joseph Michelli, Ph.D., to the Digitally Irresistible podcast. Joseph is the founder and CEO of The Michelli Experience (TME), an award-winning author, and CX Hall of Fame inductee.    As a certified CX professional, Joseph specializes in helping leaders attract and engage customers. The Michelli Experience (TME) offers leadership and management consulting, personalized training, customer journey mapping, agile design, customer retention solutions, and tailored keynote presentations and workshops. TME's approach emphasizes adding value to the customer journey to differentiate brands from competitors and return value to the brand.      On this episode, we discuss how Joseph's LEAD framework harnesses the fusion of authentic human empathy and technological efficiency to deliver irresistible value propositions and generate unbreakable customer loyalty.      Emotional Engagement: The Key to Meaningful Human Experiences That Unlock Customer Satisfaction   Joseph's story begins in unimaginable circumstances. As a newborn baby, he was rescued from abandonment in a trash can and raised by loving adoptive parents who instilled the belief that people best enrich their own lives by serving other people. This idea inspired him to earn his doctorate in clinical psychology and invest in making a difference in other people's lives.   Joseph's unique personal experiences, people-first focus, and expertise in psychology provided him with the tools to excel at transforming the way brands attract, retain, and engage customers. As the founder and CEO of The Michelli Experience, Joseph embraces the challenge of delivering irresistible customer experience in an arena defined by evolving customer needs and rapidly advancing technologies. Top global brands from financial services to retail turn to Joseph and TME to reassess the timeless question of how to earn customer loyalty within the context of today's digitally transformed marketplace.     In Joseph's experience—both personal and as an expert in CX—emotional engagement is key to creating meaningful human connections that transcend circumstances. As needs and opportunities fluctuate, brands are tasked with striking a new balance that sustains satisfaction and loyalty. For instance, technological advancement has gained momentum at an exponential rate, imparting efficiency with less need for human interaction on certain tasks. However, efficiency does not necessarily correlate to satisfaction. With the American Customer Satisfaction Index for 2022 indicating a 17-year low, it's clear that customers need more than efficiency to feel an emotional connection to a brand.    For this reason, many business leaders of global organizations identify CX as a differentiator of success and strive to implement it as a strategic initiative. As a global consultant and prolific author on strategies for CX, Joseph has spent years helping brands succeed in their CX strategies by leveraging his people-first passion into customer-first policies. In this podcast, follow along on the customer journey with Joseph as he shares his LEAD framework for implementing the right mix of digital technology and human interaction at scale to add value to the customer experience and maximize brand success.   The LEAD Framework for Shaping Success with Human Empathy, Digital Efficiency, and Delightful Experiences   For brands, the question of effective CX is about how to invest in it as a strategic initiative and leverage it to accomplish quantifiable objectives. Rather than answer this directly, Joseph goes straight to the subject: the customer. Prioritizing the customer's perspective is a simple yet powerful reminder that the fundamental goal of CX is to create experiences that make people want to repeat them and share them with other people. Joseph developed his LEAD Framework to guide each brand's approach to achieving this goal.    At one point in his career, Joseph was working as a consultant for a brand in the automotive industry. This brand set an objective of improving their J.D. Power Customer Experience Index Model rating from a position in the twenties to the number one spot—an ambitious goal that Joseph helped achieve with a team of CX consultants 1 ½ years ahead of schedule. Here's how Joseph leverages the LEAD framework to achieve remarkable success.   Listen.   Joseph explains that the first step of the LEAD framework is not just about listening with the ears. It's about utilizing every tool a brand has at their disposal to observe and gauge customer sentiment. By watching and appreciating the customer experience throughout the journey of engagement, brands can identify the most high-value moments as well as the pain points likely to lead to increased churn.    Gaining this understanding requires a combination of human interaction and digital tools. This step takes a multidimensional and cross-platform approach to listening that includes social media monitoring and surveys that reveal what customers are saying about their experience in their own words. Speech analytics, machine learning, data mining, and other technologies are vital resources for deploying a multichannel approach to listening that reveals the whole story of what customers need.  Empathize.  Listening to the customer journey at a deeper level allows brands to respond to customer needs with empathy. It's important to acknowledge customer sentiment, letting them know that the brand has listened to their needs and values the customer relationship. This requires a deft human touch to interactions that elevates the customer experience, leaving a lasting impression that inspires them to return for more.  Add Value.   With this information, brands can shift their focus to strategies aimed at adding value to the customer journey. In many cases, adding value is best facilitated by a culture of innovation that inspires out-of-the-box thinking. This is where technology plays a vital role. Technology such as chatbots and self-service options can predict and address potential simple inquiries without escalating to a live agent. Utilizing robotic process automation (RPA) is a proven way for brands and customers to enjoy the benefits of more efficient processes. Predictive analytics powered by AI tools can also alleviate pain points further along the customer journey. The objective is to continuously improve CX with proactive rather than reactive strategies. This approach encourages repurchase intent and fosters genuine human connections between the customer and the brand, setting them apart from competitors vying for the same customer base.    Delight.   The last step is to create a distinctive, uplifting moment that makes the brand stand out to customers in a memorable way. In other words? Delight them. The goal of customer delight is to prioritize lasting customer satisfaction through operational consistency in three areas that matter the most to customers: meeting needs, reducing effort, and elevating the experience with a sense of delight. When executed consistently, customer delight functions as a powerful brand promise that engages your customers on a meaningful level, cultivating lasting satisfaction and loyalty.    Additionally, when customers feel emotionally connected to a brand, they appoint themselves as brand promoters, spreading positive word of mouth and referrals. There is a correlation between people who report emotional connection to a brand and that brand's achievement of high net promoter scores (NPS). Harnessing delight as a strategic tool has the potential to transform satisfied customers into the best members of your sales team.    How Identifying Core Customer Segments Guides Effective Customer Journey Mapping   CX excellence can be achieved by identifying opportunities across the journeys of core customer segments and setting measurable metrics to track progress. For many brands, around 80% of customers can be represented by three or four core customer segments. By mapping their journey, brands can modify processes and technologies that create value over 3-5 years. To succeed over this span, Joseph suggests the following:  Gain support from C-suite executives who support CX initiatives.  The support of top leadership that appreciates the value of CX as a strategic initiative is invaluable. Some organizations reflect this value by creating the role of “chief experience officer” to guide developments that support exceptional CX.   Invest in cross-functional teams who become CX champions.   Leadership is only the beginning; a lasting CX revolution requires the involvement of the entire organization. This entails crafting a compelling vision that ingrains itself within the culture of the organization. Aligning the organization's messaging to nurture a strong customer service culture results in engaged employees who are motivated and empowered to promote smile-worthy experiences. Cross-functional teams can be equipped to serve as customer experience champions who, without being titled leaders, nudge the organization forward and keep a finger on the pulse of customer needs.  Give the customer a seat at the table.   In every room of the organization, the customer should have a presence, joining the conversation and factoring into decisions. The key to sustained CX success is maintaining a customer-first focus that listens to, empathizes with, adds value to, and delights the brand's customers.   Value Propositions That Elevate Engagement to Cultivate Customer Loyalty  By leveraging an effective value proposition that cultivates emotional engagement and creates smiles, brands can strategically influence customer loyalty. Processes and procedures that are applied with empathy and nuance have the power to transform customers into more satisfied individuals that return value to the brand.   Customer satisfaction is born when brands successfully transform positive, memorable moments into a loyal relationship sustained by consistently delightful experiences. Joseph's LEAD framework presents an irresistible opportunity for brands to boost customer loyalty through a simple, customizable approach that harnesses the right mix of empathetic human interactions and efficient digital solutions to cultivate exceptional customer journeys. Backed by a proven record of success, Joseph continues to deploy this method as part of The Michelli Experience, empowering brands to achieve KPIs and gain a reputation for CX that creates smiles with their customers.      To learn more about Joseph, visit him on LinkedIn, Twitter, and his website at www.josephmichelli.com.   Watch the video here. Read the blog post here.   

Breaking New Ground for the Early Success of iQor Colombia  This week, we welcome Fabian Garcia to the Digitally Irresistible podcast. Fabian is senior director of operations and country lead of iQor Colombia. With 15 years of experience in contact center operations and a passion for the BPO industry, Fabian's leadership has been instrumental to iQor's early success in expanding to our first nearshore location in South America.    Fabian began his career as a lawyer before discovering new and exciting opportunities in the BPO industry. His excellent performance and dedication to the industry propelled him through leadership positions and inspired his passion for recruiting and developing successful agents.  When approached by iQor about leading the launch of the company's first South American call center in Medellín, Colombia, Fabian accepted the opportunity to build and grow a successful contact center operation from the ground up with great enthusiasm.    On this episode, we highlight how Fabian's leadership has delivered positive results in this nearshore location through his ability to manage a call center while investing in the career growth and development of the frontline employees on his team. Fabian's devotion to spearheading a brand-new operation, responding flexibly to client needs, and delivering desirable business outcomes for clients has resulted in impressive growth. As our Medellín location continues to deliver favorable results, a number of iQor's clients are placing their trust in the unique talent and irresistible CX that iQor Colombia offers.     Bilingual Talent and Cultural Compatibility Advance Medellín, Colombia's Nearshoring Appeal    According to Fabian, the foundation of Medellín's contact center success is the remarkable passion and strong work ethic of the city's inhabitants. Employee engagement is high, with agents driven to be successful while receiving support from iQor's dedication to retention through positive employee experiences that lead to smile worthy customer engagement.   Another key element of Medellín's suitability for exceptional customer service is the availability of bilingual English-Spanish speaking population. The city boasts many universities and institutes that contribute to a highly educated English-speaking population. In recent decades, the city has prioritized its reinvention as a setting for business and technological innovation, making it an ideal location for many industries, including BPOs, to thrive.   The city's flourishing tourism industry is another factor that promotes competency with the English language. The influx of English-speaking visitors encourages intercultural communication that increases the local population's knowledge of American culture. This awareness builds familiarity and cultivates a cultural compatibility between the local talent and iQor's clients' customer base, facilitating high customer satisfaction on a daily basis.    Leading With Flexibility to Accomplish Client Goals   Clients who have partnered with iQor's outsourced BPO solutions in Medellín have noted the well-structured operations combined with a unique human touch that is essential for creating smile worthy CX. These qualities have contributed to the company's remarkable growth in a new geolocation in a relatively short span of time and highlight Colombia's growing appeal as a nearshoring destination.   Fabian explains how, in a specific instance, a client requested to meet prospective new hires before the operational phase officially began. Fabian promptly advertised the positions, resulting in an impressive response from individuals eager to join the company and willing to be interviewed by the client, who collaborated favorably with the hiring process.    iQor places a high priority on providing CX expertise that incorporates open communication with clients from the outset to meet all goals. Our nearshore outsourcing solutions utilize interaction analytics and strategies to identify new opportunities and provide the tailored support our clients need to succeed. In this situation, Fabian provided a responsive, flexible solution to the client's request that satisfied their expectations. This proactive approach established trust in the local Colombian team and iQor as a provider of strategic outsourcing solutions and solidified a long-lasting client relationship that exists to this day.    Looking Ahead to New Horizons for Nearshoring in iQor Colombia    To accommodate the current growth rate, iQor plans to establish a second contact center facility in Medellín while exploring potential locations for a second city in Colombia to expand the company's footprint in the country and increase the capacity of support for our clients.    Fabian's adept management of call center teams and savvy business strategies have been pivotal in driving operational success in Medellín. His willingness to innovate in uncharted territory has fueled impressive growth and garnered positive feedback from the clients we support, helping establish iQor as a trusted BPO partner with our nearshoring solutions in Colombia.      What Fabian Does for Fun    When not working, Fabian's first priority is enjoying time with his family. He also has a passion for soccer and Formula One racing.   To learn more about Fabian, visit him on LinkedIn.  Watch the video here. Read the blog post here.   

Paving a Path to Success in Frontline Contact Center Leadership    This week, we welcome Chevon Brathwaite to the Digitally Irresistible podcast. Chevon is senior manager of operations at iQor Trinidad and Tobago with over 15 years' experience in contact center operations and a passion for customer service and professional development for frontline employees.    Chevon began his career working in contact center operations, gaining additional responsibilities and shouldering new roles as he displayed an aptitude for developing himself and others to excel in the customer service business. His boots-on-the-ground experience as an agent and supervisor helped advance his career in the BPO industry with iQor Trinidad and Tobago, where he supports iQor's clients through a diverse talent pool supported by a comprehensive infrastructure that delivers robust data security and performance for smile-worthy CX.  On this episode, we discuss how Chevon paved the way for new client relationships with iQor in Trinidad and Tobago by maximizing the performance of his teams to exceed client KPIs while also investing in their personal and professional development.   Earning Client Confidence Through Open Communication and Quality Customer Service   Chevon began his career as a call center agent at the frontlines of customer care. As he gained experience, his authentic passion for providing exceptional customer service propelled his advancement to supervisory roles. Chevon's experience as a call center supervisor provided him with a new perspective on customer service. Investing directly in his team's well-being and professional development to aid their achievement of department objectives resulted in a significant and lasting impact on customer service culture within the company.    Upon initially expanding nearshoring services to Trinidad and Tobago, iQor gave Chevon the opportunity to join us as a critical operations resource. His years of hands-on experience fielding customer inquiries and managing teams in the region made him an ideal candidate. Chevon joined iQor, transitioning from a single-brand contact center environment to a BPO environment servicing multiple clients. Chevon embraced the opportunity with great enthusiasm, leveraging his extensive contact center management experience. He set out to listen to the needs of all his clients and harnessed iQor's resources to achieve the best outcomes for all the clients that his team supports.    To accomplish this, Chevon emphasized close, open communication with the client to achieve their KPIs, while maintaining his commitment to quality and security. The unique characteristics of the talent pool in Trinidad and Tobago combined with iQor's high standards in client data privacy and protection empowered Chevon to support new clients and drive operations excellence at iQor.  Why Trinidad and Tobago Is an Attractive Location for Nearshore Customer Service    Trinidad and Tobago features a combination of strategic advantages that position it as an attractive location in the global outsourcing landscape. Chevon describes how the country's unique qualities combine with iQor's CX operations expertise to create optimal outcomes for the clients he and his team support.   Geographically positioned below the hurricane belt, the islands' location ensures a level of operational stability and minimizes the risks associated with weather-related events, making the two-island nation a reliable hub for businesses seeking reliable customer service operations.   Trinidad and Tobago also boasts a population of young, college-educated, digitally savvy talent ready to delve into the world of customer service. This pool of skilled professionals offers a unique blend of technical aptitude and innovative thinking, paving the way for adaptable and creative solutions to customer interactions.    The country's population includes a large number of bilingual speakers, providing a competitive edge by enabling seamless communication with a diverse range of customers. While Trinidad and Tobago has its own distinct culture, it also shares many similarities with American culture, allowing for a seamless adaptation to the needs and expectations of American customers. This cultural compatibility fosters a sense of familiarity and understanding between agent and customer that drives higher customer satisfaction.    Trinidad and Tobago is a nearshore customer service destination that blends geographic resilience, skilled talent, linguistic versatility, and American cultural synchronization to deliver top-tier customer experiences. Chevon's leadership focuses on integrating these benefits into optimized teams and operations strategies that yield powerful returns on investment (ROI) for iQor's strategic partners, many of whom begin with one line of business and expand to multiple LOBs due to their success.    The Positive Feedback Loop of Employee Experiences That Inspire Engagement and Deliver Exceptional CX   In his role as senior manager of operations at iQor Trinidad and Tobago, Chevon is most passionate about working with people to cultivate and strengthen bonds between team members and customers. Investing in the success of his employees through mentorship and other support practices gives his work a sense of purpose and drives his commitment to managing with excellence. iQor's succession planning and career pathing programs ensure that when Chevon invests in the success of his teams, he is helping each agent cultivate opportunities for their own professional advancement and support within the company.     In one case, an agent on Chevon's team was experiencing a personal challenge. Chevon took the time to understand what iQor could do to provide support while the agent navigated their circumstances. This agent received support and has since advanced to a management position, exemplifying iQor's investment in tenured employees who create value for our clients.   Chevon's contribution to this process is critical to creating positive employee experiences driven by evidence-backed retention strategies that boost engagement and build employees into leaders.     3 Irresistible Benefits Driving Client Expansion Into Nearshoring With iQor Trinidad and Tobago    Chevon has been integral in maximizing Trinidad and Tobago as an attractive nearshoring geolocation to build and expand client relationships. One of iQor's clients had not previously outsourced to a nearshore location and expressed an interest in learning more. Chevon met with the client, highlighting his team's capabilities and the location's benefits. Chevon emphasized three areas that ultimately inspired the client to expand their strategic outsourcing partnership with iQor to include nearshoring services in Trinidad and Tobago.  1. Rapid, efficient onboarding.   The client was impressed by the iQor Trinidad and Tobago's swift onboarding process, which seamlessly recruited and trained new talent, demonstrating remarkable efficiency and a commitment to delivering results from day one.    2. Data security and protection.   A top priority for the client was iQor's unwavering commitment to stringent data protection protocols and maintaining top-tier security compliance, instilling confidence in the safety of sensitive information and fostering a trustworthy partnership.  iQor provides this peace of mind for all clients in all geos with best-in-class CX cloud infrastructure and multi-layer security protocols. We continuously invest in a dynamic zero trust approach to cybersecurity that leverages the most up-to-date trends in security awareness with multi-factor authentication, network security, data security, device authentication, and continuous monitoring of client and customer information.   3. Bilingual talent.    The availability of a bilingual talent pool in this geolocation helped solidify the client's decision to nearshore their operations with iQor Trinidad and Tobago. Linguistic familiarity helps provide seamless customer service across a diverse array of inquiries, simplifying interactions and maintaining customer satisfaction.   Investing in Leadership Is Key to Success in Every Geolocation   At iQor, we recognize that the cornerstone of success lies in a strategic investment in leadership. Chevon's consistent excellence in contact center roles showcased his capability of providing the guidance, motivation, and direction to navigate diverse customer needs as a senior operations manager while keeping up with the ever-evolving BPO industry.  Since taking on the responsibility of senior operations manager at iQor Trinidad and Tobago, Chevon's coaching and support practices have consistently inspired optimal performance from the diverse talent pool he manages. His proven ability to oversee the onboarding process, along with the availability of a bilingual workforce and iQor's commitment to data security, have inspired client confidence in nearshoring with iQor Trinidad and Tobago, driving successful client outcomes with exceptional customer service.    What Chevon Does for Fun    Like many Trinidadians, Chevon enjoys soaking up the sun and surf on the beautiful local beaches. He also enjoys binge-watching movies and spending time with his family.    To learn more about Chevon, visit him on LinkedIn.  Watch the video here. Read the blog post here.   

Leveraging a Career in Sales and Marketing for CX Innovation  This week, we welcome Stacy Sherman to the Digitally Irresistible podcast. Stacy is an award-winning keynote speaker, author, advisor, and host of the “Doing CX Right” podcast.   Stacy began her career in sales and marketing and has held multiple leadership roles at major companies over the past 25 years. Her approach to “doing CX right” is based on real-world experiences as a strategist and practitioner of customer service experiences. Her HEART & SCIENCE™ Framework for CX enables companies to accelerate loyalty and revenue through empowered workforces.   On this episode, we discuss how Stacy's innovative framework maps out irresistible customer journeys by transforming the relationship between brands, their internal teams, and their customers.   How an Interest in Consumer Behavior Paved the Way for an Award-Winning Approach to CX  Stacy's journey to CX expertise began in a high school advertising class. Fascinated by the topic of subliminal advertising, she knew she wanted to launch a career in sales and marketing to understand the underlying psychology of consumer behavior. She held several roles in sales and marketing long before customer experience became a buzzword. Early on, she developed her approach to an experience-based customer journey based on her own real-world experiences with customer behavior and brand engagement.    While working on e-commerce optimization and marketing for a telecommunications company, Stacy was given the opportunity to explore and implement voice of the customer and other CX best practices. She built her understanding from scratch, drawing on her years of experience as an employee, a manager, and a customer to identify gaps in those relationships to improve the customer journey.    This resulted in a two-pillar approach to CX that Stacy calls her HEART & SCIENCE™ Framework. Each pillar forms an acronym representing best practices to revolutionize the customer journey from the inside out. Together, the framework incorporates empathy, psychology, data, and scientific methodology that equips brands to drive customer engagement, boost loyalty, and empower their employees to be customer centric.   Connecting Heart and Science to Create Incredible Customer Journeys    Stacy's wealth of experience taught her the interconnectedness of the customer experience and the employee experience. Effective CX is cultivated by rallying internal employees and frontline customer service agents around a united purpose. Her framework emphasizes company-wide collaboration fueled by the common goal of providing positive customer experiences.   The HEART Approach    Stacy's initial fascination with the psychology of consumer behavior is represented in the first pillar of her framework, HEART, which describes best practices for both experience-based management and experience-based customer service. For Stacy, this is about going beyond profitability to bring the heart into business. Here's how her HEART acronym breaks down:   Honest and authentic communication.   Employees and customers value transparency, honesty, and authenticity in brand messaging and internal operations.    Empower to deliver excellence.   Set your teams up for success by equipping them with the resources they need to provide exceptional CX.      Appreciate and design for DEI.   Apply diversity, equity, and inclusion practices to all aspects of the CX space.      Relationship building.   Commit to a relationship approach that emphasizes the value of each individual in the customer journey—from the customers themselves to sales teams, customer service representatives, and employees in other departments.      Tailor and personalize.   Invest in messaging and experiences that are personal to each customer and meet their needs efficiently and effectively.     The SCIENCE Approach  The second pillar, SCIENCE, brings data and scientific methodology into the equation. Stacy explains that internal and external operations must be supported by measurable results to drive customer engagement with truly effective CX. Here's the breakdown of the SCIENCE acronym:     Segment and measure by persona.   To create a customer journey, you have to know who will take that journey. Identifying detailed customer personas guides relevant brand messaging and customer support.     Collect feedback.   It's critical to develop effective means of gathering and analyzing feedback from customers and team members on a consistent basis.     Implement tech for analysis and prioritization.    Acquire interaction analytics and machine learning technology that meets your brand's needs for gathering and analyzing data. This process needs to be ongoing to implement necessary changes based on the feedback received.     Evidence to get buy-in.   Gather results that speak to executive decision-makers to ensure that priorities are aligned from the top down.       Numeric and qualitative.    Present both quantitative and qualitative data to build a multi-level foundation for your brand's CX effectiveness.       Collaborate and break siloes.   Seamless customer journeys require effective interdepartmental collaboration with informed and prepared teams. This includes eliminating siloes between teams as well as siloes between information sources.    Experiment.    Stacy follows the acronym TAAR: test, analyze, adjust, and repeat regularly to provide customer experiences that evolve along with their needs.  Communication and Collaboration Form the Cornerstones of CX Success    Together, the HEART & SCIENCE™ Framework meshes for active journey mapping that takes the entire customer journey into account. It creates an environment where everyone at the company—from frontline sales agents to back office employees—can experience the domino effect of how each role affects another and contributes to the overall customer experience.     This cross-functional collaboration goes beyond employees by creating processes for brands to engage directly with their customers. Stacy's framework emphasizes the importance of receiving feedback directly from customers. While advice from sales teams about customers is valuable, receiving direct input from customers about what they need to be and remain loyal customers is critical for sustained CX. Encouraging open communication is at the heart (and science) of Stacy's innovative CX framework.   HEART & SCIENCE™ in Action   Stacy's HEART & SCIENCE™ Framework guided CX excellence at an international engineering company. Employees at this company initially showed some resistance to embracing a customer-centric model. Stacy developed a team to implement the CX initiative and ultimately helped them learn how this approach would drive benefits for employees and customers alike.    Over time, Stacy's team's diligent work helped the company grow its potential to embrace CX as a core priority. She implemented her framework with programs, activities, celebrations, and media that built momentum for CX. Now the company shows up for customers every day with empathy and more transparency. By embracing authentic engagement, the customer feedback the engineering company receives goes beyond measures like net promoter scores (NPS) and identifies specific customer needs as well.   Stacy's HEART & SCIENCE™ framework has encouraged a cultural revolution that prioritizes CX and invests in the tools needed to create an irresistible customer journey. Her fusion of empathy-based HEART principles and quantitative SCIENCE strategies results in a comprehensive framework that empowers and improves the employee experience, boosts customer engagement to drive loyalty, and provides quantitative returns for brands—creating smiles for teams and customers alike.  What Stacy Does for Fun    Stacy is a talented backgammon player and used to travel internationally to compete in tournaments as a child. More recently, she has learned to play pickleball and says that the social outlet it provides has been a game changer in her life.   To learn more about Stacy, visit her on LinkedIn and her website at doingcxright.com.   Read the blog post here. Watch the video here.    

Building a Strong Foundation for Customer Experience in the Construction Industry  This week, we welcome Brian DiSabatino to the Digitally Irresistible podcast. Brian is a fourth-generation owner and CEO of EDiS Company, a family-run construction company that has served regional communities in Delaware and beyond for over 100 years.  Born and raised in the construction industry, Brian knows firsthand that its hyper-competitive nature has created a perception among customers that each company is an interchangeable commodity. Brian became motivated to differentiate EDiS from other construction companies through a unique value proposition that emphasizes customer experience. Brian and his team studied brands and leaders in other industries with good customer experience models and asked themselves, “If these companies were in the construction industry, how would they do it?”  This exercise reaffirmed their commitment to implement practices that reflect EDiS's core values and provide an experience that exceeds expectations throughout the customer journey. On this episode, we discuss how, under Brian's leadership, EDiS developed a four-pillar approach to customer experience based on alignment, authenticity, accountability, and action. Through this innovative approach, EDiS has differentiated itself from others in a competitive industry in their region and set a high standard for the customers they serve.  Taking a Page From Other Industries to Build Customer Loyalty That Spans Generations  At his grandfather's funeral, Brian spoke with a gentleman who had worked with Brian's family beginning at a young age. He described how the company's workers devoted themselves to building and renovating schools, cathedrals, community centers, office buildings and other projects that went beyond mere structures. Many became landmarks that changed their communities for the better. Reflecting on EDiS' history in the community launched Brian's journey to reinforce a strong connection between construction and community building. Since 1987, Brian has defined his role as a fourth-generation owner by considering strategies to rebuild these connections in an industry that has lacked a reputation for good customer experience. EDiS has inherited customers through connections Brian's great-great-grandfather began making 115 years ago, so he asked himself the question: “What creates a level of customer loyalty that spans over a century?” To answer this, Brian looked beyond construction to other industries and brands that prioritize the customer experience. He found admirable examples in hospitality, retail, and other industries that provided inspiration to emulate when developing a customer experience strategy specific to the construction industry. The result? A four-pillar approach to customer experience that focuses on the customer's journey with a deeper understanding of their wants and needs, combined with an ongoing commitment to community support. This shift in strategy has positioned EDiS to begin a new chapter in its century-plus contribution to construction in the region that it serves. A 4-Pillar Approach to Customer Experience Brian's research and networking efforts led to his four-pillar approach to design, develop, and manage construction projects. As the CEO, Brian's journey has made him reflect on building what matters, a core value of EDiS. This approach reaffirms the age-old values of community and quality the company stands for while also meeting the expectations of modern-day customers accustomed to great experiences from other brands, which has raised the bar for EDiS.  1.   Alignment The first pillar is about setting the intention to meet your customers' needs. Meeting the core expectations of a customer, such as good food at a restaurant, is table stakes. For a truly exceptional customer experience, companies need to understand their customers' wants and needs in more detail and go above and beyond to provide a personalized experience that exceeds their expectations. Dialing into the customer's needs and aligning your service accordingly can create extraordinary results that build loyalty through small acts such as seating a couple on a first date in a quiet corner or providing a candle in the dessert on someone's birthday. 2.   Authenticity The second pillar is about delivering on the high standards set for meeting customer needs. After you understand your customer, you need to provide service that exceeds their expectations throughout every step of the customer journey. This includes the “back of the house” moving parts that will indirectly influence your customer's experience. 3.   Accountability The third pillar is about articulating these expectations to your team. In the construction industry, there is a stereotype of a superintendent yelling at their staff that a project isn't moving fast enough. A more effective way to keep teams accountable is to maintain mechanisms for feedback that celebrate positive performance and boost employee engagement. Encouraging excellent communication through people, processes, and technology is critical for effective feedback loops that provide accountability. 4.   Action The fourth pillar is about pulling everything together and walking the walk. In addition to going to seminars and reading books for inspiration, you have to hire people, develop processes, and gather data to deliver exceptional customer experiences. When receiving both positive and constructive feedback, the company needs to be open to acting on potential solutions.  Breaking the Mold for Customer Expectations in the Construction Industry It's no secret that the construction industry isn't always recognized for high-quality customer experience. Brian's decision to make customer experience a core business model isn't just nostalgia; it's a savvy strategy that has opened doors to technological innovations, employee satisfaction, and customer loyalty that have improved outcomes at every level of the business.  New Processes for Delivering Exceptional Service Improve Outcomes for the Whole Community Since implementing the four-pillar approach, EDiS has utilized a branded process to gather intelligence and context on each customer such as: ·      Has the customer ever had a project go wrong? ·      Does the customer have any budget concerns aside from the stated budget? ·      How does the customer define success? ·      What players or stakeholders are involved in this project? ·      Who are our customer's customers and what's important to them? For example, when building a school, any number of factors can delay the project. No matter what, school still opens in August. Parents, teachers, and students all rely on EDiS to complete construction (or renovation) on time on a building that is essential to the community. This process identifies crucial factors that bring the company into alignment, allow them to deliver, hold them accountable, and equip them to take action. Empowering an Exceptional Employee Experience EDiS' four-pillars for exceptional CX have revolutionized their team's approach to going to work every day. Their strategy is built on collaboration, so all processes are team oriented and emphasize effective communication. Their work culture stands out in the industry through positive reinforcement and a growth mindset. Everyone in the company complements each other's strengths and brings something to the table for one another. Just like their customers, potential hires and tenured employees appreciate knowing that the company they work for can align with their values and deliver an authentic experience.  Sharpening the Company's Competitive Edge in the Construction Industry Through Tech-Enabled Teams Listening to customer concerns created positive ripple effects across the quality of service EDiS offers. In one example, EDiS customers voiced that high contingency spending was a top concern in their decision to select a construction company. EDiS invested in developing a digital modeling program to reduce potential contingencies by harnessing technology to diagnose the building's design before breaking any ground.  By actively listening to customers, EDiS made their construction projects safer and prevented contingency situations that would lengthen the project timeline and increase customer costs further down the road. Investing in technology has allowed them to provide the best results for their customers and communities.  In the next 10 years, Brian foresees the continued evolution of technology in the construction industry. The digital transformation has already changed the customer psyche across all industries, so it's critical to capture that curve. Employees who work in construction will increasingly need to be familiar with technological advances. By embracing technology and empowering teams to deploy it effectively, EDiS can differentiate themselves from the competition and provide a better experience for their employees and customers alike.  A Customer-Centric Culture Drives Growth While Aligning With Core Values Throughout his leadership journey, Brian's vision for EDiS has been to build what matters. In the construction world, this means providing a service that is safe, efficient, and timely. At EDiS, it means going beyond service to create an experience that shows customers they are valued and creates smiles throughout the entire customer journey. Brian's investments in technology support his four-pillar approach to align with customer needs, ensure authenticity, hold his company accountable, and take decisive action toward implementing and improving processes.  Brian's customer-centric focus differentiates his company from others in the industry and inspires his customers to choose EDiS over competitors. Valuing the human element of the industry has also improved the employee experience, encouraging workers to value communication and collaboration to provide a differentiated experience. Brian's innovations have created opportunities for the company to thrive in a future defined by technology, efficiency, and community connection that enables continued growth while staying true to the values his family began building over 100 years ago.  What Brian Does for Fun As Brian's last name, DiSabatino, suggests, a love of cooking and eating Italian food is in his blood. His favorite pastimes include spending time with his three children and enjoying the meditative benefits of fly fishing on the upper Delaware River. To learn more about Brian, visit him on LinkedIn and his website at www.ediscompany.com. Watch the video here. Read the blog post here. 

The Power of Connection: How Networking, Advocacy, and Community Drive Professional Growth for Women in the Customer Contact Industry This week, we welcome Sandy Ko to the Digitally Irresistible podcast. Sandy is the founder and principal of CCWomen, a networking and advocacy community for women in the contact center industry.  After joining the contact center industry, Sandy recognized a need for women to find networking, mentorship, and leadership connections among other professional women with similar experiences. In 2018, Sandy founded CCWomen within her customer contact parent company, Customer Management Practice (CMP), to create a space for women to discuss their careers, share information and opportunities, celebrate each other's successes, inspire professional and personal growth, build relationships, and create meaningful change for diversity and inclusion. On this episode, we discuss how Sandy's commitment to connection, networking, and leadership helps women in the contact center industry achieve their professional goals within a thriving community of like-minded people. How One Woman's Search for Belonging Built Bridges Across an Industry Sandy is living proof of the strength in embracing change when building a meaningful, successful career. She changed careers from music education to event planning before finding her passion in the customer contact industry. Integral to Sandy's success in this industry was her approach to authenticity and connection that began in her childhood. At a young age, Sandy moved to the United States with her family. Facing a new culture with unfamiliar customs, Sandy's family found a sense of belonging with the Korean American community that helped them integrate into the broader culture through shared experiences and support.  As an adult on her career journey, Sandy found the same need for connection in her professional life. Joining the customer contact industry gave Sandy the opportunity to go to a conference where she met other professional women who were ambitious, strong, and inspirational. That's when it clicked: the key to a career path that inspires authenticity and success is community. The same sense of belonging her family found within the Korean American community could provide a model for networking, mentorship, and community for women in Sandy's chosen field.  Sandy reached out to some of these women to meet over 7 a.m. mimosas on the last day of the conference. This informal meeting ignited the spark that led to the launch of CCWomen. In the five years since these encounters, CCWomen has grown into a thriving community of women who are redefining the customer contact industry. The growth of CCWomen demonstrates how providing venues for professional networking and community-building inspires excellence, creates a culture of authentic connection, and drives industry-level innovations.  Paving the Path to Empowerment for Women in the Contact Center Industry To make her vision for CCWomen a reality, Sandy leveraged her background in event planning and love of organizing. Her goal was to develop events that would serve as a platform for community building, support, and empowerment for women. In addition to in-person events, Sandy recognized an opportunity to create digital connections through content generation, social media, and more to build CCWomen into an authoritative hub of resources for the industry. Tri-Annual CCWomen Summits Each year, there are three CCWomen Summits that women and allies can attend. Sandy invites industry experts, emerging leaders, life coaches, and other speakers to engage attendees on a wide range of subjects. These speaking engagements, masterclasses, and discussion panels provide a space for women in the industry to have open conversations in a professional and supportive environment.   These events provide a wealth of information and networking opportunities that help attendees grow and succeed as professionals in the customer contact industry. Topics and conversations also go beyond work. Real community means providing support for other needs such as maintaining a work-life balance and encouraging self-care alongside professional growth.  Also critical to CCWomen's messaging is a commitment to diversity, equity, access, and inclusion. In addition to advocating for women, the CCWomen Summits provide a platform for advocates to promote awareness and action for disability rights, religious inclusion, and more. Their efforts have pushed meaningful progress for diversity, equity, and inclusion across the industry. Providing Strategic Toolkits Through Content and Resources in the Digital Sphere Beyond their events, CCWomen builds a sense of community online and through social media. Sandy worked to create a CCWomen website to serve as a central hub for resources, tools, and content for women in the customer contact industry. CCWomen's content—from articles to podcasts to social media engagement—broaches topics like work-life balance, leadership skills, salary negotiations, and more. Sandy's goal is to build strategic toolkits of information and resources that members can use to define their own goals and set boundaries to grow both personally and professionally.   Education, Conversation, and Storytelling All Contribute to the Success and Support of CCWomen's Community Together, these events and resources have succeeded in building a community of women and allies who invest in each other's success in real, meaningful ways. Sandy encourages the members of CCWomen to embrace networking and build connections. Everyone needs support and community to thrive personally and professionally. Sharing these conversations and stories provides encouragement and also has the potential to build lifelong friendships. The CCWomen Hall of Fame CCWomen also strives to celebrate the success of individuals within their community. The CCWomen Hall of Fame is a yearly event that acknowledges the achievements of established and up-and-coming women making a significant impact in the customer contact industry. By sharing the success of these women, other members of the community can find inspiration and networking opportunities for their own success.  The Four Pillars of a CCWomen Hall of Fame Inductee There are four pillars, that describe the qualities and achievements every CCWomen Hall of Fame Inductee possesses: 1.    Build the Stage – Empowering other women and providing them opportunities to shine through coaching, mentorship, or sponsorship.  2.    Crystal Clear – Valuing transparency by having the courage to conduct research, talk about tough topics, set high standards, maintain boundaries, and keep commitments. 3.    Skin in the Game – Leading with action to create communities and inspire engagement in a way that prioritizes compassion, connection, and a shared sense of humanity and community. 4.    Ready for Change – Moving the bar for all underrepresented women and allies in measurable and enduring ways that break barriers and promote diversity, equity, access, and inclusion.   From Morning Mimosas to Moving Mountains in the Contact Center Industry, CCWomen Continues to Grow  CCWomen membership is always growing. Sandy's goal is to continue inspiring women to find support in the space CCWomen provides and embody their mission and purpose. Sandy sees unlimited potential for CCWomen to invite allies to join in her efforts and expand outside the United States to further enrich and diversify their community.  Sandy's efforts have grown CCWomen from an informal gathering over mimosas to a series of impactful events held over the course of each year. This community of empowered, industry-shaping professional women provides proof of what can be accomplished when they come together to invest in each other's success, share experiences and insight, and inspire a culture of growth and connection. CCWomen's efforts enable professional growth while also meeting the need for community and promoting advocacy efforts that embody community values and create smiles within and beyond the contact center industry.  What Sandy Does for Fun Though her parents were avid golf fans, Sandy only recently decided to pick up her mom's clubs and begin her journey to becoming a golf master. She loves the satisfaction of improving at a difficult sport and enjoys networking on the greens with friends and colleagues.  To learn more about Sandy, visit her on LinkedIn and the CCWomen website. For more information about upcoming CCWomen events, visit their events page. Watch the video here. Read the blog post here.  

A Unique Employee Compensation Plan Boosts Customer Satisfaction and Re-Defines the Moving Industry  This week, we welcome Ron Holt to the Digitally Irresistible podcast. Ron is the CEO of Pink Zebra Moving and a serial entrepreneur with specialties in startups, franchise development, management, and leadership.    Over nearly two decades, Ron built his first startup, a cleaning service called Two Maids and a Mop, into a nationwide multimillion-dollar franchise. He developed a unique employee compensation model based on customer ratings that incentivizes high-quality customer service. Ron's innovative leadership strategies emphasize treating employees with empathy and prioritizing a positive customer experience. Ron's current startup, Pink Zebra Moving, is using the same business model to redefine customer expectations about the moving experience.   On this episode, we discuss how Ron's determination to deliver excellent customer service with a focus on fun is disrupting the moving industry and driving positive outcomes for his brand, employees, and customers alike.  An Entrepreneur on a Mission to Provide Positive Moving Experiences and Overhaul an Industry Ron's entrepreneurial mission began 20 years ago when he left his job in corporate America to pursue an entrepreneurial career path. He selected the home services industry and saved money until he could open his own cleaning business, which he named Two Maids and a Mop. The company achieved impressive growth through nationwide franchising success, but rather than sit back and enjoy his accomplishments, Ron decided to do it all over again. He sold Two Maids and a Mop and started a new kind of moving company, which he named Pink Zebra Moving.    Like many things in life, Ron's idea to start a moving company originated from a personal experience. His mother-in-law hired a moving company and encountered obstacles in nearly every step of the process. Ron recognized an opportunity to consider his mother-in-law's experience through the lens of an entrepreneur and start a company that would prioritize customer satisfaction in the moving industry. His goal was to disrupt the moving industry through a CX business model.  Ron envisioned Pink Zebra Moving to be a moving company like no other, committed to providing customers with service that is not only effective but also fun. His unique, relationship-centric business model—already a proven success with his first startup—is setting the stage for Pink Zebra Moving to overhaul an entire industry through positive CX, highly motivated employees, and fun experiences that create smiles.   Connecting Customer and Employee Experience to Create a One-of-a-Kind Moving Company Before starting Pink Zebra Moving, Ron realized that his mother-in-law's experience was not unique. All across the U.S., moving companies were consistently missing opportunities to deliver positive CX. With true entrepreneurial spirit, Ron accepted the challenge and decided to revolutionize an industry to create positive employee and customer experiences.  To successfully manage his customers' experience, Ron first had to understand and empathize with what the process entails. He put himself in the shoes of a customer needing to hire a moving service and identified areas where he could replace friction points with positive experiences and improve the overall quality of the service. Next, Ron strategized to solidify the approach his employees would use to provide a uniquely positive moving experience.  Ron realized he needed to do two things: build a relationship with each customer to personalize their experience and bring a sense of fun to the moving process. By prioritizing CX from the moment the customer books the moving service to following up before the move date, Ron makes customers feel valued before the move even begins. With this in mind, Ron devised several revolutionary methods for customer engagement and positive CX to take place before, during, and after the moving process.   Before the Move Most customers book a moving service several weeks ahead of the move. Ron realized this was an opportunity to positively engage with customers right out of the gate through texts, videos, and other communications with a strategic focus on fun and quality service. One example of customer communication is a video that shows the moving employees working out in a gym, symbolizing how the movers train for the upcoming move. Ron admits it seems a little silly. He also believes this type of communication is vital for establishing a relationship with the new customer and setting the stage early on to be more than just another commodity in the mind of the customer.  In addition to the fun material, Ron also sends out practical tips that help the customer make decisions about their moving experience. These materials educate customers and manage expectations about what the moving process will entail, which helps bring customer and company goals into alignment.   As an extra special touch to boost the customer experience, Pink Zebra Moving delivers a free meal to the customer the night before the move. Ron recognizes that the simple act of providing a meal is vital to achieving the kind of customer-brand relationship that allows his company to stand out through memorable customer service.   During the Move Normally, having a team of strangers in your home for several hours to move all your belongings is an awkward experience for everyone involved. Ron developed a moving day procedure that breaks the ice through fun employee engagement and setting up speakers throughout the home to set a positive mood with “Happy Playlists.” This family friendly, fun-focused strategy makes people want to smile and creates conversations that would not occur otherwise.   Ron knows that customers expect the moving company to do the work they were hired to do, so his process delivers quality and efficiency while creating a unique and positive experience for the customer. By leaving room for fun, Pink Zebra Moving's moving day method improves customer satisfaction (CSAT) even further.   After the Move  Ron's pièce de résistance is to leave customers a “Surprise Box” that they will discover when they unpack at their new home. It looks like their other boxes and contains things such as candy, trinkets, and a personalized item that employees select based on details gleaned over the course of the customer's relationship with the company.  The last “personal touch” from the company also has a practical side. The day after the move, the branch manager sends a personalized video message to the customer, using their first name. This gives customers a sense of calm and confidence that even if something isn't perfect, the company is available to ensure they have the best experience every step of the way. This demonstrates to the customer that the company will hold itself accountable to high standards for CX to earn the customer's loyalty for the next time they need to hire a moving service.  Incentivized, Purpose-Driven Employees Are the Movers and Shakers Who Make This Innovative Vision a Reality Ron's innovative ideas are successful because he invests in the employees who deliver his vision with every customer interaction. He believes in meeting his employees' needs for work that pays well while also imparting a higher sense of respect, value, and purpose. Ron strives to create a positive and successful employee experience in two primary ways: 1.    Pay-for-Performance Worker Compensation Plan Ron's compensation plan empowers employees to earn wages well above the market standard by going above and beyond in their performance to provide exceptional customer service. Customers rate their level of satisfaction with the service, providing employees with motivation and feedback to align their personal and professional priorities with the company's CX goals.  2.    Inspiring Purpose by Personally Investing in Employee Potential Ron believes investing in the personal and professional goals of his employees is the best way to inspire loyalty and exceptional performance. He takes time to ask each employee what their dreams are. Working together toward a future goal deepens the connection with the employee. By identifying a purpose, employees are inspired to achieve that goal, and it gives them a reason to work hard and perform well.  In one example, Ron shared his experience as an entrepreneur to help an employee fulfill their dream of starting their own moving company. Ron's personal investment in this employee led to high performance and ratings during their time with the company and fostered a connection that lasted beyond the employer-employee relationship. Employees appreciate when a company is sincere about investing in their success, and real-world outcomes like this are critical to cultivating a positive, effective employee experience. From Disruptive to Transformative: How Fun and Positive CX Can Pioneer Industry-Wide Changes and Turn the Moving Experience Around Ron's goal for Pink Zebra Moving is to create a moving experience that customers look forward to by increasing the quality of the service and adding positive experiences throughout the moving process. Ron believes that returning to good, old-fashioned customer service is the key to making customers and employees smile—changing the moving industry for the better. His purpose as an entrepreneur is to create a new category of “happy movers” across the U.S. through positive, fun CX strategies that increase CSAT and inspire loyalty. What Ron Does for Fun Given Ron's determination to make work fun, it's no surprise that he knows how to have fun outside of work, too! With a lifelong interest in baseball, he spends much of his free time cheering on his daughter at her softball games and his son at his baseball games. When not on the playing field or in the stands, he and his family also enjoy spending warm weather days soaking up the sun on a boat.  To learn more about Ron, connect with him on LinkedIn and on his website at pinkzebramoving.com. Discover franchising opportunities with Pink Zebra Moving here. Read the blog post here. Watch the video here.      

 Creating a Thriving Culture Shift for iQor Employees Through Organizational Development   This week we welcome Mark Monaghan to the Digitally Irresistible podcast. Mark is vice president of organizational development at iQor, driving the transformation of leadership development programs for iQor's 40,000 amazing employees spanning 10 countries.  Mark's rich background in human resources and training and development has fueled his passion for leading iQor's organizational development initiatives. His work focuses on building programs that positively impact the lives of iQorians through leadership coaching and career advancement.  On this episode, we discuss how Mark's organizational development approach to employee career pathing enables iQorians to “Be More with iQor” and creates value for the clients who trust iQor to help achieve their goals.   Transforming Employee Growth Through Organizational Development Mark's journey to a career in organizational development was shaped by the valuable skills and experiences he gained along the way. He earned his undergraduate degree in telecommunications and film production. By his late twenties, Mark became managing partner with a national restaurant chain. Though he enjoyed the work, he wanted something he could really put his heart into. After reassessing his passions and priorities, he decided to earn master's degrees and certifications in human resources.  He worked in HR for over a decade before accepting a corporate training position with iQor. The chance to develop people in positive ways made him fall in love with the world of training and development. His contributions helped expand iQor's focus on training and onboarding to address broader organizational development.  Mark has been at the forefront of iQor's shift to organizational development, providing leadership and proven strategies to support employees at every level of the company. His organizational development programs have won awards and created smiles for iQorians and clients alike. The efforts of Mark and his team embody iQor's commitment to building rewarding employee experiences that support career growth and drive excellent CX.  Career Pathing Is the Way Forward for Maximizing Employee Potential   iQor has historically emphasized onboarding and training for new agents and supervisors. While this remains an important focus for iQor, providing developmental opportunities at all leadership levels is also imperative. In 2022, iQor brought in new senior leadership to focus on training, allowing Mark to focus on organizational development.   Mark is instrumental in building leadership programs and coaching workshops that focus on all employees, from agents to all levels of managers. He built career pathing into these levels, providing a leadership pipeline to maximize iQor's investment in its employees, resulting in new avenues for growth.   iQor's sQholar Program Enables Agent Leadership   Frontline customer service agents and supervisors comprise the majority of iQor's global workforce. In 2017, Mark helped launch iQor's sQholar Program to enable the advancement of agents into leadership roles.   An assessment of the existing training identified opportunities to improve its effectiveness. The sQholar Program was designed to drive specific KPIs along with other behaviors through a comprehensive coaching workshop.   Mark and his team reduced a six-month-long training program to four months while also improving outcomes across multiple metrics. Frontline agents with the initiative to progress to the next stage of leadership are equipped to provide quality service and excellent CX, aligning employee career pathing with the growth expectations of iQor's clients.   The Award-Winning iLead Next Level Career Coaching Program Drives Leadership Potential   The next level of iQor's organizational development strategy is the iLead Program to provide career pathing into higher levels of leadership. The program applies iQor's Leadership Competency Model, which describes the four levels of employee career pathing:  1.    Leading Oneself – Agents beginning their leadership journey. 2.    Leading a Team – Frontline supervisors. 3.    Leading a Department – Manager of managers. 4.    Leading a Vision – Executives who drive strategy and results. Each step aligns with Lominger Competencies that ensure an employee's position is about more than just a title. The program uses a mentor/mentee style dialogue to assess these competencies and encourage the relationships at the heart of iQor's leadership structure.  In March 2023, iQor was awarded a Bronze Stevie® Award in the Customer Service Training or Coaching Program of the Year for iLead. Mark expressed pride in his team and the program for achieving this in the first year and a half of a global rollout. For Mark, this indicates that people recognize the difference iLead makes in the lives of iQor employees and the unlimited potential it has for improving output at every level. 3 Values of Effective Leadership  iQor's training programs and coaching workshops provide many metrics for assessing and enabling leadership success guided by these three key values:   1.    Accountability It's important for leaders to hold themselves accountable, asking themselves “did I set up this person to fail or to succeed?” This models the ability to provide honest self-assessments and remain solution oriented. Accountability is critical for maintaining the relationships at the core of advancing employees into new leadership roles.   2.    Resiliency Mark says that in order to guide employees, leaders must have the capacity to withstand and recover quickly from obstacles. This true grit factor is especially critical in the BPO industry, which requires leaders who can thrive in a world of advancing technology, shifting client needs, and dynamic client priorities.   3.    Servant-Leadership Mindset Effective leaders lead by example. An empathetic approach provides a respectful, safe atmosphere that allows employees to grow through recognition and appreciation. This culture of support and trust empowers employees who are intrinsically motivated to be the best they can be by developing their leadership potential.   Culture of Learning is Key for Organizational Development Teams   Underlying these three values of effective leadership is a culture that facilitates active learning. iQor's active learning strategy involves fundamentally reimagining the classroom for career learning through the application of research-driven adult learning principles and incorporates our expertise in work-at-home (WAH) and virtual learning processes.   iQor has embraced methods and technology proven to increase employee engagement and provide effective learning and coaching. These methods emphasize collaboration, engagement, and active dialogue between coaches and employees. When learning strategies embody these priorities, employees are happier, more productive, and better suited to invest in their own development with iQor.   Organizational Development Creates Teams That Consistently Exceed Client Expectations   The sQholar and iLead Programs have been enormously beneficial for iQor's employees and, consequently, for iQor's brand partners. These programs empower Mark to share measurable results with clients pertaining to the effectiveness of iQor's teams and training platforms.   Career pathing aligns iQor's internal messaging with client priorities by ensuring that employees at every level are driven to create smiles for themselves, their teams, their customers, and the brands they serve. What Mark Does for Fun When not building leadership programs from the ground up, Mark enjoys taking his vintage Corvette for a spin around his family's home base in Charleston, South Carolina—a hobby that he and his son enjoy together. He is also a science fiction fan with a large collection of sci-fi memorabilia!   To learn more about Mark, connect with him on LinkedIn.   Watch the video here. Read the blog post here.     

The Psychology of Customer Engagement: How Loyal Customers Accelerate Growth and Provide a Competitive Advantage   This week we welcome Jermaine Edwards to the Digitally Irresistible podcast. Jermaine is a leading customer growth expert, advisor, international speaker, and award-winning author.  With more than 20 years of sales and leadership experience, Jermaine specializes in working with brands to build customer loyalty. Since 2016, his clients have delivered more than $250 million in value to their customers. His revolutionary customer loyalty strategies improve retention, fuel revenue, and provide a competitive advantage in tough market conditions.   On this episode, we discuss how Jermaine's secrets of unshakeable loyalty use proven psychological principles to engage customer loyalty and accelerate brand growth.  Advising Brands in Customer-Oriented Strategies for Success A self-described Jamaican farm boy who grew up in London and studied in Germany, Jermaine became a customer-growth enthusiast because of great mentors he had early on in his career.  Of all the businesses he worked with, Jermaine noticed that the most successful were customer oriented. This inspired him to develop a path for customer growth that small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) could apply to gain a needed advantage in tough climates.  Jermaine is now an established leader in customer loyalty. His business advises both SMEs and top global industry leaders to adopt a customer-centric approach to growth. His secrets of unshakeable loyalty transform the way CX leaders partner with their teams and communities to achieve success.  Unlocking the Secrets of Unshakeable Customer Loyalty Conversations about customer loyalty usually center around three different types: rational, emotional, and behavioral. These individual strains are all important concerns for engaging with customers, but for truly impressive results, the discussion has to go further.   Jermaine's model for unshakeable loyalty goes above and beyond by tapping into known and observable qualities that brands and CX leaders can utilize in their customer base. By creating a relationship between the customer and the brand that is as important to the customer as the product or service being provided, unshakeable loyalty offers a uniquely successful strategy for increasing customer retention and revenue.  Principles of Psychology Can Improve Customer Retention The current global marketplace often prioritizes quantitative factors such as sales or cutting-edge developments in technology, but the benefits of a value-based, emotional connection with customers are important as well. Shared conversation and values with customers leads to a much more distinct, powerful, and cohesive loyalty.  There are three factors in creating this connection. 1.    Psychology. Or, in other words, what we believe, understand, and value about how we connect with others. 2.    Proximity. Proximity isn't just about physical closeness but social closeness: it's our sense of what groups we belong to and how meaningful they are. 3.    Power. Power refers to the influence we have with others and the leverage we have to engage in deeper, richer conversations.   While all are relevant, psychology is the linchpin that holds everything together. Customers are people. Their needs and habits can, to a degree, be predicted, allowing CX leaders to unlock shared values and connections to improve customer engagement and cultivate loyalty. The Endowed Progress Effect Motivates Customers to Engage and Achieve Brand Goals  An effective strategy for unlocking this psychological connection is called the Endowed Progress Effect. This effect describes how people provided with artificial advancement toward a goal feel invested in reaching that goal. Rather than just educating a client or pushing for product engagement, this technique helps customers feel intrinsically motivated to achieve a goal set by the brand. Jermaine says the key is to tap into customer beliefs and values. Customers are more willing to engage when a brand has demonstrated that they understand and share their values. With this alignment, CX leaders can direct customers toward a goal. The Endowed Progress Effect is successful with customers by enabling brands to map out what motivates customers' affinity with the brand. Brands can identify the values that underlie these motivations, and synthesize this information into goals that align the brand with customer values. Telling the Brand's Story Through Shared Customer Values and Experiences To establish this human connection, it helps to think of strategy in terms of three types of stories. This framing allows for a more organic, flexible approach that is necessary for a customer-centric foundation.  Story 1: Relationship Between Customer and CompanyThe first story is about the relationship between the customer and the company. This precedes the product or service and is all about identifying the values and needs of the customer base. Brands must initiate a dialogue with their customers that extends beyond a sales pitch – a real conversation with real connection gives customers the freedom to express the values they expect the brands they support to share.  Story 2: Relationship Between Customer and Product or ServiceThe second story is about the relationship between the customer and the product or service. When the customer is grounded in supporting the brand's values, the intrinsic motivation to support what the brand offers is already there. It is still up to CX leaders to maintain an active dialogue throughout this stage (here is where the Endowed Progress Effect comes in). Active participation focused on an end goal incentivizes customers to maintain their relationship with the brand in tangible ways. Story 3: Shared Experience and Value Between Customer and BrandThe third story is mostly unseen: it's about the shared experience and value created between the brand and the customer. This can be defined in many ways, from customer retention rates to revenue generation. This part of the story is where unshakeable loyalty manifests, creating new potential for brand growth and success. Embracing the Human Connection in Customer-Brand Relationships Produces Powerful, Measurable Results  Many brands are already expanding their growth potential by tapping into the secrets of unshakeable loyalty. This strategy enabled a well-known shoe brand to reach a 93% return rate for customers. The customers return to buy shoes because they believe their support of the product and brand makes a difference. When customers can connect a brand to their personal values, it creates a sense of pride that incentivizes them to maintain a loyal relationship with the brand.  While products and services evolve and become obsolete, customers will always be relevant. Understanding and utilizing principles of psychology equips brands to engage with their customer base in powerful ways that produce results. The shared values, stories, and emotions at the heart of every customer-brand relationship are what make unshakeable loyalty such a critical component of any brand's success. What Jermaine Does for Fun A former cello player himself, Jermaine enjoys listening to orchestra music and attending the theater. This love of music, particularly string instruments, is shared by his daughter, who has played violin with the London Symphony Youth Orchestra.  To learn more about Jermaine, visit him on LinkedIn, Twitter, and his website at www.jermainedwards.com. Watch the video here. Read the blog post here.     

Promoting CX Excellence Through Strategic Leadership  On this week's episode of the Digitally Irresistible Podcast, we welcome Adam Toporek. Adam is a third-generation entrepreneur, consultant, and highly sought-after CX keynote speaker. Recognized as one of the top thought leaders in customer experience, Adam is a strategic analyst and consultant with appearances on top media outlets such as “Forbes,” “Entrepreneur,” “AMA,” and more. His innovative strategies guide brands to adapt their CX leadership to drive quality customer service in the digital age. On this episode, we discuss Adam's 3E Leadership Framework that equips CX leaders to guide high-performing customer service teams[GN1]  to maximize positive CX outcomes that optimize digital and human customer interactions.  A Customer-Centric Culture is Key for Employee Engagement and Customer Satisfaction Customer experience is in Adam's blood. His grandfather, father, and mother were all business owners who raised him with a customer-centric focus before it became a catchphrase. His family background taught him the importance of customer experience from a young age.  As a teenager packing boxes in his family's warehouse, Adam remembers “just throwing stuff” in the boxes. His father guided him to realize that the customer's first impression of the order began when they opened the box. He taught Adam how to pack the box neatly and ultimately set the foundation for a customer-centric focus that would direct the course of Adam's career. Adam went on to earn his MBA and develop his own entrepreneurial experience with a customer experience mindset. His expertise led him to recognize the need for brands to develop CX leadership strategies to improve customer service. Adam is now a trusted CX expert, keynote speaker, consultant, and author helping brands cultivate high-performing customer teams through improved education and increased engagement. His book, "Be Your Customer's Hero,"[GN2]  serves as a playbook for customer service success. The 3E Leadership Framework Equips Customer Service Teams for CX Success Amid all the attention given to digital CX strategies, Adam advises CX leaders to recognize the importance of their teams. The digital transformation of customer service is crucial, but brands are still run first and foremost by human beings. Quality customer service teams are more important now than ever before in ensuring positive CX. For customer service teams to succeed, leadership must support them in strategic ways. Adam has developed a three-part framework for leadership that focuses on key areas of frontline employee support that simultaneously improves the employee experience[GN3]  as well as the customer experience. With this 3E Leadership Framework, Adam outlines a strategic path for leaders to model and equip their employees with a customer-centric focus, resulting in increased employee engagement and improved customer retention. 1.   Embody CX leaders must embody a customer-centric culture for their teams. Many brands talk the talk with missions and values that focus on the customer. More importantly, their leaders must walk the talk to ensure the CX culture they espouse aligns with their actual organizational priorities, actions, and practices. Team meetings, quarterly reviews, and most of all, incentives will always communicate a brand's true priorities to employees regardless of the messaging. For employees to embody a customer-centric culture, incentives must be grounded in CX practices and not just sales. Ensuring that the messaging aligns with the culture is an ongoing process. When leadership embodies this in both messaging and culture, employees know that they need to adopt the same customer-centric focus. 2.   Educate Once frontline employees integrate a customer-centric approach, leadership must educate them in how to implement it. Training in operational and technical skills is a necessary starting point. Leadership must also educate their customer service teams in the “soft skills” at the heart of customer service-client interactions. Frontline employees need to feel equipped to handle difficult situations while still prioritizing positive outcomes. When customer concerns become too complex for digital tools to handle, a team's ability to efficiently handle “human moments” makes all the difference in ensuring a positive customer experience. Increased confidence in this area will boost employee engagement and improve the quality and efficiency of the customer service provided. Adam says the key is to accommodate rather than resist difficult customer interactions. In his book “Be Your Customer's Hero,” Adam describes a technique called “Let Customers Punch Themselves Out” as a de-escalation strategy. Though it sounds counterintuitive, this technique encourages a positive outcome by allowing a frustrated customer to express themselves without interference or excuses from the customer service agent. This lets the customer feel heard and makes it more likely that they will re-engage and allow a customer service agent to enact the best solution in that moment. 3. Empower Employees must be empowered with the tools necessary to efficiently and effectively resolve customer concerns. The digital transformation of customer service has led customers to expect hassle-free resolutions to their issues in real time. If a customer is referred to human support after a digital channel couldn't resolve their issue, it's imperative that the human agent solve the issue without additional steps for the customer. When frontline employees are empowered to resolve issues without delays, both they and the customers win. Employee empowerment is a win-win-win scenario: customers win by avoiding hassles; employees win by having the tools to resolve the situation; and management wins by avoiding costly and prolonged customer service concerns. While leaders may feel that empowering employees can be risky, Adam advises that the risk is worth the reward. As long as the empowerment is appropriate for the context, the additional latitude to prevent hassles such as extra steps or delays is necessary for meeting customer expectations. Leaders who prioritize CX will find that empowering their teams is a necessary step for providing excellent customer service.  Culture Work Is the Way Forward for CX Success in the Hybrid Digital-Human World of Customer Service  The current state of customer service is a hybrid digital-human experience. Though the human element may be declining, this only increases the importance of human customer interaction. When a digital interaction can't meet customer needs, human support must provide satisfactory service. As a result, customer service is increasingly becoming a highly skilled profession. Brands must be willing to invest in their team's success. Each step of the 3E Leadership Framework establishes the foundation for the next. When leadership embodies a customer-centric culture, employees follow suit. Leaders can educate their teams with the service skills needed to resolve complex customer interactions. This team empowerment ensures that employees have the latitude to provide hassle-free, real-time solutions. Leaders who recognize and embrace the importance of a customer-centric culture will find that investing in their teams is a savvy way forward for providing positive CX that will create smiles for leadership, employees, and customers alike. What Adam Does for Fun An artist at heart, Adam enjoys writing fiction and playing music in his free time.  To learn more about Adam, visit him on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and his website at a customersthatstick.com. Watch the video here. Read the blog post here. 

Turning Customers Into Lifelong Advocates This week we welcome Brittany Hodak to the Digitally Irresistible podcast. Brittany is an entrepreneur, author, customer experience keynote speaker, and author of over 350 thought-leadership articles for a variety of national media, including regular columns for Forbes, Adweek, and Success. Brittany has spent her entire career studying the psychology of superfandom, while working on fan strategy and product campaigns for some of the world's most iconic brands and global superstars, including Walmart, Disney, Amazon, Luke Bryan, Katie Perry, the Boston Red Sox, and many more.   Now, she's distilled everything she's learned in practice and poured it into her book, “Creating Superfans .” In the book, Brittany shares her SUPER model framework for fan engagement with memorable case studies from businesses of all sizes.  From Bumblebee to Super CX Expert From childhood, Brittany Hodak (then Brittany Jones) always wanted to work in the entertainment industry. At 16 she landed what she thought was the coolest job in the world when she became the mascot for a radio station. Dressed as a bumblebee, Brittany attended every car dealership opening, state fair, and Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting. When the movie Bridget Jones's Diary was coming out, the station manager thought it would be cool to publish a Brittany Jones's Diary on the station's website but didn't know what it should cover. Brittany suggested that she interview every band that came to town, to attract more traffic to the website. So, as a 17-year-old in the small town of Roland, Oklahoma, Brittany's job was to hang out with rock stars and brag about it on the internet. Turned out to be a cool job, after all.  Throughout college and working at record labels, entertainment agencies, and music magazines, Brittany's obsession with the idea of fandom remained her driving force. She needed to know what made some bands go viral while other bands just went away. Why do some people love some things and not others? After working with more brands and larger agencies, Brittany went back to school and earned a master's degree in consumer behavior and marketing.  Then came her aha! moment:   All of the markers she'd recognized in fans of bands applied to consumers in every category. She realized that if she could take everything she'd learned in music and teach it to people at brands, she could help them build superfans like the rock bands she witnessed. And that's what she's done ever since, working with brands and organizations that aspire to become iconic brands in their category.  Marketers and CX professionals will find Brittany's SUPER model framework to be a game-changer: simple to learn, deploy, and measure.  The SUPER Model Framework To win, you must create superfans. In an economy where technology makes it so easy for any startup brand to disrupt a category, your brand is the only thing you have to futureproof your business. Your brand depends on superfans—the loyal, enthusiastic customers who keep coming back and advocate to their friends on your behalf—and the SUPER brand experiences that turn your customers into superfans.   For Brittany, it's all about “curating the journey for people to be delighted with their experience.”  S-U-P-E-R is an acronym, designed to be super simple to remember and teach your team how to use. Here's what it stands for. S: Story What's your story? Why do you exist? How do you make your prospects' and customers' lives better? Why are you a better choice than your competitors?  The answers to these questions are your superpower, and you must make them clear to your prospects and customers. Everyone on your team must be well-versed and aligned with your story. You must intentionally design every experience you create for customers and prospects so it's true to your story. U: Understand Your Customer's Story Actively listen, not just to show authority, but with empathy.  Really understand the challenges the customer is trying to overcome—the transformation they're looking for—so you can determine if your miracle product or miracle service is the one that's going to offer that transformation.  You've got to know your customer's needs, both inside and outside their relationship with your brand, because the full picture is relevant to what you do.  Superfans are created at the intersection of your story and every customer's story, where yours and theirs overlap. That's where the magic starts to happen. P: Personalize Having yours and your customers' stories in hand is a good start. From there, you need to personalize customers' experiences. Customers' expectations have never been higher. When buyers consider your brand, they don't just scrutinize it in the context of competitors in your sector, but of every brand they interact with, regardless of category. In your communications with customers, demonstrate that you understand them, know their needs, and how you'll take care of them. Let them know they're not just a number. E: Exceed Expectations There are three types of customer interactions. At the end of every interaction, your customer is going to leave feeling better, worse, or exactly the same. Either you've improved their day or added friction or chaos to their day. Or, it's like a nothingburger. They just check it off their list and move on with the rest of their lives.  With intentional experience design, you architect experiences you want your customers to have before, during, and after the interaction. With a little bit of creativity, empathy, and curiosity, you can turn otherwise forgettable moments into something worth talking about, something that makes customers smile, something they'll remember, and something they're likely to repeat.  When you succeed in making something of an otherwise forgettable moment, you exceed expectations. That's likely to lead customers to come back, and to tell someone about their experience. R: Repeat Exceeding expectations isn't a “set it and forget it” kind of thing. It's a day-in, day-out commitment to customer centricity and customer obsession—going deep, wanting to create those remarkable experiences, wanting to differentiate yourself. As Elizabeth Arden said, “Repetition makes reputation and reputation makes customers.” You've got to give your customers a differentiated experience over and over and over again to earn a reputation [BM6] that's going to bring your customers back, that's going to create super fans. Brittany's CX Expectations Brittany's CX forecast is that customer expectations will continue to go through the roof. People will continue to want more and more, in terms of both technology and innovation; in terms of the speed and the immediacy that we demand, and also in terms of the creativity and personalization. Customers may experience something in one category and expect a similar experience from brands in other categories. We have expectations and we say, “If it works over there, it should work over here.”  What Brittany Does for Fun Brittany and her husband love to travel and go on adventures with their two young children. Whether they're going to Disney World, the local zoo, or the science center, Brittany says her favorite thing is to rediscover the world through the eyes of her kiddos. They give her insight into the future customer that's going to demand even more, leading her to ask questions like, “Why don't they have an automatic door,” or, “Why doesn't this restaurant have an app?” To learn more about Brittany and the SUPER model framework, connect with her on LinkedIn or visit her website. Watch the video here. Read the blog post here. 

Equip Frontline Employees With Everything They Need to Provide an Excellent Customer Experience On this week's episode of the Digitally Irresistible Podcast, we welcome Lori Brown. Lori is a seasoned customer experience executive with more than 25 years of experience in the BPO industry. She is a respected thought leader, CX consultant, and keynote speaker. Lori helps brands develop and evolve their CX strategy, enabling them to meet the rapidly changing demands of their customers. She embraces innovative technology that enables CX leaders to develop frontline employees into effective representatives of a brand, creating smiles for the customers they serve. On this episode, we discuss what it takes to equip frontline employees to succeed in delivering a great customer experience. Frontline Employees Are the Lifeblood of CX Good customer service has been a passion for Lori since her early days working in retail—selling wool coats in Florida. She worked her way through college managing a retail store. One night at 9pm as she was closing up, a customer crawled under the security gate and said she really needed to buy something for an important meeting the next day. Lori explained that the store was closed and she turned the customer away. The next day, when she got to work there was a stern voice message for her from the regional manager. He explained that Lori needed to immediately apologize to the customer she turned away, send her a dozen roses, and let her know that she's welcome in the store any time. Lori learned that without customers, the store is simply an empty box. To this day, Lori embraces the lesson that customers are always Number One. Frontline employees have a duty to make them feel welcome each time they interact with the brand. Lori's experience in retail ultimately led her to the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry where she was able to leverage her background in retail customer service. More than 20 years later, Lori still has a strong passion for the industry, customer service, and the frontline employees that make an excellent customer experience possible. 5 Key Elements Frontline Employees Need to Deliver a Great Customer Experience By listening and creating an environment that empowers frontline employees, CX leaders can address the changing demands of customers and keep frontline employees motivated to deliver great CX. Frontline employees know what customers want and technology can provide real-time insight into what they're hearing to help them deliver the best customer experience possible. Lori has identified five interconnected elements to help create an employee experience that results in excellent outcomes for the customer. 1. Data Data has played an important part in Lori's BPO experience over the past 20+ years, and for the last 12 she's noticed a greater focus on speech analytics and interaction analytics that provide insights to better understand customer behavior as well as how frontline employees support them. This goes beyond surveying customers and simply capturing data. Data-driven decisions include capturing, understanding, and then acting upon and continually measuring data. Data empowers educated decisions because you can't run a business on assumptions. 2. Environment The start of COVID necessitated that BPOs quickly and securely transition from work-in-office to work-at-home environments in order to maintain seamless customer service. Within days, BPOs addressed opportunities to provide reliable work-at-home environments and now, several years later, companies need to think about the hybrid contact center environment that exists today and how they can optimize it for their frontline employees. BPOs need to ensure they have consistently high levels of employee engagement for agents working at home, as they would in the office. They need to creatively implement ways to provide a supportive environment and a customer service culture with flexible work environments. It is essential to cultivate an environment where employees can freely share ideas and engage in peer discussions to emulate best practices of the work-in-office environment.  Happy employees with high levels of employee satisfaction provide great customer service. Frontline employees should feel valued and cared for in any work environment.  3. Technology Investing in technology to enable a collaborative environment as discussed above is one way to help employees feel valued. Another way to harness technology is through coaching tools that share best practices with agents, tells them how many times they've used a best practice, and how many more they need to use in order to meet their metrics. Technology such as this helps frontline employees feel valued when they know the company is committed to their growth and success. Coaching tools, data analytics, and other technologies equip agents to better serve customers with more complex issues which sets them up for success. Such tools can also enable supervisors and leadership to provide more effective coaching and feedback to frontline employees, resulting in happier employees and happier customers. 4. Policies Policies set direction for a business. If the goal is to be a customer centric organization, the policies and procedures should drive customer centricity. It's important to consider the full downstream effect when creating policies to make sure they align with the original intent along every step of the customer journey to provide the best customer experience possible. Lori shares a personal example of this from a recent trip to bring home a new puppy during the busy holiday travel season a week before Christmas. She tried to check in for her flight from home in Ft. Lauderdale and couldn't. She called the customer service line and the agent stated that the airline's pet policy required customers to check in at the airport when they have a pet ticket. Lori explained that she would only have the pet with her on the return flight home and she didn't want to get to the airport three hours early at Christmas time just to tell them she didn't have the pet with her on the outbound flight. But the agent made it clear that the policy stood and there was nothing the agent could do to change it for her. This is an example of an unanticipated scenario where a policy didn't serve the customer well.  5. Empowerment In this example, the frontline agent Lori was speaking with could have been empowered to provide a great customer experience by enabling Lori to check in recognizing that she didn't have the puppy yet. But instead, the agent was required to uphold the policy. Although the airline had invested in hiring the right people, training them, and providing technology to provide a great customer experience, the agent was not empowered to bypass the policy, resulting in a frustrating experience for the customer. There are times when it's necessary to uphold policies due to regulatory and compliance mandates, even when it impacts the customer experience. In some other instances the frontline agent could be empowered to improve the customer experience in the moment.  Lori points out that policies should maintain a focus on customer centricity and agents should be empowered to intervene on the customer's behalf, with proper guidelines, to ensure a great customer experience. Integrating the 5 Key Elements Throughout the Employee Experience Data from interaction analytics can empower employees by providing tools to understand customer interaction and to support the employee experience. This fosters trust and feedback from frontline employees, making it possible for them to create an excellent customer experience. By acting on data, creating an environment and culture conducive to great customer service, utilizing technology, assessing the impact of policies throughout the customer journey, and empowering employees to deliver rewarding customer experiences, brands can ensure employees feel valued and customers keep coming back. What Lori Does for Fun Living on Ft. Lauderdale beach, fun is always just footsteps away for Lori. When she's not at the beach, she's still enjoying the fresh air and sunshine practicing her newly discovered golf skills on the course and at the driving range.  To learn more about Lori, visit her on LinkedIn and her website at lbrowncxconsulting.com. Watch the video here. Read the blog post here.

 Make Customers Swoon and Create Zealous Advocates for Your Brand This week, we welcome Dr. Chip Bell to the Digitally Irresistible Podcast. Chip is a world-renowned authority on customer loyalty and service innovation, ranked by Global Gurus for the past eight years as one of the top 10 keynote speakers on customer experience.  Chip is a decorated U.S. Army veteran and has written more than 700 columns for business journals, magazines, and top blogs. He has appeared on CNN, CNBC, CBS, Fox Business, and ABC among others. His work has been featured in “Fortune,” “Businessweek,” “Forbes,” “The Wall Street Journal,” and the list goes on. He has authored 24 books on customer loyalty and service, many of which are award-winning bestsellers.  On this episode, we discuss nine principles to improve customer loyalty through service innovation that Chip explains in his 23rd book, “Kaleidoscope: Delivering Innovative Service That Sparkles.”  A Passion for Writing and Service Chip's interest in writing began in the 11th grade when we earned an A on a creative essay he wrote about a coat hanger. This unlocked the door to creativity for Chip and later gave a voice to his passion for excellent customer service. Since starting his company in 1980, he has had a blast making a positive difference in the lives of others and helping companies develop customer-centric strategies. 9 Steps to Improve Customer Loyalty Through Service Innovation In his book, “Kaleidoscope: Delivering Innovative Service That Sparkles,” Chip differentiates between good customer service that leaves customers satisfied and innovative service that makes customers swoon and become zealous advocates for a company. For Chip, a kaleidoscope is a metaphor for the key principles that remain constant when creating profoundly remarkable customer experiences that are unique to each organization. To create the types of compelling experiences that keep customers coming back, Chip says businesses must go beyond value added and develop value unique—innovative ways to create experiences customers can't wait to tell others about. 1. Enchantment: Create Magical Experiences That Customers Talk About Enchantment is an unexpected and unique aspect of the experience beyond what the customer can imagine.  Chip's wife experienced enchantment after trading in her old car for a new one. When she turned on the radio for the first time, she discovered the service tech had programmed the radio stations from her old car. Now, more than the car, she talks about the radio—the enchanting experience that went beyond her expectations. 2. Mercy: Treat Customers With Respect and Assume Innocence Mercy is how we treat customers when things go wrong, when they're upset, and when they're angry. Chip experienced mercy when he was driving down a rural road one Sunday morning. He was the only car on the road and didn't notice when the speed limit changed from 65 mph to 45 mph because the road conditions hadn't changed. A highway patrol officer stopped Chip, and the first thing he asked was if there was an emergency. The officer assumed innocence and showed mercy. Chip got a ticket, but what stood out to him was how incredible the experience was. So much so that he wrote a letter of commendation to the highway patrol unit because of the way the officer handled the situation with mercy. 3. Grace: Show Unconditional Acceptance and Care Grace is all about unconditional acceptance, assuming the best in others. Grace is also about dramatic listening to build connections—interacting with customers in ways that demonstrate they are important and valued. Chip notes an example he saw in an upscale retail store. A few teenagers walked in with ear pods and baggy pants and the clerk welcomed the teenagers and thanked them for coming in—treating all customers equally with grace. The kids were taken aback, and one said they had to buy something. That grace and unconditional acceptance created a positive encounter because of how the customers were treated.  4. Trust: Demonstrate Trust in Customers and Empower Employees to Make Smart Decisions Trust is an essential part of how we treat customers and how we empower frontline employees. When leaders trust employees to make smart decisions on behalf of their organization, it creates better employee and customer experiences. An example of trust—from the employee and customer perspectives—was when Chip's wife stopped by the local grocery store during a jog. She picked up a few items and when she arrived at the check-out, she realized she had forgotten her credit card (she usually carried it and her driver's license when she went running). Instead of turning her away, the cashier told her not to worry about it. She knew Chip's wife as a regular customer and simply wrote down the amount owed, put it in the drawer, and told her she could pay the bill the next time she came in. 5. Generosity: Give Something Extra to Demonstrate a Gifting Attitude Generosity is the giving of something extra. It's the baker's dozen spirit of abundance integrated throughout the customer journey.  One example Chip shares is of a heating, air conditioning, and plumbing company that looks for ways to bring something extra when they make a house call. They may bring a balloon, greeting card, flower, or another small unique token that shows they care. 6. Ease: Take the Effort Out of the Customer Experience Ease is how we remove emotional effort from the customer experience. Harvard Business School marketing professor Ted Levitt used to talk about how people buy a quarter-inch drill bit, not because they want the drill bit itself, but because they want a quarter-inch hole. They'd probably like to snap their fingers and have the hole, but instead, they must go to the hardware store, find the drill bit, pay the clerk, go home, attach the drill bit to the drill, and finally make the hole. Customers would love to skip this entire process, so we need to make it as comfortable as we can for them. Chip says this applies to all processes, from filling out forms to waiting on hold for an agent, our goal should be to create an experience that the customer finds emotionally effortless—remove anxiety, worry, and angst from their experience.  7. Truth: Be Completely Honest and Open With Customers Great relationships are founded in absolute trust, so we must trust and be completely open and transparent with our customers. When people take the stand in court, they promise to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. The statement is broken into three parts to emphasize the importance of telling the entire truth, without omitting details or including white lies. Chip shares an example of when he was on a flight and the pilot announced they landed on time. Chip looked at his watch and the flight was 14 minutes later than planned. The pilot viewed this as an on-time arrival because the FAA permits a 15-minute window for flights to be considered on time. Truth is being completely open and honest with customers. 8. Alliance: Create a Partnership With Customers and Seek Their Help and Feedback Alliance is about a partnership. It's about co-creating an experience with a customer that they feel a part of. This can include inviting them to provide feedback or any other action that helps customers feel like they are co-owners of the experience. By creating experiences with customers that make them feel like trusted partners, we should also treat frontline associates the same. Creating a culture of respect, alliance, and partnership produces more rewarding employee and customer experiences. 9. Passion: Exude Passion in All Interactions With Customers Passion in a customer relationship means every moment will be the best it can be. During keynotes, Marketing Hall of Famer Seth Godin sometimes asks the audience to hold up their hands as high as they can. He then asks them to hold their hands a little higher. Invariably, people can always go a little higher, so Seth asks why hold back? Sometimes we're too reserved to do our very best the first time around. With profoundly remarkable and innovative customer relationships we must deliver excitement and positive energy. When we have passion, our customers know we're doing the best we can to serve them. CX Leadership That Prompts Innovation CX leaders can inspire innovative services by treating employees like valued customers their bottom line depends on. It's essential to trust employees and empower them with training, support, and all the tools they need to make smart decisions on behalf of the organization to best serve customers.  The Ritz-Carlton famously empowers employees with the authority to spend up to $2,000 to satisfy a guest's need before bringing it to management's attention. That authority is grounded in trust that serves employees and customers well.  What Chip Does for Fun Chip travels for work and for fun. He and his wife love visiting museums in any city they visit. Next on the list is the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. He's on the board of the Georgia Writers Museum and is also an avid fly fisher. Always learning, Chip is taking up Tenkara, the Japanese method of fly fishing. To learn more about Chip, find him on LinkedIn and his website at www.chipbell.com. Watch the video here.  Read the blog post here.

Customer Experience in a Deregulated Electricity Market This week we welcome Katherine Wright to the Digitally Irresistible podcast. Katherine is co-founder and senior vice president of customer experience at Energy Texas, a retail electricity provider in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) market. Electricity has been deregulated in the ERCOT market, where the consumer chooses their electricity provider.  The ERCOT market includes about 85% of Texas, including the cities of Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, and much of West Texas. Utilities that were in place when deregulation went into effect, about 20 years ago, manage the infrastructure, poles, and wires. They also read the meters. Independent retail electricity providers (REPs) like Energy Texas manage customer relationships.  When a customer opens, revises, or closes their electricity account, they do it with their REP. When they experience an outage, they contact the utility. On this episode, we explore how Energy Texas differentiates their brand through innovative products and programs, competitive pricing, and excellent customer service. Giving Retail Electricity Customers Texas-sized Options to Choose From Katherine describes herself as a serial entrepreneur. In addition to Energy Texas, she co-founded Bounce Energy in 2004, which a large competitor bought in 2013.  Katherine and her co-founders formed Energy Texas in May of 2020. Nine months later, Winter Storm Uri caused blackouts throughout Texas. Uri's impact forced some REPs to leave the retail electric business.  In the aftermath of Uri, Katherine and her co-founders recognized an opportunity to enter the market and provide innovative, creative products to their customers. Giving their customers choices differentiates Energy Texas from most of its competition. Katherine wears multiple hats in her operational role. Her favorite is creating meaningful relationships with customers by doing things differently than traditional utilities and the bigger REPS. Energy Texas does that by offering flexible pricing plans, ensuring that the reality of every plan is as good as advertised and making every customer experience as easy as possible. These four programs demonstrate how Katherine takes the company's ideals and customer experience strategy and turns them into Texas-sized options for their customers. Peak Perks Program Energy Texas launched the Peak Perks Program with fresh memories of Winter Storm Uri that stretched the Texas electric grid beyond capacity. This program gives customers an opportunity to help prevent a similar crisis from happening and save money at the same time. Customers who sign up for Peak Perks volunteer to reduce their electrical consumption during peak load events. If they're able to reduce their consumption during the event by at least 10% (based on their usage in a similar time period), they receive a 10% discount on their bill. To make the customer experience as easy as possible, Energy Texas alerts them in their online My Account that the company has called a peak load event. The alert includes tips and helpful insights covering appropriate ways to reduce consumption during the peak event. Everybody wins. The customer can get a discount for using less energy, Energy Texas keeps them satisfied by telling them how to use less energy, and the grid is under less strain.  Giddy Up Guarantee At energytexas.com you'll see rates based on average or greater electrical consumption. Energy Texas tracks their competitors' rates and offers their rates at a discount. The Giddy Up Guarantee program enables Energy Texas to offer an additional discount to new, energy-efficient customers. Energy Texas knows how much electricity a new customer is likely to consume by reviewing their history. Most electrical meters in Texas are smart meters that send meter readings to the utility digitally. No one is needed to go out to the resident's home to read the meter. Since the utility that handles metering is different from the REP that sells the electricity, Energy Texas has access to consumers' meter readings history.  When a new energy-efficient consumer signs up with Energy Texas, they send the customer an email inviting them to take advantage of an additional discount.   An additional discount like that is sure to put a little giddy up in their customer onboarding.  Freedom Flex Freedom Flex is for customers who want the flexibility to cancel their energy service if it doesn't offer the lowest market rates. With Freedom Flex, customers pay a nominal monthly fee. They have the freedom to cancel their contract and sign a new one as frequently as every 30 days.  So, if a Freedom Flex customer signed a contract for a rate that was low, and now contract rates have gone even lower, they have the freedom to cancel their current contract and sign a new contract at the lower rate. Another customer might have a few months left on their low-rate contract when they see in their My Account that rates have been trending up for the last three months. They might want to cancel their contract now and sign a new contract for a somewhat higher rate to avoid paying an even higher rate after their contract expires.  Freedom Flex doesn't guarantee customers they're always getting the lowest rate, but it does give them the freedom to choose. Sun Jacinto Solar Buyback Program The State of Texas doesn't have rules governing if or how utilities and REPs compensate solar panel owners for the extra power they generate and then feed to the grid.   Most REPs that offer a solar buyback program compensate their customers for electricity they feed to the grid at a lower rate than the REP charges them for the electricity they use.  The Sun Jacinto Solar Buyback Program stands out because it compensates customers at the identical rate that they pay the REP. For example, if a customer puts a thousand excess kilowatt-hours back on the grid and has an energy rate of five cents per kilowatt-hour, they'll get a $50 bill credit.  The credit comes right off the month's bill, and in any month where the customer's bill is less than the credits they've earned, the credits carry over until they're used up.  Tex-cellent, Easy-to-Use Customer Experiences  Another one of Katherine's most important and rewarding tasks has been to lead the technical effort to include the website and self-service options for their customers. These are all accessible in the customer portal, easy to use, and save customers from having to wait on hold, speak with an agent, or write emails.   The customer-centric nature of everything she's accomplished at Energy Texas makes it easy to realize why the founders' mantra is to treat customers as they would like to be treated. They call it Tex-cellent customer service. What Katherine Does for Fun Katherine has three primary outlets for fun. For her family, travel is the thing. They went to England and Scotland for Christmas in 2022, and are planning to fly to Boston and do a New England road trip in the summer of 2023. For herself, Katherine is a big foodie and, as she describes herself, “a Pilates machine.”   To learn more about Katherine and Energy Texas, you'll find her on LinkedIn, and Energy Texas on their website, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Watch the video here.  Read the blog post here.  

 Teaching Brands to Master “How to Wow” in Customer Experience   This week, we welcome Adrian Swinscoe to the Digitally Irresistible podcast. Adrian is a prolific writer, blogger, podcaster, and the author of four books about customer experience.  Adrian works with companies looking for cost-effective ways to improve business and team performance, find new customers, and keep their existing ones. He and his associates focus on helping clients improve their customer service, customer experience, client experience, and business. His work results in increased profits in sales, higher productivity, increased word of mouth, improved service, and an overall increase in the customer and employee experience.  On this episode, we discuss the eight sections of his first book, “How to Wow, 68 Effortless Ways to Make Every Customer Experience Amazing.”  A Guide to Help People Chart Their Brand's Own Path to Greatness  Fifteen years ago, Adrian recognized an abundance of opportunities to improve customer service, including staying out of the way of employees who do their best to treat customers well. He started writing and writing, and writing (and podcasting) about it: articles, blog posts, a column for Forbes, and four books. Companies seek his help in building amazing customer and employee experiences.   Adrian describes himself as “an advisor, speaker, and bestselling author on customer service, experience, and engagement.” He helps brands “craft their own level of greatness and deliver their own level of greatness and engagement to their customers.” Unpacking “How to Wow” In “How to Wow,” originally published in 2008, Adrian organized 68 effortless ways to wow into eight sections. The first five sections—Attract, Engage, Serve, Keep, and Refer—are all external, customer-facing actions brands can take. The second three sections—Communicate, Motivate, and Lead—are internal employee-facing actions. On this episode, we discuss these eight sections. As you'll discover, each section leads right into the next.  Attract Adrian's experiences as a consumer, researcher and analyst taught him that people don't like to be “sold to”. He was convinced that there must be better ways to attract people than overt selling. He sought more empathetic and sustainable methods to attract people. Ways that are more appealing to the people you're trying to attract so that they're more receptive to your message. And once you've attracted people, then you can… Engage To engage people in a sustainable way, you have to step back and take a look at your relationships. In each case, ask where is this relationship now and where is it going? Understanding your relationships is the first step to knowing what interests the people you attract. Knowing what interests them enables you to treat them with respect and empathy, and to balance two very different dynamics: making yourself interesting and proving you're interested in them.  Knowing what interests them allows you to… Serve Service goes beyond customer service. It's about being proactive in service to people across the business.   How do I serve you? How do I serve you as a marketer? How do I serve you as a salesperson? How do I serve you as a support rep?  Think about different ways to help the customer achieve their goals. When serving people is part of the foundation of who you are, you can build relationships that mean more than sending them a thank-you gift after they've bought something from you.  Strong relationships are relationships you can…  Keep Adrian doesn't use the word loyalty because he thinks loyalty is a product of what you do.  Loyalty programs, rewards, and special discounts can help, but keeping customers is about the fundamentals of what we do.   Keeping is about how you value the relationship. Can you give people access to different things? Can you make them successful? Can you make them feel like they belong?   When both sides value a relationship, it's only natural to ask your customer to… Refer If you've gone through the earlier steps, have built strong foundations for your relationships, and continually build on those relationships, then people may be ready to become an advocate for you.  The key is advocacy doesn't happen by accident. Sometimes you have to help people be an advocate. Sometimes you have to do something as simple as just asking them. And too many companies don't ask for a referral.   Also, bear in mind that sometimes they don't know how to refer. So, think about their situation and make it easy for them. That can be a powerful way to start driving a stream of referrals back into your business and building your community of relationships.  Now, let's move from the external ways to the internal…  Communicate This section is about how we communicate with our customers, how we take what they tell us— particularly around surveys and feedback and customer voice—and how we take it into our business. How do we act on it? How do we then communicate back to customers and tell them, “this is what we're doing”?  Again, this is all in service of building relationships, showing people, “We value what you say. We are listening to what you say. We are thinking about what you say,” and “We are acting on what you say.”  Still, customer survey fatigue is a real thing, and we have to understand that somebody giving us feedback is a gift. We have to make sure we respect their time and make taking a survey easy for them. Make sure they understand that if they give us this feedback, we'll value it and act on it. For many companies, the question is how. How do we connect with our customers? How do we listen to them? How do we act on what they tell us?  They've learned that it takes engaged employees to deliver exceptional service, so we… Motivate Motivate and Lead are two sides of the same coin: how do we build a culture of highly engaged employees who truly value customer relationships? This culture empowers people, supports people, and enables people to be the best versions of themselves in service of the greater mission to serve their customers.  Why the same coin? Because how effectively we motivate employees is influenced by how well we… Lead Sometimes leaders within companies need to do things differently in order to enable, support, motivate, and inspire their employees to do a great job and go that extra mile in service of their customers. That may require them to change their thinking, to do things differently, to lead by example.  Adrian loves the idea that comes from the old Toyota management system, where managers and leaders would do Gemba walks (Japanese for “actual place” walks). They'd walk the factory floor to understand the work, see processes in action, ask questions, and learn how things were being done. He also says you can learn a lot about a company by their Terms and Conditions page on their website. Many are written so only a lawyer can understand them. Some companies have rewritten them in plain language so all their customers can understand.  Make Improvements Incrementally Trying to improve all aspects of customer and employee experience at once can be a great challenge. Adrian cites a concept known as the aggregation of marginal gains, which was popularized by Dave Brailsford, who became performance director for British Cycling in 2003. The idea is that if you execute a series of marginal gains of only 1%, the aggregate of those small gains over time will equal a major gain.  What Adrian Does for Fun If you agree with me that Adrian is a rock star, you may be right. In his spare time, Adrian likes to go rock or boulder climbing—indoors or outdoors, depending on the weather. In fact, after recording this podcast with me, Adrian headed to a nearby boulder gym. Rock on, Adrian. To learn more about Adrian and his work, you'll find him on LinkedIn, Twitter, and his website, www.adrianswinscoe.com. Adrian also recommends looking him up on your favorite search engine, as there aren't many people named Adrian Swinscoe. Watch the video here. Read the blog post here. 

6 Behaviors to Develop Loyal Customers and Employees Through SIMPLE Customer Experiences  This week, we welcome Matt Lyles to the Digitally Irresistible podcast. Matt is a keynote speaker, customer experience consultant, and host of the SIMPLE brand podcast. He's also writing a book by the same name: “SIMPLE brand.” Matt enjoyed a long career with FedEx leading their brand strategy and guiding the effort to redefine their customer experience. Today, he helps companies deliver experiences that create loyal customers and loyal employees—all through the power of simplicity. On this episode, we discuss the six behaviors any brand can use to create SIMPLE customer experiences. A Passion for Simplicity For many years, Matt Lyles handled marketing and branding for FedEx. He led FedEx brand strategy, guiding their effort to redefine the overall FedEx customer experience and teach it to 500,000 people across the globe. Matt and his team grounded the FedEx brand experience in simple customer experiences. Their strategy was so effective that organizations reached out to Matt's team to present about the FedEx brand at conferences. No one on the team felt especially comfortable presenting, but Matt knew it was an opportunity to grow his career by speaking in front of crowds. And the more he did it, the more he loved it. Matt enjoyed all of his experiences at FedEx, but as his passion for simplicity and public speaking grew, he decided to share the benefits of simple brand experiences with businesses across the globe.  Simplicity in CX Delivery Matt explains how today's world is evolving at a rapid pace and customer expectations have never been higher. At the same time, he says customer loyalty is at an all-time low with consumers being bombarded by different experiences, many of which are complicated. As previous Digitally Irresistible podcast guest and CX thought leader and author Stan Phelps said, it's important to differentiate based on experience. Thinking about the different things consumers are bombarded with every day and the complexity of our lives, Matt knows firsthand that the best way for brands to differentiate is through their customer's experience. Customers say the best experience is a simple experience. 6 Behaviors of SIMPLE Brand Experiences Keeping things simple, isn't as simple as just that. It takes thought and planning.  Matt has turned SIMPLE into an acronym that outlines six key behaviors his research has shown the world's simplest brands implement to create the simplest experiences for their customers. Matt has created a SIMPLE Playbook comprised of these six behaviors that any brand and its employees can integrate into their approach to deliver a simple customer experience. This will help earn more loyal customers and employees to maximize long-term customer lifetime value.  These six behaviors are: 1.   Simple Never Stops Matt says things will always need to be simplified so we should continually assess what we can do to make things simpler and simpler. As the world continues to evolve, things will inherently get more complex. When you reach a point where you think your experience is simple, it may not still be simple enough a year or two later. 2.   Innovate to Stay Ahead It's important to look ahead, innovate, and consider ways to continually simplify for the future. What will impact customers and what proactive measures can you take to offer experiences that meet those challenges at touchpoints throughout the customer experience? 3.   Minimize Barriers Think about what you can do to minimize barriers that prevent customers from enjoying the full experience you deliver. Some companies, for instance, allow their frontline support staff to offer customers only the minimum level of support needed to solve their problem. Some brands, however, empower their employees to provide first-call resolution and solve the customer's problem without the need to refer them to someone else. This boosts customer satisfaction and differentiates them from competitors. 4.   Prune It Back Just as expert gardeners know, if you want to promote plant growth, you have to prune. In customer experience, for example, this means pruning back a complicated 12-step process to six simple steps, or maybe even three. It could mean if you offer a variety of products and services that give your customers decision fatigue, prune back your offerings to help simplify what customers must decide between. Changes to the grocery shopping experience during the early days of the pandemic are an example of this. Instead of making customers shop the traditional way by driving, parking, walking around the store, standing in line, and checking out, a number of grocery retailers pruned back the process and enabled customers to order their groceries online, drive up to a designated spot at their local store, and have their groceries brought directly to their car. Some grocery store chains then further pruned back when third parties began delivering groceries to customers' homes. In 2023, some retailers are actually bringing groceries inside the customer's house and storing them in the customer's refrigerator and pantry. Matt says maybe the next iteration will involve the retailer sitting at the table and making your kids eat their vegetables! 5.   Lose the Jargon Speak simply. Clear and concise communication makes it easy and quick for customers to understand. In their book, “Made to Stick,” Chip and Dan Heath talk about how we're all cursed with the knowledge that we use to communicate about our company and our industry. But this turns the average customer off because they don't understand it. With all the complexity in our lives, customers don't have time to figure out what a company is saying. We need to make it easier for them by using clear, concise, simple language. Even if you think your industry necessitates jargon, know that there will be disruptors in your industry who embrace simple experiences and simple language.  Once such industry is insurance. Many insurance carriers use similar language about protecting against damage to your home or safeguarding your assets, and consumers may find this communication hard to understand.  But some insurance companies are simplifying how they talk to customers. They're gaining customers quickly through simple language like, if your home is damaged, we will cover the repair cost. This makes it easy for the customer to understand and it appeals to the consumer's emotions—they're covered in times of loss and hardship. 6.   Empathize With the Customer Understand your customer and what they go through on a day-to-day basis. What are their external goals, their external challenges, and what are their internal struggles? Think about how you can solve or minimize those through your offerings. This includes thinking about the words you use to help the customer feel comfortable. Another way to empathize with your customers is to talk to them, listen to them, and observe them. When you observe your customers—especially when they're using your product or service—you can understand what they're going through and identify struggles that inform how you can further simplify their experience. Keeping It SIMPLE for All Employees  Matt reminds us that customer experiences are designed and delivered by people. His six SIMPLE behaviors are developed to be easy to instill in every employee regardless of their role, whether they're a C-suite executive or a frontline customer service agent. These behaviors have been embraced at all levels and promote employee engagement. What Matt Does for Fun Matt spends his free time with his wife and two young sons. They enjoy checking out different events, going out to eat, and having movie nights together. Living in Nashville, they also enjoy the excellent live music scene, which is made even better when Matt brings one of his sons to a concert. To learn more about Matt and his SIMPLE methodology, connect with him on LinkedIn, Twitter, and his website www.mattlyles.com. You can also visit www.mattlyles.com/iqor to access his SIMPLE Playbook which reviews the six behaviors discussed on this episode along with exercises and questions to help instill them. Watch the video here. Read the blog post here. 

Supporting the BPO Industry and Driving the Digital Transformation of Businesses in the Philippines This week, we welcome Jack Madrid to the Digitally Irresistible podcast. Jack is president and CEO of the IT & Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP). He oversees day-to-day operations for the primary trade body and advocacy group for the IT and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) sector in the Philippines. With almost 400 member organizations, including iQor, and six partner associations, IBPAP plays a pivotal role in sustaining the growth of the IT-BPM industry by working with stakeholders in the government and academia. On this episode, we discuss the role of IBPAP and how the organization supports the BPO industry and drives digital transformation among businesses in the Philippines.  A Transformative Journey to the BPO Industry After graduating from university, Jack began his career as a banker in both the Philippines and Hong Kong. That led him to a role overseeing strategic planning and business development for a Philippines-based conglomerate. His career then took an interesting turn when Jack became managing director for MTV Philippines, empowering him to reinvent himself professionally and personally. From there, he was introduced to the BPO industry in the Philippines where he recognized the future of the country and vibrant opportunities for job creation. This prompted his digital journey[BB1]  in marketing, setting up operations for Yahoo Philippines. After a few years there, he set out to establish the first e-commerce marketplace in the Philippines. Several years after that, he moved to Vancouver, Canada to be with family and six years later he returned to the Philippines to lead IBPAP—15 years after his introduction to the BPO industry. How IBPAP Supports the BPO Industry in the Philippines IBPAP is the flagship association for the IT-BPM industry in the Philippines, primarily representing the industry, its members, its employers, investors who have offshored their operations in the country, and—most importantly—BPO employees. IBPAP has grown to represent 1.56 million Filipino employees in the country since the beginning of the BPO industry in the Philippines several decades ago. In fact, IBPAP represents the largest industry in the Philippines in terms of jobs and revenue, contributing nearly 8% of the country's GDP. The work and mission of IBPAP is essential for advancing continued opportunities to create jobs throughout the country. Because the Philippines is an archipelago, jobs extend beyond metro Manila and Cebu to 25 cities throughout the countryside that have their own unique characteristics and talent pools with good universities to educate future talent and further expand the BPO industry in the Philippines. The Present State of the BPO Industry in the Philippines Jack notes that the BPO industry in the Philippines is entering an exciting new chapter given the COVID-driven migration of 1+ million employees to work-at-home (WAH) and hybrid environments. When onsite operations quickly moved to work-at-home and hybrid environments while maintaining security, productivity, and customer satisfaction, the BPO industry proved it could deliver outsourced customer service success independent of location and environment for global customers spanning different time zones across verticals and industries. Jack believes the future is bright as the BPO industry in the Philippines develops more value-added services for brands across the globe. Core Strengths and Advantages of the Philippines as an IT-BPM Investment Destination Jack says the primary strength of the Philippines as an IT-BPM investment destination lies in Filipino talent. With a population of 110 million, the Philippines has the demographics and the scale to grow the IT-BPM industry even more. The Filipino workforce is world renowned for excellent communication skills, English fluency, patience, empathy, and the ability to adapt and learn new skills to resolve customer issues across different industry verticals.  Talent supply will always be an advantage, but Jack recognizes the need to continue to build on that strength given the continued demand for offshoring to the Philippines. On top of that, he says the Philippines has done a great job building up the digital infrastructure and internet connectivity throughout the archipelago outside of metro Manila and Cebu. As a nation comprised of thousands of islands, each with its own unique population and talent pool, internet connectivity has improved over the years and will continue to improve in the years ahead as IBPAP works with telecom partners.  Future Opportunities for the BPO Industry in the Philippines IBPAP recently launched its IT-BPM Roadmap 2028. They publish a new roadmap every six years to outline specific recommendations on how to grow the industry.  The most significant part of their Roadmap 2028 is the goal to deliver an additional 1.1 million new jobs for Filipinos by the end of 2028. IBPAP will work with industry stakeholders, government partners, and the private sector to realize this vision over the next six years. The roadmap outlines the following four pillars to grow the IT-BPM industry in the Philippines. 1.    Attract and retain investors by reinforcing the ease of doing business in the Philippines. 2.    Cultivate an extensive and qualified talent pool. Work with the Department of Education and other partners in government to strengthen university and high school curricula and collaborate with the private sector to ensure the continued availability and employability of talent for the years ahead. Jack emphasizes that this is likely the most critical pillar. 3.    Improve and strengthen digital infrastructure in the Philippines to ensure strong connectivity in in-office, at-home, and hybrid work environments throughout the archipelago. 4.    Continue to strengthen the Philippines' industry positioning to meet the challenge of adding more than 1 million new jobs in six years, a goal that took over two decades to achieve in the early years of the BPO industry in the Philippines. By focusing on these four pillars, tapping into new talent pools, and continuing to strengthen the Filipinos' acceptance of the BPO industry as a long-term career path, Jack and his colleagues at IBPAP will continue to support the growth of the BPO industry and drive digital transformation among businesses in the Philippines. What Jack Does for Fun For fun, Jack's passion is studying wine. He began his studies a few years ago and now teaches others as an informal wine coach. He enjoys sharing his knowledge about the wine regions as well as the different grapes and varieties of wine. He also spends a fair amount of time analyzing wines through blind tastings. When he's not honing his wine skills, Jack enjoys playing golf and improving his short game. To learn more about Jack and IBPAP, connect with him on LinkedIn, Twitter, and the IBPAP website at www.ibpap.org. Watch the video here. Read the blog post here.   

Connect With Employees Through Rewarding Experiences That Elevate Their Engagement  This week's guest on the Digitally Irresistible podcast is Jaymee Marquez. Jaymee is a director of operations at iQor Iloilo in the Philippines. She has extensive experience delivering and overseeing customer care delivery in the BPO industry. In her current role, Jaymee oversees a team of three operations managers with dozens of agents on their teams. She understands the importance of engaging iQor's frontline employees through fun and rewarding activities that inspire them to Be More with iQor and to create smiles for the customers with whom they interact.   On this episode, we discuss her creative approach when developing employee engagement activities with the teams she oversees and the positive impact these activities have on the CX programs they support.  Leading Is All About the People   After studying electronics and communications engineering in undergrad, Jaymee began her BPO career as a technical support agent. She was soon promoted to team lead where she discovered her passion to lead. Progressing through several leadership positions, Jaymee knew that building connections with people was essential to her role.    She joined iQor as an operations manager in 2017 and was most recently promoted to director of operations for a telco client. Throughout her years in the BPO industry, Jaymee has enjoyed investing in and engaging employees to promote higher levels of workplace satisfaction, whether through fun events, meaningful coaching, or an open-door policy whereby all employees are welcome to discuss concerns. She has found that higher levels of employee satisfaction result in higher levels of productivity.  The Importance of Employee Engagement  Developing high levels of employee engagement helps people feel more connected to their team, their company culture, and their customers. This improves motivation and leads employees to be more passionate about their work, translating to a more positive customer experience.    In customer service, we say that we go the extra mile to make customers happy—at iQor we provide the extra smile. To create excellent experiences, Jaymee regularly develops employee engagement programs and activities to connect with her team. She shares a few of them with us.  Customer Service Week Activities  In October 2022, Jaymee celebrated Customer Service Week with different daily activities. For the Monday kickoff, all directors of operations wore aprons and went to the production floor to serve donuts to employees. It was fun and rewarding for Jaymee to serve her team which does so much to support customers every day.   Even though it's as simple as donuts, directors serving their employees is powerful, meaningful, and makes for many smiles. The week's activities continued each day: Tuesday was pajama day, on Wednesday team leads dressed up as wizards, on Thursday they dressed up as K-pop stars, and the festivities kept going.  Monthly Massages  Before the pandemic, Jaymee and her team hired massage therapists to treat employees to five-minute massages of their choice (back, head, or hands/arms). A nice massage at work was a great treat for everyone to add some Zen to their day.  Charity Events  Jaymee also hosts charity events with employees to help give back to their local community. Jaymee especially enjoys celebrating her birthday and the holiday season by helping her community.  One year on her birthday, Jaymee and her team of employee volunteers visited an orphanage for girls and brought food, played games, and gave out gift bags with dolls and candy. She also got to share her birthday cake with two little girls celebrating their birthdays that month.  For the winter holidays each year, Jaymee and her team invite local children (ages three to 10) to a special holiday party with games.   She and her team also host a food program. They invest their own time and money to support members of the local community facing food insecurity. At one of the events, an employee dressed as Spiderman and brought smiles to the children. Jaymee emphasizes the joy she and her employees feel from seeing the children smile.  Online Contests  When the beginning of the pandemic restricted in-person events, Jaymee was determined to keep up the high levels of employee engagement and camaraderie through fun online events. With such tremendous success, online events are still a hit today.  She set up a Facebook page to host online activities and events that would have previously been in person. One of the contests was a competition for the best work-at-home workspaces. Entries with the most “heart” reactions won. Jaymee herself was one of the winners, possibly because of her comfortable gaming chair at the center of her setup! Winners received a gift certificate.  In another friendly competition, Jaymee led the charge for directors to compete for the best TikTok dance video called Cheers and Yells. Directors danced individually without knowing the song and Jaymee edited them together. The video played on TV screens throughout the contact center and the directors became instant workplace celebrities. They won the competition!  For Mother's Day, Jaymee gives out flowers and invites employees to post photos with their moms. Those with the most “heart” votes receive a gift certificate for a date with their mom that includes a special meal. This honors not only employees who are mothers but also all employees' moms.  Holiday Celebrations  On birthdays, every month Jaymee and her team pick a date to celebrate employees with a birthday that month. They enjoy cake and balloons!  For the most recent Halloween celebration, she invited employees to bring their children for a special trick-or-treat party. The children got to walk the contact center production floor and receive candy. Jaymee also brought in clowns and magicians for a magic show.  A Fun Work Environment Boosts Performance  Jaymee has found that fun and engaging activities increase employee happiness levels at work and make it a place they want to return to every day. When they love their job and their colleagues, they have a better overall experience which translates to better performance and a more positive experience for the customer. When frontline employees are happy, customers are happy and that makes for more smiles.  What Jaymee Does for Fun  When she's not working, Jaymee loves to travel, both domestically in the Philippines and to other countries in Asia. She has visited 46 out of 81 must-see cities in the Philippines and she tracks her visits on an online map of the Philippines to be able to look back on where she's been.  She's visited nine countries in Asia, with Taiwan, Thailand, and Cambodia topping her list of favorites. Her travels have inspired her to create digital content celebrating her explorations, Michael King, and restaurants that would delight any foodie.  Watch the video. Read the blog post.   

Three Principles That Elevate the Customer Experience and Enhance Customer Lifetime Value This week, we welcome Dennis Wakabayashi to the Digitally Irresistible podcast. Known as the global voice of CX, Dennis is a renowned thought leader on the topic of customer experience. He teaches digital marketing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is also a distinguished speaker at the University of Oklahoma.  In 2021, Dennis was a keynote speaker at the World Marketing Summit in Turkey, the West African CX summit, and the LATAM CX conference; a workshop leader at Customer Contact week in the U.S.; and the host and MC of CXS Canada's largest annual Customer Experience event. In 2022, he was named CX influencer for Expo 2020 Dubai. On this episode, we tap into Dennis' expertise and discuss how to create a profitable customer experience based on the insights he shares in his book, “Laying Golden Eggs: How to Create Profitable Customer Experiences.”  The Writing Was on the Wall for a Creative Career Growing up in the inner city, street art provided an outlet for Dennis to express his creativity and transform his neighborhood streets into vibrant sources of inspiration. One day he completed a mural that read, “greatness can start from anywhere.” This garnered national recognition and features on news programs that caught the eye of the CEO of a prominent advertising agency. The CEO appreciated Dennis' talent and hired him as a production artist. Over the years, Dennis worked his way up to art director, strategist, creative director, and ultimately senior vice president of strategy for a national ad agency.  Through it all, Dennis maintained his curiosity to investigate what makes advertising and marketing effective and profitable. Today, as an instructor, speaker, and author he shares his thoughts and techniques so others can do the same. Getting Omnichannel CX Right The modern omnichannel customer service environment adds complexity and opportunity to the customer journey that didn't exist in years past. It can be a lot for brands to manage omnichannel CX in ways that align with their corporate culture and growth model while limiting costs and maximizing returns. This can lead to inconsistencies throughout the customer journey across different lines of business or even from one customer to the next. When organizations create a unified customer experience based on values that matter to them, they can better meet customer expectations and drive consistent revenue.  3 Components of a Profitable Customer Experience In his book, “Laying Golden Eggs: How to Create Profitable Customer Experiences,” Dennis separates the customer experience into three primary components: reputation, reach, and relationship. He finds that prioritizing these three elements throughout the customer journey provides opportunities to increase customer lifetime value, boost loyalty, and support long-term revenue gains. These three components unify the important touchpoints that connect a brand to a customer. In the modern digital world, social media and algorithms play a significant role in each of these three elements of the customer experience. 1. Reputation While working for a national burger chain, Dennis stood across the street from one of the restaurants and typed “burgers near me” into his phone. The search results didn't show the restaurant he worked for, even though he stood only a few feet away.  Reputation is everything to a brand and its visibility to customers. Google wants to show you the good burgers near you, not just any burger. When Dennis later started executing for that brand, he used social media to share great things about the burger chain and build its reputation. Then he introduced product promotions. This strategy yielded more profitable results than simply posting ads.  Reputation plays a powerful role in today's customer experience even though it's not as tangible to measure as other aspects of the customer experience.  Customers are willing to go out of their way to buy from brands with great reputations, even if their pricing is a little higher than their competition. This creates profitable customer experiences. Conversely, brands that lack a good reputation are hard for customers to find, especially when Google doesn't recommend them in search results.  This leads to the second part of the experience.  2. Reach In the burger situation, Dennis found that the promotions they offered through social media (such as a dollar off) would generate a huge backlash of criticisms of the restaurant or the burgers.  Although this is to be expected to a certain degree due to the nature of expression on social media, Dennis recognized the importance of building a strong reputation before focusing on the brand's reach through ads or promotions. The combination of a good reputation and broad reach reduced customer care costs and increased sales for the burger chain through social media monitoring and responding promptly to negative comments on the internet.  Dennis finds there is a strong correlation between the strength of a brand's reputation and the degree to which they can reach customers. Because this form of scaled communication relies on algorithms to connect with people online, a good reputation is essential in order to reach customers authentically. This builds a long-term customer relationship that supports greater customer lifetime value and revenue.   In addition to reaching a wide audience, reach also encompasses omnichannel customer experiences that offer myriad opportunities for brands to connect with customers through various channels.   By building a strong reputation, reaching customers across a vast number of channels, and developing a relationship with them through the use of technology, brands essentially adopt a business model that more closely resembles a subscription model than retail.  In this process, loyalty forms a key attribute of the relationship or the experiences that brands have with customers at scale.  This leads to the third and final pillar, relationship.  3. Relationship  With so much content across all these digital channels, brands must think about how to develop and sustain relationships with customers. When a brand wants to drive incremental revenue year over year, building long-term customer relationships is one of the best CX strategies they can deploy. These relationships are cultivated well through email and loyalty programs, but many brands have also been able to use social media to convert connections to e-commerce opportunities. Digital channels form the main element of most customer experience strategies that drive consistent revenue at scale through a strong customer relationship across industries.  The bigger the brand, the more customers they have, the more integrated their customers are into their technology, and the more difficult it is to advance the additional technological opportunities that are available to them. Newer companies and startups, on the other hand, tend to have an advantage in building relationships through digital channels because they're not built on legacy technology systems. Instead, they start with a new technology base to acquire customers, build relationships, develop a social presence, and build their reputation. Dennis finds that business to business brands tend to move a little faster in developing their customer experience because they're typically inbound marketing organizations, while business to consumer brands enjoy greater opportunities for profitability although they implement CX a little slower.  The Role of the Customer Journey The customer journey should connect the reputation, reach, and relationship between a customer and a brand. These three principles are connected by transparent, actionable data to create profitable customer experiences at scale for any organization, large or small.  What Dennis Does for Fun Dennis' family and coworkers would say work is where Dennis finds his fun, because he's always working.  But that all changed when Dennis received a virtual reality (VR) headset from his family for his birthday. Now, his favorite pastime is playing Beat Saber—a rhythm and music VR game set in a futuristic world.  To learn more about Dennis and how to create profitable customer experiences, connect with him on LinkedIn, Twitter, and his website www.denniswakabayashi.com. Watch the video here. Read the blog post here. 

A Digital Transformation Approach to Enhance CX Cloud Security Within an Expanding Cloud Footprint   This week on the Digitally Irresistible podcast, we welcome a trio of CX cloud security experts: Chris Fago and Kyle Pierrehumbert from Palo Alto Networks and John O'Malley from iQor.   We've come together to discuss the benefits of a scalable solution that helps provide real-time visibility and full stack protection for all applications that iQor deploys in our cloud-first digital transformation strategy. iQor recently announced our selection of Palo Alto Networks Prisma® Cloud Native Application Protection Platform for integration into our digital ecosystem to further enhance cloud security. This integration supports iQor's digital transformation initiative to increase our footprint in the cloud while keeping security as a top priority and ensuring end-to-end visibility across all cloud platforms.  On this episode, we unpack what this integration means for our clients and how it enhances the customer experience that we create for their end customers.    Career Journeys to the Cloud   Though his high school peers voted him most likely to host his own talk show, Chris' career path led him to software sales. He joined a cloud security startup company that Palo Alto Networks acquired in 2018. Today, he's a technical sales manager on the Prisma® Cloud team helping large enterprise organizations secure their applications from code to cloud.  Kyle's social nature combined with his longstanding interest in technology also led him to software sales. After working at several large cybersecurity companies, he now works as a cloud security solutions architect at Palo Alto Networks.   John shares a longstanding interest in computers and technology. He studied mechanical engineering in college but realized his true passion was for computers and IT. He worked for a consulting organization for 14 years, an HR software as a service (SaaS) company for three years, and has led the infrastructure team at iQor for the past seven years. Today, John is the chief information security officer at iQor.  The Business Benefits of a Secure CX Cloud   Maintaining a secure environment is the top priority for iQor's digital transformation initiative to transition its entire tech stack to the CX cloud —from applications and services to the tool sets we use to support our BPO clients.   iQor sought a product set to aid in securing our cloud environment. iQor's existing partnership with Palo Alto Networks to help secure the perimeter of our firewall and enhance data security within the networks made Palo Alto Networks Prisma® Cloud a strong contender.  Since selecting Prisma® Cloud through a comprehensive evaluation process, John says iQor's CX cloud security journey with them has continued to enhance our posture in all areas, including network and storage objects, services, servers, and the code we put into our repositories.   How Prisma® Cloud Supports iQor's Digital Transformation Initiatives  Prisma® Cloud is a cloud native application protection platform (CNAPP)—a term coined by Gartner. Chris explains that this is a set of security and compliance capabilities designed to secure and protect cloud native applications from development to production.   Prisma® Cloud helps support iQor's digital transformation initiatives by increasing our footprint in the cloud while ensuring security and end-to-end visibility across all cloud platforms.   A Cloud-First Development Strategy to Improve Customer Outcomes   Because firewalls can't solve everything, Kyle points out that every phase of the cloud native application lifecycle presents new opportunities for iQor to further enhance security and deliver better customer outcomes to clients.   Prisma® Cloud's scalable solution helps provide real-time visibility and full stack protection across public clouds to detect and prevent vulnerabilities and secure running applications. It alerts iQor teams immediately of any potential risks so they have the opportunity to address them quickly. This includes performing code checks that may require reconfiguration to enhance security before going into production as well as detecting any active threats in the public cloud environment.   Simplifying Processes and Improving Efficiency Through Cloud Security   John notes that Prisma® Cloud also improves efficiency with audits and compliance certifications. It enables his team to continually monitor the cloud infrastructure to ensure adherence to all controls that have been put in place by enabling them to set up alerts so they can promptly address any issues. This simplifies the audit and certifications process, enabling John's team to spend more time developing and deploying code.   Securing Work-at-Home Environments   The COVID-19 pandemic prompted organizations to expand their cloud workload deployments at a rapid pace. Chris explains that this presented more cloud security incidents because cloud security investments lagged behind.   When government orders shut down work-in-office environments in the early days of the pandemic, iQor needed to quickly create secure work-at-home environments for thousands of employees across multiple locations worldwide. This was essential in order to continue to provide excellent customer experiences for our clients' end customers.   By adding a layer of security to assist with multi-cloud protection deployment while providing real-time insights into potential vulnerabilities, Palo Alto Networks and Prisma® Cloud have helped us deliver secure work-at-home environments and have enhanced our cloud security.   Helping the Infrastructure Team Develop Code Securely   Kyle emphasizes how Prisma® Cloud helps iQor by taking the guesswork out of cloud security. Security is no longer relegated to the security team, it's a full business effort.    John adds that Prisma® Cloud helps developers create code securely, without having to be an expert in everything. His teams can focus on developing good, efficient code while enjoying the peace of mind that it's secure when we deploy it to the CX cloud. With Prisma® Cloud, iQor's development teams create secure environments without having to be security experts and infrastructure experts.  What the Trio Does for Fun    John enjoys spending time with his wife, kids, and dog. He used to spend much of his free time coaching his son's soccer team, but now that his son is in high school he cheers him on from the sidelines.  Chris loves baseball and enjoys going to games with his wife and family.   Kyle keeps it simple. Whenever he's not at the keyboard, he's lifting weights, watching or playing hockey, or enjoying time outside with his friends, girlfriend, or dog.   To learn more about this week's guests, connect with Chris, Kyle, and John on LinkedIn. Additional details about Palo Alto Networks Prisma® Cloud are available on their website at www.paloaltonetworks.com/prisma/cloud.  Watch the video here. Reach the blog post here.     

How Integrating Health and Well-Being Into an Organizational Culture Promotes Sustainable Employee Wellness   On this week's episode of the Digitally Irresistible podcast, we welcome Laura Putnam, founder and CEO of Motion Infusion, a San Francisco-based company focused on transforming organizations to inspire better health and well-being. Her company merges evidence-based methodologies on wellness with best practices in learning and development to deliver creative solutions that address employee engagement, behavior change, and human performance to build healthier, happier, more innovative and resilient organizations.   Laura's bestselling book, "Workplace Wellness That Works," has been featured by MSNBC, Forbes, The New York Times, U.S. News & World Report, Entrepreneur, Business Insider, and NPR among others. She's a frequent keynote speaker and has worked with a range of organizations, including Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, academic institutes, and nonprofits to be a catalyst for change.   On this episode, we discuss the tremendous impact an organizational culture can have on employees when it prioritizes health, well-being, and the benefits of staying “in motion.”   Laura's Career Path to Create a Movement   As a former competitive gymnast, professional dancer, public policy staffer, international community organizer, and public-school teacher, Laura's career journey and personal experiences led her to the important role of movement builder in the world of health and well-being.  As a thought leader on health and wellness and CEO of Motion Infusion, Laura is a bestselling author, keynote speaker, trainer, and consultant who helps organizations recognize and address the critical need for more movement and wellness in our lives. Her revolutionary work has centered on leveraging every workplace to promote better health and well-being for our nation and our world.  An Organization “In Motion”  Laura's mission is to energize individuals, teams, and organizations to, both literally and figuratively, get in motion and make a positive change towards wellness. Her mission centers on closing the knowing and doing gap in health and well-being.  Although we know we can improve our health and well-being simply by being active, eating healthily, not smoking, and maintaining the recommended body fat percentage, less than 3% of Americans actually exhibit these basic healthy lifestyle characteristics.   This is the knowing and doing gap that Laura is on a mission to close by empowering every workplace to promote better health and well-being. She finds that the problem, unlike in “The Field of Dreams,” is that if you build it (e.g., a workplace wellness program) they (e.g., employees) will not necessarily come.  Although workplace wellness programs are created with the best of intentions, they often don't generate significant employee participation, and the employees that do participate don't necessarily become healthier.   Getting organizations in motion to close the knowing and doing gap leverages the workplace to promote better health and well-being by inspiring employees to become healthier and a little closer to their best selves.   3 Stages of Workplace Wellness  In Laura's book, “Workplace Wellness that Works: 10 Steps to Infuse Well-Being and Vitality into Any Organization,” she breaks down wellness into 10 steps that any organization can implement. Today she highlights the three overarching stages of this framework.  1. Start It: Workplace Wellness That Excites  Laura says workplace wellness that inspires change begins with shifting our mindset from being an expert to being an agent for change. People don't get excited about yet another program or company initiative, but they do get excited about feeling like they're part of something bigger—part of a movement.   This involves tapping into what matters most to people: envisioning what their best self looks like and moving closer to that goal. Rather than scaring people into making a change by measuring what's wrong with them and expecting them to get excited about it, we need to help people start with what's right and take steps to get even stronger.   In Laura's experience, the most important part of this initial stage is to look honestly at the organization's culture and see if it enables people to become their best selves simply by the way business gets done.  2. Build It: Workplace Wellness That Grows   The second phase builds on the why. This is where you develop strategies to engage everyone in the organization in the movement. Although it's important to connect this to the emotional and physical well-being of employees, Laura recommends calling it anything but wellness so employees are more likely to get involved.   To do this, look for opportunities to integrate it into other initiatives such as leadership development, safety, and onboarding. This can include appealing to leaders with subtle references to wellness such as sharing practices to help them maintain the energy to be an effective leader and develop a high-performing team. You can also appeal to their desire to develop sustainable engagement and build winning teams. This ingrains wellness in the company culture and integrates into daily job functions.  At iQor, we live by our employee motto to Be More with iQor. This belief that we can all be our best selves permeates our organizational culture so we are empowered and supported to reach our goals. This leads to amazing employee experiences and a better customer experience from the inside out.  3. Make it Last: Workplace Wellness That Works   This final stage is about optimizing the organizational culture and environment to create a new norm so people are naturally healthier simply by being in the organizational environment.   This stage focuses on creating a sustainable movement that becomes the organization's way of doing business going forward. On a simple human level, the sustainability of wellness initiatives often presents challenges even though we want to prioritize our personal health. For example, New Year's resolutions often involve healthy practices that start off strong and dwindle by March.   To avoid this fate within an organization, Laura says it's important to tap into our deepest human psychological needs. Avoid using extrinsic incentives, and instead appeal to the need to master skills, feel more connected, or fulfill a purpose.  Wellness for New Hires   When health and well-being permeate an organizational culture, new hires know things are good from the start, even if they can't pinpoint the cause.   Laura illustrates this idea with a story about two young fish who swam by an older fish that asked them how the water was. As the younger fish kept swimming, one asked the other “what is water? was.    This is how we can describe culture and environment: it's the water we swim in. Like the two young fish in the story, we may not see it but it impacts our behaviors.    Though we think of ourselves as creatures of habit—especially in the realm of wellness—Laura argues that we're more creatures of culture and environment. New hires can feel that the water is different and they swim in it naturally without necessarily defining what's different.  Implementing a Framework for Wellness   Laura notes how we're all born to move, but are told to sit from an early age. Her framework guides organizations to create a culture that changes that. People know how to be healthy, but often struggle to sustain a healthy lifestyle, despite the abundance of guidance on how to do so.   By appealing to other workplace motivations, organizations can promote wellness in ways that actually work for employees. And by leveraging the workplace to promote better well-being, we can close the gap between knowing and doing and create a more sustainable commitment to healthier lifestyles.  What Laura Does for Fun   For fun, Laura moves as much as she can with others! She brings out her inner gymnast whenever possible, whether in yoga class, on the ski slopes, or hiking in nature.  To learn more about Laura and workplace wellness, connect with her on LinkedIn, Twitter, and her websites www.lauraputnam.com and www.motioninfusion.com.  Watch the video here. Read the blog post here.  

Exceeding Customer Expectations Through a Differentiated Experience Drives Loyalty and Sales  This week, we welcome Stan Phelps to the Digitally Irresistible podcast. As a keynote speaker and workshop facilitator for numerous brands, Stan delivers the message that a purposeful differentiated experience (DX) wins the hearts of employees and customers. Stan shows how differentiation ultimately boosts loyalty, retention, referrals, and bottom-line results. He also says that differentiation isn't just about what you say, it's about what you do and, more importantly, how you do it and why you do it. Stan leverages his collection of more than 5,000 case studies to engage his audiences with practical ideas that inspire action.  On this episode, Stan shares the I.D.E.A. framework—his step-by-step method to communicate how to adopt and implement a differentiated experience.   A Quest to Exceed Customer Expectations  Stan worked in marketing for two decades, beginning on the agency side at IMG before working for several large brands (Addidas, the New York Yankees, and PGA of America). He later returned to the agency side to do experience marketing at Synergy. While there, he created larger-than-life experiences during the advent of social media and saw first-hand how quickly marketing was evolving.  In 2009, he had a moment of truth about the seemingly elusive goal of meeting customer expectations. This led him to collect and analyze more than 1,001 examples of companies that purposely go above and beyond to exceed customer expectations.  That journey led to his first book, "Purple Goldfish," which is now one of more than a dozen books in a series he has written about creating a differentiated experience.   The I.D.E.A. Framework   Stan's I.D.E.A. framework is an acronym that outlines how brands can create a differentiated experience to exceed customer expectations. Each phase of the framework involves a straightforward three-step process.  Inquire  In the I.D.E.A. framework, an improved customer experience begins with the inquire phase. This phase helps you build personas of the customers you serve in three simple steps.  Gather insights to best understand the customers you serve.  Look at things from your customers' perspective. Think about all the experiences along their customer journey and consider how they relate to you as a brand.  Use the information you gain to uncover gaps and opportunities throughout the customer experience. A gap is a friction point where you can improve a specific part of the customer experience to better meet customer expectations. Opportunities are key moments within the customer experience that you can elevate to create a truly amazing experience.   Stan sums up this phase with a quote from the late Jack Welch, former chairman and CEO of General Electric, who said, "There are only two sources of competitive advantage: the ability to learn more about our customers faster than the competition and the ability to turn that learning into action faster than the competition."  Design  The design phase provides an outline for identifying the parts of the customer journey you want to address and how you plan to improve them.  First, set your focus on what you plan to address. Identify the most critical gaps you want to fix as well as the most promising opportunities to elevate the customer experience.  Once you've set your focus, begin asking big questions to explore different ways you could address the gaps and opportunities. What would you do if you had a year to make the improvements? What if you had a million dollars? What if you had 10 minutes and $10, how would you implement your changes?  Then brainstorm and design ideas that address your gaps and opportunities. Think big while also grounding your ideas in reality. Consider how other industries have solved similar issues.  Evaluate  Once you have developed some ideas, evaluate the best ones on your list.    The evaluate phase begins internally to ensure you have the capability to deliver on the idea. Look within the organization to answer questions such as the resources it would take to implement the idea, whether you have the organizational bandwidth to deliver on the idea, and if the benefits outweigh the costs associated with the idea.  Once you've assessed internal capabilities, begin the external validation process. Test your ideas in a focus group, do surveys, or run them by a customer advisory board to validate that your opinions about the ideas align with what the customer thinks of them. There's often a disconnect between what we think and what customers actually feel; external validation strengthens your plan before you allot resources to the next step.  The third and final step is the pilot phase. Test your solution in a specific market or in a limited fashion to validate its effectiveness. If the pilot is successful then you're ready for the last stage.  Advance  Advance is where the rubber hits the road—where you begin large-scale rollout of the plan.  Incorporate the feedback you learned from the pilot and achieve buy-in. Secure the budget and resources you need to effectively implement the idea.  Plan the rollout by training your team and creating the processes and procedures to carry out the idea.  Determine how you're going to measure improvement to the experience on an ongoing basis. This critical step takes you back to the inquire phase to ensure you continue to achieve what you set out to do.  Taking a Holiday With a Differentiated Experience  One example of the I.D.E.A. framework in action comes from the hospitality industry. An all-inclusive vacation group that offered week-long vacation packages for guests wanted to identify the gaps and opportunities in their customer experience to make it the best it could be.    Utilizing the I.D.E.A. framework, they stepped into the customers' shoes and went on a holiday. They found that guests loved the week-long experience, but the final day of the vacation presented opportunities for improvement. Guests would check out of the hotel with time to spare before they departed the resort. During this waiting period, they felt forgotten and ignored—they no longer had full access to the facilities and the staff had moved on to a new group of guests.   Based on that insight, the group set out to design a better experience for these departing guests. They knew the last day of the trip left a lasting impression and they needed to make it the best it could be. After brainstorming and assessing ideas, they implemented one called "Departure Beach." This was a lounge they created within the resort where departing guests could enjoy a designated experience just for them on their last day of vacation. This capped a fantastic week-long experience and left them with a positive impression that was worth repeating.  A Differentiated Experience That Drives Loyalty  By methodically implementing an organized approach to elevating the customer experience, brands can gain insight into the customer journey and identify ways in which they can exceed customer expectations. By inquiring to know more about your customers and their experience and designing, evaluating, and advancing ideas to make those experiences the best they can be, brands can create remarkable experiences that customers want to share.  What Stan Does for Fun   For Stan, golf has been the silver lining of the pandemic. After giving up the game for several years, Stan reignited his interest in golf with his two teenage boys over the past few years and they enjoy spending time together. Being outside, exercising, and immersing themselves in nature adds to its appeal.  To learn more about Stan and the I.D.E.A. framework, connect with him on LinkedIn (#the1299), Twitter, and on his website at https://stanphelps.com.  Watch the video here. Read the blog post here.  

How a Digital Transformation Strategy Improves CX, Boosts Revenue, and Reduces Cost to Serve in Health Care  This week, we welcome Brian Wagner to the Digitally Irresistible podcast. Brian has over 20 years of global operating and consulting experience at organizations ranging from start-ups and private equity to Fortune 500 companies in various high-tech industries, including SaaS, MedTech, medical devices, diagnostics, and life sciences tools. As founder and CEO of Health Insights Consulting Group, he helps small companies grow to become big by transforming organizations to meet unmet customer needs.  In addition to previously holding Fortune 500 chief digital marketing and operations officer roles, Brian has expertise in digital marketing, product development, commercial operations, and M&A. He has led both growth and cost-reduction operational improvement efforts across industries as well as global marketing organizations, overseeing product and go-to-market strategies.     On this episode, we tap into Brian's expertise to discuss what it takes to create a digital marketing ecosystem in health care to improve the customer experience while boosting revenue and reducing the cost to serve. A Quest to Improve Lives  After college, Brian sought a job in sales and marketing and landed one at a consumer packaged goods company. He worked there for five years, gaining all the insights he could, before being recruited by a small entrepreneurial company in health care. There, he solidified his passion for improving and saving lives, calling on interventional radiologists, interventional cardiologists, and vascular surgeons to learn the business from the ground up.  From there his career continued to progress, earning roles in digital marketing leadership and general management, approaching each one with a customer-centric perspective. He took time to understand the customer experience—customer challenges and unmet customer needs—so he could focus on improving patient care and the customer experience while reducing the cost to serve. He assessed how they went to market, established end-to-end marketing tech stacks, and went from push to pull marketing to boost customer engagement and enhance the customer journey.  In all of his experience, Brian has remained true to his commitment to saving and improving lives while establishing operational efficiencies and reducing costs. He's developed some best practices along the way. 3 Business Functions to Digitize for Improved CX and Operational Efficiency in Health Care   Brian has identified three business functions that, when digitized, improve CX and operational efficiency, resulting in incremental revenue and cost reductions, specifically in health care. By simplifying processes and access to information, customers across the health care continuum—including acute care facilities, surgery centers, and outpatient providers—enjoy a better overall experience along each step of their journey while vendors can reduce their cost-to-serve.   1. My Team – Who is the Customer's Team?   The first opportunity Brian identifies is to improve operational efficiency through a customer relationship management (CRM) system that enables customers to easily find and contact the right person on their vendor's team to answer their specific question. He points out that with multiple health care solutions and products sold by one vendor to a hospital, a customer could have as many as 10 people assigned to support them. In the absence of an accessible digital CRM solution, it is cumbersome to find the right person to answer a simple question or schedule a service request.  With the goal of addressing these unmet customer needs to improve the customer experience for health care organizations, Brian led a team that revamped an outdated system and established an end-to-end digital ecosystem platform that enables customers to sign into a secure online portal to view their personalized team.  In the My Team component of this digital ecosystem, customers can view their orders, obtain contact information for their support representatives, and complete product training. Enabling customers to securely access the information they need online on their own schedule improves efficiency, increases satisfaction and customer loyalty, and reduces the cost to serve by redirecting staff to other areas that more directly benefit the customer.   2. My Orders – How Does the Customer Order?  The second opportunity to improve operational efficiency involves optimizing the order placement process. Through a digital ordering experience, customers can conduct initial pre-purchase research, identify what they need without necessarily involving a sales representative, and ultimately place their order online according to their own schedule—which in many cases occurs outside of conventional business hours.  When customers enter the post-purchase experience, they can track their order online (delivery, construction, installation) and set up and complete training sessions to maximize their product onboarding speed and utilization with patients. Having online access to the information they need vastly improves the customer experience for MedTech customers in acute care centers and hospitals which make capital equipment purchases that often require arrangements for construction within the hospital and training on how to use the new product or service. Brian says that customers have embraced My Orders to such an extent that many of them purchase hundreds of thousands worth of capital equipment through the system.    But change can be hard, especially in the beginning before customers understand the benefits it offers for efficiency. The improvements Brian and his team made to enhance the digital customer experience required a lot of marketing and customer support to help customers learn the new processes and enjoy increased productivity so they could focus more on patient care rather than administrative tasks.  These improvements served as a differentiator in the marketplace and incentivized customers to do business with them because of the convenience and efficiency factors. The ease of doing business gave them an edge even when competitors offered viable alternative products as well. Their customers valued the improved process as well as a better customer experience, enabling them to devote more time to patient care.  3. My Training – How Does the Customer Receive Training?  The third opportunity for operational improvements is to revamp how customers arrange to get trained on their new product or service. In the analog world, customers would call their specialist to schedule in-person training. This generally required a lot of back-and-forth coordination and a high cost to serve because the training was delivered in person, which also involved travel, hotels, meals, and a lot of time.   In the digital world, however, the customer onboarding process is much simpler and results in good digital CX. Customers can conveniently schedule on-demand or live training through their secure online My Training portal whenever and wherever they need them.  Digital Transformation Improves CX in Health Care  By studying the customer journey and identifying areas for improvement, organizations can implement digital transformation strategies to solve pain points in the customer journey and delight the customer from pre-purchase to post-purchase, while also boosting revenue and reducing the cost to serve the customer.  The modern era of pull marketing strategies vs. dated push-marketing methods meets health care customers where they are. It empowers them to efficiently transact and arrange training and support in ways that are similar to the convenient and user-friendly experiences consumers enjoy with online merchants such as Amazon, Target, and Walmart. This digital health care ecosystem offers acute care centers and hospitals improved efficiencies that allow them to focus on the things that matter most—patient care and improved outcomes.  What Brian Does for Fun   Brian, his wife, and their two young daughters love to travel. They enjoy experiencing different cultures and foods, making human connections, and building a global perspective. Before COVID, they loved going on adventures, but when COVID hit, they hunkered down and found new opportunities for fun.  This year, their travels picked back up and for spring break they went to Hawaii to visit Pearl Harbor in Oahu and the Road to Hana in Maui. They did SNUBA where the oxygen tanks float on the water so they could swim down 30 feet for an up-close experience with the marine life and sea turtles.   This summer they traveled to the former Yugoslavia (where Brian's wife is from) where they spent time with family and friends and visited Montenegro and Herceg Novi on the Adriatic Coast.  To learn more about Brian, connect with him on LinkedIn.  Watch the video here. Read the blog post here. 

Building a Transformative Culture of Caring Leadership and Active Listening Inspires Employees and Elevates CX  This week's guest on the Digitally Irresistible podcast is Heather R Younger, founder and CEO of Employee Fanatix, a leading employee engagement, leadership development, and DEI consulting firm. Heather is on a mission to help leaders understand the power they possess to ensure employees feel valued at work. Heather has built a reputation as a champion for positive change in workplaces, communities, and the world at large by delivering clear and purposeful strategies that drive real business results—such as increased employee engagement, loyalty, collaboration, and connectivity. On this episode, we discuss three key principles from her book, "The Art of Caring Leadership."   The Impact of Caring  Heather experienced the importance of caring from a young age. Born into a mixed-race family, she and her dad were viewed as outcasts by many in her mom's family. But one aunt on her mom's side always made her feel included and worthy of her care and attention.  When Heather was nine, her family moved from Ohio to Las Vegas. She remembers her aunt sending her a large box of eight individually wrapped gifts for every day of Hannukah. To Heather, the box represented the connection between her and the other half of her family that didn't really make her feel included or cared for, but her aunt did.   Her aunt demonstrated that she was a leader with heart. That has stuck with Heather and helped build the foundation for what she does around the world to guide others towards caring leadership.  Three Key Principles of Caring Leadership   In her book, “The Art of Caring Leadership,” Heather writes about how to build greater trust and engagement in the workplace through caring leadership that promotes inclusive cultures, improves morale, and builds resiliency. On this episode, she shares three key principles of leadership that inspire loyalty and improve retention and performance—translating to better employee and customer experiences.  1. Cultivating Self-Leadership  Often when we think of leadership, we think of leading others. We think we need to do something for someone else first. But Heather says it's important to make sure leaders care for themselves first, before caring for others. She says each day should begin with a focus on self-leadership. This includes making sure your words and actions align with the things you say you value, being authentically yourself, exercising good self-care, and building a strong supportive network.   Heather emphasizes that cultivating self-leadership first, helps us give from the positive sides of ourselves, not the empty parts that we then rely on others to fill. She explains this with a metaphor someone shared with her about a coffee cup and a saucer. If you pour into the coffee cup and it overflows onto the saucer, caring leaders should give from the overflow on the saucer. If you don't, then you're drinking from the coffee cup and giving from the coffee cup and it will eventually run dry. You'll have nothing left to give.  2. Making People Feel Important   Heather says there's nothing better we can do for a person than making them feel important. It's critically important that managers recognize and show appreciation for people at work in specific ways so they feel appreciated and recognized.   According to Gallup research, only one in three workers in the U.S. and Germany strongly agree that they received recognition in the past seven days for doing good work. If they haven't received praise, they don't feel appreciated and are twice as likely to say they'll quit in the next year.    To address this, Heather says workplaces must be filled with appreciation and gratitude. They also need to foster strong human connections with leaders, the organization's brand, customers, and coworkers. She recognizes the importance of looking at touchpoints throughout the employee journey and ensure they feel connected. Once employees feel disconnected, they care less about the organization's mission, less about the tasks and processes to be completed, and they want to do less, they start to check out, and then they leave.   Heather senses that organizational leaders know the importance of appreciating employees, but the number of leaders that practice it on a regular basis is likely much lower. To help incorporate employee recognition into organizational cultures, Heather works with executive members and team members within organizations to build employee engagement and DEI practices with accountability. She ensures thoughts and actions align to produce results that employees and customers actually need.   3. A Culture of Listening  To demonstrate the importance of listening, Heather talks about when each of her four children were babies. They'd make cooing sounds in their cribs and were so happy when their voices produced the results they needed—mommy or daddy arrived at their side. Then there were times when they made noises and she wouldn't go to their crib and they'd start throwing or knocking things. Our voices are innate and they make us us. At work it's no different, she says. If we use our voices and no one responds, or cares, or listens, then we feel inconsequential; we feel like cogs in a wheel spinning to achieve an end goal that doesn't align with our own goals.   Listening is critical. Heather has a five-step process for listening and an upcoming book on the art of active listening to ensure people at work feel heard, valued, and understood.  Of all the things organizations want at work—employee engagement, customer satisfaction, customer retention, higher revenues—we'll never reach those goals if we can't listen to stakeholders to give them what they need. Listening helps people feel important and know you care. Then they want to engage with you.  This aligns with who we are at iQor and our strong customer service culture. We prioritize helping customer service agents, supervisors, and all other employees understand how important they are to us as people, not just from a business perspective.  Reflect on Your Leadership Goals   To sum up her approach to caring leadership and put it in perspective for all leaders, Heather recommends identifying a person you've worked with, a manager or not, who made you feel like you could do anything. Someone who appreciated you and recognized the work you did every day. Then think about someone who made you feel small and inconsequential at work—like you were just there to get a job done. Which person do you want to be? You'll be remembered either way, but as which type of leader? This is a choice leaders make every day.  What Heather Does for Fun  Heather loves spending time with her crew of teenagers—her four children. They all love hanging out together, going on long walks, going to the movies, even watching double-header back-to-back movies at the theater. It doesn't matter what they do, Heather values the time they spend together—it fills her coffee cup!  To learn more about Heather and her caring approach to leadership, check out her Leadership With Heart podcast, visit employeefanatix.com, heatheryounger.com, follow her on Twitter, and connect with her on LinkedIn.  Watch the video here. Read the blog post here. 

Data-Driven AI Performance Enablement Software as a Service Improves Metrics and Delivers Better Employee and Customer Experiences   This week's guest on the Digitally Irresistible podcast is Sean Minter, founder and CEO of AmplifAI. At AmplifAI, Sean and his team apply science to make teams better, leveraging AI-powered data to create a personalized environment that enables every frontline employee to succeed. As more companies explore the new generation of hybrid work, innovative leaders and organizations are relying on AmplifAI's SaaS solution to enable performance, improve people, and make work more fun—wherever work is happening.   The BPO industry is no exception. Focused on delivering great customer experiences for some of the world's top brands, every day thousands of iQor customer care agents respond to questions pertaining to our client's products or services. Frontline supervisors are in a constant mode of coaching agents to empower them to consistently create smiles for our clients' end customers.   Leveraging advanced digital technologies to facilitate the coaching of frontline employees, iQor recently announced our selection of AmplifAI as one of our digital CX initiatives to support excellent employee and customer experiences.   On this episode, we learn how AmplifAI's artificial intelligence-driven software as a service (SaaS) performance-enablement technology platform helps iQor improve key metrics on a client program and deliver smiles through coaching and analytics.  Solving Problems Through Innovation   Sean entered the technology startup space years ago, starting three other companies before AmplifAI. He also worked at a private equity firm in between his startups and bought a BPO—PRC out of South Florida—about 12 years ago.   Bringing a perspective from outside the BPO industry, Sean looked for opportunities to do things differently when he began running PRC, drawing on his process-oriented background in tech.   He was determined to gain insight into why some customer care sites and some teams performed better than others. Indeed, his greatest challenge was figuring out how to replicate the highest performing frontline associates and frontline leaders to scale performance ability and drive consistent outcomes for clients.   He ultimately sold PRC to a larger BPO and he turned his attention to solving this problem. He knew that this challenge was not unique to PRC. He realized that other BPOs as well as brands with internal customer support call centers faced the same challenge. Harnessing his expertise in tech startups, Sean founded AmplifAI to drive more consistent customer care performance outcomes. 5 Things BPOs Need to Do to Be Successful on Any Client Program  Through his work to replicate high-performing frontline associates at scale and develop an AI-driven platform to enable consistent outcomes in customer service, Sean identified five things BPOs need to do in order to produce excellent consistent outcomes for clients.  1. Deliver on a Client's KPIs  Whether first call resolution, average handle time, or Net Promoter Score (NPS), BPOs need to deliver on client KPIs with efficiency. Sean finds that the key to improving these metrics is improving the people driving the metrics. For this to happen, frontline leaders need the right tools to engage their team, understand the data and metrics around performance, and coach their frontline associates with the right information at the right time to improve a specific outcome.  AmplifAI empowers frontline leaders to do this more efficiently. It takes away the need for frontline leaders to spend time manually analyzing data from multiple systems and reports. AmplifAI handles data analytics and recommendations so supervisors can focus on engaging and developing their teams.  With AmplifAI's performance enablement platform, BPOs develop higher-performing and more engaged frontline associates and leaders.   AmplifAI saves 30% of a frontline supervisor's day by identifying actions they need to take to support their team, whether it's enabling better performance, following up after a coaching session, recognizing agents, understanding what to coach, or driving the coach-the-coach process.  This allows BPOs to deliver more efficiently on a client's KPIs, which ultimately increases productivity and creates more smiles with our client's end customers.   2. Instill Confidence That Agents Will Create a Great Customer Experience   Clients put their most important asset—their customers—in the hands of a trusted BPO partner like iQor to take care of them. In order for them to make this decision, they need to have confidence that the BPO will perform.   Because consistently providing good CX to a client at scale is very important, AmplifAI helps drive organizational processes by collecting data from the client, identifying what a high performer is, and creating a persona for that high performer so the BPO can leverage it to drive actions that will result in good CX at scale.   This applies to all sorts of contact center agent personas, from empowering new hires to helping good agents become great agents. By providing access to streamlined data, AmplifAI helps frontline leaders deliver timely, personalized, and efficient employee development and engagement across their teams so everyone can deliver a great customer experience across all sites consistently. Built-in accountability ensures agents and supervisors receive the support they need to thrive. Sean knows firsthand from his time in the BPO industry that when a frontline employee has a great experience, they're inspired to deliver an excellent experience for the customer.   3. Manage Agent Performance at Scale   The need to manage agents' performance at scale, for both work-in-office and work-at-home employees, is essential. Indeed, as mentioned previously the goal of engaging, coaching, developing, and recognizing frontline associates is important for scaling activity. When frontline leaders need to study reports to discover insights they can use to coach their agents, it can inhibit their effectiveness, hinder their ability to remember who should be recognized, and make it difficult to prioritize their time especially when frontline employees aren't always in the office with them. AmplifAI addresses this challenge in several ways. It gives frontline leaders access to performance data and AI-driven recommendations through a single, unified system that prioritizes actions, key behaviors, and performance indicators so they can spend more time coaching and building connections. Through integrations with remote work tools, it can also push information out to platforms employees are already logged into to drive more interaction within the work environment.   And, its proprietary Coaching Effectiveness Index maximizes a supervisor's ability to coach their agent's performance while driving team engagement and cohesiveness. The Coaching Effectiveness Index identifies coaches' strengths and areas for improvement so managers can help coaches become better team leaders.  4. Maintain Compliance With Client Standards  Meeting client standards is the minimum threshold, with the goal being to exceed these standards. This means staying on top of operations in real time. To do this, Sean says BPOs should look at data to create balance scorecards on the agent and company levels that will illuminate a bell curve of people—from high performers to low performers.  To this end, AmplifAI builds personas over different time frames to account for changing impacts (such as seasonality, new product offerings, and a new prioritization of certain metrics). This drives coaching, recognition, and activity in a systematic way across all sites at scale to help adapt to changes and identify where you are at risk of non-compliance with client standards while also recommending next actions for better customer support.  5. Balance Quick Onboarding and Training With Retention   AmplifAI gathers data throughout the employee lifecycle, which AI validates before loading it into the database. This acts like an AI assistant at the agent and frontline leader level to help identify whom to coach, what to coach them on, whom to recognize, what behaviors need improvement, and more. The AI assistant gives relevant recommendations enabling the leader to focus on creating human-to-human interactions. Sean says that as we think about the future of the contact center, it's helpful to think of how a customer service agent can have an AI assistant to connect them to content so they are empowered to improve themselves on easy things and human-to-human coaching can focus on more complex needs.   Understanding where frontline employees face challenges when they reach production can inform training, nesting, and onboarding so future employees are better prepared before production. AI helps recognize the data to make this possible at scale.   When BPO supervisors are empowered to help frontline employees strengthen specific skills in less time, it supports quick onboarding, training, and retention.   Human Interactions Remain at the Center of Great CX  AmplifAI helps BPOs like iQor deliver the right employee experiences to their most valuable asset, their agents. It supports better leadership that ultimately improves frontline employee performance and engagement to create customer experiences that make people smile.  What Sean Does for Fun  With a 10-year-old and a three-year-old, Sean and his family focus their free time on fun home activities in the Dallas, Texas area. Barbeque is their go-to tasty activity when it's not 105 degrees outside!  To learn more about Sean and how he and his team power AI-enhanced people enablement, visit www.amplifai.com and connect with him on LinkedIn.  Watch the video here. Read the blog post here.  

How Quality Management and Service Excellence Are Essential for a Great Customer Experience   This week, we welcome Alec Dalton to the Digitally Irresistible podcast. Alec is co-founder and managing partner of the Hospitality Leadership Academy, a firm offering professional development programs and management consulting focused on service excellence.   Alec has operated five luxury properties and has held various corporate positions with hospitality industry pioneers like Marriott International, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, and Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. He is a renowned keynote speaker on customer experience and quality strategy and a contributor to several internationally best-selling books on the topic. He also operates a consultancy that helps businesses—brand names and boutiques alike—design and deliver five-star services.  On this episode, Alec discusses the role of quality management in your customer experience strategy and how essential it is for achieving high levels of customer satisfaction.   A Career Journey That Began Where Dreams Come True  Alec's career dreams date back to when he was eight years old on a family vacation at Disney World. While he and his family were at lunch talking about the special experiences they had that morning at the Magic Kingdom and sharing excitement about the upcoming fireworks that night, Alec noticed a custodial cast member (aka Disney employee) cleaning a nearby table. Seeing quality management in action, he realized that the magical experiences he and his family enjoyed were only possible because of people like the custodial cast member and all the other employees in various functions across the resort.   As he grew older, Alec was captivated by Disney's focus on quality and he learned that other organizations did the same thing. He studied hospitality at Boston University, worked in a variety of hotels and resorts, and spent time in the quality management function in different corporate offices. Today he enjoys helping a variety of large and small organizations develop their own five-star services by training their teams, refining their executive and leadership development programs, and shaping custom frontline training programs. He provides this management consultancy focused on quality management, HR, and customer service both through his firm, the Hospitality Leadership Academy, as well as Accelerate Learning Systems, a partner company.   The 3 Components of Quality Management in CX  Alec believes that every organization should have a philosophy around quality. Quality, he says, centers on the interplay between customer experience, customer success, and customer service. He defines three primary components of quality management.  1. Conformance to Company Standards   One way to assess quality is based on conformance to the expectations a company has for the way work gets done and how outputs are produced. There should be consistency in your company's quality standards.  2. Competitive Quality  Another way to assess quality is in the context of industry norms and the experiences customers have with your competitors. Consider what competitors are doing to meet customers' needs, where they are failing, and what expectations customers have of your brand based on their experiences with analogous businesses.   For example, in the hotel business, it's common to check in with an employee at the reception desk for a few minutes before going up to your room. But in the airline industry, it's possible to check in online or check in at a kiosk in the airport. Also, in most cases, it's possible to select your seat on an airplane. Why can't the hotel business take advantage of the same self-service mobile technology innovations to enable mobile check-ins and room selection in advance? The analogous expectations customers have of your industry compared to other industries influence their perception of competitive quality.  3. Customer Satisfaction   Finally, in Alec's experience, customer satisfaction is the most important definition of quality. Customers bring their own unique wants, needs, and expectations. It's your job to deliver the products and services that satisfy those needs or help them find a way to get there if you can't.  How to Use Quality Management to Improve CX Design  Despite how essential quality management is in good CX, it is often overlooked. Yet there are ready-made frameworks CX professionals can use to design and improve experiences.  One of Alec's favorites is the Six Sigma quality framework that guides CX professionals to reduce inconsistency and improve efficiency. The DMAIC process (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control) outlines this strategy, which Alec writes about in “Customer Experience.”   Define   First, customer experience professionals must define the experience they want to deliver. This includes both the actual experience and the outcomes—the memories or products you want the customer to leave with. Alec says it's important to measure the key touchpoints along the customer journey that are important for driving customer satisfaction.    Measure   Second, measure the business operating metrics so that you can address compliance quality and competitive quality throughout the customer journey.   Analyze  Third, track the key metrics over time to reduce risk and make sure you're actually satisfying your customers. Ensure your standards meet the needs of your customers and are at least equal to your competitors' standards.   Improve  Next, look for opportunities where you can take things to the next level and improve on your current experience.   Control  Finally, develop a quality control plan so you can sustain a new level of quality or improve it and delight your customers even more in the long term.   Perceived Challenges of These Frameworks  Originally developed in the manufacturing world with clear metrics for consistency, the data-intensive focus of the Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing philosophies can lead some brands to hesitate with them, especially for those in industries that rely on measuring customer or employee emotion.   The DMAIC process, however, is fairly common for brands in the hotel, hospitality, and entertainment industries. Using voice of the customer channels like surveys and social media feedback, hospitality, and B2C companies can mine those sources for data. And there's increasing potential for more data in the future as video recognition and artificial intelligence technologies continue to advance.  The Cost of Poor Quality Management  In “Customer Experience 2,” the second customer experience book Alec coauthored, he writes about the cost of quality in the customer experience. He explains how there is a cost to deliver quality, but the cost of poor quality is even greater.  The cost of poor quality can include negative word-of-mouth, opportunity costs, loyalty loss, negative sentiment, waste, and the cost of reworking processes to eliminate quality concerns. It's important for brands to consider what happens when things go wrong and how you can prevent it from happening in the first place.   For example, say you check into a hotel and the front desk provides friendly service and your guest room is lovely. But after you go to sleep, another guest suddenly walks in and you realize you were both checked into the same room. Oops!   In this scenario, two customers are understandably upset about the experience, which may result in negative word-of-mouth, rebates, refunds, or other accommodations to ensure customer satisfaction. Poor quality by design—the breakdown in process that caused this problem—resulted in all of these costs.   The cost of quality management can be categorized into two groups: conformance and non-conformance.  1. Conformance  Conformance is the cost of designing and implementing effective quality management. There are two types of conformance costs: appraisal costs and prevention costs.  Appraisal costs include things like inspecting parts or supplies before production begins or before a service is provided. Implementing quality assurance programs, performing inspections and the like are all part of the appraisal costs. This costs money, time, and effort, but it can prevent faulty parts or experiences from advancing through your supply chain and production process.   Prevention costs are similar but from an in-built design standpoint. Prevention costs often go by the Japanese term poka-yoke which means foolproofing. These are the measures you put in place to prevent accidents from happening. In a digital world, they might include preventing an employee or customer from skipping a step in a transactional process through a pop-up message. There are costs associated with designing, building, and implementing these, but these costs are often much lower than the costs of non-conformance.  2. Non-Conformance  Companies incur non-conformance costs when things go wrong, often due to poor quality or ineffective quality management. These include external opportunity costs—the cost of an upset customer, angry guest, or negative word of mouth. But they also include internal costs when things go wrong and you need to rework processes, reduce waste, or address low employee morale.   Balancing Quality and Cost   To reach a healthy balance between quality with cost, it's important to remember that the ideal level of quality, at least from a financial standpoint, isn't perfect quality. Perfection is astronomically expensive and often unattainable, especially in services businesses because we're all human and accidents happen. In contrast, the goal is to balance the cost of preventing and assuring quality to help reduce the cost of any potential failures and ensure a great customer experience with high levels of customer satisfaction.   What Alec Does for Fun  Being in the hospitality business, Alec loves to travel. Last year he visited all 50 states in the USA! He's still deciding on this year's adventure, but he has his eyes set abroad.   To learn more about Alec and his insights into quality management, visit his website at www.alecdalton.com and connect with him on LinkedIn and Twitter.  Watch the video. Read the blog post. 

How Strategic Email Marketing Can Create Great Customer Experiences and Improve Your Bottom Line  This week's guest on the Digitally Irresistible podcast is Emily McGuire, a self-proclaimed email marketing nerd! As the customer evangelist at AWeber, Emily applies her email marketing expertise to create a great customer experience through email at every step of the customer journey. On this episode, Emily explains three key elements to creating an exceptional customer experience using email.  3 Elements for Creating Exceptional CX through Email  Throughout her years of work in email marketing, Emily has identified three primary elements for creating exceptional CX through email.  These three stages of the customer journey with email are:  1. Onboarding  For Emily, it all begins with customer onboarding. Although this phase looks different for different types of businesses, it always encompasses beginning the customer relationship on the right foot—anticipating the customers' needs and providing the information they need to be successful with your brand.  This step is focused on educating and nurturing new customers to set the stage for their relationship with your brand. Email onboarding campaigns keep the customer experience at the forefront to build customer trust, whether it's navigating a new platform they signed up for, anticipating the next steps in a professional services relationship, or learning when to expect a product they ordered and how to use it effectively.   This involves predicting what the customer needs for a personalized experience every step of the way. One example of a successful e-commerce email onboarding campaign Emily shares is from a company that sells washable rugs. In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Emily purchased a rug with a removable top that can be cleaned in the washing machine. She began to take note of the company's engaging post-purchase email series before her order even shipped. After placing her order, she received a series of onboarding emails beyond simply an order confirmation.    This included helpful emails telling her, as a new customer, how to prepare for her new rug and how to care for it. She also received an email addressing shipping delays due to the pandemic and supply chain issues. Soon thereafter she received a shipping confirmation email, an email confirming her rug was delivered, and a reminder email about how to care for her new rug along with potential problems that may arise and how to contact customer support in the event of an issue.   Throughout the new customer onboarding process, the brand proactively anticipated the questions their customer support team was likely to receive and answered them up-front instead of waiting for new customers to reach out to customer service, probably reducing some of the volume of inbound customer service calls for this brand. They shared useful information at each step of the customer journey, and built a strong relationship with Emily, as a new customer, to foster brand loyalty from the get-go.   This step looks very similar in the software as a service (SaaS), B2B, tech, and professional services worlds—anticipating questions, offering new customers a tour of the product upfront, and providing a brief introduction to the most common features people use first with their new product or service so they aren't left to guess or reach out to customer service in frustration. A happy customer is more likely to be a loyal customer.  2. Retention   The next step in Emily's map of the customer journey is customer retention, to nurture your brand's relationship with customers and make sure you strive to gain their loyalty. As the great management thought leader Peter Drucker said, “The purpose of a business is to create and keep customers.”   To foster loyalty, Emily says it's important to ensure customers get what they need from you. This includes making certain you provide information in your emails to customers on how to get support if they need it so they don't need to search for it on your website.  It's also important, especially in the e-commerce world, to thank people for being a customer and for being a part of your brand community, incentivizing them to order again. In the SaaS and B2B world, this involves looking at critical touchpoints for customers and the types of services or future adoptions they are likely to take and nurturing them to take those.   Ultimately, it's not just about retention, it's also about adoption and usage so you bond customers to your product or service with a long-term view of their lifetime value. This means anticipating the information they need and reinforcing it with the value that it provides. The deeper their connection, the more value they'll see and the longer they'll stick around. By guiding customers through each stage of your service or product and helping them make the most impact with those features or services, you can capitalize on their customer engagement and garner better, more cost-effective results than trying to win them back after they ghost you.   For example, Emily recently signed up for a SaaS product and, during the sign-up process, indicated that she works with a team. The first onboarding emails she received provided a standard overview of the platform and the value it provides. Then she began receiving emails about collaboration and the advantages of adding team members to her account. The SaaS provider capitalized on the information they gathered from Emily to target their email campaign to her anticipated needs. They knew that if she adds collaborators she becomes “sticky” — a strong signal that she'll become a loyal advocate for the product.  3. Reactivation  The third and final step of the email customer journey is reactivation. Emily explains that there are two types of reactivations.   1. Reengage. The first type of reactivation is with customers who display a loss of interest in your product and are at risk of abandoning your brand. These are customers who are cooling off, starting to ghost you, starting to put distance between themselves and your brand, and are using your product less frequently and contacting you less often.  You can gather data by looking at how many times customers are logging into their accounts to use your product if you're a SaaS business. Similarly, B2C brands can determine if it has been a while since they were in contact with their account representative or ordered your product. Looking at these signals and developing campaigns to remind customers of the value you provide and sharing information on how they can get that value or giving them a discount code for additional products or services can help reengage their interest and improve customer satisfaction.  2. Win Back. The other type of reactivation is focused on bringing back customers who have abandoned your product altogether or canceled their account or service with you.  Sending them a series of follow-up emails addressing why they left, offering them incentives, and having a representative talk to them about what you can do to win back their business can give insight into how you can improve their experience with your brand and win them back.   Although reactivation offers a significant ROI because there are lower costs associated with gaining business from an existing customer than winning a new customer, Emily finds that reactivation strategies are fairly uncommon. Brands often don't think about customers that disappear because their data simply goes away. It takes actively seeking them out and understanding the needs of your customer in order to win them back.   Marketing in the Customer Journey  Emily concludes that these three themes are really about anticipating what customers are about to do and nurturing your relationship so they can be as successful as possible with your product or service.   Marketing is often focused on lead generation and conversions, but retaining existing customers is much more profitable. These three elements can guide brands to cultivate great CX through email marketing campaigns as part of a unified customer experience strategy. Remarketing to customers over and over again in these ways deepens their relationship with your brand and optimizes their customer journey.   What Emily Does for Fun  Emily loves playing with her child in addition to exploring old hobbies that went on hiatus during the pandemic. Rediscovering the joys of disc golf is at the top of her list right now.  To learn more about the email expertise AWeber offers, visit www.aweber.com. To connect with Emily and follow her email marketing tips, visit her page on LinkedIn.  Watch the video here. Read the blog post here.    

How Active Learning Improves Employee Engagement, Training, and Retention for Better CX   This week's guest on the Digitally Irresistible podcast is John Kruper, senior vice president of global learning and development at iQor. John leads an award-winning team of trainers and coaches around the world who skillfully train iQor agents and supervisors to rapidly enable them to provide service and support for the customer care programs entrusted to us by some of the world's biggest brands.   John specializes in designing effective employee training and development models that contribute to great CX and high employee retention levels. He designs active learning strategies that produce better-trained agents with higher performance outcomes, whether it's upselling, reducing average handle times (AHT), or driving better customer satisfaction scores (CSAT). This method of learner-centered training empowers employees to learn by doing through collaborative experiences that enhance their skills and deepen their relationship with the company.   On this episode, we explore the current and future states of global learning and development and look at research-backed innovations that enable rapid training and high levels of employee retention at scale. The contrast between current and future states of learning applies to many businesses, including enterprises training internal frontline employees as well as business process outsourcing (BPO) companies training frontline customer service agents. As research-based evidence of effective adult learning evolves, so does the need to adjust training methodologies to ensure frontline employees get the opportunity to be onboarded successfully by trainers who use practices that result in better performance outcomes.  Lifelong Learning and Training   John has a longstanding commitment to cultivating excellent educational experiences. His career journey began with a doctorate in science education. He spent the first 20 years of his career developing an expertise in digital education and virtual learning while working in higher education and academia with professors and academic programs to bring their programs online.   Then, about 15 years ago, John transitioned from academia to the BPO industry to bring valuable digital learning and career development experiences to frontline customer service employees. He joined iQor in 2022 as senior vice president of global learning and development where he works with an award-winning training team to enhance innovations and active learning methodologies in our physical and virtual learning spaces.  Training for Frontline Employees  With hourly workers representing 80% of the global workforce spanning all industries and companies, John says it's critically important to pay attention to the training experience for these workers. Training enables greater success for hourly employees that typically begin with a baseline set of skills for which they were hired but must learn additional skills and responsibilities in order to perform their new job function.   A bad training program puts the employee behind the curve so they are perpetually trying to play catch-up learning their job responsibilities. This deficiency in skills makes it difficult for them to excel in their job, disconnects them from the company, and often results in their decision to leave.   Indeed, John points out that the training experience is critical to an employee's success not only in their job but also in their career because these jobs are often pathways to their ultimate career development.   Current State of Training: Passive Learning   Frontline workforce training has commonalities at enterprises and throughout the BPO industry due to the need for employees to master numerous policies, processes, services, and software systems in order to do their job. As a result, new hire employee training is often packed with dense information delivered in a short timeframe by trainers who know the content well but may not necessarily know the most effective strategies for delivering the information.   This typically results in passive learning experiences whereby employees are expected to absorb massive amounts of information through a trainer-focused lecture-based training format. Desks are set up in rows with a lectern and a projector at the front of the room and all eyes are on the trainer who delivers lengthy content in a show-and-tell style. But research shows that showing and telling doesn't work.   People learn best by doing. As a result, information-rich training needs to change so that new-hire employees can collaborate with other new hires to practice and problem solve with the information they're learning while being coached by a facilitator who knows the ins and outs of the content.   Future State of Training: Active Learning   The future state of training for frontline employees is active learning. John notes that training classrooms need to support how adults learn best: active, problem-based learning in a collaborative, social environment. This simple yet radical approach transforms information-based learning so employees are empowered to discuss, share, and collaborate with peers. This approach increases knowledge retention, higher-order thinking, participation, engagement, and ultimately contributes to employee retention.   In this training environment, there's no front of the room. Employees work with colleagues in small groups while the facilitator circulates throughout the learning studio—mentoring, coaching, and asking questions providing an enriching learning experience.   Active learning is organized around the learner with a set of problems and goals that the learner practices solving in a safe environment where they can grow and hone their skills.  How iQor Is Deploying the Future State of Learning and Development   iQor is taking a three-pronged approach to transform its entire learning organization into an active learning one in which high-quality effective learning and employee development is delivered rapidly and at scale to frontline employees.   The three elements of this transformation to active learning include the following:  1. Design Physical and Virtual Learning Studios   Physical and virtual training classrooms are transformed into collaborative active learning studios that promote interactions between the facilitator and groups of learners.  2. Establish a Change Management Approach   Implement change management to upskill trainers to support their shift from lecturer to facilitator so their methodologies align with the new pedagogical approach.  3. Harness Technology   Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and other software technology systems offer new tools that enable and empower the active learning environment. John explains that now we can have learning systems that monitor what each individual is learning and how they're performing and adapt the material accordingly. This makes it possible for everyone to have an individualized learning and development plan instead of a one-size-fits-all curriculum.   With the combination of these three elements, John notes how iQor is transforming our training into an active learning approach, enterprise-wide across all geographies and verticals to support how adults learn best.   Through active learning, frontline workers and training facilitators enjoy a more collaborative and appealing environment, where employees have the opportunity to learn more, retain more, and engage more with the curriculum, one another, and the company. This enhances the employee experience, reduces employee turnover, and builds empathy in the customer experience they provide.   John emphasizes the continued importance of partnering with clients throughout the training process. Transitioning to active learning methodologies is accomplished through an ongoing collaboration with clients to draw on their content expertise and integrate it into an instructional design that supports active learning experiences.  What John Does for Fun   John goes the distance in all that he does. For fun, he loves running every day. Every year for the past 15 years he has run the Chicago Marathon! When he's not racking up miles on foot, he enjoys road trips with his wife. Over the past two years they have clocked more than 25,000 miles on their camper van, exploring national parks and other areas of the country.   To connect with John, visit his page on LinkedIn.  Watch the video here. Read the blog post here.   

How a Customer-Centric Culture Improves the Employee Experience and Elevates CX  This week's guest is Annette Franz, founder and CEO of CX Journey. She has 30 years of experience—on both the client and vendor sides—helping companies understand their employees and customers to drive retention, satisfaction, engagement, and the overall customer experience. She is a credentialed CCXP who has authored two books on CX as well as numerous articles in industry publications and she is regularly invited to speak at conferences and private events.   On this episode, we delve into Annette's four key steps to improve the customer experience from the inside-out, looking at the interplay between culture, leadership, employees, and customers.   Customer Experience Strategy From the Start   Growing up on a farm in Ohio, Annette always dreamed of becoming a veterinarian. While the science of chemistry rerouted her from that endeavor, she did find a lot of chemistry in creating great customer and employee experiences. She left Ohio for sunny southern California and found a job doing market research at J.D. Power putting her math and writing skills to good use.   Since that time, she has been focused on customer experience strategy work on both the corporate brand side and the private agency side. Her work has ranged from customer understanding to culture and employee experience. As a certified customer experience professional (CCXP), she has seen the CX profession evolve over the past three decades and has gained deep insights on how to improve the customer experience.  The 4 Steps to Improve CX From the Inside-Out  Drawing on her years of strategic experience in the industry, Annette has identified four key pillars to improve CX from the inside-out. She takes an in-depth look at these and other strategies in her two books, “Built to Win” and “Customer Understanding,” and shares them with us here.   1. Culture    Annette's four-step strategy begins with the heart of the organization: the culture. She finds that by looking at what's happening on the inside with employees (while taking into account the voice of the customer), an organization can fix what's happening on the outside with customers.   Prioritizing culture means prioritizing how you do things. Annette says culture equals core values plus behaviors. This means defining, socializing, and operationalizing core values (including customer-driven ones). In labeling the values and defining appropriate behaviors associated with each one, a customer-centric culture will flow through the DNA of the organization and yield profound improvements and a great customer experience.   2. Leadership Commitment and Alignment   This customer-centric culture hinges on your organizational leadership's commitment to design and deliberately cultivate the culture. This commitment must extend beyond the CEO and a few leaders in various departments. It has to involve the entire leadership team. All leaders across departments must be aligned on what it means to be customer-centric and how the organization is going to deliver on that in order to ensure a unified customer-centric transformation.  This commitment must be evident in measurable ways. Leaders need to provide the resources needed (time, financial, capital, and human) to do the work that's needed to create and maintain a customer-centric culture.   Indeed, a customer-centric culture is a collaborative one in which everyone is working together towards the common goal of creating a great experience for customers.  3. Employee Experience  For all of this to happen, employees must come first. Without employees to design, build, sell, service, and deliver the products, an organization has nothing. The employee experience drives the customer experience.  Knowing this, it's important to define what the employee experience should be. This includes soft characteristics like building employee relationships through a leadership team that cares about the people, open and transparent communication, career planning, and knowledge that their work impacts the business and the customers. It also involves hard characteristics like the tools, processes, policies, workspace, workplace, and everything else that is needed to service the customers in the ways in which they deserve to be served.  4. Customer Understanding  The final step of Annette's strategy focuses on the voice of the customer. A customer-centric culture must include the voice of the customer, but how do you use that voice internally to drive employee and customer success?   Annette says this means looking at customer feedback, data, and personas internally to ensure employees are informed and educated about who the customer is and the experiences they desire. Using customer journey mapping, service blueprinting, and other initiatives to guide the values of the customer-centric culture and inform employee coaching can drive higher levels of engagement and help brands ultimately deliver a great customer experience.  The 10 Foundational Principles of a Customer-Centric Organization  In her book “Built to Win,” Annette discusses the 10 foundational principles of a customer-centric organization. The first three she shared here comprise the first three in her book: culture, leadership commitment and alignment, and employee experience.   The other foundational principles include additional ways to inspire people to think about what a customer-centric organization really looks like and entails. This means truly being people first; putting people before product, people before profits, and people before metrics.   In contrast to the inside-out approach of her four-step process to improve CX, her foundational principles incorporate outside-in thinking and doing—always including the customer perspective, knowing who they are and what their expectations are. This perspective can boost customer satisfaction and, subsequently, customer retention levels.   She also looks at governance—the structure, committees, and governing model. This foundational principle of a customer-centric organization guides how to break down silos to create cross-functional teams working towards the common goal of improving the customer experience.   Her culminating principle is the platinum rule: treating others the way they want to be treated. She said this approach sums up what outside-in thinking and doing is all about in a customer-centric organization and builds customer loyalty.   Customer Experience Strategy Today   Looking at customer experience strategy today in the context of its evolution over the past 30 years, Annette notes that it's more challenging today than ever before. Before the pandemic, many organizations were repurposing CX staff. Once the pandemic began, however, they shifted to work towards understanding the customer and their motivations. This evolved into a focus on the employee and the employee experience.  Today, Annette hears more and more stories about bad employee experiences, but companies that prioritized a customer-centric culture aren't facing that challenge. In contrast, their customer-centric outlook and empathy have guided them through hard times.  What Annette Does for Fun   Annette loves being outdoors and working out, whether on the water or in the woods. She enjoys paddle boarding, biking, mountain biking, and many of the other outdoor experiences that southern California has to offer.  To connect with Annette and learn more, visit annettefranz.com, cx-journey.com, and LinkedIn.  Watch the video here. Read the blog post here.   

Streamlining Contract Management Workflows Through Digital Transformation to Improve Ease, Efficiency, and Cost  This week's guest is Jerry Levine, general counsel and chief evangelist at ContractPodAi. He both uses and celebrates the ContractPodAi technology platform that offers inside legal teams the ability to get more work done with less friction while contributing to a great customer experience.   On this episode, we hear how the ContractPodAi cloud enables the digital transformation of the in-house legal field through contract lifecycle management that utilizes intuitive artificial intelligence (or augmented intelligence, as Jerry says) to increase legal agility, improve workflows, and save money.  From Client to General Counsel and Chief Evangelist   When Jerry joined ContractPodAi as their general counsel and chief evangelist he brought with him an extensive legal background as well as experience implementing and using ContractPodAi as a customer himself. At his previous in-house legal department for a tech company, he first tried implementing another contract lifecycle management (CLM) platform, but with many features only available as add-ons, he sought a better solution. He turned to ContractPodAi which offered integrations with other systems and extensive automation to improve workflows along with excellent customer support to learn the ins and outs of the platform.   Almost immediately, ContractPodAi identified lost revenue on previous contracts and saved the company $500,000 while also significantly lowering the turnaround time on contracts.   With such positive experiences using the platform, he truly believed in the product as a user, so much so that he joined ContractPodAi. Jerry is still a loyal customer and helps guide ContractPodAi's digital vision and enhancements while adding value for inside legal teams and clients.   The Digital Transformation of CLM  Built by attorneys, ContractPodAi guides the digital transformation of contract lifecycle management and provides insights and efficiency into the process in addition to offering other capabilities through its extensive legal platform. It uses an intuitive artificial intelligence (AI) engine to help legal teams be ready for anything.   Because legal teams manage numerous contracts and relationships concurrently, managing them efficiently can often present challenges with large amounts of unstructured data that isn't easily organized in a database without assistance from natural language processing, machine learning, or other AI technologies. The digital transformation of CLM offers structure to the process that saves time and money and improves accuracy as well as speed of contract closings.   ContractPodAi distinguishes itself in this transformation by providing end-to-end contract lifecycle management. This enables in-house legal teams to quickly and easily create, complete, search, and manage contracts of any type while advanced AI automatically detects and extracts obligations and offers recommendations to help make decisions.  It is configured to each customer's unique systems and requirements offering a single repository for every contract with powerful tools that grow and scale through an easy user experience that improves speed and efficiency.  Moreover, the excellent customer support that Jerry experienced firsthand makes the integration simple and stress-free so legal leaders “look like heroes” as Jerry says.  Empowering In-House Legal Teams With AI  Contracts are the lifeblood of business and CLM can benefit legal teams across industries, from banking and finance to customer care, software vendors, and manufacturers. ContractPodAi makes all aspects of the contract process better, faster, and easier through digitization and automation.  Jerry sees this as especially helpful in the legal profession which hasn't seen significant changes in the nature of their work since the time of Abraham Lincoln. Legal work still involves a lot of research and writing, but in the fast-paced digital world of today's businesses there are opportunities to streamline it with digital technology. Many legal professionals rely on older technology like email and Excel and sometimes resist digital innovation within the legal department. But with contracts impacting many aspects of the business, utilizing AI to improve workflows offers tremendous benefits throughout the contract lifecycle.   With so much information contained in contracts, extracting it, organizing it, and accessing it with ease presents opportunities to leverage the power of digitization. Early contract management platforms focused on storing and organizing the information according to customer and/or project.    Modern CLM technologies like ContractPodAi offer similar features, but also address the entire contract lifecycle. This innovation is a significant change from electronic storage and shared drives or syncing programs. ContractPodAi's technology enables it to extract and interpret data better than people can, providing insights that may otherwise be missed.   Two Examples of How CLM Adds Value  Jerry describes ContractPodAi as “augmented intelligence” that makes it possible for the humans using it to do more. It takes things that are tedious and cumbersome and uses automation to make unstructured and hidden data accessible and manageable to improve business processes and outcomes.  An effective CLM platform empowers legal teams to act more strategically to make good decisions with efficiency and deliver a great customer experience to the organization.  He offers two examples of these benefits.   1. CLM Adds Value  The entire team at ContractPodAi is committed to creating an excellent customer experience within their digital transformation. As general counsel and chief evangelist, Jerry wants customers to enjoy the success he has experienced with the platform since switching to it several years ago on his previous legal team.  He had a dedicated 24/7 support representative at ContractPodAi that gave him his WhatsApp and phone number and made it clear that Jerry could contact him whenever he had questions. Having this customer service resource with one-on-one support made Jerry very comfortable with the platform. The resulting insights ultimately led to tremendous savings for his firm which was able to spend less on outside counsel.    In fact, within three weeks of using ContractPodAi at his former tech company, Jerry's legal team identified two outstanding contracts that finance had stopped billing but support teams were still servicing due to gaps in communication. Remedying this situation saved his company $500,000 a year!  2. CLM Improves Workflows Across Departments  ContractPodAi integrates with Salesforce, Workday, and numerous other platforms and services to facilitate workflows across business functions. This enables in-house legal departments to effectively manage risk while also delivering solutions that are connected throughout the organization and equip sales with the resources they need to sell with confidence.   This type of digital transformation enables legal professionals to move faster, access the information they need, and collaborate seamlessly across the business.   For example, when Jerry originally began using ContractPodAi in his previous job, his team closed a contract in 24 hours which the sales team thought would take two weeks! The improved workflows enabled by the CLM made it possible for the legal team to move faster with efficiency and accuracy in ways that benefited the entire organization.  What Jerry Does for Fun   Fun for Jerry is all about family. He relishes the time he spends playing video games with his son and exploring new destinations with his family. In addition to that, he and his family are foodies who love exploring restaurants and tasty dishes. With encouragement from his wife and their commitment to a healthy lifestyle, Jerry went vegan a few years ago and enjoys all kinds of vegan delights.   Jerry Levine welcomes connecting on LinkedIn to explore topics such as the future of law.   Watch the video here. Read the blog post here.  

How CX and Experience Marketing Create New Opportunities to Energize Brands and Delight Customers  This week's guest is Kevin Tydlaska-Dziedzic, founder and CEO of BKN Creative. As a practitioner of experience marketing who works in sync with customer experience throughout the customer life cycle, Kevin leads customer experience initiatives across the entire business. And he's not alone. According to the 7th State of Marketing Report from Salesforce, 80% of marketers maintain responsibility for customer experience.  Through branding, photography, web design, copywriting, marketing, and social media marketing, Kevin's agency helps clients develop better relationships with their customers before, during, and after the sale.   In this episode, we discuss how experience marketing has evolved to become an essential part of the overall customer experience, and how the ‘why' of a company's brand is essential to creating that experience. Plus, Kevin shares three examples that show how his approach to experience marketing builds on growth opportunities to enhance the customer experience through marketing efforts.  Finding His ‘Why' and Helping Clients Make the Most of Theirs  Kevin grew up in Colorado where he always gravitated towards creative outlets. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in photography and began working in the marketing industry when he moved to New York City and joined the marketing team at Whole Foods Market. Kevin and his husband eventually moved to Tampa where they worked at several marketing agencies that were full of creatives, strategies, and fantastic clients.   Although the marketing world fascinated and inspired him, he wanted to do more. He sought a culture that was inclusive, fun, and motivated by his ‘why' to focus on clients' passions and why they do what they do.   So, in 2018 Kevin founded BKN Creative. His mission was to grow the agency by helping clients find their ‘why' and to deliver on those findings. He also knew that he had to grow the agency in a way that reflected his passions.    A minority-owned business, BKN Creative is certified LGBTBE® by the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC). Agency headquarters is in Tampa, but they also collaborate with clients in Colorado, New York, and New Mexico. Kevin and his team of 11 help companies leverage their ‘why.' They also show them where they have opportunities to improve their relationships with customers and build brand loyalty through experience marketing.   What is Experience Marketing?  The original concept and practice of experience marketing was to create specific in-person marketing events where customers interacted with a brand's products or services. It was a separate department from customer experience. Each had its own budget and managers.   Over time, companies recognized that customer experience was the most important way to differentiate their brand. Since talented experience marketing professionals were already well versed at creating great experiences for customers, bringing them in to improve CX at all customer touchpoints made a lot of sense.   And that's what Kevin and his team at BKN Creative do—experience marketing at every touchpoint to build brand loyalty throughout the customer journey.   He approaches his brand of experience marketing in three phases.   1. Understand the ‘Why' Behind the Brand  The brand needs to reflect what's important to the business. Why was the business started? What motivates you? What are your passions? How do customers find you?  Answers to these (and other) questions are key to every visual design element. That includes color palette, typography, imagery, layout, and more. And from these elements a logo emerges that captures the spirit of the brand and sets it apart so it appeals to its customers. But that's just the beginning.  2. Delight Customers at Every Stage of Their Journey  Phase 2 is where customers meet products and services, one-on-one, throughout the customer journey. Those encounters can happen at retail (brick and mortar or online), at events, on the client's website, on social media, on search engines, and even on review websites or even how the company books appointments.  Any time people experience a company's brand—even if it's before they realize that their customer journey is about to begin—is an opportunity to create a great experience for them. And that needs to reflect who the company is, what they stand for, and why the customer should want to do business with them.  3. Extend the Experience Beyond the Sale  As Kevin points out, the experience doesn't stop at the sale. Instead, it's necessary to extend the elite experience the customer enjoys on their journey beyond the sale. Why? To encourage the customer to deepen their relationship with the company, to buy again, and to be an advocate for the brand.  3 Examples of Experience Marketing   Kevin says even companies that do a great job with most of their experience marketing efforts can still have gaps that leave them susceptible to customer complacency or customer churn. He explains that those gaps are not negatives, they are growth opportunities to improve the customer experience strategy and boost customer engagement. That always-positive perspective plays out in these examples.  Example 1: Changing Customer Perceptions on Social Media  A respected financial institution approached BKN Creative with a very specific need. For the most part, their marketing efforts were rocking. But customer feedback showed there was a gap in their social media activity.  That's a heavy lift for two reasons:  1. People are more uninhibited when commenting on social media as opposed to face-to-face or voice interactions.  2. Money is important to all of us, and people can get emotional about their money on social.  After analyzing touchpoints throughout the entire customer journey, Kevin and his team identified opportunities for the financial institution to grow the speed at which they harnessed social media to answer questions, route calls, route messages, and handle issues raised by customers.  Kevin's team put together a customer experience strategy that leveraged every social media platform they were on, as well as their review platforms. The goal was to further improve the positive perception of their customer service by being as helpful and responsive to customer needs as possible.   The strategy embodied the mindset that there are no stupid questions. There is no experience we can't solve, or help, or make delightful. Now, from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., all customer complaints and concerns expressed on social media are addressed.  Planning for effective social media monitoring support, training agents, and identifying and responding to trends yields significant positive impacts on the customer experience. As an example, iQor collaborates with a prepaid wireless service provider to deliver social media customer support, reducing response time on social media from 1 hour-plus to under 6 minutes.  BKN's client also expressed a desire for its customers to make better use of its mobile app. Kevin's team created an educational campaign using video to make learning the intricacies of the app easier.  These two experience marketing engagements seized opportunities to fill in the gaps and expand on the company's positive customer experience efforts to increase customer satisfaction.    Example 2: Extending Success and Opportunity for a Consulting Dynamo  When LaKendria Robinson approached BKN Creative with her idea for a new company, she was already a recognized diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) powerhouse in Tampa Bay. Running the NFL's Business Connect program for Super Bowl LV helped earn her that status.   BKN Creative collaborated with LaKendria to bring her vision of a DE&I consultancy to fruition. Their effort was top-to-bottom and end-to-end, including:  Name ideation  Branding  Color story  Typography  Mission statement Website Search engine optimization (SEO) Potential client booking process Growth opportunities  From their collaboration (and LaKendria's unstoppable commitment) The Orenda Collective was born to “. . . challenge organizations and individuals to view their community through a diverse, equitable and inclusive lens and deliver innovation solutions that live on in perpetuity.”   Once The Orenda Collective was on its feet, BKN Creative presented LaKendria with a growth opportunity—to start a nonprofit that provides microgrants to minorities so they can create their own small business. LaKendria embraced the opportunity, and BKN Creative provided the creative direction.   Example 3: Smile at iQor  iQor is excited to collaborate with Kevin and BKN Creative. As it did with the financial institution discussed in Example 1, Kevin's team analyzed iQor's experience marketing strategy and zeroed in on social media as a chance for growth opportunities.  But unlike the financial institution, iQor has two social media audiences:  1. iQor's current and future clients.  2. iQor's large and extraordinary audience of team members and future team members.   As Kevin noted, iQor has a robust culture that deserves celebrating. Now, not only do future team members learn about our culture, they also hear about it from current team members who celebrate it on social media.  By filling in the gaps, Kevin and his team have strengthened iQor's robust experience marketing efforts.   What Kevin Does for Fun  When he's not running a busy agency, Kevin loves to act in plays, films, and television. And while he can't mountain bike in Florida as he did in Colorado, he enjoys biking the many trails he's found in Florida with his husband and business partner, Brandon. Watch the video here. Read the blog post here.   

How Design Thinking and Direct Observation of the Customer Experience Guides Companies to Better Meet Customer Needs   This week's guest is Karen Hold, founder and CEO of Experience Labs. Karen is an expert practitioner and consultant in the field of design thinking. With her team at Experience Labs, Karen helps clients innovate and adapt to change in industries ranging from education, professional services, government, health care, financial services, telecommunications, entertainment, and the arts.  She is also co-author of “Experiencing Design: The Innovator's Journey,” which serves as a guide for innovators to achieve transformational change through design by shifting their mindset and skillset.   In this episode, we discuss the principles of this book in the context of how to optimize the customer experience throughout the customer journey. Not only does Karen explain what design thinking is and why it's valuable to CX, but she also shares examples of design thinking in action. These examples illustrate how observing customer experiences helps companies create experiences that delight customers and increase sales.  A Career Path Is Not Always a Straight Line   A native of Washington, DC, Karen started her career in politics. After reading Tom Peters' “In Search of Excellence,” she decided to change directions and go into business. She built a foundation in business strategy and brand management at a major consumer packaged goods company.  With a strong foundation in place, Karen and her husband started a business of their own in the telecommunications sector. And when the dot-com bubble burst 13 years later, she embraced the opportunity to shift directions again.   Drawing on her years of experience, Karen founded Experience Labs 12 years ago to help companies transform their solution-development mindsets and behaviors, putting design thinking at the heart of their efforts. Today, individuals and teams—with design thinking experience ranging from newbies to experts—hire Experience Labs to facilitate designs and develop training programs, crash courses, and design competitions.   Why Should Solution Providers Use Design Thinking?  Companies use journey maps, focus groups, and other business intelligence tools to gain an understanding of their customers. But limiting customer research to those tools often leaves big questions, including:  Does the solution solve a significant problem for the customer?  How will the customer react to the solution?  Will the customer want to use the solution more than once?  Those unanswered questions leave companies with substantial risk. In a worst-case scenario, what seems like a great idea today could be at risk of failure tomorrow. Design thinking limits that risk and increases the likelihood of a positive customer experience.  What is Design Thinking?  The best way to understand design thinking is to explore the three elements of its framework:  1. Customer Obsession  Design thinking practitioners must be obsessed with the customer. To generate better solutions, they need to have an absolute grounding in the user experience, their problems, and their needs. That's why direct observation of customers trying to solve their own problems is key to design thinking. From a customer perspective, design thinking is what makes products or services easier, more intuitive, and more enjoyable to use. It boosts customer satisfaction and customer retention.  2. Experimentation  Practitioners experiment with solutions not only to delight customers but also to lower their company's risks and costs. Sometimes those experiments produce not-so-obvious results that change how companies design and/or market their solution. From a business perspective, design thinking is a risk management strategy that uses experimentation to help practitioners make smarter, more informed decisions and reduce risk.  3. Diversity of Input  The best solutions come to light when there is diverse input. But companies don't always know how to work across differences within their organization. This is especially true in large organizations where the differences in how everyone works are more pronounced. Design thinking provides the social technology to create solutions together and work across differences within organizations. From a practitioner's perspective, design thinking is a way to solve problems creatively with people who think and work differently. How these elements work together becomes clearer when we look at them in practice.  Three Examples of Design Thinking   Karen has seen design thinking at work since her early days with a major consumer goods company. The three examples she shared with us present three companies, three customer problems, and three completely different solutions—all resolved with design thinking.   1. Finding the Right Job for the Perfect Scent  A company spent close to a billion dollars on what is, essentially, a room deodorizer. But when they tried to sell it, nobody wanted to buy it. The people who had smelly rooms didn't notice the odor or care about neutralizing the odor. (Think of homes you've walked into with pet odor or tobacco smell.) The company discovered that people who live in those homes never notice that smell.   The company learned through observational research—going into homes and following consumers—that people with odorless homes would value the product as a room perfume. These insights identified a new target customer and transformed their product development.  With that knowledge, the company completely changed the product, including the marketing. It went from zero to a billion dollars in revenue and became a brand leader in its category with high levels of customer loyalty.   2. Taking the Scary Out of a Big Scary Machine  An industrial designer wanted to create a piece of hospital equipment that would be top-of-the-line and state-of-the-art, and he did. The hospital equipment he designed won a lot of design awards for the technology used to create it.  When he went to a hospital to see it in use, however, he saw a six-year-old girl standing frozen at the door. She could see this piece of equipment, the one to be used for her test, and she was in tears. She was too scared to enter the room. And the worst was yet to come. The test required sedation for most children because the equipment was noisy and produced low-quality imagery if the patient moved.  The industrial designer resolved to turn this scary situation into a friendly experience for this six-year-old girl, and for all children, so they would be able to take the test without fear.  After consulting with early educators, children's museum directors, preschool teachers, and children themselves to develop potential solutions, the designer and his team created a kit that included:  Stickers that kids enjoyed putting on the equipment.   Scripts for the administering techs to use with the kids.  Playlists for music to play during the test.  The total cost of the kit was $50,000, a fraction of the cost of the equipment.  The design thinking team turned a negative experience into one that children enjoyed. Some asked if they could come back the next week. And because children enjoyed the experience and were able to stay still, sedation rates went down. That meant anesthesiologists could work on more pressing cases.   The wins for the hospital, the wins for patients, and the wins for families were significant. All were accomplished through the use of this $50,000 sticker kit that resulted from the design thinking process.   3. Making Floor Cleaning Less of a Mess  A consumer packaged goods company wanted to make it easier for consumers to clean their homes. They spent time in peoples' homes to solicit true customer feedback and to better understand how they cleaned their homes.   They discovered that people were spending as much time cleaning their mops as they were on their floors. As Karen put it, “If you were a Martian,” and you landed here in the United States, and you watched what people did when they cleaned their floors, you might think they were cleaning their mops rather than their floors. The whole process was messy, so much so that people were putting on their “dirty clothes” to do the job.   With the customer insights gained by going into homes, watching how people cleaned their floors, and applying the design thinking process, the company was able to create a product that was much simpler to clean the floor with, didn't cause as much mess, and didn't require as much time or effort to clean the mop itself.   Origins of Design Thinking: Transforming Mindsets and Behaviors   While many people have never heard of design thinking, the concept originated more than 50 years ago with psychological studies on creativity.   Academics coined the term when studying two kinds of leaders:  1. Those who were able to make substantial gains within their companies.  2. Those who could not make those gains, even though they had the same contacts, same industry, and same size organization.  They found that some leaders were growth leaders focused on innovation and other leaders maintained or worked at the status quo.  They then identified the mindsets and behaviors that growth leaders used to achieve success and codified them for the rest of us into a framework that became known as design thinking. Now, design thinking practitioners learn from those mindsets and behaviors and adopt them into their own practices to develop innovative solutions and achieve profound results.   What Karen Does for Fun Karen is a skier and hiker who likes to spend her time in what she calls her “happy place,” the Sawtooth Mountains of South-Central Idaho.  Read the blog post here. Watch the video here.   

How These Three Pillars of CX Drive Profits When Leadership Is Proactive About Customer Experience  This week's guest is Jeannie Walters, CEO and founder of Experience Investigators, a global customer experience consulting firm that helps companies improve loyalty and retention, employee engagement, and overall customer experience. For more than 20 years Jeannie has dedicated her work to creating meaningful moments and real results with one mission: To Create Fewer Ruined Days for Customers™. As the Founder and Chief Experience Officer of Experience Investigators, Jeannie has helped organizations—from small businesses to Fortune 500s—to do just that. In this episode, Jeannie explains the three pillars of good CX to create positive experiences for customers and employees alike. She details how this is possible when customer experience management is proactive instead of reactive.   Jeannie's Journey in CX  Jeannie began her career in fundraising consulting and marketing. While working in marketing, she found that many organizations thought about legal, product development, marketing, and sales but no one was truly advocating for the customer. So about 20 years ago, she and her brother decided to focus on customer experience. They successfully ran a CX firm together until 2009 when Jeannie started Experience Investigators.   She has helped hundreds of companies of all sizes and across three continents strengthen their CX strategy. In addition to being a Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP), Jeannie is a TEDx speaker, a founding member of CXPA, co-host of the top-rated Crack the Customer Code podcast, and a four-time LinkedIn Learning instructor whose courses have been watched by more than 200,000 online learners.   An active writer, Jeannie's work has been featured in “Forbes,” “CustomerThink,” “The Future of Customer Engagement and Commerce,” and “My Customer,” as well as in university-level textbooks. She has received numerous recognitions for her work in CX.  The Three Pillars of Good CX  Jeannie has found that leaders often view customer experience as something that's nice, purely common sense, or solely focused on measuring feedback. But customer experience that's focused only on tracking customer satisfaction through surveys doesn't actually have an impact on the customer experience itself. This way of thinking about customer experience is an afterthought when what is really needed is forethought and planning to optimize the customer experience.  All organizations have customer experiences, whether intentionally designed or not. Jeannie's three pillars provide leadership a roadmap to be proactive, not reactive about the customer experience including how the entire organization should align to execute a successful CX plan.   1. Mindset  The first pillar lays the foundation for a CX strategy. The organization's mindset determines how to cultivate a customer service culture and ensures everyone in the organization is focused on it as something that is central to their business, not something extra or limited to certain departments.   Jeannie recommends writing a customer experience mission statement that helps everyone align where they're going so they can show up for customers no matter what. The mission statement documents who you are as a brand, including what you stand for. As an example, are you “the fastest” or “the most economical”? She points out the importance of gaining internal agreement on the brand promise in the customer experience mission statement as the north star that everyone in the organization gets behind.   2. Strategy  Next, this mindset needs to be translated into an effective business strategy to ensure customer experience is done right. The strategy must define what success looks like for your customer and for your organization. This becomes the success statement for the organizational goals, what the business leaders care about, how CX can support those goals, and how to measure that success.   Watching CSAT go up and down only helps your bottom line if you connect it to the bottom line. A business strategy builds these connections by, for example, discovering that a higher CSAT results in more satisfied and happier customers that share their remarkable experiences, spend more with your brand, and refer other customers. This connected strategy can support the revenue goals of your organization through increased customer loyalty and retention.   Throughout this process, it's important to be proactive about delivering intentional, positive customer experiences that connect to the central mindset and culture. We can apply best practices such as customer journey mapping, service blueprinting, and other tools. But because we ultimately experience things from our own perspective, we must be intentional in how we develop strategies that draw on the customer service culture to deliver excellent customer support.  3. Discipline  The third and final pillar is focused on crafting the discipline to deliver on the business strategy. This can't be accomplished effectively in silos, so it is essential to build collaborative cross-functional leadership teams that understand their role in creating the customer experience.   Everyone in your organization has a role in the customer experience. Your mindset and culture lay the foundation for guiding the discipline to deliver on your business strategies. Whether collaborating internally with colleagues, working with vendors, or communicating directly with customers from the contact center, everyone in your organization has a contribution to make and their daily efforts have a direct impact on the customer experience.  The Three Pillars in Action  Removing barriers to good customer service creates a chain reaction of positivity and empowers business leaders "To Create Fewer Ruined Days for Customers™.” When organizations embrace these three pillars and implement a focused business strategy for customer experience, they will see measurable results.   By starting with the documented mission statement, you define how you will show up for customers no matter what. Sometimes there are tradeoffs because you can't always be the fastest and most accurate, for example. That understanding needs to be reflected in your company culture and mindset.  Then craft an execution strategy based on your organizational goals so you can measure the ROI you want to achieve. Include in your strategy details such as how each department plays a role in customer experience, how you will build your customer experience team, and how you will measure effectiveness and customer success.   Finally, turn your strategy into the discipline to work with other leaders within your organization. The coalitions you build will make powerful impacts, ranging from how you post jobs and how you hire and onboard employees, to how you deliver your products and how you collect payment.  In sum, by proactively identifying the business goals of your customer experience strategy, deciding on the execution steps necessary to achieve them, and determining how to measure your success, you can transform the customer experience into a strategic asset. By looking at a combination of experiential data (customer feedback) and operational data (customer behaviors) you can gain insights into your customer experience and modify your goals as you go, while remaining grounded in your mission for excellent CX.  Learn More About Jeannie  To learn more about Jeannie and her strategy for good CX, visit   ExperienceInvestigators.com where you can also find Year of CX customer experience resources and workbooks. Visit CrackTheCustomerCode.com to learn more about the podcast she cohosts with Adam Toporek featuring insights and innovations from business leaders.  What Jeannie Does for Fun  Jeannie enjoys spending her free time with her two teenage sons. She loves watching them do what they love, from choir concerts to soccer games. Her oldest son is heading to college in the fall and she's grateful for the time they have together.  Watch the episode video here. Read the blog post here.  

Data-Driven Current and Future State Assessments Optimize Customer Care Programs  This week's guest is Bhawna Singh, director of Internal Solutioning at iQor. Bhawna is an expert at studying structured and unstructured data to understand what it means in relation to particular problems that need solving. Through business intelligence reporting and applied CX analytics, her work informs better and faster decision-making to optimize performance and create a great customer experience. In this episode, Bhawna unpacks the method by which she and her team conduct current state assessments in order to arrive at future state potential within iQor client customer care programs.  Two Decades of Solutioning in Project Management   Bhawna began her career working for a financial services organization, focusing on project management and process improvement. She progressed through different roles before earning her Project Management Professional (PMP) certification in 2011 followed by her Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification while working for an IT global services firm. She also completed extensive training for CMMI services, ultimately helping her organization earn a Level 5 maturity certification. In 2016, Bhawna joined iQor and helped form iQor's financial shared services center in India.   She subsequently moved to the Data Science and Analytics team in 2019 and is now the director of Internal Solutioning at iQor. Today, Bhawna focuses most of her time on current state assessment projects. She looks for opportunities to improve outcomes for iQor clients and integrate the human experience with digital technology through any combination of process improvement, digitalization, and automation.  Bhawna leads the team that performs current state assessments for iQor clients, analyzing processes, data, human interactions, technology, and workflows to identify opportunities to improve results. This involves myriad activities ranging from interaction analytics and listening to call recordings to collaborating with operations and data scientists. The process can also entail analyzing the client's interactive voice response (IVR) to improve efficiency throughout the customer journey.  Current State vs. Future State Assessments  Current state assessment involves conducting an in-depth study of a business process, end to end. Bhawna leverages her Lean Six Sigma training to ask the right questions and distill information into a picture of the current state process based on interviews, work observations, and data collection and analysis. These inputs include data points from the customer journey (e.g., channel options and customer satisfaction), the agent view (e.g., training and coaching), and the management lens (e.g., workforce management and compliance).  By mapping workflows as they occur and analyzing each step of the process along with all of the data involved, Bhawna and her team develop recommendations to improve any inefficiencies that they identify.  For future state assessments, on the other hand, Bhawna and her team identify recommendations for how they suggest the customer service program operate in a future state. They map the current state assessment against process change digitalization and automation opportunities. Future state recommendations cover a wide range of possibilities.  For end customers, process changes can include omnichannel routing and support as well as self-service, for example. The use of interaction analytics and natural language processing allows for an improved understanding of customer engagement. For customer service agents, recommendations can include the use of robotic process automation, unified desktop, and knowledge foundations. For management, the optimizations can offer real-time analytics and proactive alerting, concurrency modeling, and AI coaching. Finally, for brands, future state assessments can guide the voice of the customer, social media engagement policies, and other optimizations to drive customer satisfaction and boost customer loyalty.  Implementation Best Practices  When developing current state and future state assessments, Bhawna follows a few best practices to promote success.   Solve one problem at a time.  Fail small—establish a baseline, control risk, and look at the numbers.  Include results, solicit feedback, and celebrate improvements.  Move forward with purpose and direction; evaluate changes against the overall strategy.  Asking Questions to Find the Right Answers  Bhawna and her team draw on their collective experience and background at iQor to ask questions that support their data analysis in the current state of client care programs. These insights inform future state potential to optimize programs or improve results for our clients. iQor's work with hundreds of clients allows us to share industry best practices and leverage a combination of in-house and best-in-class partner services and solutions. The end goal is to create a great customer experience throughout the customer journey.  The 3 Layers of Current State Assessments  Current state assessments can be divided into three layers, each delving deeper into processes than the previous layer.  Assess the Business Model. In this first layer, the solutioning team looks closely at the business model and the aggregate data.   Identify Processes and Procedures. Here, the solutioning team looks in-depth at processes and procedures. They look at the practical methods for completing the program work and they collect and analyze the raw data. They unearth everything related to the processes using as many data inputs as needed.  Analyze the Data. In the final layer, the solutioning team begins mapping the process by analyzing the data collected as well as the interactions across all levels. They identify low-hanging fruit that needs more analysis and proceed accordingly.    Sources for Current State Data  Current state assessments include an analysis of at least six months of institutional data and performance data.  Institutional data covers total employee headcount, the number of supervisors, and the ratios of management to supervisors and supervisors to agents, along with all other staffing-related information.   Performance data provides actionable insight into performance targets provided by the client and how well the customer service teams are performing against those targets. This includes analyzing data on the agents' performance, productivity, quality assurance, turnover, and other performance measures.  The Role of Speech Analytics  The Internal Solution team harnesses iQor's speech analytics tool known as VALDI. This CX technology is proprietary to iQor and makes the current assessment process more efficient and effective. VALDI enables the solutioning team to process 100% of all our calls. It simplifies the process of filtering down the specific calls the team wants to target for insights.   For example, the solutioning team can search for calls with a negative net promoter score (NPS) or search for a specific call reason such as plan rate questions. They can search for calls with high levels of non-talk time or even a combination of all three queries. This flexibility saves significant assessment time and allows the team to focus on areas of opportunity. It also provides vast amounts of data and trends which Bhawna and her team use to create business cases for solutions such as RPA, intelligent agent assistance, script revisions, or customer self-service handling. By leveraging speech analytics, they are able to develop informed recommendations to improve the customer experience.  Developing Future State Assessments and Recommendations   Once the solutioning team has thoroughly defined, analyzed, and mapped the current state data and processes, they have insights they can use to develop future state analyses to inform recommendations that can result in improvements to the client care program under review. This can include automating certain manual processes to improve efficiency and looking for opportunities to digitize and modernize systems, enhancing the customer experience through digital transformation. These improvements range from modifying scripts to introducing CX technology to optimize performance and increase customer satisfaction.  The team accesses an extensive knowledge base of experience to share industry best practices with clients and partners and present comprehensive recommendations to leadership for future state improvements to business processes.  Examples of Current and Future State in Action  To see how current and future state assessments work in practice for clients, Bhawna shared two examples of how she and her team analyzed current state processes and made recommendations to improve them, while also introducing technology components to improve or optimize performance as well as increase customer engagement. Throughout the process, iQor's proprietary speech analytics tool provides insights to help inform current state assessments and help determine opportunities for future state improvements and optimizations that support customer success.   In her first example, Bhawna and her team performed current and future state assessments for a retail client that offers customer surveys via email. The survey results were previously sent to a specialist who had to manually scrape the data from the surveys, drop them into an Excel file, review the comments, and categorize the issues as process-driven or customer-service-driven.  Bhawna's team recommended the use of RPA to automate the entire first part of this data collection process so the specialist didn't have to perform it manually. With RPA in place,  iQor's text analysis tool could process customer feedback and automatically categorize it while also providing theme and sentiment analysis. Now, the specialist can focus on analyzing the output and identifying what actions need to take place to help the customer. Bhawna's team is also working with this same client to offer the NPS survey as a simple SMS text instead of an email in order to increase participation rates.  In another example, Bhawna and her team provided disclosure optimization for another retail client. When a customer accepts a credit card offer, certain disclosures need to be provided to the customer. Previously, the agent would ask the customer to stay on the line and, together, they would listen to a 1–3-minute recording of the disclosure statements.  Bhawna and her team brought this to the attention of the client and recommended a simple pre-recorded disclosure queue that the agent could transfer the customer to. This would free the customer service agent to help the next customer and would enable the team to gather full reporting on the disclosure transfers and listening volumes that could be shared with the client. The next phase of this future state assessment includes collaborating with the client to consider offering the disclosure via a text link to further optimize convenience and efficiency for the end customer.   Using Current and Future State Assessments to Optimize Recruiting    In addition to optimizing client accounts, current and future state assessments can also be used internally to optimize recruiting processes, for example. With the goal of standardizing global recruiting processes enterprise-wide, Bhawna and her team mapped the recruiting processes in different locations to inform recommendations, including opportunities for automation and digitalization.  The future state recommendations to optimize recruiting processes are still in development, but the goal is to increase recruiting capabilities and speed to support client programs without adding additional recruiters.   What Bhawna Does for Fun  In her free time, Bhawna enjoys reading, practicing yoga, and traveling.  Watch the video here. Read the blog post here.