For more than 25 years, I've been brought into contact center and sales organizations to do rapid turnarounds. Usually, something is seriously wrong. Costs are too high. Customers aren't happy. Employees aren't showing up. Technology is outdated. Processes are broken.
One of the toughest ones I ever worked on was for more than 2,000 employees. Attrition was running at nearly 400%. Almost 30% of our CSRs didn't show up to work every day. We couldn't recruit and train people fast enough to replace those who were leaving.
We could focus on fixing the KPIs. We could work on AHT, absenteeism, CSAT and productivity. And we did. But fixing the KPIs was the Band-Aid. I knew there was a bigger issue facing CX and it's an issue many CX leaders are facing today.
CX Has a Relevancy Problem
Too many CX organizations are still viewed as cost centers. The C-suite sees labor, technology and operating costs going out the door. So, we talk about our metrics.
"Our CSAT is up."
"Our NPS improved."
"We lowered AHT."
Those metrics matter. They tell us whether our teams are productive and efficient. For BPOs, many are also contractual requirements. But is that what the C-suite really needs to hear?
CX leaders have access to something incredibly valuable. We know where customers are coming from, what they love what frustrates them and where they are running into problems. Yet most CX leaders would tell you they are using only a small percentage of the data available to them.
AI-powered contact center technology is giving us access to even more customer insights.
The technology is there. The data is there.
Now, we have to turn it into something the business can use.
And here's the thing: most CX leaders were never taught to do this.
We were trained to manage the operation. Staff the center. Reduce labor costs. Manage schedules. Improve productivity. Hit our KPIs.
But the business climate has changed. Companies are moving faster, technology is evolving and executives need leaders who can connect the dots across the organization.
As the business climate evolves, so should our leadership skills.
Understand What the Business Needs
What is the company trying to accomplish? Grow revenue? Improve retention? Reduce costs? Enter a new market?
Once you understand the business strategy, you can determine which customer insights will help executives make better decisions. Don't just tell them what happened in the contact center last month.
Tell them what customers are telling you that could impact the business and help them make decisions that align with the overall business strategy. That is when CX becomes strategically relevant.
Expand Your Analytical Capabilities
Most CX leaders are people leaders. That's what we do best.
But deep analytics is a different skill.
A good analyst can find patterns and tell the story behind the numbers. The CX leader can help steer that story toward what the executive team needs to know. The CX leader and analyst bring two different strengths together and that's where the real value happens.
Executives don't need another report. They need information that helps them make decisions.
CX is sitting on some of the most valuable information in the company. We need to turn that information into business insights.
Stop Operating in a Silo
Customer experience touches every part of the organization: HR, operations, IT, quality, marketing, logistics, warehouse, finance and communications.
CX leaders need to understand what those departments are trying to accomplish so we can bring them customer insights that help them succeed.
Relationships Are the Foundation
Let’s go back to my turnaround with 2,000 employees.
I needed changes in recruiting and HR. I needed new technology. I needed IT and finance to support those decisions.
I was new to the organization and didn't know the players.
So, I got strategic.
I approached the top two leaders in each department and asked how I could support them. I also asked permission to talk with people on their frontline teams so I could understand how things really worked.
I helped them, and they helped me.
I spent about 50% of my time outside my department building relationships.
No one taught me to do this. I intuitively knew that nobody gets things done alone.
Those relationships helped us achieve below-average attrition, 3% absenteeism, a 30% reduction in AHT and CSAT scores in the 90% range. We brought in new technology to help streamline processes.
I didn't do it alone. Other departments gave me information, supported technology decisions and helped make changes happen.
And because I had built those relationships, I had something valuable to bring to the table.
I had a seat at the table.
People wanted my input because I could bring insights that could only come from customer service. I knew what customers were experiencing, where the friction was and what they were telling us every day.
Eventually, the C-suite started calling me for my opinion.
That's the goal.
You don't demand a seat at the table. You become so relevant that they ask for you to be there.
CX leaders have more customer data and technology available to them than ever before.
But technology won't make us relevant.
Understanding the business will. Analytics will. Relationships will.
Build the relationships before you need them. Get outside your department. Understand the business strategy. Then bring the customer insights into the conversations where it matters.
Because the ultimate goal is to have someone in the C-suite ask: "What is customer service telling us about what's really happening?"