The Employee-Customer Experience Connection

MX Bites / June 16, 2023

The choice of which to prioritize between employees and customers is a challenge for many businesses. However, the majority opt to focus more on their customers rather than the employees, because they believe the business exists to serve the customers. While they may have harnessed the nuances of customer experience, they might never be able to undo the negative effect of not paying as much attention to the employee experience. In fact, it is unlikely to have a perfect customer experience when the employee experience is not up to par.

Companies must understand that their employees are the faces of the company and are their strongest link to their customers. The satisfaction from the employee experience flows to the customers, through their service. For instance, a customer can quickly tell if employees are dissatisfied because it would reflect in their communications and manner of service. This could in turn affect the customer’s responses to the organization. 

Therefore, to avoid all these occurrences from disrupting the output of the organization, there must be an established balance between the focus on employee and customer satisfaction. 

The Link Between EX and CX

Both customer and employee experience are closely linked, and should not take precedence over each other. Since employees are the face of the organization who closely interact with customers, then they equally determine the strength of customer experience in the organization. In fact, companies that actively engage their employees to improve the customer experience outperform their competitors by 147%. With this, it’s ideal to say that the most prominent way to enhance your customer experience is to invest in your employee experience. 

It’s like a flow of connection. If the middle connection (employees) is negatively impacted, it will reflect on the customers.  

How To Balance The Employee and Customer Experience

As previously iterated, a good customer experience begins with a great employee experience. However, there are some ways to ensure that a balance between both experiences is maintained. They are included in the following:

1. 1. Establish a culture of trust and respect: Employees are prone to thriving in an environment where they feel appreciated and comfortable. On patronage, customers also can easily experience the positive aura and respond positively to it. 
   2. Actively listen to feedback and take immediate action: It is likely impossible to meet employee and customer needs without asking for and receiving feedback from them. Instead of running on assumptions, ask for their feedback and improve on them. You can collect feedback by using a survey form or by conducting personal interviews with them. In cases where customer feedback is too much to process, it is more effective to use AI software that can break down real-time feedback and offer solutions for improvement. 
   3. Build good relationships: A healthy relationship among stakeholders in the organization is essential for a positive work experience. Engaging employees and customers regularly is an excellent way to maintain a positive relationship that lasts.  It increases their sense of worth and satisfaction because it makes them feel valuable.
   4. Empower employees to make decisions: Nobody performs well in an environment where there is a constant dependence on others to make decisions. Empowering employees to make notable decisions provides a platform for them to explore their creativity and potential. As a result of this, their importance to the organization is pronounced and they are likely to invest more of themselves into helping the business thrive, which includes improving the customer experience.
   5. Give incentives to customers and award great employees: Extending incentives to customers is a good way to boost their satisfaction and loyalty to the business. However, to make this initiative effective, it is important to give according to the customers’ needs. For example, if your customers have to buy in bulk because of their business needs, then you may have to offer discounts on the products.

On the other hand, employees should be rewarded for their innovativeness and creativity. It boosts their productivity and motivates them to do much more. 

In conclusion, it takes intentional efforts to create a balanced employee experience and customer experience. No side should be revered above the other. When employees are satisfied and engaged, their genuine response is to improve customer satisfaction, which is the foundation for a successful business.