In the most recent Qualt Q&A video series, WEVO’s Jenni Bruckman talks with Nate Brown, Chief Experience Officer at Officium Labs, and Co-Founder of CX Accelerator.
On the heels of the series’ last topic, the urgency of CX, this conversation revolved around how the customer experience (CX) should be treated the same way as a team sport, and how team collaboration is a pillar to helping employees understand CX focused growth, the customer journey, and how they collectively play a role in improving it.
“Too often CX pros try to absorb the work of CX into themselves. This is the Brett Farve approach. This ‘cowboy mentality’ does not work inside of modern organizations. It’s about unlocking the work inside of others and being inclusive, both in the creation and the output of CX.” – Nate
Watch their full, energy-driven discussion and read on for key takeaways.
Building the roster
You can’t have an improved customer experience without involving leadership.The toughest job for any coach is knowing how to recruit top players who will perform at their best with their collective strengths. An effective approach for lining up the best team involves finding people who align with the mission and demonstrate those values to the world.
“Ask yourself – who can we bring into this organization who wants to do the right work for the right reason? All we have to do is guide them and unlock those intrinsic motivators. That’s who you’re looking for.” – Nate
Lose the silos
Nate speaks to the damage that’s been done by siloed IT departments and how they’re now the ones spearheading today’s digital transformations, which are remodeling the experience on digital channels for both employees and customers.
“If that’s not the work of CX, then what is? When we bring people together under the banner of improving the lives of our customers and our people, we can accomplish so much more than if we operate inside these silos.” -Nate
Nate says, “A CX Change Coalition is the way to go. Designing a really good, strong change coalition that is formed up of multiple stakeholders across the organization that are leaders in these key areas.”
How to ensure the bad apples don’t make the cut
It’s amazing how much impact the “energy vampires” can have by sucking the life out of your experience design. Nate explains tenaciously avoiding these people will be about eliminating the people who are self promoting, or self serving. The ones with a financial motivator to get themselves, and themselves only, to the next step at the expense of their coworkers.
“Find those that seek to understand what the needs are of each other, and help to make sure we’re all accomplishing those for one another. But if you have someone focused on their own needs and desires, they’re going to ruin the dynamic within the organization.” – Nate
You can’t pick your family, but you can pick your team
Nate emphasizes the approach to leading your company, not as a family, but as a professional sports team created for professional-level performance. With that type of mindset you have a work culture that has:
- A clear goal and clear opponents or obstacles to achieving it. This helps with focus, alignment, and motivation throughout the organization.
- Clear roles and responsibilities. People know what they’re expected to do and how they’ll contribute.
- Diversity. Different people contribute in valuable ways. When everyone understands that differences between team members are not a disservice but a condition for success, their unique skills can be celebrated.
Today’s business environment requires agility, consistency, and creativity to unleash the full potential of people’s performance. Much like the 1990’s Chicago Bulls, when synergies are formed, it can create some serious momentum for the business. The team dynamic mindset is really about unlocking that synergistic work inside of others.
How to create a successful playbook for the CX team
The playbook has one mission: Galvanize the team around one goal, awaken the quest inside of others and bring the team together. That’s what a great CX leader does.
“Establish flexible guardrails, but have a clear “north star” in terms of the CX vision you want to make a reality. Don’t bring a playbook down from on high. Work together with the whole team to build it out AND CURATE it! You must have a curation process or it won’t happen.” – Nate
What CX teams are competing against
The offensive and defensive strategy for CX is always competing against the quarterly shareholder model. It simply does not compute with CX success. Nate believes we don’t give CX enough of a runway so that it can be successful. A true customer voice-of-truth engine is a one to three year process for an organization of any size.
But all too often executives get burned out on the process with no sight of an immediate finish line. The value is showcasing the playbook.
“The playbook should have some quick wins built in with tangible examples. Establishing a sense of urgency to demonstrate to the organization that CX will help us to win.” – Nate
Taking this topic all the way down the field, mark your calendars for National CX day on October 5th, for a virtual celebration of all things Customer Experience! Learn something new to better serve your customers, and hear from top industry speakers, including Jonathan Shroyer, Joanna Dos Santos, Mary Drumond, Nate Brown, and many more!
