The Employee Customer Ripple Effect
Successful organisations invest in Customer Experience (CX) and Employee Experience (EX) because they recognise their individual impact on business success.
Research shows that employee attitudes and behaviours impact customer outcomes such as retention, share of spend and advocacy, which in turn impact Return on CX Investment (ROCXI) and business performance. Despite this evidence, EX and CX measurement and management too often operate in silos.
In this new Ipsos Views paper, we outline why it is crucial for organisations to think about EX and CX together, to drive better business performance. We also outline the key steps that organisations can take to better align their EX and CX strategies.
Key takeaways include:
- Strong relationship between EX and CX: Organisations that excel at Employee Experience (EX) tend to also excel at Customer Experience (CX), and vice versa. Improving one often leads to improvements in the other.
- The importance of a shared vision: A common vision and set of values shared by the brand, employees, and customers are critical to success, as evidenced by data from our Global Voices of Experience research. The percentage of companies admitting that the experience delivered to customers is worse than promised is four times higher when the values and/or brand promise are different vs. when they are the same.
- Empathy is at the heart of strong relationships: Empathy (understanding the needs and feelings of both customers and employees) is essential to building strong relationships and fostering a positive experience. Ipsos’ Forces of Experience framework identifies six key dimensions of human connection that drive strong relationships.
- The employee customer ripple effect: Positive employee experiences lead to pro-social employee behaviours, which then translate into better customer interactions and improved business results. Investing in employees is investing in customers.
The paper also proposes a three-step process for linking EX and CX: 1) Lay the foundation through integrated reporting and analysis; 2) Understand experience gaps through journey mapping and mirror analysis; and 3) Improve the experience by designing and implementing solutions based on service blueprints.
By recognising the fundamental link between EX and CX, organisations can unlock significant potential, create a more people-centric culture, and drive sustainable growth.
