A positive customer experience, that's what every business wants its customers to experience every time they deal with their company. Corporations spent millions on research and implementing the best customer experience possible.

But they forgot one very important aspect, the employee engagement. 

Adam Hale, CEO of Sage People, said that “organisations invest millions in building their customer engagement strategies, but rarely know much about their employees.” So, what’s the solution?

Customer Experience and Employee Engagement are connected

It's clear that these two experiences are connected, it's common sense actually. Without your employees, there will not be any kind of customer experience. If your employees are not engaged and happy in their work, they will not be able to provide a positive experience for your customers.

So, if you're a leader, here's a challenge. If you want to improve your customer experience strategies you will first need to focus more on engaging your own employees. If there is any kind of disconnect between how a company treat its employees and how employees are expected to treat customers, there is dissatisfaction that will not benefit anyone, be it company, employee or even customer.

Source: Nextiva

According to 2016 Employment Engagement Benchmark Study, Temkin Group stated that companies that excel at customer experience have “1.5 times as many engaged employees as do customer experience laggards.”

Let's face it, employee engagement is important. If a brand is distinguished because of personalisation and personal care, then the employee engagement at the company must deliver on those values. This way, employees reap the benefits of the brand first-hand. They will be better equipped and motivated to reinforce these values on their customers. 

 It also helps to cultivate a distinctive culture, which in turn helps attract and retain employees who fit with the culture and are more likely to thrive in it.

The right hire, and the right training

Before you hire, think carefully about the candidate profile. A positive customer experience relies on employees who fit your company ethos. As a manager, you will need to identify the fundamental behaviours and values that your company needs and then hire people based on that information.

DO NOT HIRE ON SKILLS ALONE! 

Find the right people with the right attitudes, and then you can teach them the particular skills they need to excel in your company. This article explains how to hire top talent without the right skills.

When you train your employees, make sure it's inspiring and should reinforce how any employee can turn your company values into a competitive advantage. This will turn your employees into brand ambassadors, and that's priceless. 

The hierarchy of engagement. Source: Engagement Multiplier

Employees who are committed to the company's goals will go out of their way to make it happen and will want to stay for the long term. An employee who's proud of their company's brand will pass on their enthusiasm to customers, which leads to increased sales and higher customer satisfaction.

To receive employee feedback and ensure their buy-in to the business direction, you will need to build open communication channels with your employees. Remember to conduct employee engagement surveys as it is a valuable tool. 

What's the point of surveys if you're not going to do anything with it? You have to communicate your company's commitment to staff well-being in a meaningful way once results are known. This is the best way to start a two-way dialogue.

Then, you will be able to build employee engagement. There's nothing worse for employees than being asked to give their opinion, and then for that feedback to be ignored. 

Your most important asset is your employees, they provide you with important information on your customer experience as they always have good ideas about improving your company's products and processes. So, here are a few steps towards the most engaged employees:

1. Recruit wisely

2. Train carefully

3. Treat employees well

4. Listen closely to what they tell you

5. Act upon their feedback

End game? You will have an army of your biggest advocates. Such brand loyalty will transfer seamlessly to your customer experience.

 “Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.” - Sir Richard Branson

Source: TLNT

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