When CX is seamless, the probability of repurchase is 94%. But, delivering a consistent, satisfying customer experience requires a high level of coordination and collaboration. Here are some suggestions for achieving great CX success:
- Create a CX company culture. This is a top down, bottom-up strategy, with clear C-Suite support. Your culture is what drives Employee Experience [EX] which then drives CX. How to stop your teams from feeling disconnected? Bring them together for video team building and create break out rooms so they can discuss more than just work. Like a long-distance romance: it works through continuous connection and conversation.
- Embed CX priorities in your hiring criteria. Include personality traits in your new employee selection. This is especially true for consumer-facing roles but remember your remote teams will also be dealing with office teams as well, so communication skills are right up there with technical aptitude and experience.
- Make CX a key part of new employee onboarding. Your consumer-centric mission must be given as much prominence as tech support, legal issues, loss prevention, etc. Make it clear customer service is central to success and advancement in the company, and prove it by making it a key part of the performance evaluation process [at all levels].
- The right tools. OK this one is obvious; make sure your remote teams have the equipment and tech support needed to do the job. A recent study showed that nearly 20% of workers who were having trouble adapting to remote work cited the technical ability to communicate and collaborate as the problem.
- Prioritize collaboration. A remote team responsible for serving consumers need work together to provide a 360-degree positive experience. Tools need to integrate well to allow for messaging and file sharing, but more than the mechanics, team members need to believe sharing matters. Best practices, worst practices, successes and misses – all need to be openly and constructively shared.
Getting insights into the success of your remote teams takes insights that go beyond just metrics. Listen to the feedback of front-line employees, identify any areas of remote work they might be struggling with, and where they need help. And look for pain points from customers.
Most important is to celebrate moments of great CX when they happen. Not financial rewards, but person-to-person celebrations of service well provided. Across the remote network. Not only that they happened, but why and how. Because successful CX across remote workforce is communal: a win reminds even the most spread-out team that they are indeed part of a team.
