Historically, most companies have treated employee and customer experience as separate challenges, managed in different departments across the organization. Customer experience (cx) has generally gotten more attention than employee experience (ex) because customers provide the revenue that keeps companies in business.
Yet it seems obvious that happier, more productive employees will in turn deliver better experiences for customers, benefitting the bottom line. Empirical research supports this hypothesis. For example, a 2017 MIT study found companies in the top quartile for EX delivered twice the innovation, double the customer satisfaction, and 25% greater profitability compared to companies in the bottom quartile.
What can organizations achieve when customer and employee experiences are connected with seamless, consumer-grade tech that breaks down departmental silos, allowing work to flow smoothly from across the organization? We know the covid-19 pandemic was a forcing function for digital transformation in general, because thousands of companies suddenly had to rely on digital platforms and business models to stay in business. How did this impact ex and cx in the enterprise? We set out to answer these questions in the Total Experience Issue of Workflow Quarterly.
Earlier this year, ServiceNow and ThoughtLab surveyed 900 senior business leaders in five industries across 13 countries. We sought to understand how companies are using digital technologies and solutions to improve their cx and ex, the benefits they are seeing, and the challenges they face. Our goal was to help organizations develop a roadmap to excellence in using digital solutions to optimize customer and employee experience and boost overall performance.
