The key piece of the puzzle: Change management

In many customer experience research, expert interviews and case studies, we often see how important the concept of change management is for CX. There is no doubt that change management should be handled in a structured way for the customer experience program to succeed.

Although the importance of change management is undeniable, the concept itself is often underestimated. A typical reason for this is the theoretical CX approaches adopted in the strategies, playbooks created in war rooms and the workshops held in the head office. Getting a good understanding of what is really happening in the field and then to making sure that all functions are coordinating their efforts around the customer is a big challenge. Change management is a key piece of the puzzle and once it is done, the puzzle becomes a work of art!

Here, we provide you with 10 steps that can help you create masterpieces through your puzzle:

1. Understand the current situation: Problem definition is half of the solution, so start listening to your customers as well as employees to understand the issues properly.
2. Set a vision: Shared vision is a clear and common picture of a desired future state that members of an organization can identify with themselves.
3. Build a strong “business case”: Facts and figures will help you in answering to why change is needed.
4. Align top management: Top management support is critical but not enough to succeed, so get their alignment on your change management actions.
5. Define success factors: It is better to start as early as possible to define the key success factors.
6. Build a governance model: Customer experience is everyone’s job in the organization; the right governance model will help you to get there.
7. Communicate, communicate and communicate: There is no over communication when it comes to change management.
8. Empower your staff: Employees should be part of the change, so make sure that they feel themselves empowered starting with the lowest level possible.
9. Be a role model: As Gandhi once said “be the change you want to see in the world”.
10. Create change agents: Change agents are vital in transformation. They provide both the technical know-how and the social support needed by managers and front line teams alike as they learn and adopt new practices.

As a result; change management in customer experience is a long-term journey. There will definitely be ups and downs, which is very natural. When you bring together all the necessary elements for change in the right way, success will surely follow.