Some of the biggest drivers of job satisfaction and employee retention are purpose and impact. Compensation only pays a role until basic needs and wants are met. After that, especially with millennials, the purpose and impact of their responsibility and roles increase in the hierarchy of needs.
This plays right into the Customer Experience and the way each individual and department plays into it.
Journey mapping helps illustrate with a visual that is easily understood from the customer’s perspective. I always suggest beginning to map the high-level journey in stages so folks see where their dept contributes in the various stages of the buying and usage experience.
Beyond that, mapping specific points always encouraging engagement when addressing points where customers are defecting to competitors or are experiencing high levels of frustration.
The Culture of an organization plays a big role in being sure staff has a sense of purpose. C-Suite and Leadership Teams must be deliberate and strategic when making changes, engaging with customers and staff, and setting the tone for putting the customers’ needs as the reason for the work being done.
I suggest to all of my clients they ask themselves… “Does everyone really understand the reason for the product or service existence? Do they know how our company solves a problem or meets a need?”
If people don’t understand the reason for the work they do, the purposeful engagement will never genuinely be there.
How to fix this?
During interviewing… explain the company, the product the service, how they benefit the customer, how the company is different than what is out there
When onboarding, share the high level CX journey map. Make sure they understand the map is from the customer perspective
Then, dive deeper into the purpose of the work they will be doing and where along the CX Journey it makes an impact either internally or externally.
If you have customer insight and feedback in their own words dealing specifically with the new hire’s role or work, even better. Then they hear directly from the customer what makes them loyal and why they work with your company at all.
When training, whenever possible, show how the different responsiblities, skills, and functions specifically play out in the overall CX.
When you simply show people their function and train them how to do that, they don’t understand the big picture. It’s about the same as trying to put together a blank puzzle.
Employee engagement is key. Knowing the way they impact the CX is the most effective way to build clarity and alignment in a united company purpose.