Is Customer Experience Dying? The Pioneers of CX Discuss | CustomerThink

Is Customer Experience Dying? The Pioneers of CX Discuss | CustomerThink

Getting to yes: solving engineering manager hiring loops that reject every candidate.

In today's competitive business landscape, organizations are constantly striving to improve their customer experience (CX) to stay ahead of the game. However, there are certain factors that are hindering the progress of CX initiatives and making it seem like the concept itself is dying.

One of the main reasons for this is that many organizations view CX as a simple concept that doesn't require much attention or expertise to manage. They believe that by fixing one aspect of CX, they can move on and expect an improved overall experience for their customers. This silver-bullet mentality is detrimental to the long-term success of CX efforts because it fails to address the complex and multifaceted nature of customer experience.

Another factor contributing to the stagnation of CX is the commoditization of experience management. In certain industries, such as government services, organizations have fallen into the trap of viewing CX as a mere checklist of tasks to be completed. This approach not only undermines the true essence of CX but also prevents organizations from tapping into the full potential of customer-centric strategies.

Moreover, research conducted by Nunwood and Forrester a few years ago revealed that despite the significant investments made in CX, the numbers were not improving. This highlights the issue of funds being wasted on what is often referred to as "innovation theater," where organizations invest in superficial improvements without addressing the underlying problems. This lack of progress can be attributed to organizations losing sight of their moral obligation to create value for society and their employees.

To overcome these challenges and revive the dying concept of CX, organizations need to take a different approach. Firstly, it is crucial to speak to leadership about CX in their language, which is numbers. By leveraging existing metrics and demonstrating the impact of CX initiatives on key performance indicators, organizations can gain the attention and support of top-level executives.

Additionally, organizations must establish a clear understanding of what their engineering management role entails. The difficulty in hiring engineering managers often stems from a lack of consensus within the organization regarding the desired attributes and skills of these individuals. Instead of relying on personal preferences or past experiences, organizations should develop a standardized interview loop that evaluates candidates based on the specific requirements of the role.

To address the "getting to yes" hiring problem, organizations should focus on internal alignment. If the rejection rate for candidates coming onsite is consistently low, it indicates a lack of agreement on what is needed from engineering managers. In such cases, organizations should invest time in refining the tasks and skills required for the role, creating an interview process that evaluates these skills, and developing a rubric to score each interview. Training the interviewing team on the new interviews and rubrics is essential to ensure consistency and fairness in the evaluation process. If any interviewers refuse to use the rubric, they should be removed from the loop to maintain objectivity.

In conclusion, while it may seem like customer experience is dying due to various factors, it is essential for organizations to recognize the complexity of CX and take a strategic and holistic approach to its management. By focusing on internal alignment, leveraging existing metrics, and refining the hiring process for engineering managers, organizations can breathe new life into CX and ensure its long-term success.