Amazing Business Radio

How Personalized Customer Experiences Can Drive Business Growth  

Shep Hyken interviews Mark Abraham, Senior Partner at Boston Consulting Group and author of Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI. He talks about AI’s potential to enhance personalization and the impact of tailored customer experiences on business growth.  

This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions and more:   

1. What is true personalization? 
2. How can AI enhance personalization? 
3. How does personalization contribute to customer loyalty and satisfaction? 
4. How can businesses balance personalization with customer data privacy concerns? 
5. What are some common misconceptions about personalization in customer service? 

Top Takeaways:   

• Personalization means using what you’ve learned about the customer from their past interactions to improve their future experiences.  

• True personalization is not just about using a customer’s name or offering customized products. True personalization involves using customer data at scale to make their next experience smoother, faster, and more convenient.  

• There are some concerns among customers about data privacy and personalization. Businesses must first get the opt-in from their customers. Second, it is important to ensure personalized experiences are contextually appropriate to the customer’s journey. 

• Respecting customer privacy can make or break a personalized experience. Businesses should collect first-party data (data from transactions) and zero-party data (data directly shared by customers) to create a more accurate and respectful personalization strategy.  

• Artificial Intelligence has the potential to significantly enhance personalization. It can analyze vast amounts of data to predict and suggest the next best actions for customers, recommend products or services, and tailor customer service interactions. 

• Starting with personalization doesn’t have to be complicated. Start by identifying one area where personalization can have the most impact and using available tools and technologies to implement it. 

• Mark also shares The Five Promises of Personalization, a practical way to think about how you deliver great personalization. 

• Empower me: Start with the customer. How are you helping them solve problems or fulfill a need? 

• Know me: To help a customer, you need to know them. Find ways to engage the customer and collect relevant data in between. 

• Reach me: Use AI to know how to reach out to your customers and what messages are most appropriate and relevant to send them. 

• Show me: Build a content library and use content management systems and automation to deliver personalized content at scale.  

• Delight me: Make the personalized experience seem more magical. 

• Plus, Mark answers the question—Is true personalization an expensive thing to do? Tune in! 

Quote:  

“Personalization isn’t just customization. Personalization is taking what you’ve learned about a customer in an interaction and making their next interaction better, faster, or more convenient.” 

About:   

Mark Abraham is a Senior Partner at Boston Consulting Group and the founder of the company’s Global Personalization business. He co-authored Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI with David C. Edelman. 

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and host of Amazing Business Radio.

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AI’s Growing Impact on Employee and Customer Experience 

Shep Hyken interviews Jim Payne, Director of Product Marketing, Customer Engagement at RingCentral. He talks about how AI is transforming both customer and employee interactions by enhancing productivity and efficiency. 

This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions and more:   

1. How is AI transforming both employee and customer experiences? 
2. Can AI be utilized effectively in smaller companies with limited budgets? 
3. How does AI improve efficiency and productivity for customer service teams? 
4. What is the impact of AI on employee retention? 
5. What are the challenges related to integrating AI into existing customer service systems? 

Top Takeaways:   

• Artificial Intelligence is significantly impacting both customer and employee experiences. The latest research by RingCentral and Metrigy has uncovered that over 80% of companies are using or planning to use AI to enhance customer and employee interactions this year.  

• The cost of using AI for business has dramatically decreased. In the past, deploying AI would mean a considerable investment needing data scientists and experts to implement. Today, it has become more accessible to even small and medium-sized businesses. The benefits of AI, such as increased productivity and efficiency, are no longer exclusive to large organizations. 

• AI will not replace human employees. Instead, it will augment their capabilities, make their jobs easier, and empower them to serve more customers. 

• By automating repetitive, mundane tasks, AI allows employees to focus on more meaningful work. In customer support,  AI can manage routine inquiries and free agents to tackle more complex issues that need human-to-human interaction. This boosts productivity and reduces stress and burnout, leading to a happier workforce.  

• Inconsistent experiences with digital tools may cause customers to hesitate to choose self-service options. Companies must ensure their AI systems are reliable and user-friendly to encourage more customers to embrace them.  

• AI creates seamless experiences for both customers and employees. Whether a customer is talking to a chatbot or a human agent, all relevant information can be retained and accessible. This prevents customers from having to repeat themselves. It also empowers employees with the information they need to resolve issues quickly. 

• By integrating AI solutions, businesses can enhance their existing workforce. AI helps shorten the time an agent needs to solve problems. In their recent study, RingCentral and Metrigy found that AI helps reduce the time to complete a call by 39% on average. This allows contact centers to handle higher volumes of inquiries with fewer agents, bridging staffing gaps and improving the overall service quality. 

• Plus, Shep and Jim share innovative ways AI is being used to support customer service agents. Tune in! 

Quote:  

“AI supercharges people. It doesn’t replace human-to-human interaction. It just makes everything better, faster, and easier.” 

About:   

Jim Payne is the Director of Product Marketing, Customer Engagement at RingCentral. He specializes in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning and how they can be applied to improve customer experiences. 

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and host of Amazing Business Radio. 

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The Impact of the Employee Experience on the Client Experience 

Shep Hyken interviews Terry Turner, president and CEO of Pinnacle Financial Partners. He talks about how investing in employee experience can create loyal customers, strong relationships, and higher shareholder returns. 

This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions and more:   

1. How does a positive employee experience translate to a better customer experience? 
2. What are effective strategies for reducing employee turnover? 
3. How can businesses balance high-tech solutions with high-touch customer service? 
4. How does stability in the workforce enhance overall customer satisfaction? 
5. How does employee empowerment impact the quality of customer service?  

Top Takeaways:   

• The way a company treats its employees impacts how they treat customers. What is happening inside the organization is felt outside by the customers. Happy and motivated employees are more likely to go above and beyond to meet client needs.  

• Using the word “clients” instead of “customers” can convey a deeper, more lasting relationship. While “customers” might imply a transactional relationship, “clients” suggests a collaborative partnership. This shift in terminology can change how employees perceive and interact with the customers they serve. 

• Empowering employees can help reduce bureaucracy. Less bureaucracy means faster decision-making and the ability to respond more quickly to customer needs. Building a reputation for being efficient and easy to do business with can set you apart from the competition, no matter the industry. 

• Personalized interactions can create advocates and promoters out of your customers. Knowing your clients well helps provide better advice and services tailored to their needs. It can be as simple as knowing clients’ names and remembering previous interactions.  

• Trust can transform your customer relationships from a vendor-customer connection to a partnership. Clients need to know they can rely on you for solid, honest advice and consistent service.  

• The balance of high-tech and high-touch can significantly enhance the customer experience. It is not always about the newest technology. It is about how your technology matches your business process, employee mindset, and customer needs. 

• Plus, Terry shares how Pinnacle Financial Partners continues to grow without having to advertise. Tune in! 

Quote:  

“The number one inhibitor of great service is turnover. If you can’t stabilize your workforce, there’s no chance you’ll give great service.”  

About:   

Terry Turner has been the president and CEO of Pinnacle Financial Partners since it was founded in 2000. He is an active member of his community, serving  on the boards of the Nashville Sports Council, Salvation Army, Belmont University, Nashville Chamber of Commerce, and the Nashville branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. 

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and host of Amazing Business Radio.   

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Effectively Integrating AI into Customer Service 

Shep Hyken interviews Laura Burgess, senior research analyst at Capterra (a division of Gartner), a trusted software and services marketplace that offers a wide range of solutions to help organizations meet many of their business needs. She talks about how AI is transforming customer service and how organizations can balance digital interactions with the human touch to enhance customer satisfaction.  

This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions and more:   

1. Why are customer expectations rising in today’s market? 
2. How can AI enhance customer service experience? 
3. How can businesses effectively implement AI in customer service? 
4. Why is transparency when using AI in customer interaction? 
5. How can businesses balance between AI and human support? 

Top Takeaways:   

• Over the last two years, customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores have increased. A study by Capterra found that 63% of U.S. businesses have shown a marked improvement in customer satisfaction.  

• Customer expectations have risen due to the availability of multiple communication channels like the phone, email, chat, and social media. Today, customers expect quick, efficient, and instant responses. Technology plays  a significant role in meeting these expectations by providing faster service across multiple channels. 

• Transparency is key when it comes to customer interaction. Letting customers know that they are interacting with AI through notifications before the engagement and during interactions can build trust, comfort, and acceptance. 

• To optimize customer service, companies should leverage the strengths of both AI and human support. While human support is crucial to personalized interactions, AI excels in faster response times, handling repetitive tasks, providing 24/7 availability, and offering multilingual support.  

• AI will not eliminate jobs. It will disrupt job roles. Employees believe that, in the next five years, 52% of customer queries will be handled exclusively by AI. Customer service roles will evolve, with humans focusing more on strategic, empathetic, and more complex tasks.  

• Integrating AI into customer service isn’t just about getting the latest technology. It requires training employees to use AI tools and understand AI insights effectively. This training also benefits employees by boosting their technical skills, making them more versatile and valuable to the organizations they work for. 

• As businesses continue to invest in AI, it’s essential to continuously measure its impact on customer experience. Companies should focus on fine-tuning these technologies to deliver accurate and helpful responses while maintaining the availability of human agents for more sensitive or complex issues.  

• Plus, Shep and Laura discuss more stats from Capterra’s 2024 Customer Service Technology Survey and how it shapes the future of customer service. Tune in! 

Quote:  

“Consumers are more demanding than ever when it comes to their interactions with companies, thanks to multi-channels of communication which enable faster services and instant responses.”    

About:  

Laura Burgess is a senior research analyst at Capterra with specialized knowledge of sales and customer experience (CX). Capterra offers businesses over 90,000 solutions across 1,300 software types and 50,000+ service providers to choose from.  

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and host of Amazing Business Radio. 

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Implementing The 5 A’s of Successful Customer Engagement 

Shep Hyken interviews Brett Frazer, co-founder of Service Matters, LLC and the author of Your Hidden Profit Center: Mastering the Five A’s of Successful Customer Engagement. He talks about shifting customer service from a cost center to a value center and outlines the 5 A’s framework  for adding value to every customer engagement. 

This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions and more:   

1. How has the perception of customer service evolved from being seen as a cost center to being recognized as a profit center? 
2. What are the potential long-term effects of prioritizing cost reduction in customer service? 
3. Why should companies focus on aligning with customers on the desired outcome rather than just providing a direct solution? 
4. Why is it crucial for customer service initiatives to gain buy-in and support from key organizational stakeholders and leadership? 
5. How can organizations best empower customer support agents? 

Top Takeaways:   

• Customer service has evolved from being  a cost center to a hidden profit center. Focusing  on reducing investment in good customer experiences has  a long-term negative impact on customer loyalty and profitability. 

• Brett shares The 5 A’s of Successful Customer Engagement. 

• Acknowledge – Acknowledgment is about empathy and addressing the customer’s emotional needs. Acknowledge the customer as a person, their relationship to the company, and the problem and solution they seek.  

• Align – Listen, troubleshoot, and collaborate with the customer to reach the outcome that they are trying to achieve. 

• Assist – Provide the most appropriate options for the customer that are personalized to the situation that they are in.  

• Advise – Enable and empower your agents with knowledge and data about the customer so they can provide insights that add value. 

• Ask – Ask for revenue, actions, and information, and create awareness to increase the customer’s lifetime value. 

• If you can’t get leadership and key stakeholders behind the transformation of your organization’s customer service and experience, it’s not going to work.  

• The focus should not only be on providing immediate assistance but also on building long-term relationships with customers. Customer service is an opportunity to add value that creates customer loyalty and can significantly impact the organization’s bottom line. 

• A great customer relationship hinges on understanding the customer’s needs, empathizing with their situation, providing tailored solutions, and proactively seeking opportunities to add value to the customer experience. 

• Plus, Brett shares more tips and strategies from his book, Your Hidden Profit Center: Mastering the Five A’s of Successful Customer Engagement, to  help your organization save time and increase profits. Tune in! 

Quote:  

“Over the years, customer service has been considered a cost center. The focus was on how we could make customer service as cheap and as quick as possible. This mindset takes away from the intent of customer service and support, which is to provide a great experience to keep your customers coming back.” 

About:    

Brett Frazer is a thought leader and expert in customer service and contact centers. He is the co-founder of Service Matters, LLC, and the author of Your Hidden Profit Center: Mastering the Five A’s of Successful Customer Engagement. 

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and host of Amazing Business Radio. 

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Using the Hospitality Mentality to Shape Your Company Culture 

Shep Hyken interviews Alan Williams, Founder and managing director at SERVICEBRAND GLOBAL Ltd and the co-author of Supercharging the Customer Experience: How Organizations Can Drive Performance in Today’s Values-Based Economy. He talks about aligning the organization’s culture, from the leadership to the frontlines, with its customer experience. 

This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions and more:   

1. Why is alignment within an organization important for the customer experience? 
2. How has the customer landscape changed in the last 20 years? 
3. Why does customer experience start with leadership? 
4. How is employee engagement linked to the customer experience? 
5. Why is brand identity crucial for an organization’s customer experience? 

Top Takeaways:   

• Customer experience is not just a function or a set of processes. It’s not just some department or strategy. It is ingrained into the company’s culture from the top leadership to every employee. It’s in the DNA.  

• Everybody’s job is important when it comes to customer experience. Every employee must understand how what they do impacts the customer, even if they’re two or three places removed. 

• Over the last 20 years, customer decision has shifted to where it is 80% driven by emotion and values. Customers choose to do business with companies that share the same values and stand for the same social causes as them. 

• Communication has greatly evolved thanks to the internet and social media. Customers’ thoughts about a brand can now be shared with millions of people in an instant. Companies need to ensure that their messaging is authentic to their brand identity and resonates with their audience. 

• Organizations used to have the majority of control over brand perception. They could decide how they want to be perceived and hire a company to pump out that message. Now, customers put more trust in what their friends, family, or colleagues tell them.   

• The customer focus should extend to the organization’s internal customers as well. Every role, whether customer-facing or support-oriented, plays a part in shaping the overall customer experience. Customers, employees, service partners, and communities now shape how people think about a brand. 

• Customer experience should reflect the organizational brand identity. Every aspect of the customer journey, from arrival to departure, should embody the organization’s values. Every action, whether customer-facing or behind the scenes, should reflect the company’s mission. When everyone in the organization understands and represents the brand identity, it creates a consistent and compelling customer experience.  

• Plus, Alan shares examples of  customer experience from the hospitality industry (every type of business can benefit from a hospitality mentality.) Tune in! 

Quote:  

“A hospitality mentality helps drive customer experience. It is a brilliant training ground because you can learn a lot from that space and then apply it to other sectors.” 

About:   

Alan Williams is the founder and managing director of SERVICEBRAND GLOBAL Ltd and the co-author of Supercharging the Customer Experience: How Organizations Can Drive Performance in Today’s Values-Based Economy. 

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and host of Amazing Business Radio. 

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Partnering with Customers to Co-create an Amazing Customer Experience  

Shep Hyken interviews Elisabeth Zornes, Chief Customer Officer at Autodesk. She talks about the evolution of the new customer and creating personalized digital experiences. 

This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions and more:   

1. How does digital transformation impact customer expectations and experiences? 
2. What are the challenges and opportunities in personalizing the customer experience in a B2B environment? 
3. How does the concept of digital-first change the way businesses engage and provide value to their customers? 
4. What role does AI play in enhancing the customer experience and driving growth for businesses? 
5. How can companies leverage technology and AI to provide customers with personalized insights and experiences that drive long-term loyalty? 

Top Takeaways:    

• The customer experience is evolving rapidly across different industries. Customers today are more informed, empowered, and sophisticated. This has raised the bar for businesses to rethink and rebuild their customer experiences to align with the changing expectations. 

• When you build and enhance digital experiences together with your customers, you create something very special. You go from interacting in transactions to building a digital relationship. Companies must design intuitive and personalized digital experiences that align with customers’ preferences and behaviors. 

• Even in the B2B world, we need to be focused on customers as if they’re consumers because that’s what they’re basing their stories and expectations on. Customers compare you to the best experiences they’ve had across all industries, regardless of the type of business are industry they are in. 

• Personalization is powerful in building a great customer experience because when customers engage with brands who know them, what they are likely to do, how they want to engage, and what they need, that signals that the company is where they can continue to get value. That reliability creates trust.  (This was confusing. I think adding the “them” helps. Agree?) 

• Partnering with your customers is personalizing the relationship to the point where you understand so much of what your customers want and need that you can make the suggestions that will enhance their experiences, improve their businesses, and choose you over the competitors. 

• The integration of AI in customer service should not be viewed as a replacement for human interaction but as a means to enhance and support human ingenuity.  

• The future of customer service lies in transforming the entire organization’s mindset. It is about instilling a culture where every employee understands their role in delivering an exceptional customer experience—raising service levels and delivering value across the board. 

• Plus, Shep and Elisabeth discuss more ways to leverage AI in customer service and experience. Tune in! 

Quote:  

“There is a significant shift in terms of who our customers are. They are much more sophisticated, informed, and empowered. They are expecting a seamless experience from start to finish.”  

About:   

Elisabeth Zornes is the Chief Customer Officer of Autodesk. She oversees Consulting, Customer Success, Partner Success, Product Support, and Renewals to help businesses drive innovation for their customers. 

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and host of Amazing Business Radio.

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Empowering Teams through Embracing AI-Driven Solutions and Customer-Centricity 

Shep Hyken interviews Rony Vexelman, Vice President of Marketing at Optimove. He discusses  why broken customer journeys create poor customer experiences and how brands can avoid them by leveraging AI, personalization, and customer-centricity at every step of the journey. 

This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions and more:   

1. Why is it essential for brands to understand and orchestrate the customer journey? 
2. What are some common pitfalls that lead to broken customer journeys? 
3. How has technology changed the approach to customer journey mapping? 
4. How can AI tools empower professionals to expand their roles? 
5. Why is it essential for brands to break down silos within their organization? 

Top Takeaways:   

• Broken customer journeys result from multiple departments working in silos without integrated communication. Each department may have its automation system, which may lead to conflicting or uncoordinated customer experiences. By breaking down these silos and working towards a centralized system, your company can ensure a unified and smooth customer journey. 

• Businesses need to prioritize customer needs and experiences over pushing products or campaigns. When making decisions, even the tough ones, it’s important to consider how these changes will impact customers and how to communicate them effectively.  

• You will not always make decisions that will make your customers happy. For example, raising prices is not an easy topic to discuss with customers, but it is, at times, necessary. Acknowledge how it impacts your customers and communicate it with them. 

• Traditional journey mapping focuses on creating an ideal journey for most customers, often neglecting outliers. With today’s technology, businesses can personalize the customer experience at scale, catering to individual preferences and needs. 

• AI can empower “positionless professionals”, encouraging individuals to expand their skills beyond their specializations. With AI tools, employees can take on tasks outside their usual roles, becoming more versatile and adaptable. This adaptability can result in faster execution, better employee experiences, and better customer experiences. 

• Extending personalized experiences beyond physical interactions, such as at a reception desk, to online platforms can significantly enhance the customer’s perception of the brand. 

• Plus, Shep and Rony discuss why “breaking down silos” is still a hot topic for organizations after decades. Tune in! 

Quote:  

“Do your marketing from a customer point of view, not from a product point of view. ” 

About:   

Rony Vexelman is the Vice President of Marketing at Optimove. He is a seasoned professional in multichannel marketing and customer engagement platforms. 

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and host of Amazing Business Radio. 

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Seamlessly Combining AI, Human Touch, and Data in Customer Experience 

Shep Hyken interviews Gaurav Passi, Founder and CEO of Zingly.ai. He talks about seamlessly integrating AI and human interaction to create a collaborative and customer-centric experience. 

This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions and more:   

1. How can businesses effectively balance AI and human interaction in customer service? 
2. What are the most effective strategies for leveraging AI to enhance customer experiences? 
3. Why is it important to prioritize long-term customer relationships over individual transactions? 
4. How can AI tools provide hyper-personalized service to customers? 
5. How can businesses effectively handle after-hours customer calls using AI tools? 

Top Takeaways:   

• Bringing the human touch, data, and AI together creates a powerful combination that can significantly enhance customer satisfaction and competitive advantage.  

• When companies understand when to use AI and when to involve human representatives, it benefits everyone, including the customers, the employees, and the business. AI can efficiently answer quick queries, but human interaction is crucial for building long-term, meaningful customer relationships.  

• Many customers are experiencing FORO or Fear of Reaching Out. When customers are experiencing a problem, the first step is usually going to the company’s website to get the contact information. Once they click on “Contact Us,” they get some 800 numbers, call the company, the IVR kicks in, and they are put on hold, plus a few other steps. This long process and the time they have to carve out of their day to resolve their problems deter many customers from getting in touch with companies. 

• The bigger problem is the dissatisfied customers who never call but end up leaving because they never got the answer they were looking for.  

• While many customers still prefer traditional phone customer service, there’s a growing expectation for digital options, especially among younger consumers. Offering a mix of digital and traditional channels can cater to diverse customer preferences. 

• AI can handle a large percentage of “one shot, one kill” questions and after-hours customer calls, resolving problems efficiently. However, maintaining a balance between AI and human touch is important, as human interaction adds a personalized, empathetic element that AI can’t replicate.  

• By leveraging AI and personalization, you can address scale issues in call centers, allowing a single representative to handle multiple interactions simultaneously. This enhances efficiency in handling customer inquiries and improves overall customer satisfaction and Net Promoter Score (NPS). 

• Plus, Shep and Gaurav discuss why some customers hesitate to use AI. Tune in! 

Quote:  

“The meshing of human, data, and AI together can significantly elevate customer satisfaction and NPS, offering a competitive advantage in the market.” 

About:   

Gaurav Passi is the founder and CEO of Zingly.ai. He aims to revolutionize customer relationships by leveraging generative AI, human expertise, and data to achieve hyper-personalization at scale. 

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and host of Amazing Business Radio.  

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Building High-Performance Teams through Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity  

Shep Hyken interviews Jonathan Stutz, President of Global Diversity Partners, Inc. and author of Daily Practices of Inclusive Leaders: A Guide to Building a Culture of Belonging. He shares daily practices and strategies for inclusive leadership that create a workplace where employees feel seen, heard, and valued.  

This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions and more:   

1. How can internal culture impact the external customer experience? 
2. How can inclusivity and diversity contribute to creating high-performance teams? 
3. What are SMARTIE goals? 
4. In what ways can leaders focus on inclusion first to build a culture of belonging and positively impact the customer experience? 
5. How can leaders manage difficult conversations in the workplace to promote inclusivity and equity? 

Top Takeaways:   

• Internal culture and employee experience are the foundation for enhancing customer experience. When employees feel valued and connected to their managers, coworkers, and the organization they work for, it positively impacts the quality of service and engagement with customers. 

• Building an organization’s strong and welcoming culture is about making employees feel understood and valued. When this happens, trust between employees and leaders, managers, supervisors, and fellow employees dramatically increases. Establishing trust lessens employee churn. If you want to keep your customers coming back, you must ensure that your employees also look forward to returning to work.  

• Creating an inclusive and diverse workplace is about building high-performing teams that represent the perspectives and backgrounds of employees and customers. It is not about complying with a quota or hiring diverse employees for the sake of appearing diverse. It is about opening up opportunities for everyone and hiring the best people.  

• The IDE (Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity) approach emphasizes prioritizing inclusion first, followed by diversity and equity. When employees feel safe, welcome, and comfortable being themselves, they set the stage for attracting and retaining a diverse and engaged workforce. 

• We all benefit from a diverse, inclusive environment. It’s not about one person winning and another losing. Instead, it’s about leveraging various perspectives and experiences to benefit the customers, the employees, and the company. 

• Plus, Jonathan shares practical tips that leaders can start doing today to create a culture of belonging. Tune in! 

Quote:  

“Employees that feel connected to their managers and coworkers and feel as if they are seen, heard, and understood, give more of themselves to the organizations and their customers.” 

About:    

Jonathan Stutz is the Founder and President of Global Diversity Partners, Inc. He has over 25 years of experience in leadership roles at companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Zulily. His book, Daily Practices of Inclusive Leaders: A Guide to Building a Culture of Belonging, is now available on Amazon. 

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and host of Amazing Business Radio.

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