In the 200th episode of The CX Leader Podcast, host Steve Walker and guests Sonya McAllister and Sean Clayton reminisce on how customer experience has evolved since the podcast began in 2018, how businesses' views and acceptance of CX have changed in those four years, and what customer experience will look like in 2022.

Fresh into a new year is often a good time to look at how customer experience is progressing within companies. The XM Institute has recently published their report, "The State of CX Management" which examines the CX efforts and maturity of several companies. Host Steve Walker welcomes back Moira Dorsey from the XM Institute to discuss the findings from the report. 

Even in an era where self-service options are becoming essential to many companies’ customer experience, the contact center is still a large part of many organizations’ frontline efforts. But how has call center technology adapted to accommodate customer experience, and how aligned is your company's culture to providing the best possible experience for your customers? Host Steve Walker welcomes Steve Bederman from NobleBiz for a discussion on how contact center technology and culture can have a large impact on customer experience. 

A new report has found that more people are looking for self-service options to find help with their products and services but many companies' online support and documentation is not able to handle the task. This can create problems for companies offering support and frustration for customers who simple want to find simple solutions for simple problems online. Steve Walker welcomes Gal Oron, CEO of Zoomin, a software company that helps global enterprises turn their documentation into a mission-critical asset that supports every part of the customer journey, for a discussion on why companies should offer self-service options.

The employee experience is becoming more critical in making certain your company has the best possible customer experience. But there’s one department that is critical in establishing and maintaining an effective EX program: human resources. Host Steve Walker welcomes Dr. Cecelia Herbert, a certified experience management professional and a principal XM catalyst for the Qualtrics XM Institute, for a discussion on the importance of building relationships with human resources to improve the customer and employee experience.

It can be argued that small businesses make the backbone of the U.S. economy. According to a study conducted by the Small Business Administration released in 2019, small businesses generated 44% of the U.S economic activity and created two-thirds of net new jobs. Granted those numbers would likely look different given the reality of the COVID pandemic, but it still underscores the importance of small businesses in the U.S. But how does customer experience work in small business environments and given limited resources within small businesses how can they make certain the customer’s journey is as frictionless as possible? Guest host Pat Gibbons welcomes Rebecca Grimes, chief revenue officer at Ruby, to discuss how small businesses can still have great customer experience.

Note: this episode is an encore presentation of the Live with CXPA event, "Combining CX and EX: Better Together" which premiered on November 9th, 2021. You can also watch a video presentation of this event on CXPA's YouTube channel.  Customer experience and employee experience are typically separate programs run by different departments. However, what if they were more in sync? Join guest host Steve Walker of the CX Leader Podcast along with a guest panelists Troy Powell, Jennefer Pursifull, and Ryan Willis for advice and examples that show how CX and EX can be integrated - all in service of creating more engaged employees and loyal customers.

It’s an unfortunate result of the pandemic that most people have experienced: supply shortages. Everything from breakfast cereal to new cars, jewelry, the newest name-brand mobile phone, and even turkeys. And it’s hard not to feel some sympathy for front-line retail workers as they receive the brunt of consumer anger over things they clearly have no control. But there are tools that can help both customer and employee smooth out these rough times. Guest host Pat Gibbons welcomes Seb Reeve from Nuance Communications for a discussion on A.I. and how the digital experience can help smooth out a rough holiday shopping season.

As a CX leader it is important to better understand and promote the customer experience field within your company. Regardless of profession, there are certain traits and skills common to leaders. But what leadership traits are important specifically to customer experience professionals – what qualities of leadership should you prioritize? Host Steve Walker welcomes Lambert Walsh, senior vice president of customer success at DocuSign, the agreement cloud company, for a discussion on the traits of customer experience leaders.

Relationships are an important part of our lives. Humans are social creatures and it’s important to understand that fact when leading a CX program. But companies sometimes miss the mark on ensuring employees and leaders throughout the company understand how to build and maintain relationships with customers, and each other. Host Steve Walker welcomes John Dijulius, chief revolution officer and president of the Dijulius Group, for a discussion on the importance of building relationships with customers and colleagues.