Digital transformation is at the heart of it, a human-centred effort; because without people, and without them actually buying into this new way of doing things, it means nothing. For companies to truly participate in the digital economy, they need to first and foremost change the way they manage their most valuable assets, their employees.

Today’s employees require the flexibility to work from anywhere and at any time. The seamless digital experiences they enjoy in their personal lives are leading them to reject complex, cumbersome systems and processes in their professional lives. To attract and retain the best talent, companies need to support new ways of thinking, working and managing their employees.

Digital solutions for human resource management and employee engagement are a fundamental part of driving productivity, transparency and trust. When thinking about their digital transformation strategies, companies need to prioritise the human element by driving greater simplicity, improving employee experiences and enhancing employee engagement.

Here are ways in which companies can prioritise the human element in their digital transformation efforts.

Keep it simple and efficient

Doing business in today’s connected, uncertain, competitive and volatile environment is complex, as is the process of managing, engaging and motivating employees. It is important that companies empower their HR teams and managers with systems that enable streamlined processes and drive efficiencies.

Eliminating manual processes and spreadsheets by automating core processes for recruitment, talent management and compensation are non-negotiable priorities. In addition, automating the end-to-end performance management process including coaching, feedback, evaluation and recognition is a key part of connecting employees with the company’s purpose and mission.

Enhance the employee experience

Companies that are unable to break down silos using modern, connected and integrated systems find it difficult to enhance employee experience, attract top talent and meet their employees’ expectations. The emphasis should be on pursuing a comprehensive digital transformation strategy that prioritises the customer, the operations, and most importantly, the employee.

Companies need to cover the entire workforce value chain, from new recruits to established employees as well as soon-to-be retirees. This includes ensuring an efficient ramp-up process, delivering self-service tools, career development and training, compensation and benefits as well as wellness management.

The entire employee lifecycle needs to be powered by an automated and intelligent system that eliminates disjointed HR processes. To truly participate in the digital economy, companies need to be driven by modern HR systems that are automated, intuitive and make it possible to track an on-the-move digital economy workforce.

Drive productivity

Maintaining and increasing employee productivity can be a challenge in an ever-evolving and unpredictable business environment. For example, the Covid disruption demonstrated the importance of implementing and using smart HR systems that see work as an activity that can be performed from anywhere and at any time.

Streamlining and simplifying processes and tasks using technology has a positive impact on employee productivity and is an essential part of freeing up employees to focus on innovation and other important tasks that drive business strategy and ultimately profitability.

Technology makes this possible by centralising employee data and ensuring that all employees have access to the relevant information in real-time and from anywhere. In addition, managers and HR are able to highlight hotspots in the workforce through analytics and zoom into the root causes; thus, empowering them to make decisions that refine talent management and shape a workforce that can execute the business strategy.

Engage your employees

Employees that are connected to the purpose and mission of the company have a strong sense of commitment; this can be a significant source of competitive advantage. Deloitte has found that organisations that engage employees by making them feel connected to the company’s purpose and able to make a positive contribution are twice as likely to meet or exceed financial targets, three times as likely to be high-performing, six times as likely to be innovative and agile, and eight times more likely to achieve better business outcomes.

The ability for managers and HR to track metrics that allow them to evaluate the levels of engagement is an important part of creating a learning organisation that prioritises and fosters continuous improvements and growth.

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There’s growing acknowledgement of the importance of becoming a Customer Experience (CX) leader to help build that reputation, but too few are taking appropriate steps to embrace and prioritise a true CX culture.

Delivering exceptional CX requires that every part of the business is in sync and enabled by the right technology.

CX is an important part of managing and growing a company, yet, it is one of the most understated business priorities. Customer service is the level of service that customers expect to receive in exchange for their money.

CX, on the other hand, is how customers feel when they interact with a business. From researching the product to the actual purchase and use, it spans the entire customer buying journey.

Customers, now more than ever, will never return if the initial interaction is poor. CX is therefore a key element of customer retention – and a key differentiator.

What’s the fuss about CX?

CX encapsulates the holistic perception of a customer’s experience with a company. It is the result of every interaction, from researching the product to purchasing and using it.

°Őłó±đĚý found that companies that prioritised technology were 64% more likely to meet and exceed their business priorities.

According to the same report, 36% of large companies are using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve their data analytics.

These companies believe that data is a game changer, and that its ownership, control and use is a strong source of sustainable competitive advantage.

There is a misconception that investing in CX is expensive and delivers little return.

A recent  found that satisfied customers are willing to pay a premium of up to 16%; proving that positive experiences lead to greater loyalty.

In addition, around 32% of consumers reported that after just one bad experience, they were most likely to abandon a brand they had preferred.

These data points demonstrate the importance of intentionally pursuing a customer-centric strategy. The net impact is customer satisfaction, higher sales and stronger long-term customer relationships.

In difficult times, such as the tough economic climate caused by the COVID pandemic, CX is at the heart of sustaining a business.

Steps to improving CX

SMEs often juggle multiple priorities with limited resources. Balancing operational priorities and implementing CX strategies can be a real challenge. Here are some practical ways of improving CX for SMEs:

1. Implement additional support channels to make it easier for customers to interact with the company. Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) for automation, SMEs can provide self-service options that make it easier for customers to track their orders independently, enabling a self-help approach that improves efficiencies and lowers costs.
2. Prioritise your website as a different way of interacting with customers 24/7. SMEs that did not have online stores could not continue trading under lockdown conditions. Moreover, adding a Frequently Asked Questions section can empower customers to be self-sufficient, allowing the company to refocus valuable human resources on income-generating activities and innovation.
3. Adopt technology-driven query management processes that are customer-centric and cost-effective. Using AI, SMEs can develop chatbots that handle repetitive functions such as order delivery queries.

How technology enables great CX

A recent  by Qualtrics and Forrester Consulting that looked at Return on Investment from deploying CX solutions produced some interesting findings:

• Customer care: companies were able to gather actionable insights that enabled them to institute measures that reduced the cost of incident management by shifting incidents to a self-help platform.
• Customer retention: aligning the company on key metrics and shifting to a customer-centric view of data had a positive impact on CX. Companies reported an increase in customer satisfaction and more personalised experiences and customer buying journeys that led to higher customer retention.
• Data and customer-centric culture: companies were able to create standard, consistent, and trusted data sources across departments, resulting in a unified view and measure of CX throughout the company.
• Business outcomes: companies were able to identify things that needed to change quickly. While some seemed mundane, they had a meaningful impact on customers and resulted in quick wins.
• Better insight and decision-making: companies benefited from having a centralised database for all customer insights, enabling them to move quicker and provide better insights for decision making.

CX is about proactively managing and curating the entire customer buying journey to ensure that customers walk away with a feel-good experience.

Delivering a positive CX requires a customer-centric strategy that is underpinned by the right technology investment. Technology empowers all companies, of all sizes, to connect with current and prospective customers.

SMEs now have the ability to accurately predict future needs of their customers, enabling them to be proactive and attentive to ever-changing conditions. In an increasingly unpredictable and competitive business environment, the emotional connection between the customer and the brand can be the difference between survival and prosperity.

In a recent survey by Oxford Economics and SAP, 39% of small and medium sized companies said that improving customer experiences is their top priority over the next three years – even ahead of increasing profits or reducing costs.

I thought it would be interesting for you to discover how these companies are managing customer experiences through improved technology and organizational strategies by reading the .

***Qualtrics is a wholly owned 51·çÁ÷company that provides solutions for monitoring, analysing and managing feedback to improve CX, employee experience (EX) and product experiences (PX).

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