Employees are the force that enables customer success

In today’s customer-driven market, it’s easy to overlook the employee experience. But if companies allow customer focus to override their care for their employees, they will lose the very force that enables customer success.

The reality today is that there hasn’t been enough emphasis on the employee experience. Consider this: Bluewolf’s recent report showed that 70% of respondents say they have to enter the same data into multiple systems just to do their jobs. Just imagine the negative impact these duplicative and time-consuming efforts have on productivity and morale—or maybe you don’t need to imagine, because you’re experiencing this right now.

Employee experience matters. The modern-day employee was raised in a digital environment, where constant connectivity and mobile access is an inherent part of their lives. They are less tolerant of technology and business processes that aren’t as easy to navigate as the apps they use every day.

Investing in employees is an investment in a company’s bottom line; the employee experience is just as important as customer experience in achieving business results. But it’s more than just investing in new technology to make this happen. Take the time to understand your culture to provide that meaningful experience. Talk to employees to find out what information they need and the best way to see it—they will be more productive and will spend more time giving customers what they want.

Innovation is essential to improving employee experience, but you have to combine it with cloud technology, data, design and an employee culture willing to adopt it. End users must use it—and be passionate about it—for collaboration to thrive and for companies to achieve business outcomes. Companies should first prioritize simplifying the most time-consuming tasks, like data, release, and opportunity management, as well as reporting, to make employees more efficient.

Take sales teams as an example: Your salespeople should always be able to work away from their desks. To connect and engage with customers, and make processes a choice rather than a chore, salespeople need the right tools to perform tasks in the field. Whether it’s providing a quote in real time, having a client sign electronically, or taking mobile notes, the best companies are supplementing their current processes with products to best serve their end users and allow them to do business more efficiently with customers face-to-face.

Additionally, as it’s easier for employees to do their jobs when they can access their CRM platform from a mobile device, mobile reinvention of the most time-consuming tasks and investments in actionable analytics are the best ways to improve the employee experience. An efficient, intuitive user interface is essential for mobile tools.

Companies will benefit from more productive employees and the influx of real-time customer data that comes with increased adoption of tools in the field. With a stronger objective to deliver a better employee experience, companies can inspire greater productivity in an energized and committed employee culture.