CX change management in action: CX Mini Masterclass – E48

This CX Mini Masterclass demonstrates what CX change looks like in action. Special guest and CX thought leader Nate Brown makes the case for why CX professionals must become proficient in change management methodologies. He then takes a practical look at one of the most popular change management models, John Kotter’s 8-step approach, outlining ideas and recommendations for CX professionals at each step of the way.

Insights from a special guest

I can’t think of a better guide for this immersive tour of change management. Nate is the co-founder of CX Accelerator, a virtual community for experience professionals. And while Customer Service is his primary expertise, Nate is able to leverage experience in professional services, marketing, and sales to connect dots and solve the big problems.  From authoring and leading a Customer Experience program, to journey mapping, to building and managing a complex contact center, Nate is always learning new things and sharing with the community.

Beyond Nate’s expertise bringing together the CX community, he’s also in an in-house CX practitioner role, on the front lines of driving CX change, so he’s here to bring a great balance of theory and practice.

You can follow Nate on Twitter using handle @CustomerIsFirst or LinkedIn. His CX Primer is an excellent resource for those looking to learn more about CX. Nate’s CX Accelerator is is the kindest, most helpful digital community of CX professionals in the world.  Join them be encouraged, learn new things, and meet fantastic people who share a common bond of creating exceptional experiences!

CX change through the lens of the Kotter model

Nate shared his perspective on the practical application of change management with John Kotter’s 8-step model. This is one of the most popular change management models out there, and a model highlighted by Diane Magers in episode 44 (a great overview of change management theory for anyone looking to learn more about this topic).

Nate took listeners through each step of change, highlighting practical ideas and actions:

1. Create a sense of urgency – brands that lead in CX are gobbling up market share across sectors. This can be used to help galvanize leaders and teams to move towards change.
2. Build a guiding coalition – for CX it’s important to build a guiding coalition with representation from across the organization’s business functions. CX doesn’t work in isolation, so the guiding coalition should be cross-functional. CX change makers should also pay close attention to where their organization’s power core sits – that’s the first place you should look to foster buy in and support.
3. Form a strategic vision and initiatives – Don’t let Voice of Customer (VOC) efforts become a false finish line. VOC can help inform strategy, but it’s not the strategy itself. CX teams need to take customer insights and then translate these into real changes within the organization.
4. Enlist a volunteer army – CX should be a movement, not a project. Let’s be honest, it’s difficult to rally a volunteer army around a project. Focus on the purpose of CX. Helping people is something that teams can support.
5. Enable action by removing barriers – CX leaders should be looking at opportunities to reduce effort for customers and employees. When was the last time your organization looked at employee effort?
6. Generate short terms wins – CX movements don’t always focus on short term wins, but these are key for gaining momentum. Customer insights can be a great place to start if you want to identify the low hanging fruit.
7. Sustain acceleration – Define your milestones to keep teams engaged and excited about the CX movement. CX leaders need to strike the balance between recognizing short term wins and not proclaiming victory too early.
8. Institute change – CX change needs to be embedded in employee experience in order for it to become sustainable. If you do this, it will help override old (bad) habits and institute lasting change.

Want to keep learning about CX?

If you’d like to checkout more of these CX Mini Masterclasses or listen to my longer format CX expert interviews, check out the full listing of episodes for this CX podcast.

And if you are looking to super-charge your CX skills and continue learning, be sure to check out CX University. They have a great array of CXPA accredited training resources available on a flexible monthly subscription plan. Use the code PODCAST10 to get 10% off your first month’s subscription and support this podcast.

Decoding the Customer is a series of customer experience podcasts created and produced by Julia Ahlfeldt, CCXP. Julia is a customer experience strategist, speaker and business advisor. She is a Certified Customer Experience Professional and one of the top experts in customer experience management. To find out more about how Julia can help your business achieve its CX goals, check out her customer experience advisory consulting services (including customer insights, CX measurement, leadership alignment and CX change implementation) or get in touch via email.