Smooth Sailing with a Chief Experience Officer (CXO)

Published on November 30, 2021 | Reading Time: 3 mins

Adding another, yet important position to the C-suite, a Chief Experience Officer (CXO) formalises many of the practices necessary to CX, cultivating a culture that is centred around the customer.

Having the right team builds the foundation for CX excellence. You cannot start your CX excellence journey without an organisational structure that can support this change. This includes a CXO who is dedicated and empowered to facilitate the customer experience transformation journey, and drive positive change in the organisation.

In today’s age, customers’ expectations about having great experiences have increased markedly. The responsibility of a CXO is to ensure that all processes, whether the front line or support processes, are focused on customers, thereby boosting cross-functional collaboration among all departments and employees to deepen understanding of customers. Depending on the organisation, CXO usually reports to the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer or Chief Marketing Officer.

The following are some of the important functions of a CXO:

1. Building and emphasising a customer-focused culture:

• Creating a strong customer-focused culture by educating employees at all levels on the importance of improving customer experience.
• Supervising all functions related to employee development, evaluating performance, training, rewarding and hiring.

2. Gearing systems and processes towards customer-centricity:

• Working with different teams (e.g., development, design) to develop channels and technological investment to enhance the customer experience.
• Communicating with departments to find opportunities for improving customer experience across various platforms and touchpoints.
• Improving brand image and customer satisfaction trough developing marketing campaigns.

3. Customer Advocacy:

• Analysing and utilising customer feedback to improving upon weaknesses by identifying best practices in addition to developing feedback channels.
• Supporting customer perspectives in decisions made regarding strategies and policies.
• Developing voice of the employee program to obtain and analyse employees’ feedback.

4. Problem-solving:

• Quickly identify the root causes of issues and identifying opportunities for improvement.
• Navigating organisational structures in an effort to recognise issues and enable resolution.
• Organise and prioritise multiple deadlines, and implement plans to create an incomparable customer experience.

5. Leadership:

• Knowledgeable of the principles of supervision, and skilful in managing staff, as well as leading and mentoring employees.
• Responsible for employee development and training, evaluating performance, and recommending merit awards, amongst various other related duties.

6. Listening and communication skills:

• Effectively listening to the customers’ needs and requests, to gain in-depth knowledge of their needs and workflow.
• Facilitating effective communications to assure those involved are able to communicate effectively.
• Delivering both good and bad news in a manner that proves to the customer that effort is being invested to prioritise and represent their best interests.
• Listening and taking into account employee feedback to make decisions that will foster employee productivity and engagement. Additionally, utilising customer feedback to build journey maps to identify best practices.

Overall, a CXO focuses on building, growing, and nurturing customer relationships. Hence, with a CXO, you can be sure that your organisation will stand out and face great improvements.