In the rapidly evolving contact center solutions sector, the “front lines” for organizations big and small globally in enhancing the customer experience (CX), it is always interesting to see what those doing executive recruiting have to say about what they are seeing. It is why an item that dates back to February of 2013 by U.K.-based executive and managerial contact center recruiters Douglas Jackson Ltd., “Is it time to hire a customer experience director or chief customer officer?” caught my attention and continues to make the rounds.
The item provided insights on the subject from three industry experts who know more than a thing or two about the need for a C-level who is in charge of CX. I encourage you to read the entire piece since it is a good read. I can say up front that the answer to that important question is YES. However, the answer according to the experts is in not making such an appointment a checklist item, but rather needs to come with conditions. Therein is the rub.
Those conditions were particularly well articulated by customer experience consultant Jayne Hall. Starting with the observation that, “Having a board-level Customer Experience Director or Chief Customer Officer shows that you are serious about customer experience,” the list includes:
She concludes that, “This type of position only makes sense if the CEO is truly committed to a significant change, will make it a dedicated C-level role and hold the entire executive team (not just the new executive) accountable for results.”
The key word in the above is “accountable.” This is not a matter of semantics but a major challenge.
It is no secret that one of the fastest growing C-level positions around the world are titles that include the words “Customer Experience” in them. The problem, as observed in the posting, is that we have entered what should be considered the danger zone when discussing customer experience. Indeed, its abbreviation to “CX” is not necessarily something that is encouraging.
Where accountability becomes crucial in the discussion as to why organizations do need a customer experience executive is in understanding the difference between the words “accountable” and “responsible.” In short, if somebody with the title Chief Customer Experience Officer (CCEO) is merely responsible, and various people inside an organization across lines-of-business (LOBs) are also designated as being responsible for improving the customer experience, without authority and accountability, including obviously key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure effectiveness, efforts to improve the customer experience with title is doomed for failure.
The reason the Hall list is something to bookmark, and even print if you are a CEO is because each of those items underscored, not just accountability, but the need for your support in championing a culture that is accountability and not responsibility driven. It is true that customer experience initiatives are the vehicle for improving results from customer engagement. It is also true for assuring the success of almost any corporate initiative.