New technology, new customer trends and the growing need to collaborate with more departments are just some of the factors driving CX practitioners to refine their skillsets – and those of their teams.
In this article, CX Network rounds up five skills the modern CX practitioner needs, and provides links to resources that can help you learn them.
1. System and process design
Whether it’s to futureproof for machine customers or address inefficient internal processes that impact overall CX, the ability to critically assess the performance of systems and processes then suggest alternatives, is a surefire way to promotion. In fact, to transform an organization, systems thinking is recognized as one of five required disciplines.
It’s a broad field, but system and process design skills help practitioners reimagine and design customer-centered processes, for example in customer service or sales journeys. They can then optimize performance, quality and customer satisfaction in any domain and, with digital transformation still changing many organizations, these skills are essential.
Where to learn about system and process design
To get to grips with the fundamentals of process and system design, this beginner’s guide from Integrify provides real-life examples of how processes are designed and improved.
Taking this a step further, IBM offers a series of courses on design thinking, tailored to different roles and functions in an organization.
You can find out more about the links between process and operational excellence and CX in this article from our sister portal, PEX Network. And if you want to know where business process management (BPM) is going in 2024, click here.
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2. Collaboration
As more organizations give CX a seat at the boardroom table, it has become essential for practitioners to collaborate with new individuals, teams and departments, or collaborate with their own team in new ways. This calls for creative problem solving and skills in listening, communication and potentially even conflict resolution. In short, the ability to collaborate effectively is closely tied to emotional intelligence (EQ).
CX practitioners must demonstrate EQ on a daily basis, regardless of how senior their role is, but when it comes to bringing a team together around a shared goal, more is needed. Practitioners need to be able to inspire their co-workers and direct reports around common objectives and shared goals, then motivate them to achieve those goals. They must liaise and communicate with different people and teams and foster a culture of proactive communication even when they are not around.
Who teaches collaboration skills?
Collaboration skills are part and parcel of many leadership courses, but for a bitesize 101, LinkedIn Learning has some great resources to support collaboration in the workplace, and between hybrid and remote workers. Learn more with The Essentials of Team Collaboration.
For the practitioner who wants to hone the collaboration skills of their teams, app-based professional development platform Skillsoft offers The Collaborative Leader course, which explains how to promote collaboration within your team and among other teams in the organization.
3. Strategy deployment
Having ambitions is the easy part – uniting a team to achieve them, not so much. So, with collaboration skills in place, the next step on the practitioner’s leadership ladder is to deliver their strategy. This means practitioners must be able to understand and interpret the ambition of the business, keep their teams focused on achieving it, then communicate how that went.
As Peter Drucker has famously explained, culture has a huge part to play in this, but successful strategy deployment still demands a number of leadership skills. First and foremost it calls for a focused and driven mindset. Effective strategy deployment also demands practitioners can initiate and manage projects and solve their challenges before they pose issues.
How to find out more about strategy deployment
Some argue these things can’t be taught, but if you are curious to know how the best business minds bring their ideas to life, read The strategy of execution: A five step guide for turning vision into action.
If you need to take a step back and learn more about strategy development, start by reading Playing to win: How strategy really works.
When bringing a strategy to life, the ability to influence and inspire cannot be underestimated. This course from Kallidus explains how to tailor communications to different teams and personalities, and how to adapt influence styles to suit the situation.
4. Tech literacy and translation
It may sound simple, but practitioners have long been required to match organizational goals with the technology that can help achieve those goals. The ability to deeply understand and interpret the requirements of both an organization and its customers does not come easy, and with technology now developing at break-neck speed the challenges only multiply.
Failure to accurately match needs with solutions can be costly, and unfortunately it’s a situation many practitioners have experienced. When CX Network asked its LinkedIn community members if their organizations had invested in advanced CX technology that did not live up to expectations or company needs, 40 percent of respondents answered yes.
Learn more about tech literacy and translation
To get ahead with this skill, proactivity is key. The major CX tech vendors all hold online tutorials and discussions that focus on the capabilities their solutions deliver, and CX Network’s Replay library houses hundreds of videos explaining how different organizations have implanted advanced technologies and driven tangible results. Get started on those, here.
AWS has a comprehensive online library of courses that cover all the latest tech and award certifications for each completed course. They’re designed for individuals, teams and entire organizations, and there are even low-cost and complimentary courses on generative AI.
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5. Data management
It’s no secret that CX generates volumes of customer data, but utilizing it effectively is a huge challenge. Poor data management has several consequences and this article explains how a failure to understand and correctly leverage data impacts operations, system performance and even a brand’s reputation.
Some organizations are still working to solve the storage piece, others are hampered by regulation – regardless, every practitioner now needs a solid understanding of how, where, when and why data can be used to elevate CX.
How to master data management
To get you started, CX Network has lots of resources on customer data, insights and analytics.
If your data management skills are lacking in a specific area, Jeannie Walters has launched a Customer Experience (CX) Trends course on LinkedIn Learning, which among other things, covers customer data management, privacy and personal data control, as well as techniques and tools for metricizing data more effectively. Click here to find out more.
If you truly want to master data analytics, Maryville University offers a fully remote Masters of Science in Data Analytics. Find out more here.