The Broken Hiring Process for Customer Experience Teams

The traditional hiring process for customer experience (CX) teams often leads to misaligned expectations and ineffective hiring decisions. This article addresses the problem and provides a roadmap for both hiring managers and job seekers to navigate this challenging landscape.

Defining the Five Roles That Make Up a Customer Experience Team

The author emphasizes the importance of breaking down the generic "customer experience specialist" role into distinct positions with clear responsibilities and skill sets. These five roles form the foundation of a well-rounded CX team:

• Customer Experience Specialist: This role is a "dreamer and doer," responsible for creative thinking, communications, and proactive problem-solving. They analyze customer feedback, collaborate with other teams, and execute solutions to improve the customer journey.
• Customer Experience Manager: The coach and leader of the CX team, responsible for setting vision, managing people, tracking metrics, and ensuring team success. They prioritize communication, collaboration, and data-driven decision making.
• Customer Experience Associate: The backbone of the team, responsible for handling customer interactions, creating tickets, escalating issues, and implementing solutions. They are the first point of contact for many customers.
• Customer Experience Analyst: The numbers geek, responsible for gathering, analyzing, and presenting customer data to improve the CX. They utilize metrics, spreadsheets, and visual representations to identify trends and drive insights.
• Customer Experience Expert: The guru with extensive experience, responsible for providing high-level advice, streamlining operations, and training the team to elevate the CX.

Create CX Roles to Fit Your Growth Plan

The author argues that CX roles should be tailored to a company's growth plan, customer type, and roadmap performance. To ensure effective hiring, hiring managers should consider the following three data points:

1. Growth Rate

• Steady Growth (under 15% year-over-year): Hire junior-level CX specialists with potential for growth.
• Rapid Growth (15-25% annually): Prioritize candidates with experience at companies with similar growth rates.
• Hyper Growth (50-100% annually): Seek out CX specialists with experience in fast-paced environments and strong strategic thinking skills.

2. Roadmap Performance

• Historical Performance: Analyze past team goals and outcomes to identify strengths and weaknesses, providing insights into current skill sets.
• Future Goals: Align hiring decisions with the company's roadmap, seeking candidates with skills and experience relevant to future plans.

3. Customer Type

• Business-to-Business (B2B): Prioritize data-driven CX specialists focused on building relationships with high-touch clients.
• Business-to-Consumer (B2C): Seek out CX specialists with strong writing and communication skills, adept at creating engaging experiences for a broader audience.

Get the Right People in the Room

The author emphasizes the importance of attracting and hiring the right CX professionals to build a successful team. This process involves two main approaches:

Hiring New Candidates

Hiring managers should leverage specific keywords and metrics to craft effective job descriptions that attract the right candidates.

• Utilize Keywords: Use targeted language throughout the job description to attract candidates with the desired skills and experience.
• Leverage the Quick Guide to CX Roles: Use this guide as a tool to showcase specific requirements and expectations to potential candidates.

Transforming Associates into Specialists

Existing team members may have the potential to grow into new roles. Identify those with the desire and capability to expand their responsibilities and skills.

• Identify Potential: Assess existing team members for their interest and aptitude for taking on more challenging roles.
• Provide Opportunities for Growth: Offer training, mentoring, and opportunities for expanded responsibilities.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Encourage cross-functional collaboration, allowing team members to gain experience in other departments.

Working with Who You've Got

When resources are limited, get creative by leveraging existing team members and collaborating with other departments to achieve CX goals.

• Maximize Existing Resources: Identify ways to leverage existing team members' skills and experience to address CX needs.
• Cross-Departmental Collaboration: Collaborate with other departments, such as marketing, product, and engineering, to share expertise and resources.

Customer Experience Specialist Job Seekers: Read Between the Lines

The author provides guidance for job seekers to approach the CX job market effectively, aligning their skills and aspirations with the right companies and roles.

Define Your Specialization

• Identify Your Strengths: Pinpoint your areas of expertise and the types of CX roles that best match your skills.
• Targeted Job Search: Use specific keywords to narrow your search, focusing on roles that align with your interests.

Target the Right Companies

• Research Company Growth: Understand the company's growth rate, product focus, and customer type.
• Match Company Culture: Assess whether the company culture and values align with your preferences and work style.

Pitch Your Role

• Highlight Your Value: Clearly communicate your unique skills and experience, highlighting your potential contribution to the company.
• Tailor Your Resume and Cover Letter: Customize your application materials to showcase your relevant skills and experience.