While there are many reasons to be impressed by the CXPA membership body, it is their compassion, curiosity, and charity that makes my heart sing as your community manager. On Friday, April 17th, thirty CXPA members from across the world joined a series of informal and unstructured roundtables to discuss the new challenges they face in the wake of a global crisis. While they may live thousands of miles apart with members tuning in from Australia, Pakistan, France, Turkey, and the US (just to name a few), and some joining us as late as 2:00 AM in their time zone, they all shared a kindred desire to connect and uplift their fellow CX professionals.
Our first scheduled option to participate was facilitated by Mark Smith of Vancouver. After introductions, the group found they had a mutual fascination in “human experience,” or HX for short. In a time where the emotional impact we can create for our customers is stronger than ever, what are companies doing to truly show they care? How can we increase our empathy not only for our customers but for employees who may be negatively impacted as well? This conversation was fueled by participants who proved they understand the sensitivity of the crisis and that behind each persona or employee is a human that’s in the same position as us.
Eric Ullman, CCXP of San Francisco facilitated the second session where participants were engaged in what the new normal for EX and CX will be when this is over. The conversation started with some participants expressing gratitude that they’re able to efficiently work from home. While the pandemic has proven that many employees are perfectly capable of working from home, companies that had a strategy to accommodate satellite employees had an early win in the game as they were able to adjust and serve their customers with greater agility. A success for customers and employees!
Our final session was facilitated by Gail Propson of the Twin Cities area near CXPA HQ in Minnesota. I was impressed with the openness and vulnerability of this group. They quickly discovered how alike they are to each other and that their challenges are not necessarily unique. Enthusiastically nodding “Me too,” you could see the relief in their eyes as they shared and listened to each other. This group is looking forward to staying connected to share inspiring success stories of what others have done during this time, and how to achieve business continuity when the pandemic loosens its grip.
I’m looking forward to hosting a second round of the discussions on Friday, May 1st, so check out our Events Calendar to register and join one of the conversations. After witnessing the invigorating and heartfelt discussions of the first round, I’m convinced there is no better way to connect, learn, and grow.