Happy employees = happy customers

What’s the secret to delivering great customer experiences? It starts with your employees.

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to host Beth Jackson, founder of Talent Development Specialists, on the Building Great Experiences podcast. We had a great discussion on the connection between employee experience (EX) and customer experience (CX). When your employees are engaged, empowered, and aligned, your customers feel the difference.

In this edition, we’re exploring the intersection of EX and CX, the role of change in building a great employee experience, and how culture can make or break transformation efforts.

1. The perfect Venn diagram

The intersection of employee experience, customer experience, and change management forms the foundation for impactful transformation. If you’re making big changes to improve CX, your employees need to be informed, trained on new tools/processes/services, and aligned to deliver on those promises.

Think of it like a three-circle Venn diagram. In the center lies the “change experience.” If you focus only on customers or employees and ignore the change component, gaps appear, creating friction and resistance.

Putting this into action:

• Include employees early in the change process to reduce resistance and foster collaboration.

• Provide clear communication and training to align your team with new CX initiatives.

• Frame change as an experience, not just a process, to make it feel more inclusive and meaningful.

2. Stop managing change, start creating change experiences

“Change management” is often viewed as something done to employees, but Beth encouraged us to think about it as creating a “change experience.” Instead of top-down mandates, organizations can involve employees in shaping and owning the change, making them feel like partners rather than bystanders.

For example, when Google’s Moonshot Factory fosters a culture of experimentation, it’s not about mandating change but creating a safe environment where teams learn, iterate, and adapt together. This approach reduces resistance and builds a sense of shared purpose.

Putting this into action:

• Shift the language: Replace “change management” with “change experience” in your communications.

• Encourage feedback loops to identify resistance points and use them as learning opportunities.

• Celebrate small wins during the transition to build momentum and confidence.

3. Culture is the foundation of change

Peter Drucker famously said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast,” and Beth reinforced this point during our discussion. Even the best strategies and CX plans will fail without the right culture to support them. A culture of resilience, learning, and experimentation allows organizations to embrace change rather than fear it.

Beth shared how her early career experience ingrained a “test and learn” culture. Employees were encouraged to take risks, fail fast, and share knowledge. This mindset created a resilient organization capable of adapting to market shifts.

Putting this into action:

• Foster a learning culture by rewarding curiosity and innovation.

• Reframe failures as opportunities for growth by celebrating the lessons learned.

• Create shared knowledge systems to prevent information hoarding and promote collaboration.

4. Treat employees like customers

One of the most actionable takeaways from our conversation was the idea of treating employees like customers. Just as you invest in understanding customer needs, preferences, and pain points, you should do the same for your employees.

We talked about how a premium consumer goods company aligned its employee experience with its high-end brand values. Everything from employee perks to internal communications reinforced the company’s mission, creating consistency between its internal and external experiences.

Putting this into action:

• Conduct “employee journey mapping” to identify friction points and opportunities to improve their experience.

• Align your employee experience with your brand values to create consistency and authenticity.

• Provide tools, training, and resources that empower employees to excel in their roles.

Wrapping up

The relationship between employee experience and customer experience isn’t just a theory. It’s a proven formula for success. When your employees are engaged, empowered, and aligned, they create exceptional experiences for your customers. By focusing on the intersection of EX, CX, and change, you can build a culture that drives long-term growth and innovation.

Let’s create experiences that work for everyone, inside and out 😊

Onward & upward,
Drew

P.s. If we haven’t met yet, hello! I’m Drew Burdick, Founder and Managing Partner at StealthX. We work with brands to design & build great customer experiences that win. I share ideas weekly through this newsletter & over on the Building Great Experiences podcast. Have a question? Feel free to contact us, I’d love to hear from you.