Dear Diary,
No one told me it would be this hard.
Project CX Update #2
How did the interviews go?
Great! Frankly, we had better feedback than I thought we’d get. Though people were a bit dubious, you can tell that everyone just wants to be heard. Now the pressure is set to really follow through and make sure their voices are truly heard and acted upon.
What did we use for the interviews?
We used Zoom for the flexibility for all parties. That way we could also record the meetings for reference and to send to them if requested. I, along with Hunter (our PM), conducted each interview with the same exact questions to prevent bias.
Here’s a sample agenda for the interviews:
Meeting Agenda:
Time block: 30 – 45 minutes
Meeting Summary: This meeting is ultimately for you to describe pain points within your job. This can be anything from minor inconveniences to processes that lead customers to you. We’ll start with a general overview of your job and what your daily work schedule looks like. From there we will discuss the working elements of the systems already being used within your job. Then we will discuss those pain points you have.
How to prepare for your meeting:
- Please come to the meeting prepared with a general overview of your day-to-day.
- Make a point to write down or mentally note things within your job you would like improved.
- Note the systems and processes in place that lead customers and/or problems to you. Are you aware of those issues quickly enough? How are they being communicated to you? Where, within LE, do you wish you could give more input?
*Please keep in mind that this meeting is not meant to solve any problems or necessarily provide any solutions but purely for research that we will later work into new processes/systems to alleviate said problems.
Here are the topics and questions we covered in each interview:
- Job overview now vs later:
- General overview of your job (day to day)
- Interactions
- Discuss the working elements of the systems already being used within your job
- Tasks communicated to you?
- Most preferred communication channel?
- Pain Points
How it is going:
Slowly. Ha. Did I think this would go by fast? No. Did I think it would go by faster than it is now? Yes. Truth is, I fell pray to the exact cause I am trying to advocate against- putting CX on the backburner. This is saying a lot considering the fact that it’s a huge portion of my job. We have officially finished all the interviews except mine. Now that I think of it, I should exclude it because it would be biased, right? (I’ll look into that)
How did this happen?
I got lost in the day-to-day tasks and forgot to make time to complete the project which would hopefully alleviate all our day-to-day tasks.
I think there’s a metaphor or life lesson in there somewhere.
Secondly, I forgot to ask for accountability which at the root of it is communication. So basically a huge part of this update is to notify you that systemic changes start with you. Or in this case, me.
Any new tea?
No. Same office politics and such. Maybe a little less because everyone’s been taking vacations. I don’t think we’ll see a steady positive effect until after the new practices are put into place.
What’s next?
The next step is the analysis. So the tedious but somewhat entertaining process of synthesizing all of the responses from our staff. Will keep you updated and come back with a game plan.
Lessons we’ve learned so far:
- So not interview right after a ‘moral building event’ ie conference, open house, pizza party. I know this sounds terrible, but we don’t need people’s rose-filtered eyes answering. We need the hard truths of what needs to be communicated.
- Make sure the channel is open for further communication after the interview in case they want to add more.
- Emphasize that the meeting is private and will not be shared with anyone else.
- Don’t lead with the questions. Be comfortable with awkward silences and let them fill it. (This is a great way to get past the initial ‘fancy answers’ and helps get a more unfiltered opinion.
Most important takeaways:
- Have a big-picture plan you can refer to.
- Make sure you have someone keeping you accountable.
- Remind yourself and others that this is a long-term solution, so it’s going to take long-term research.
Lex