Editorial
Companies are constantly searching for the next big driver of growth. As a veteran marketing and brand executive, I've discovered that the secret lies not in external strategies, but within our own organizations. The real catalyst for explosive growth is hiding in plain sight: our employees.
The Power of Employee Experience
The data is compelling. Companies with engaged employees achieve 21% higher profitability, and a mere 5% boost in customer retention can supercharge profits by 25% to 95%. With 73% of customers staying loyal to brands because of their experience, the link between happy employees and happy customers has never been clearer. Employees are often responsible for the first impression your customers have of your brand. Employees often shape customers' first impressions of your brand. Prioritizing employee experience through customer-centric training and supportive initiatives creates a workforce that's both satisfied and focused on customer needs. This "happy employees create happy customers" approach fosters a culture of excellence, resulting in improved customer satisfaction ratings and top client accolades — reinforcing the direct link between employee contentment and customer loyalty.
Further, positive work environments fuel innovation and efficiency, making companies 4.2 times more likely to land on Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work. High employee satisfaction not only reduces turnover costs but also propels revenue growth by 2.5 times.
These aren't just statistics — they're the result of a fundamental truth I've witnessed throughout my career: exceptional customer experiences begin with exceptional employee experiences.
Related Article: Where Employee Experience and Customer Experience Align, and Where They Diverge
Breaking the Employee Engagement Myth
Contrary to the startup culture clichés, creating a great employee experience isn't about installing ping pong tables or stocking the latest snacks. The real investment lies in authenticity, transparency and focusing on intrinsic motivators. Let me share some strategies that have proven effective across various organizations I've worked with:
1. Harness the Power of Purpose
At a startup aiming for rapid growth to fuel an aggressive exit strategy, we rallied our team around the purpose to "create customers for life." This wasn't just a slogan — it became our North Star, guiding everything our teams did. Knowing what their goal was empowered them — whether they were in finance, marketing, sales or any other department — to make decisions about how they interacted with and advocated for customers. This autonomy and sense of ownership meant that every employee felt capable of making a real difference in the customer’s experience.
The result? Dramatically lower employee attrition rates to start. It heavily contributed to driving a 168% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) and resulted in being named to the Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Companies list. This customer-focused purpose also drove a 98% customer satisfaction rating, ultimately bolstering the valuation during acquisition.
2. Build Communities Within
At my current firm, SmartBear, we've created employee resource groups (ERGs) to foster a sense of belonging and allow team members to see themselves reflected in our company culture and brand. From our Women's ERG to groups for BIPOC employees, LGBTQ+ individuals, and caregivers and their allies, these communities build a truly authentic brand from within.
Related Article: Why and How to Build a Community of Practice
3. Embrace Radical Transparency
Transparency must be the cornerstone of an authentic brand. Ensure every employee understands corporate initiatives, metrics, goals and how their roles contribute. At SmartBear, we hold quarterly all-hands meetings as well as weekly or monthly functional meetings to discuss goals, results and future plans openly. As a global company, these meetings are a mix of virtual and in-person — whatever the format, they all offer time for questions and feedback. This is especially crucial in unpredictable economic times. This approach builds trust and fosters unity and shared purpose.
4. Involve Employees in Innovation
At a Workday Services start-up, we invited cross-departmental input on key projects and encouraged teams to hold hack-a-thons to create solutions to customer challenges. This made everyone feel integral to our success, boosting morale and sparking innovation that ultimately contributed to our acquisition by IBM.
At SmartBear, we view AI as a catalyst for transformation and innovation. We've embarked on an “AI Advocacy Journey” across our organization — a company-wide exploration of AI's role in the future of work and how we can help our teams become AI advocates. When we help our teams embrace emerging technologies like AI, it makes their skills even more relevant in today’s fast evolving landscape. We do this by holding regular training sessions on various AI tools, offering a self-serve learning curriculum with best practices and relevant topics as well as encouraging our “super users” to share their experiences. We also have an open line of communication with our AI Governance Committee and applicable slack channels (AI for SmartBears, Marketing AI, etc), where employees can request access to new tools and have AI questions answered.
5. Rethink Recognition
While traditional awards have their place, I've found that peer-to-peer recognition can be even more powerful. At one company, we implemented "Shout-out Fridays," where team members publicly recognized each other's contributions. This simple practice sent people into the weekend feeling valued and inspired. Today, SmartBear celebrates recognizing employees company-wide with peer-based nominations on a quarterly basis. We also host quarterly Marketing Spotlight Awards and our People and Culture team is constantly optimizing our employee recognition programs based on employee feedback.
Related Article: How to Navigate the Relationship Between Recognition and Reward
6. Listen and Adapt Continuously
At IBM, I used design thinking within our business unit to create empathy maps to truly understand what motivates our employees. At SmartBear, our brand and developer councils, made up of employees across functions and geographies, provide ongoing feedback platforms. Some of these insights led us to redesign our offices to support both collaboration and remote work, demonstrating that employee input drives real change.
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The Magic Intersection: Where Employee Brand Meets Corporate Results
When employees truly embody the company's values and mission, their authenticity shines through in every customer interaction. This alignment creates a cohesive and powerful brand experience that customers can feel.
Investing in employee experience isn't just a feel-good initiative; it's a business imperative for companies aiming for sustainable growth in the modern marketplace. By focusing on authenticity, transparency and intrinsic motivators, we create thriving work environments that drive both employee satisfaction and business success.
As we continue to empower our greatest asset — our people — we're not just building brands; we're redefining what it means to succeed in today's competitive landscape. The future belongs to companies that understand this simple truth: when you create exceptional experiences for your employees, they'll do the same for your customers, and your brand and business will thrive as a result.
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