Cox Communications Customer Experience Week2015
Contact Name: Pye Hirsche
Company: Cox Communications
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Category: Internal Communications category
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Planning & Strategy
Last year, Cox rallied around Four Focus Areas to help keep employees laser-focused on the things that mattered most to the business while providing an understanding of company strategy and alignmentaround shared priorities. One of those Focus Areas was “Improve the Customer Experience,” which made it a company-wide priority to continuously improve the experience we deliver to our customers with every interaction.
As one of Cox’s Focus Areas, the customer experience is something to celebrate, while also pursuingopportunities for growth and improvement. During the first full week of October each year, Cox celebratesthe women and men who work on the front lines serving customers. These people inspired the “Be a Hero,” theme for Customer Experience Week (CEW) 2015.Last year, through extensive planning, creativity and overwhelming participation, Cox took CEW to the next level by increasing the reach of the campaign beyond frontline employees.
The objectives of the campaign were to show appreciation to frontline employees so they felt valued and re-energized about their roles, to educate all employees on how each function contributes to the customer experience and to demonstrate where Cox is in its journey to be a company recognized for delivering an experience that’s simple, personal and transparent.
The CEW coordination team connected weekly prior to the campaign to brainstorm, plan and ensure effective communication across all regions and departments. Each week, the team distributed abriefing, containing the overall theme and outliningplanned tactics to leaders and representatives in Customer Care, Customer Experience, Field Services, Marketing & Sales, Finance,Products, Public Affairs (PA) and Technology. This update provided a framework leaderscould use as a springboard for their teams to take concrete actions. Managers and representatives shared the talking points and materials provided to each region, encouraged involvement and empowered local PA teams to own their regional celebrations while keeping campaign branding consistent.
Implementation
During CEW 2015, C-Suite executives and the leader of each function wrotea 6-word story on a poster toarticulatehow their team contributed to the Cox customer experience. They took “selfies” holding their stories, and all photos were published on theCustomer Experience 6-word Story site(restricted internal access) and in Cox’s company-wide newsletter. These images inspired other leaders and employees to create and share their own 6-word stories, which were a great way to learn about and reflect on the role customers play in every aspect of the business.
Throughout the week, we published a series of articles that were designed to inform and engage(e.g., “5 things our customers want us to know,” “Using the right words can be your superpower”).To further promote the campaign, the team created a variety of marketing materials and launched them via Cox’s various channels, including a dedicated intranet page, posters, ads for video monitors, the intranet and SNAP desktop screensavers.
Additionally, employees engaged through a variety of local activities, which were scheduled across the nation.For example, the retail showroom at the Atlanta headquarters was a huge success, hostingdemonstrations on how sales teams deliver The Cox Experienceevery day. The showroom helps connect corporate staff to what our customers experience in Cox markets. The Cox Experience Council hosted an outreach event to listen and learn about how employees and departments demonstrate their “super powers” by supporting the customer experience.Regionally, Cox hosted “Even A Hero’s Gotta Eat” events, bringing local employees together and showing appreciation. And to truly honor the theme, employees celebrated“Super Hero Day”on Thursday of CEW by dressing up as their favorite hero or sidekick. The CEW 2015 homepage served as a single point where CEW-related articles, videos, photos, activities and events could come together and be easily found.
Customer Experience Week was a perfect opportunity for Cox employees to gain a better understanding and appreciation of the role each person plays in contributing to The Cox Experience.
Results
Leaders felt employees were engaged and appreciated the opportunity to incorporate their own flair into the week’s activities. More than 40 senior leaders (100% of the C-Suite) and 500+ employees contributed 6-word stories and photos during the campaign, which were shared with all employees in the “Photo Gallery of Heroes.” Each article generated hundreds of unique hits, with the most-popular “All Heroes Unite…” generating more than 1,000 hits. Additionally, many employees posted positive comments on the intranet and in newsletter articles relating to CEW. Some examples include:
“Absolutely love to see all the 6-word stories coming in... You guys are really passionate about the customer experience!”
“We never know when any one of us might have the opportunity to be the first positive experience in a person's day, be it a coworker or an external customer. Therefore, let's seize upon it and make the most of it. By doing that, not only will we de-stress the situation, but leave the person with a positive impression not just of Cox, but of ourselves...”
“We had so much fun this week! Thanks to our Leaders for being the BEST!”
“You’ve taken Customer Experience Week to a new level.”
Additionally, we distributed over 3,500 “For a Hero” cards, which employees used to express peer-to-peer recognition and appreciation for a job well done.
The consistent theme unified employees under one banner of customer experience. The high-energy comic book-style graphics set the tone for the campaign. The 6-word stories and “Dress Like Your Favorite Super Hero or Sidekick” fueled the fun and expanded Customer Experience Week beyond its traditional borders,and the regional offices delivered unique “Even HeroesGotta Eat” events infusing the week with a local flavor.