😷 Coronavirus' Experience Impact | Badge of the Month | August 2021 | XM Community
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Badge of The Month August 2021How To Participate


During the first week of each month, we will post a new question, topic, or activity for you to connect with the community and earn a badge. All community members who contribute a thoughtful comment to this month’s discussion, between August 4 and August 18,  will receive this badge worth 10 points.

Badge Of The Month | August 2021


Question: How has experience design positively impacted your life during the pandemic? Alternatively, how do you think experience design will continue to shape lives in the post-pandemic future?
Recently, our Chief Product Officer, Jay Choi, released a Forbes article about the ways companies have pivoted and leveraged experience design to stay in business during the pandemic. Have you noticed a change in the way companies are using experience design during the Covid-19 pandemic? How has experience design influenced your Covid-19 experience? Tell us about your perception of the relationship between experience design and the pandemic!


I’ll start us off! I noticed that airlines modified the experience they offer clients in order to encourage travel - despite the pandemic. Airlines quickly changed their seating models in response to the outbreak. Pre-pandemic, we were all squished in airplanes. During the peak of the pandemic in America, we were seated with increased spacing in mind. Suddenly, we had entire rows of seats to ourselves! Airlines reactively minimized the capacity of their planes in the name of creating an experience where passengers feel safe and confident when traveling during these trying times. 


I also wanted to share this interesting article on Corona's Business Impact in case you need a little more inspiration!


I think that since the pandemic I notice more experience design in everything I do as a customer or as a employee.
As employee my life changed and my company was aware of that, so they designed different spaces where we can focus in other things different from work. I specially remember one day that I got a package with an invitation to join to some Teams meeting, I could not open the package until the meeting... when I finally opened it there was an embroidery kit with different notes, photos from other team memebers, some other messages that made me remember the reason why I work in my company and the special moments that we used to have at the office. We had an online embroidery class that day and my boss was the teacher. Great experience!!!! <3
As customer a lot of companies made my life easier, specially on special dates (birthdays, christmas, mothers day...) they started to care more about what happened after a purchase, for example on the delivery process, the delivery time took relevance. They put special effort on understanding what people were buying things for and accomplish delivery dates. One big fashion brand surprised me on christmas, they open a Whatsapp channel and you could buy clothes through that channel and got them on the same day, It was a pretty good solution if you did not want to go to the mall or if you just could not go, because we were closed and with a lot of rules for going out.
Experience design is more relevant now and I think that after this hard moment almost everykind of company understood that they need to be always neat to their customers and employees.


I have noticed experience is changing across all industries. For Banking people have started moving to digital side rather than going branched. In ecommerce delivery business boomed.
As an employee office experience is changed, with ore hygiene at place and hybrid work culture. World post pandemic is definitely with new experiences.


Working for an integrated health system, I know that we have worked diligently to ensure our members/patients have continued to have access to care by providing telehealth appointments for them to see their own providers. in the past, many members and patients were reluctant to give telehealth a try but with the pandemic it was the safest option for many and now they have told us how much they love the convenience of it and will continue to use it going forward, when appropriate. There will always be folks who prefer a in-person visit, but for many others they are now sold on the safety and convenience of telemedicine, after experiencing it during the pandemic.


I've noticed changes in a number of fronts. In my work, my organization has become much more comfortable with the idea of telework as they have seen that people and teams are able to telework effectively without compromising on timeliness, quality of work, or communication.
In my relationships with companies whose services I use -- many of whom fall under the banner of essential workers, I've seen companies find innovative ways of providing their products and services remotely, and also developed a deep and abiding respect for people who work for those organizations.
In personal and professional relationships, I've seen people struggle and eventually find ways of connecting virtually. Especially since the pandemic is far from over, and there is a great deal of uncertainty about schools opening and what our workplaces will look like, this flexibility will continue to be an essential tool for us.
Finally, the most important experience -- that of getting a COVID vaccination -- had some rough bumps as vaccine access was initially a big issue, but now that the rollout is complete it is easy to get one. If you're not vaccinated, GET VACCINATED NOW so that we can end this pandemic.


I was serving on the board for a non-profit organization that provides housing to homeless/unsheltered families. Prior to the pandemic impacted families were hosted each evening at various congregations facilities in the community. Since this was no longer an option a new approach was needed and quickly. The organization pivoted from hosting families at congregations to hotel stays since many of the hotels had excess capacity.
In addition, case management shifted from in person to virtual overnight using Zoom, FaceTime, text messages, e-mail and phone calls.


One of the biggest impact of pandemic I observed is on hotel industries especially in remote locations such as hill stations or sea side. When the daily cases dropped and recovery rate increased, after taking my initial jab of vaccine I was able to reserve accommodation to a palace turned hotel in Jodhpur at very cheaper rate. Even when we visited occupancy was very low. We felt like treated as royal guests. :)


I've benefitted from curbside pickup, and I'm guessing it's here to stay at many places. I admit I have some mixed feelings about it, because it evokes images of the dystopian future depicted in WALL-E. But it makes life so much easier on days when it's hard to find the time to walk up and down all the aisles at the store. I also think there are certain shopping experiences that will always have some magic that can't be replaced by online shopping and pickup, like browsing through treasures at an antique shop. But for my Target run? I'm very happy to be able to pick that up!


As an employee, I feel that my workplace could show a little more experience design. Current office setup and policies still keep being rigid even after 16 months in remote work.
However, the most positive change I've noticed is as a customer of many places. Near-by boutiques, takeout restaurants, grocery stores, bakeries etc. had to rethink their space to ensure a flow of people and that, in my opinion, was SO MUCH needed! Bottle neck service and confused crowds when entering a store are over : with one-ways and a clear direction to go that force you to move forward (even if it is sometimes infuriating to have to do a detour because you forgot your tomatoes) gives you a lot more space to be. If done well, it gives such a more efficient and pleasurable shopping experience.


I didn't leave the house much over the past year and a half, so when I did venture out I noticed a lot of changes...but I also noticed what didn't change (that should have). Signage was everywhere letting people know they needed to wear a mask, where to stand, which way to walk, etc. Sometimes it was even funny, which I appreciated. A friend of mine started a collaborative photo archive of all the Covid-related signs she saw in and around Santa Fe, New Mexico. This one was my favorite!
covid nm alien.JPGI liked how it wasn't just national brands and companies that made adjustments, but even our local spots. One local bookstore installed a drive-thru window so customers could pick up books. Despite this, business was still struggling...until Steven Colbert sponsored a Super Bowl commercial (starts at 1:57) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LExJyYVjOXo.
These are only a couple of examples that I noticed, but there continue to be more and more as time goes by.


I work in state government, supporting educators and librarians, so I have seen a multitude of experience design changes. Government systems can be slow to change but what was impossible two years ago (digital record keeping, working from home, remote meetings) has now become the norm. I see a lot of my colleagues turning to online tools to do new things and I love it.
But don't even get me started on the pivots educators have made over the past 18 months. They have turned learning upside down and many schools did it within weeks of March 2020 without missing a beat. Overnight they invented the Pedagogy of Zoom and while some students have struggled, others, like my son who has been learning in virtual environments since the end of his first grade year, have really taken to online learning. Educators figured out ways to get food to low income families, learning materials into students hands, promote communication and collaboration over distance and screens... It has been nothing short of remarkable.
Libraries have also created new ways to connect and maintain services for their communities (if you didn't already know, libraries are so much more than book depositories). In addition to getting reading materials into hands and figuring out how to do so safely, they have worked to expand broadband access for students and community members by expanding wi-fi to cover parking lots, purchasing hot-spots that can be checked out for extended periods of time. And they have worked to keep groups that met at the library connected by providing online tools to groups that maybe weren't as familiar.
Personally, it has been an honor and a privilege to help support professionals out in the field connect, learn, and expand their online reality.


I find it fascinating how companies are using technology to support human connections. A lot of virtual communication is being used to replace the face-to-face interaction that it originally seemed to be replacing. Companies are finding themselves needing to provide effective online tools that also support connection. For example, banks need to have apps that effectively and safely provide financial services but in order to provide exceptional service, banks are using chat features. Financial advisors are using video conferencing to meet with clients and discuss their investing and saving needs.


The idea of take away from a restaurant is nothing new for us in Sweden. However, to have meals delivered to your car from the restaurant was unheard of before the pandemic, but is now a common practice both among fast food chain, as well as more "proper" restaurants.
Other than that I just feel many commercial businesses are doing well in trying to improvise, adapt and overcome just in order to survive. Be it changing the layout of the store so people cant get too close together or what not. But the whole sense of innovation across the board among those businesses that survived has impressed me.


Being at home more has made my family and I focus more on Home Improvement projects. Since the pandemic started, we as a family have made home projects a priority. We have redesigned our workspaces, painted many of the rooms, remodeled a bathroom, and even built and furnished a large outdoor deck. Grant it, the stimulus payments have certainly helped us in these efforts.


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